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"Yeah, but they were together for two years, and she’s not good at being on her own She goes to Donnie because she knows he’ll verbally shred Asshole’s character until she feels we’re all better off without hi badly of him in front of us? She knoe despise hiainst him He did that all on his own"

"I think she doesn’t want us to see how much he hurt her; she doesn’t want that to hurt us and--" Gwen cut herself off at the chi it wasn’t Colt with more complaints from the Moores, she strode into the hall But as she opened the door, it wasn’t to find Colt on her doorstep No, it orse

Gwen gripped the edge of the door, , impeccably neat e to it--the kind you saw on a slimy door-to-door salesman At least Brandt didn’t hide that he was a bastard His father, however, lavished everyone with a false charrated on her nerves

She noticed his chauffeur, Thad, leaning against the car, staring right at her Froht-hand htly

She arched a brow "Is it?"

His shtly "Miss Miller, I’ve co assured, Mr Moore"

"Please callthat you and I could talk"

"Is that not e’re doing?"

"In private, Ito coh"

His eyes hardened a little "Very well" Clearing his throat, he offered her a contrite size for ht He confessed that the bat is his and that his injuries weren’t caused by you--that you simply took the bat from him before he could smash theof your truck The incident sha men, and I know their families feel just as disappointed with their sons as I do withthe tiy I want assurances that your son will stay away froave a respectful nod "Understandable" He slipped his hand into the inside pocket of his jacket and pulled out a check "Allow me to offer this as compensation"

She blinked "Co randbecause your son acted like a dick?"

He seemed about to jump to Brandt’s defense, but then his face molded into a remorseful expression that didn’t reach his eyes "Brandt istroubled I will admit that But he would never raise his fist to a wo and beat one with a pole He insists that you misread the situation you stumbled across, that he merely came upon the female shifter after she’d already been beaten by soed to bite back a curse "You don’t believe that You want to believe it But you don’t Look, I get that he’s your son, and you don’t want to see him punished by the shifter council, but you can’t seriously think he doesn’t deserve a punishment for what he did"

"He says he’s innocent--"

"I knohat I saw, I knohat I heard, and I knoas hi bone before I even laid eyes on theence and your own by trying to insinuate differently"

"The shifter altered her statement"

"Because she’s scared out of her mind"

"What do you care?" His upper lip curled "She’s a shifter A lone shifter, which makes it worse"

"She didn’t deserve what happened to her, and Brandt doesn’t deserve to go unpunished for it"