Page 76 of To Hunt A Wolf
“I care about staying alive and out of jail. Or have you been hiding behind these walls so long you forgot what it’s like to survive in Black Moon?”
He doesn’t answer.
None of them do.
But my temper is hot now, so I keep going.
“I brought Dirk in despite the fact that he and three of his friends tried to kill me for it.”
A muscle in Levi’s jaw twitches at that, so I decide to leave out the part about Dirk trying to force himself on me.
“You know I’m telling the truth,” I say to him, “Because you saw me with him the night you left me in that warehouse to take the fall for Crigger’s murder.”
Tripp and Jadick look at Levi.
He sighs. “She’s telling the truth.” He flicks a glance toward Dirk. “I didn’t recognize him that night.”
“How could you miss that detail?” Tripp demands, but Levi shoots him a look sharp enough to silence him.
“I was distracted,” he says simply, and no one argues.
No one looks at me like I’m the traitor anymore either, so I keep my mouth shut. Levi taking my side is too foreign for me to know how to react.
In the silence, I crouch so that I’m eye-level with Dirk. It’s clear now that they haven’t forced him to his knees out of some attempt to dominate him. He’s simply too weak to stand.
“I thought Thiago would have killed you,” I say.
“Been moments I kind of wish he had,” he admits.
My heart pangs with guilt. Despite what Dirk tried to do to me, I can’t help feeling like his injuries are my fault.
“Thiago tortured you,” I say, and he doesn’t answer.
He doesn’t need to.
Levi’s hand closes around my arm, and I let him pull me to my feet. Jadick moves into my spot and crouches in front of Dirk.
“You’re safe now.” Jadick places his hand on Dirk’s shoulder. “But we need to know what you gave up, brother.”
Dirk’s expression crumples as he relives a pain I can’t even imagine. “I held out as long as I could,” he says gruffly.
“I know you did,” Jadick says and nods in encouragement for Dirk to continue.
My heart begins to thud harder as my senses pick up the nerves coming from the others. They’re worried. Levi’s only ever played it completely cool with me. No matter how bad things were, he’s never been worried. So, the fact that he is now puts me on edge in a way that makes my skin crawl.
I focus on Dirk, holding my breath while I wait for his answer.
“I don’t know. It’s a little fuzzy,” he says, voice cracking.
“Try to think,” Jadick says a little more forcefully now. His hand squeezes Dirk’s shoulder.
Dirk winces. “Okay, fine, I told him about the Jades,” he rasped. “I couldn’t help it. My body gave out. My control was gone. He drugged me, and I just started talking—”
“Did you give him our location?” Jadick snaps.
His voice is a whip, silencing anything but the answer.
Dirk’s broken whisper is a roar in my ears. “Yes.”
