Magic Misled (Lizzie Grace #7) - Keri Arthur Page 0,110
fucking time,” came the belligerent reply from inside the living area. “Being cooped up like this is intolerable.”
“It’s better than being damn dead,” Aiden growled. “So sit back down and shut the fuck up.”
The big man glared, but nevertheless did as he was told. Aiden stopped in the middle of the room and crossed his arms. “Right, you’ve got one last chance to tell us what you know about Leesa Rhineheart.”
“I told you,” John growled. “I didn’t have all that much to do with her, and I’m certainly not sure why you’re so fixated on the dumb bitch. Besides, it was ages ago, so what has it got to do with anything that’s happening now?”
“Plenty. It appears Leesa’s daughter is the one behind the attacks.”
John’s eyebrows rose. “Leesa’s daughter killed Patrick? A human girl against a full-grown wolf?” He snorted. “You’re stretching, Ranger.”
“Not if we’re talking about someone who’s half wolf and capable of dark magic. Now, are you going to come clean or not?”
Aiden’s voice held a final note of warning, but John wasn’t listening.
“I’ve nothing to come clean about, Ranger, and you’ll be hearing from my damn lawyer. This is nothing short of harassment.”
“You’re a werewolf in a werewolf reservation. The rights that apply to humans in the reservation do not apply to you. But by all means, feel free to complain to the council.” Aiden pulled out his phone and hit the record button. “Belle? Your turn. Don’t forget to verbalize what you’re seeing.”
John’s gaze darted from Aiden to Belle and back again. “What the fuck is going on now?”
“You had your chance,” Aiden growled. “Now, we’ll simply grab the information by force.”
“No, you fucking—”
The rest of that sentence froze as Belle rolled his mind. For several minutes, there was little sound other than the crackle of the nearby fire and the gentle ticking of the clock on the mantle above it.
“Okay, despite protestations to the contrary,” she said eventually, “he was very definitely involved in the gang harassing Leesa.”
“How deeply?” Aiden asked.
“Very. It was basically a scam they played on humans.”
“Such a charmer,” Tala muttered. “Maybe we should just release him and let him take his goddamn chances.”
“As much as I personally agree, I doubt the council will,” Aiden said. “How far did the scam go, Belle?”
“All the way—dates, declarations of love, the whole deal.” She paused. “Once the two of them had fucked, the game was revealed, and she was told in no uncertain terms that she was just another human notch on the bedpost.”
A muscle in Aiden’s jaw ticked, and his fists clenched. But his voice, when he spoke, held none of the anger. “Which doesn’t explain Leesa thinking becoming a werewolf would fix anything.”
Belle’s concentration deepened. “He apparently made an offhand remark suggesting it would have been a very different outcome if she’d been a werewolf. They all had a damn good laugh over that, let me tell you.” Her gaze flashed to Aiden’s; the anger boiling through her mind made her silver eyes glow. “Can I make sure this bastard never uses his damn dick for anything more than pissing ever again?”
Aiden’s mouth twitched. “As much as I’d love that to happen, it’s another of those things the council definitely wouldn’t approve. What happened after Leesa came back? Because she obviously did.”
Belle returned her attention to John. After a moment, she said, “She was brutally rejected, of course. And it wasn’t just because of the foul stink of magic or the fact she remained human regardless of the ability to shift. The transformation spell wasn’t as advertised—her ability to shift was more along the lines of the traditional Hollywood werewolf than the full wolf transformation she’d been after.”
“Which isn’t exactly surprising, given she was dealing with a blood witch,” I muttered. “Those bastards never play fair.”
“Anything else?” Aiden asked. When Belle shook her head, he added, “Then hold him steady while I grab the blood we need.”
“You can’t take my fucking blood without a permit.”
“And you might want to revisit my earlier comment about human laws not applying. Tala, can you grab a knife and a small container from the kitchen?” As she walked around the sofa and disappeared through the doorway, Aiden squatted in front of John. “While there’s no specific crime related to scamming someone for sex, you’ll certainly be charged with making a false statement and hampering an investigation. And if I can at all make a case against you for being an accessory after the fact to the