Lawful Mates - Liam Kingsley Page 0,12

insult to injury, it also stated that Senator Bates was threatening to sue me for defamation of character if I helped the press in any way or made it appear as if he were involved in Milo’s disappearance.

I was seeing red by the time I finished reading and had tossed the file down on the desk.

I scoffed and arched an eyebrow then gave Percy a mocking grin. “I didn’t realize you were Senator Bates’s new lapdog.”

The tension in the room was thick as Percy glared at me. “It would serve you well to adhere to the recommendations in those letters.”

“Recommendations? You mean threats?” I kept my voice pitched low, but there was no disguising the anger there. “You’ve got to be kidding me.”

Percy just stared at me, completely unfazed as he casually adjusted the cuffs of his suit jacket. “I thought you should know what you’re up against.”

I narrowed my eyes. Was he threatening me? Or was this a warning? I honestly couldn’t tell, but I didn’t like it.

“Just so you know, I ran Bates’s last attorney right out of here, and I have no problem doing the same with you.”

A flicker of surprise showed on his face, but he quickly masked it. So he hadn’t realized Bates had already been on top of this with another attorney. I’d made it clear to that guy that I’d do everything in my power to bring the truth to light, and it had apparently been enough for him to have dropped Bates as his client.

Yet another suspicious element to this assignment. Obviously, the attorney knew something that had made him want to steer clear. It made me wonder how much Percy was aware of. My stomach turned at the thought that he might know what scum the senator was and still decided to represent him.

“I don’t care about your threats,” I said. “I may not be a lawyer, but I do know my rights. I’ll get to the bottom of this assignment whether you and the senator want me to or not.”

I didn’t bother mentioning that I would never go to the media without all of the facts anyway. If he thought that little of me, fine. I wasn’t about perpetuating misinformation and half-truths. If my friend Holden Edwards, who was a journalist, asked me my opinion, I’d give it. But I’d never use the media to try to manipulate an outcome of a case.

Percy opened his mouth like he wanted to argue the point, but I cut him off before he could say anything. “It was a nice try, but your scare tactics won’t work on me. I know my rights. And I know my job. No one can sue me because I haven’t given the press anything, and I won’t unless I have solid proof. But way to go assuming things about me and my work ethic.”

Percy balled his hands into fists. “You want to talk about assuming things? Really? How about the fact that you don’t know me at all, yet you were so quick to make a snap judgment about me?”

I angled my head, taken aback. “What are you talking about?”

He sneered. “Of course. You wouldn’t even recognize it, would you? Seems you’re nothing but a hypocrite. Quick to judge but oblivious to your own shortcomings.”

My wolf whined, urging me to go around the desk and get closer to Percy. It was more than a little distracting, as was the fullness of Percy’s lips even as he twisted them into a condescending smirk.

I fought to keep my composure, to ignore the way his presence made my wolf feel out of control. It was no easy feat, but somehow, I managed.

“You don’t know me at all, so don’t pretend like you’ve got me figured out,” I retorted. “And I’m more than happy to keep it that way.”

“Oh, the feeling is mutual, believe me.”

“Good. Then how about you stay out of my way, and I’ll stay out of yours. I don’t think we need any more proof than this that we definitely aren’t meant to be together.”

The look on Percy’s face stopped me from saying anything else. A little shocked, a little hurt, more than a little uncomfortable. But it was gone as fast as it appeared, and I almost wondered if I’d imagined it.

My wolf practically howled, hating the words I was saying, the things I was thinking, but I did my best to ignore him.

“I’d be more than happy to oblige you on that,” Percy said. “Except you’re