Page 50 of Hart's Redemption

One of the armed men stepped forward and lowered his weapon. “Joshua Hart.”

“Commander Walsh.” Josh was the picture of calm, having ignored Mack's attempt to help him flee.

I stood there, still confused as hell about what was going on. Who were these people? What did they want from Josh? I made to step towards him, and half a dozen weapons trained on me. “Josh…”

Despite the naked worry in my voice, he never took his eyes off the Commander. “Officer Mack, you may want to restrain the potentially volatile werewolf.” He chuckled to himself. “Suppose that includes me now.”

My brow furrowed as I looked from Josh to the approaching armed men. “Josh.”

He glanced at me just as Mack wrapped shaking hands around my arm. “You'll be okay, baby.”

Alarm bells went off inside my head. He’d pointedlynotsaid thathewould be okay. “Josh, what's going on?”

The soldier, who was obviously in charge, stepped forward. “Lycan Detective Joshua Hart, you are under arrest for crimes against the Klamath Pack, criminal negligence, and the unsanctioned deaths of fifty-three lycanthropes.”

My brain finally caught up with what was happening. “What? No!” I lurched forward only to meet resistance. “He's not responsible for those. He was being manipulated. You can't arrest him as an unwilling accessory!” My protests went unheard. Mack tightened his grip, and Josh remained stoically impassive. I pulled harder against Mack's flimsy hold. “You can't do this.”

“Remus, if you could please assist Officer Mack in restraining Dr. Bennett.” The force of Josh's request rolled over me. Then a familiar face stepped forward from the rest, eyes wide.

“Soldier, you will hold your position!”

Remus completely ignored his commanding officer and continued to cross the room until his hands joined Mack's on my arms, firm and immovable.

“Don't do this,” I pleaded simultaneously with the soldiers and Josh.

Josh gave me a sad look as the remaining team surged forward. They grabbed him roughly, slamming him into the deskto cuff him. I fought against the superior hold of a stronger lycan.

“Hey! That's police brutality. He has rights.” Mack's shout went ignored, and he kept his hold on me.

Two soldiers dragged Josh upright while the soldier in charge addressed Mack. “We aren't the police, and people facing war crimes don't have rights.”

War crimes?

“No!” I howled as they dragged him away. “Josh, please don't let them do this. You can stop them. I know you can.” I pulled harder, but Remus wasn't budging. “Fight, damn you. Fight!”

“You'll be okay, baby.” The repeated reassurance sent my heart plummeting to my stomach.

I fought harder as he disappeared through the door, the sickening realization of what was happening settling into my core. “No! They can't do this. Let me go! I'll stop them myself.” Each second that passed was another second they got farther away. “Please! You have to let me go.”

Remus's grip shifted, but didn’t alleviate. “No can do, boss. He gave an order.”

My head snapped around to stare at him. His mouth hung open, shock written all over the parts of his face visible behind the tactical gear.

“What's he talking about, Red?” The tremor in Mack’s voice matched the shaking in his hands.

Remus released me, and I stumbled forward, easily breaking Mack’s feeble hold, and made a beeline for the door.

“It's too late. They're long gone now. The portal was right out front, and they would have closed it the moment he crossed the barrier.” Remus’s succinct analysis added another stone to the weight in my stomach.

I pulled at my hair and fought the urge to rip at my chest. The bond was still intact, so Josh was definitely still alive, but it was so thin it felt like it could snap at any moment.

“What the hell just happened?” Mack demanded to know, his voice slightly steadier, though he still sounded shaken.

“Joshua Hart is being arrested for war crimes, specifically attempted genocide,” Remus supplied with all the monotone of a professional soldier.

“The fuck?” Mack’s exclamation matched how I felt perfectly. “And why did you...? Whatwasthat?”

I walked back and looked Remus in the eye. Despite his apathetic dissemination of the situation, he still seemed confused. “When was the last time you were with your pack?”