Chapter 126
Chapter 126:
“Guilt. Sentiment. A bargaining chip. I don’t know.” He gripped my shoulders, forcing me to look at him. “But if you’re going in there, Adella, you need to know — there may be more than just ledgers. Letters. Photographs. Things that could tell you what really happened to your parents p>
“You think she has proof p>
“I think she has something. And I think Braydon doesn’t know about it — or he would have used it already p>
The information hit me like a physical blow. My mother’s things. After all these years.
“Find the ledgers,” Dallas said. “But if you get the chance… find out what she’s hiding p>
I nodded, my throat tight. “I will p>
He pulled me close, his forehead resting against mine. “Forty-eight hours,” he said, his voice dropping to a lethal whisper. “You have until Sunday at midnight. If you haven’t found what you’re looking for by then, you get out. No arguments, no excuses. You walk out that door and you don’t look back p>
“Forty-eight hours,” I repeated.
He reached into his pocket and pressed a small, sleek silver earring into my palm.
“A micro-tracker and a panic button,” Dallas growled, his voice rough with reluctance. “If you press it — or if your heart rate spikes past a certain threshold — I will breach that Manor with every Warrior I have. I don’t care about the evidence. I care about you p>
𝘛𝗵e 𝖻𝖾𝘴𝘵 𝗿e𝘃ie𝘸ѕ оn
I closed my fingers around the cold metal. Then he produced a small, encrypted satellite phone — the kind I’d only ever seen in films.
“Take this too,” he said, pressing it into my hand. “Regular cells can be monitored, blocked. This runs on a private frequency. Only I have the matching unit p>
I turned it over in my palm. It was heavier than it looked.
“Every six hours,” he continued, his voice dropping lower still. “You send me one word: ‘Safe.’ If I don’t hear from you within six hours, I come in. No questions, no waiting. Understood p>
“Every six hours,” I repeated. “Safe p>
His jaw tightened. “And if you find something — if you need to get out — you don’t wait for the six hours. You run. You hit that panic button. I don’t care if you’re in the middle of a conversation with Victoria herself. You get out p>
I reached up and cupped his face, feeling the tension locked in his jaw. “I will. I promise p>
He closed his eyes, leaning into my touch for just a moment before pulling away. When he looked at me again, the mask of the Alpha King was firmly back in place.
“Go,” he said. “Before I change my mind p>
Dallas
The tracker blinked on my dashboard screen — a small, steady green dot moving toward enemy territory. I sat in the back of the Maybach, parked in a shadowed alley miles from the office, my hands clenched into fists so tight my knuckles ached.