Running with Rogues

CHAPTER 34 - CONSPIRACY

Felix went quiet for a moment. When he dared to speak again, it came out hesitant and breathless. "Does it matter if he knew anything, Mase? He's dead. So is that idiot with the shovel. He can't tell anyone else, and-"

Oh my word. I pressed my hands to my mouth to smother any sounds and then crept closer still. This was my kind of conversation. The kind where important people admitted to murder ... hopefully?

A bitter laugh from Mason. "Of course it matters, you halfwit. We need to know who's been talking, because the only people who knew were you, me, Micah, Adrian and Dad."

"And Liam," Felix muttered.

Jackpot.

The silence which followed those words was difficult to interpret. It ended rather abruptly when Mason let out an impatient snarl. "Yes, and Liam. But since dead men can't tell tales, that leaves me with exactly two suspects..."

Felix couldn't have failed to notice the accusation in those words, and understandably, he panicked. "Olivia might know something. Her mother's there too."

"She doesn't know shit," Mason said dismissively. I could hear his footsteps now, coming closer at an alarming speed. "Dad made sure of that."

Felix grunted. It sounded like he had started moving, too. "Well, it wasn't me. That's all I'm saying. I think you need to have this conversation with our little brother."

"Oh, believe me, I will. You'd better pray that he's even less convincing than you are."

Somehow, I had failed to register the fact that I was about to get caught eavesdropping. And they were getting closer by the second. Shit. There was nowhere to hide in that long, narrow corridor, so I could only raise my hand to knock when the door was thrown open.

I was face to face with a young man. He was twenty-five, but he looked enough like Liam that I forgot to breathe for a moment. He had a slimmer build than any Alpha I'd seen, but there was a glint of sharp intellect lurking in those dark eyes that made up for it.

"What do you want?" Mason demanded.

He was looking right at me. I wondered if the word 'rogue' was written on my forehead. It certainly felt that way. I could feel the full force of his wolf now, and it was like nothing I'd ever felt before. Stronger than Liam's, stronger than Nia's, stronger than Hayden's. He may as well have hit me with a steamroller.

By the time I'd realised I was staring, it was too late. I edged backwards until my back hit the wall, and then I just ducked my head and tried to look as non-threatening as possible. It wasn't difficult. He was looking at me like I was an insect under his boot. Annoying, but not worth the effort it would take to crush me.

Felix was stood behind him. He looked ... in a word, awful - with dark circles under his eyes and a smear of blood on his lip like someone had punched him already this morning. I gave him a pleading look, hoping he might offer some assistance, but he just seemed relieved that Mason's attention was on someone else.

"I'm, um ... I'm here to clean the rooms, I think," I mumbled.

Mason took a step closer. His eyes flickered up and then down, pausing at the clumsy mark on my neck and the faint scar where the tattoo had been. "Really? Then why are you so nervous?"

Why? WHY? As if he didn't know how intimidating he was. Shit almighty. For once, I was speechless, so I just shook my head and cowered a bit more and hoped he'd take pity on me. It didn't work. He just stood there. Staring and waiting.

"It's not... No. I just wasn't expecting..." I stammered. My voice was getting quieter with each new word. "Gave me a fright..."

He cocked an eyebrow and came closer still. I'd never felt so small in my life. "Were you listening?"