Page 120 of Healed in the Alpha's Embrace
“I have a friend, a US marshal. He’s a good cop. Acleancop. He knows of at least two dirty cops the IAB is investigating. It seems when Zoey left George, it triggered the insanity he kept under wraps. Now it’s all come to the surface. Business associates and people who feared him are coming out of the woodwork. Apparently, he doesn’t have the money or the sanity to follow through on his threats. Some of his former loyal men have left and are in hiding. They’re helping the police.”
I leaned forward, my interest piqued. “What else have you found out?”
Warman’s voice lowered. “George is all in on Zoey. Word is, he thinks she’s taken a file with names, dates, and information on where the bodies are buried. Zoey is all he thinks about. He doesn’t give a shit about Roland. He knows that targeting him, taking him, will get Zoey riled up. My friend warned me that Zoey is at serious risk. If we can’t protect her, he can get her into the witness protection program. She probably knows more than she thinks and would be useful to them and the Feds for the case they’re building.”
“I’ll do whatever it takes to protect them,” I said. “I won’t let George near them, even if it means putting myself in the line of fire.”
“I know you will. Keep me posted on any developments.”
When he left the room, I sank back against the pillows. The doubts crept in slowly, insidiously, as I lay there in the hospital bed. Was I really up for this? Could I truly protect Zoey and Roland from a man as dangerous and unhinged as George? The thought of them being whisked away into witness protection, starting new somewhere far from here—far from me—made my chest ache.
I couldn’t help but be a little selfish. I wanted to keep them close, to be the one to look after them, to ensure their safety with my own two hands. But what if I couldn’t? What if, despite my best efforts, George still managed to get to them?
I shook my head, trying to clear the doubts. No, I couldn’t think like that. I was the alpha now, and it was my duty to protect my pack and my mate. I would find a way to take George down and make sure he never posed a threat to Zoey or Roland again.
My thoughts drifted to Zoey. Whenever George’s name was mentioned, her hazel eyes sparked with a mix of fear and determination. She had been through so much already, had survived horrors I could barely imagine. The thought of her being forced to uproot her life, to leave behind the tentative sense of safety she had found here, made my heart clench.
As a human, she wouldn’t feel the same soul-deep connection to me that I did to her. If she had to leave, she would move on, find happiness elsewhere. But for me, the thought of being separated from my fated mate was a physical ache. A wound that would never fully heal.
I clenched my fists, my resolve hardening. No, I wouldn’t let it come to that.
I closed my eyes, exhaustion tugging at the edges of my consciousness. Tomorrow, I would start putting plans in motion. I would reach out to my contacts, gather intel, do whatever ittook to bring George to justice. But for now, I needed to rest and gather my strength for the battles ahead.
As I drifted off to sleep, my last thought was of Zoey and that smile that lit up her entire face.
33
ZOEY
Isqueezed my eyes shut as tight as I could, but I couldn’t erase the terrible images burned into my mind. George’s cold smirk as he shoved Ro into the car. My baby’s terrified face in the rear window as they sped away. My legs collapsing under me as I sank to the pavement, an anguished scream tearing out of my throat.
Helpless despair consumed me, pressing on my chest as I lay tangled in the bedsheets. Tears leaked from the corners of my eyes onto the pillow. I sucked in a shuddering breath and sat up slowly, raking my fingers through my messy black hair.
“It’s not your fault. Noah doesn’t blame you, honey. None of this is on you. Only your dad is responsible for the bad things he does.”Those were the words I’d told Ro when he’d sobbed and raged that George had hurt Noah because of him.
I had meant every word. But convincing my sweet, sensitive boy of that was so much easier than silencing my relentless inner voice, the one that whispered I had brought this upon us. That I had ruined everything by trying to escape my past.
I shook my head hard, digging my nails into my palms. No. I couldn’t let George warp my thoughts again and twist everything until I doubted my own mind.
Bile rose in my throat as a vivid memory forced its way to the surface. George’s associates leering at me from across the dinner table, their shark-like gazes roving over my body as if I were a piece of meat. The clammy hand on my knee under the tablecloth, sliding higher as I sat frozen in disbelief.
“I need to powder my nose,” I’d choked out, nearly upending my chair in my haste to escape. I’d locked myself in the bathroom, gulping air as angry tears pricked my lids.
How dare he touch me like that, as if I were his personal plaything to paw at? As if I had no right to object?
Later, after our guests finally left, I steeled myself to confront George. Surely he would be livid that his colleague had groped his wife. When I told him, he exploded.
At me.
The slap rocked my head back, pain blooming across my cheek. I gaped at him, too stunned to react. In five years together, he had never raised a hand to me.
“You stupid, selfish woman,” he seethed, his handsome face twisted with rage. “Thanks to your little stunt, Demarcus stormed out before I could close the deal. Months of negotiation down the drain!”
“But he… he touched me, George,” I whispered. “He had no right?—”
“Oh, grow up, Zoey.” George sneered. “You think a man like that cares about your delicate sensibilities? You should have just smiled and endured it for a few hours. It’s not like you have any other marketable skills to bring to the table.”
Shame burned my skin as I recalled how I had simply stood there, blinking back tears. I’d actually apologized to George thatnight, begging his forgiveness for my thoughtless behavior and vowing to do better next time.
