Page 122 of Knot Unwanted: Part Two

Either way, I’m not waiting to find out. I move quickly across the lot to the SUV, sliding into the passenger seat beside Jax.

“Anyone follow you out?” he asks immediately, already putting the vehicle in drive.

“Not that I saw, but they’re professionals. They’ll figure it out soon enough.”

He nods, navigating out of the parking lot with careful attention to his mirrors. “Did you get a good look at them? Anyone we recognize?”

“No. Generic suits, athletic builds.” I glance in the side mirror, watching for any sign of pursuit. “They weren’t trying to hide that they were following me, though. It felt like a message.”

Jax’s hands tighten on the steering wheel. “A message saying what?”

“That we’re being watched. That even with an alliance with the Ashgraves, we’re not untouchable.” I shift in my seat to face him. “The meeting with Riordan confirmed some things we suspected and revealed some we didn’t.”

As we make our way through downtown traffic, I brief him on everything Riordan shared—Heath’s survival and escape, the uncertainty about Caldwell, and most concerning, the evidence of corruption within law enforcement that threatens to undermine the entire case.

Jax listens without interrupting, his expression growing more grave with each revelation. When I finish, he’s silent for a long moment.

“We need to tell the others,” he finally says. “All of this affects the entire pack.”

“I know.” I look out the window, watching the familiar streets of the city pass by. “But I keep thinking…maybe I should handle this myself. Find Heath, end this for good.”

The thought has been gnawing at me since the moment I saw her photograph in Riordan’s file. Heath, alive and free, potentially rebuilding her operation from somewhere beyond our reach. The idea of it sits like poison in my veins.

“Ren.” Jax’s voice pulls me back from darker thoughts. “That’s not who we are anymore. Not who you are.”

“Isn’t it?” I turn back to him, something raw and painful clawing at my chest. “I keep thinking about what could have happened to Hailey. Whatdidhappen to her. I want Heath to suffer for that.”

The admission costs me. A violent impulse I’ve been trying to suppress since we escaped the facility.

Jax doesn’t immediately dismiss my feelings, which I appreciate. “I understand,” he says after a careful pause. “Believe me, I do. When I think about Heath, about Caldwell, about what they did to both of you…” His jaw clenches tight. “But going after them alone, making this a personal vendetta—it puts you at risk. It puts the pack at risk.”

“And doing nothing doesn’t?” I challenge.

“I didn’t say we do nothing.” He navigates around a slower vehicle, checking his mirrors again to ensure we’re not being followed. “I said we don’t do it alone. We decide together now. All of us.”

The echo of the promise we made to Finn, to Hailey—no more secrets, no more unilateral decisions. I recognize the wisdom in it, even as part of me rebels against the constraint.

“What if they don’t understand?” Saying those words voices one of my deepest fears. “What if they can’t see why Heath needs to be dealt with permanently?”

Jax gives me a sidelong glance. “You’re not giving them enough credit. Hailey stabbed a beta. Finn was the one who shot Heath. They understand the stakes better than anyone.”

He’s right, of course.

“Okay,” I concede. “We tell them everything. Decide as a pack what to do next.”

Relief crosses Jax’s face, subtle but visible. “Thank you.”

As we approach home, I find myself scanning the streets, the houses, the parked cars—looking for anything out of place, any sign that we’ve been followed despite our precautions.

But as we pull into the driveway, what I see instead sends an unexpected wave of warmth through me: Hailey and Finn on the front porch, clearly waiting for us. They stand as the SUV comes to a stop, and a part of me feels guilt that I have to burden them with this.

But it’s not a burden if they want to know. And they have a right to.

I just have to tell them.

Chapter 25

Finn

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