Page 100 of Hart's Redemption

I couldn’t help but raise an eyebrow as we landed in a basement set up like an interrogation room. There was even a chair centered in the cleared space. I allowed my escort of lycans to escort me deeper into the room without argument.

Don’t say anything.

I’d honor Elijah’s warning even if I didn’t understand why it was so important. Keeping my mouth shut would be easy. I’d been trained for interrogations and even extensive torture, not to mention that silence could also glean more information about an adversary than talking ever could. Already I knew two very important things: although this pack had undoubtedly seen the live broadcast of my trial, none of them took the threat I posed seriously, and Conrad was unequivocally afraid for his position as Alpha.

I bit my tongue as they tossed me toward the center of the room.

“Sit down,” Mallin ordered.

I gave the wooden chair a scornful glance and opted to stand.

His jaw tensed, but he didn’t push the issue. A pair of his grunts stepped forward to make me. “Leave him.” His words stilled them in their tracks. They glanced at each other and took a step back. Mallin eyed me for a long moment as if debating where in his interrogation he wanted to start.

Personally, I would have preferred we get down to the thick of it instead of playing this mockery of a cat-and-mouse game. That I had gone from the government’s most secure, undocumented prison with a constant escort ofat leasthalf a dozen highly trained combat operatives to a handful of civilian lycans was downright insulting.

After another minute of silence that I suspected was intended to unnerve me, Mallin finally spoke. “Before your very public hearing in front of the entire Klamath pack, there are a few questions I would like to ask you. Bear in mind that your answers may have a marked impact on the result of tomorrow’s gathering.”

I stared back at him and waited.

A muscle in his cheek twitched, but he carried on as if I’d given the desired response. “Why is Elijah Bennett protecting you?”

I schooled my face to remain expressionless.

“Did you two strike up some kind of deal?”

I met the second question with the same flat silence.

“Was he involved in your attack on this pack? What kind of aid did he give you? Plans? Layouts? Inside details about pack members?” With each added question, Mallin skirted closer to being fully unhinged.

Theweresat his back shuffled their feet, but kept their peace, as did I.

“Answer my questions!” Fury radiated off ‌Conrad Mallin. “How long have you really known Elijah? Did he hire you to avenge his father?”

It took an active force of will not to react. Elijah didn’t talk about his father anymore than I talked about mine. Given the vein of Mallin’s questions, I suspected it was for similar reasons. Had Conrad Mallin done something to Elijah’s father?

The side of Mallin’s fist collided with the stone wall in a terrible crack. Everyone else jumped while I maintained stoic silence. “Are you two even married, or was that just a stunt to subvert pack order?”

Suddenly, the truth of Elijah’s precarious position within the pack became abundantly clear. Mallin didn’t give two shits what I’d done here or anywhere else. I was a means to an end. Allhe cared about was being rid of Elijah once and for all. It was a miracle he hadn’t already banished or executed him.

My resolve to follow Elijah’s unusual advice to do nothing strengthened. I wouldn’t give this man, who was obviously losing his grip, any more reasons to target Elijah. In a twist of fate I never could have anticipated,Iwould be the one used against Elijah.

Mallin’s eyes narrowed to slits in the dimly lit room. The yellow that glinted off ‌them made him appear both sinister and even more unhinged. “Help our guest find his tongue and don’t stop until he confesses everything.”

Now would have been an excellent time to remind him that Lycan Detectives couldn’t lie. Even under duress. However, I strongly suspected the effort would be in vain.

The three lycans that followed us down here moved forward. I eyed each one, assessing their threat value. Only one bore any visible scars, likely making them the most prone to violence of the bunch. The largest was most likely meant to provide an intimidation factor that really only highlighted how outdated the Klamath Alpha’s thinking was. While the last had an odd glow in her eyes that suggested she enjoyed giving pain and had the cunning to get away with it.

I relaxed my stance, keeping my arms loose at my sides, and waited for them to approach. Exhaustion tugged at my body, but it wasn’t as if I had any intention of actually fighting this pretentious group of thugs. Conrad Mallin may have watched the trial, but he’d clearly missed some of the finer points, namely that I was not a man to be underestimated.

The smallest of the three surged forward, and I spun out of the way in a familiar avoidance tactic. With a growl, they turned to try again. I easily side-stepped the intended assault, and they ran into the one with the scars.

“Watch it!”

“Get off ‌me.”

I waited patiently as they disentangled themselves. In a surprising move, they came at me together. I ducked and ended up standing next to the largest one, who was surprisingly quick on their feet. Without missing a beat, they swung. I swiftly leaned back to prevent them from knocking me into the wall and probably unconscious.

By now, the other two had recovered and were racing toward my compromised position. I swiveled in place, coming face to face with the small one with cruelty in her eyes, then ducked at the last possible second. The fist of the scarred one soared over my head to land with a sickening crunch into the largest one. He stumbled backward, clutching his chest and wheezing for air. The one who delivered the punch gave a savage growl and lunged for me again.