Page 14 of Unruly Hearts
Through the window, I watch him leave, his words echoing in my head.Your parents thought they were untouchable too.
When Agis bursts in moments later, I'm still staring at the spot where Ethan's car had been.
"Did he threaten you?" Agis growls, checking me for harm.
I swallow hard. "Something he said about my parents. I think... I think he knows more about their accident than he's letting on."
Agis pulls me close and his massive frame vibrates with protective fury.
Something needed to be done about Ethan, but I wasn’t yet sure what.
Sending Agis back out to work, I stare at my desk. Ethan threatened my parents, I’m sure of it. But could he have something to do with their deaths? I dig through the desk drawers, something nagging at me - a memory of Mom being worried those last few weeks.
The bottom drawer sticks, like always, but yields to a firm tug. Inside, her logbooks line up by date, spines labeled in her precise handwriting.
I pull out the last one, dated just before their death. My breath catches at her familiar script:March 15 - Equipment shed locks broken again. J says kids, but doesn't feel right. Found strange residue on backup gear. Taking samples to lab tomorrow.
March 16 - E stopped by. Aggressive about selling. Threatened to "make things difficult." Checking all gear triple time now.
March 17 - Lab results inconclusive. Substance appears industrial, highly corrosive. Ordering all new equipment.
March 18 - New ropes and carabiners arrived. Old ones quarantined in shed.
My hands shake as I turn to the final entry, dated the day before their last climb:March 20 - Something's wrong. Shed broken into again. J checking primary gear but worried about backup. E watching property. Don't trust him. If anything happens…
The sentence trails off. I glance at the date again.
They died the next day.
I slam the drawer shut as nausea rises in my throat. All this time, the evidence was here. Mom knew something was wrong. She was trying to tell us.
Through our mate bond, I feel Agis's concern pulse. But beneath my grief rises something stronger.
Ethan won't get away with this. Not anymore.
***
Later on, I watch Agis repair the wolf enclosure fence. His massive hands, so filled with deadly potential, handle the tools with surprising gentleness. Just like he handles me.
Two weeks since that first night together, and already I can't imagine life without him.
"Watch your back, big guy," I call out as one of the wolves approaches. The wolf sniffs his leg, then flops down to watch him work.
I hide my smile. Even the animals trust him.
"Need any help?" I ask, though I know what he'll say.
"No mate of mine carries lumber," he rumbles, but his eyes crinkle with affection.
That's another thing I'm getting used to - his protective instincts. Where Ethan's possessiveness had felt suffocating, Agis's care feels like being wrapped in a warm blanket. He doesn't try to control me, he just... cherishes me.
I check my phone, and grimace at another text from the bank. The center's accounts are still in the red, and Ethan's deadline looms closer.
Agis senses my worry because he sets down his tools and crosses to me. One huge finger tips my chin up.
"We’ll fix it together," he says.
I lean into his touch. "I know. It's just... this place was my parents' dream. Their legacy. I can't lose it."