Total pages in book: 114
Estimated words: 107670 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 538(@200wpm)___ 431(@250wpm)___ 359(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 107670 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 538(@200wpm)___ 431(@250wpm)___ 359(@300wpm)
Jesse’s brow creased. “Yes.”
Her cat went insane, raking Harley’s stomach—wanting freedom so she could hunt down this person who had endangered her. “Let me see.” Harley held her hand out for the newspaper, and Jesse reluctantly handed it over. As she looked at the photos and skimmed over the article, she growled. “That bitch!”
“I take it you know her,” said Ally.
“Gabrielle Rowan has been on my case since I moved to California, asking for information on Clive—what he’s like, if he’s part of The Movement, if he created The Movement.”
Eli folded his arms. “The way she talks about you is almost . . .”
“Bitchy,” supplied Ally.
The Head Enforcer nodded. “She really doesn’t like you, Harley.”
The feeling was mutual. “Yeah, well, I was pretty rude to her.”
“Hector has to be behind this,” said Eli. “He talked of going to reporters with the testimonies. Maybe this is his way of letting us know he has no problem causing trouble for us. Maybe he even thinks trouble will drive us out of here.”
“I agree,” said Jesse, a muscle in his cheek ticking. “He could even be hoping to cause trouble within the pack. The reporter’s claiming that ‘sources’ from my old pack and this pack say that Harley was instrumental in my deceased sister’s addiction and they feel upset and angry at me for taking her as my mate. That’s a load of shit. No one from this pack would do anything like that.” He couldn’t say the same for his old pack, though.
Roni looked at Harley. “You know, although that’s only a local newspaper and unlikely to be seen by either side of your family, the news of your mating will travel fast. It won’t be long until they find out. How do you think Clive will react?”
She sighed. “I have no idea. But he won’t like finding out this way.”
“Is the reporter right about him being a raging psychopath?” Bracken asked. At Jesse’s hard look, the enforcer raised his hands. “It was just a question.”
“Your family will lose their minds over this,” Harley warned Jesse.
“Probably,” said Jesse, “but I always knew that.” He just refused to let it be a factor in his decision to claim her.
“You have to stop this bitch from writing a follow-up article that could further stir up the extremists,” said Roni.
“A reporter isn’t going to back off a story like this easy,” said Harley. “Especially not this reporter. She’s like a fucking bulldog.”
Bracken nodded. “It wouldn’t surprise me if she’s ballsy enough to demand something in return for ceasing to write stuff about you.”
Yeah, she’d want information on Clive. Harley wasn’t giving that heifer anything.
“Before we came here, we had Donovan find out some things about this little reporter,” said Derren. “She’s twenty-seven, unmated, and lives in an apartment outside of her territory but remains an official member of her pack.” He rattled off the address before continuing. “She likes covering news related to extremists and The Movement and is currently sleeping with her human boss—a guy with a pregnant wife and two kids.”
Harley’s brows flew up. Gabrielle truly was an absolute bitch who lacked any morals. Apparently her boss wasn’t much better.
“What’s more interesting is what Donovan discovered about the guy she’s sleeping with,” added Derren. “Listen to this . . .”
Arriving at apartment 253A, Jesse placed his body slightly in front of Harley’s and rapped his knuckles on the door. His Beta pair had followed them in another vehicle, and they were parked outside, keeping a lookout. No one thought that the extremists would stupidly try to make a grab for Harley, but they all agreed that it wasn’t worth the risk.
He glanced at Harley, trying to gauge her mood. Right now, she was proving harder to read than usual. She’d been quiet as they drove. They often lapsed into comfortable silences, neither feeling the need to speak for the mere sake of it. But the earlier silence had felt awkward. Loaded with things left unsaid. It made his wolf anxious.
Moments later, a small redhead with cunning eyes opened the door. Those eyes flashed with recognition as she took him in. She gave him a sultry grin, but it dimmed as her gaze flicked to the female with him. “Well, if it isn’t Harley Vincent. Changed your mind about giving me an exclusive after all?”
“We should take this inside,” said Jesse.
Harley almost rolled her eyes when Gabrielle’s breath hitched and her eyes went half lidded. Her cat unsheathed her claws and took a swipe at the bitch for ogling him.
Gabrielle swung the door open wide. “Come on in.” She put a lot of sway into her hips as she led them into the living area. Her place was actually nice. Stylish. Contemporary. Though maybe a little soulless for Harley’s liking.
“You know something, Harley?” said Gabrielle, picking up her Dictaphone with a smirk. “I always knew you would come to me sooner or later.”