Page 19

“No.”

“Then your first mistake was assuming he had any sense to begin with.”

That pulled a reluctant laugh from him. It didn’t last, but some of the crushing tension left his shoulders.

I took the coffee from his hand and set it on the workbench before he squeezed the cup hard enough to decorate the garage with an iced-caramel crime scene.

“What happens if we help?” I asked.

Mack’s expression changed. The humor vanished, and the head of Kingston Security replaced my mate. “Jacqueline could target the company. She could pressure our supernatural clients, interfere with our wards, or make it politically dangerous for anyone in Arrhythmia to work with us. If Carolina openly chooses Logan, Jacqueline could see anyone supporting them as an enemy of the coven.”

“And what could she do to us personally?”

His bear surged so quickly that his eyes flashed bright amber.

“She won’t touch you.”

It came out as a growl.

I placed my hand against his chest. “That wasn’t my question.”

“She is not getting near you.”

“Mack.”

His heart pounded beneath my palm. Heat rolled from his skin as the bear pushed close to the surface, furious at a threat that did not exist yet and perfectly prepared to tear it apart when it arrived.

“I’m human,” I reminded him. “Compared to the rest of you, I’m inconveniently breakable. Jacqueline knows that. If she wants leverage against you, I’m the obvious choice.”

“She tries to use you against me, and High Priestess will become a historical job title.”

“You cannot maul the leader of the coven.”

“Wanna bet? I can maul anyone. Especially a High Priestess bitch who comes after my mate.”

“That does not make it a sound diplomatic strategy.”

“I don’t give a fuck how Jacqueline feels about our involvement.” His voice dropped lower, each word vibrating through his chest beneath my hand. “What she’s doing to Logan is wrong. It has gone on long enough. I stood here and watched her put that curse on a newborn vampire who could barely keep himself upright. Then I spent a year pretending the punishment fit the crime because admitting otherwise meant admitting I should have stopped her.”

“You might not have been able to.”

“I could have tried.”

“Yes,” I said quietly. “You could have.”

He flinched, but I wasn’t going to soften the truth simply because I loved him. Mack had more power than most people in Arrhythmia, not just because of his money or the security company. People listened when he spoke. They moved when he growled. He had spent years building a position strong enough that even Jacqueline Fortman had to think before crossing him.

That power came with responsibility, whether he liked it or not.

“What matters is what you do now,” I said. “You cannot change what happened in this garage. You can decide what happens the next time Logan needs someone.”

Mack covered my hand with his. “You’re saying we help.”

“I’m saying Carolina gets to decide whether she wants Logan. Logan gets to decide whether loving her is worth the risk. Jacqueline does not get to make either choice for them.”

“A mate bond complicates consent.”

“No. A mate bond complicates attraction. Choice is still choice.” I curled my fingers into his shirt. “Fate introduced us. It didn’t make me trust you. It didn’t make me love you. It certainly didn’t make me tolerate your inability to accept that I can cross a parking lot without an armed escort.”