"Two that she's told me about. There may be more, but if there is, she's not ready to talk about it yet."
"You're sure there was more than just this Fernando?" Richard looked at me, eyes hopeful, almost like he wanted me to tell him it wasn't really as bad as it seemed.
"It was gang rape, Richard. They took great pride in telling me that."
"Who was the second one?" he asked.
He asked. I answered. "Liv."
He blinked at me. "She's a woman."
"I'm aware of that."
He just stared at me. "How?"
I raised eyebrows at him. "You really want me to get that technical?"
Richard shook his head. He looked ill. Jamil didn't. He met my eyes without flinching, his face thinned into tight angry lines. "If they can take one of our highest wolves and use her like that, then the pack's threat means nothing."
"That, too," I said. "But I'm not going to kill someone just to keep the pack's rep in good repair."
"Then why?" Jamil said.
I thought about that for a second. "Because I gave my word I'd do it. They dug their grave when they touched her. All I'm doing is filling in the dirt."
"Why?" Jamil said. "You hated Sylvie." It seemed important to him that I answer, as if the question meant more than it should have, at least to him.
"They didn't break her. All that they did to her, and they couldn't break her. She could have stopped the torture by giving up the pack. She didn't give them up." I tried to put it all into words. "That kind of loyalty and strength deserves the same in return."
"What do you know about loyalty?" Richard asked.
"That's it," I said. I turned to him and poked a finger in his chest. "We can have one knock-down-glorious fight after we save Gregory and Vivian. They gang-raped Sylvie. Do you really think they're doing less to two shapeshifters that they thought had no alpha to protect them?" I was spitting every word into his face, voice squeezed tight and low, because if I let go, I'd be screaming. "We are going to get them out and take them some place safe. When we do all that, then you can go back to being pissed at me. You can wrap your jealousy and self-hatred around us both until we choke. But right this second, we have work to do. Okay?"
He looked at me for a heartbeat or two, then gave the barest of nods. "Okay."
"Great," I said. I'd abandoned my purse at the hospital, but I had the key to the front door in my coat pocket along with ID. What else did a girl need?
"You have a key to the front door?" Richard asked.
"Drop it, Richard," I said.
"You're right. You're right, and I'm wrong. I haven't been paying attention to business for two months. Sylvie told me that. I didn't listen. Maybe if I had, she... Maybe if I'd been listening, she wouldn't have gotten hurt."
"Jesus, Richard, don't pull another guilt trip on me. You could be Attila the Hun, and the council would still have come. No show of strength would have kept them out."
"What would have?" he asked.
I shook my head. "They are the council, Richard. The stuff of nightmares. Nightmares don't care how strong you are."
"What do they care about?" he asked.
I shoved the key into the lock. "Scaring you." The big double doors pushed inward. I drew the Browning out of my pocket.
"We aren't supposed to kill anybody," Richard said.
"I remember," I said, but I kept the gun out. I couldn't kill anybody, but Jean-Claude hadn't said I couldn't maim someone. It might not be as satisfying, but when you need to back up your threat, someone writhing on the floor in pain is almost as good as a body. Sometimes it's better.
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