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This time, she couldn’t stop her tears. They overflowed her eyes, blurring her vision, and poured over her cheeks in stinging trails.
“Even though you’re losing your job because that dumbass got caught on camera?” Evan clucked his tongue. “He deserves to know how far you’re willing to go to protect him.”
“This is my problem,” she repeated. “And I’ll handle it.”
“What’s going on?” Ice demanded from behind her. “Shit, Holly, what happened?”
She shook her head and wiped her face. “Nothing.”
“Then why are you crying?”
“Because of you,” Evan said harshly. “Her boss just fired her because she tried to protect you. What the fuck were you thinking, traipsing around in front of a trail cam?” He crossed his arms and stared at the other shifter. “How are you gonna fix this, Ice?”
“I’m gonna talk to Arnold,” Ice growled. “Where is he?”
Evan silently pointed at the conference room.
“Ice, no!” Holly protested.
But her new boyfriend was already striding away.
Chapter Sixteen – High Stakes
“Arnold, you asshole,” Ice snarled, shoving open the conference room door hard enough to dent the wall with the doorknob. “She wasn’t gonna tell anyone!”
Beckworth glanced up from the papers spread out on the table before him. “Then why did she have that footage on an IDFG laptop?” His lips thinned. “That was you in the video, Peters, wasn’t it?”
“Yeah, and she deleted it,” Ice protested. “I checked and wiped the trail cams myself. And she’s promised she won’t tell anyone about shifters.”
“I can’t take that chance,” Beckworth stated.
Ice eyed the other sabertooth shifter narrowly. “What did Holly say when you told her you’d seen the video?”
Beckworth waved his hand dismissively. “Oh, she tried to pass it off as a practical joke she created using a special effects software package.”
“See?” Ice demanded, feeling vindicated. “She’s letting you fire her because she’s trying to protect my secret. She thinks you’re an Ordinary. I didn’t tell her you were one of us.” He blew out a frustrated breath. “She’s my mate. And doesn’t this prove that you can trust her?”
“I disagree,” Beckworth said coldly. “One, you were stupid enough to walk in front of her trail cams in your cat shape, forcing me to do damage control. Two, that video was on our department cloud where anyone could view it, Peters! I deleted it, but God only knows who else viewed it or downloaded a copy before I got to it.”
He shuffled his papers together in a stack and slipped them into a folder.
“You can’t do this, Arnold. You can’t ruin my mate’s life!” Ice growled, low in his throat.
Without meeting Ice’s gaze, Arnold said, “I’m sorry, but I have to protect our secret. And right now, the only way is to make sure is to destroy Holly’s credibility in the scientific community. That way, even if the video shows up on Mythtrust News or another fringe website, no one will take it seriously.”
“No. No way! There has to be another option,” Ice protested. “Holly shouldn’t have to pay the price for my fuck-up.”
“There are no other options,” Beckworth stated. “The pride can’t risk our secret going public.”
Ice gritted his teeth. But he didn’t have a choice. His mate needed him to fight for her.
He slammed both hands down on the conference table. Leaning forward, his gaze never leaving Beckworth, Ice spoke the words he never thought he’d say again.
“Arnold Beckworth, I challenge you to a duel for Holly’s job and her reputation. If I win, she gets to keep working here, and you won’t do anything to hurt her, either personally or professionally.”
Beckworth bared his teeth in a humorless smile. “Challenge accepted, Peters. And if I win, you and your mate must leave the Cougar Creek Ranch forever. And I’ll make sure that Holly Garland never works for a reputable scientific organization again. Meet me tomorrow noon in front of the ranch house.”
“Consider your ass kicked, Beckworth,” Ice snarled.
