The Awakening: Britton (Entangled Covet) (26 page)

would almost certainly lead to a complete mental snap and a cushy padded cell to call home.

…

Val sat behind her desk at SPAC, absently staring at a case file she’d opened twenty minutes earlier.

Concentration hadn’t been her forte since Britton had left her heartbroken and stunned two days ago. Not

that it was his fault. She knew that.

After the elevator had taken him away, she’d made herself get up and walk. And she’d been making

herself keep moving ever since. But it hadn’t been easy.

The image of Britton’s torn expression, the sorrow as his face had contorted in disgust, shattered her

heart over and over again, causing her such intolerable inner pain she was pretty much worthless to anyone.

She couldn’t eat, sleep, or even hold a conversation, her mind in such a haze of grief that the only

thought consuming her was “this was not how it was supposed to end.” She and Britton were supposed to

have a future together.

As she tried to make sense of it all, her anger at the High Council had grown and grown, becoming a

raging mass of fury, until she believed she would go mad. A need for vengeance had started to take root—a

dangerous emotion she struggled to keep a lid on. She’d seen firsthand what grief and revenge could make

a person resort to. There must be a better way to fix this.

She just needed to wait until her emotions didn’t control her, and she could think clearly.

A movement at the door had her turning her head. Her heart squeezed as Britton stepped into the room.

His magnificent blue eyes immediately locked with hers, and they stared at each other. She soaked in the

regret and ignored the ugly sneer that curled his beautiful lips.

Her own emotions were unbearable, but what he was going through had to be a thousand times worse.

How did he handle knowing he loved her, but feeling nothing but hatred when he saw her? She

couldn’t even wrap her mind around the notion, let alone living it, day in and day out.

She let her love show, refusing to hide it. One of her biggest regrets was not fully accepting she loved

Britton until his face had twisted into the ugly sneer and she’d felt her soul shatter. More than anything she

wished she’d been able to say those three words when he could still have taken her in his arms, grinned,

and kissed her. At least he knew, though.

Even with him sneering at her now, love expanded her chest. Because that wasn’t her Britton. The

hateful mask twisting his handsome face couldn’t hide the softness of his eyes…the sadness, the longing.

The love.

That was
her
Britton. And she focused on that man.

He might think telling her to forget him would be the end of them, but it wasn’t. Not by a long shot.

She’d find a way to release him from this. If not, sixteen years from now, she’d be waiting. Grayer and with

more wrinkles, but he was
her
future.

As she held his gaze, she communicated all of that to him.

A sheen moistened his eyes at the same time a shudder racked over his body. He glanced away, a

muscle tensing in cheek, then he turned and left.

She felt empty. Alone.

It had been like this for two endless, anguish-filled days. She knew it would be easier on him if he just

pretended she no longer existed. But each day, at least twice a day, he stepped inside her department, stood

on the far end of the room, and searched her out.

She didn’t know why he put himself through the torture. She rubbed her forehead. No, she knew.

Because she felt the same way. He just had to see her. Even if it hurt to do so.

She battled with her own need to see him. But she refused to search him out, refused to cause him

undue pain. She’d let him do it on his terms, in a way he could cope. Not cornering him and making his

feelings worse.

With a painful sigh, she picked up her pen and tried to make out the words on the file. It was nothing

but a big blur.

“What do you think is up with Brit?” The hushed words were spoken a little distance from her desk.

At the mention of his name, her head snapped up and she spied Raquel talking with another SPAC

agent, Tammy.

“I know, right?” Tammy said. “Ever since he got back from his medical leave, he’s just been…off.

Almost like he’s depressed, which is so unlike him.”

“Olivia said she went up to him as soon as he returned, and he brushed her off. He canceled their date

last Friday night, too. I haven’t seen him flirting with anyone else, either. It’s just weird.”

“You don’t think he’s met someone, do you?”

“Confirmed bachelor Townsend? No way. But he is walking around looking like someone kicked his

puppy.”

Val turned back to the file, blocking out their conversation.

Yeah, he
had
met someone. He’d fallen in love. And had his heart broken. All in the space of a week.

Even though the idea of Britton flirting with another woman hurt her, she was still stunned by how

much their time together had changed him. He was no longer Britton Townsend the player. He was a shell

of the man he once was. For better…and for worse.

As the fury she’d struggled to keep restrained exploded into rage, she flung her pen on her desk. No

longer fighting the all-consuming anger, she allowed it to embrace her, control her. Shoving back her chair,

she shot to her feet.

Emotions be damned. It was time to confront the High Council.

…

“He saved a
child
! Twice! How can you not acknowledge his invaluable service?” Val demanded,

sweeping her gaze down the long wooden table so she pinned every member of the council with her

question.

Harwood steepled his fingers on the table. “What Detective Townsend did on this case does not excuse

the fact that four years ago he broke one of our very strictest laws. He shifted while in the presence of an

unmarked human. That is an extremely serious offense.”

“But he wasn’t even in the room with that child when he shifted, and the other humans didn’t see him,

either. The law says ‘in the presence.’ There was no one present! Where is the harm?”

Harwood’s face contorted in irritation. “The harm, Detective Calhoun, is that he took an oath and he

broke that oath when he made the decision to allow his beast out in a densely populated human area.

Anything could have happened.”

“But it
didn’t
. Technically he did
not
break the law. You could show him some leniency.”

“We did,” the councilman said through clenched teeth. “He’s not in Kerker.”

She knew going in this wouldn’t be easy. But the stone wall who was Harwood was really starting to

piss her off. Inhaling, she collected herself. The “saving two kids” defense hadn’t worked. Time to pull out

the big guns—the truth…about her.

“Do any of you realize that without Detective Townsend, I would have failed on the very first day of

Charlie’s kidnapping case? I’m not even talking about the blanket fiasco, which had already convinced you

the case was above my abilities and was why you brought him in to begin with.”

“I don’t see—”

She cut him off. “The kidnappers
knew
my limitations. They had set decoys to throw me off. Detective

Townsend was the one who pinpointed the five suspects’ scents.
He
was the one who was able to tell they

had split up. He was the one who saved
my
life after I made a dumb decision, which also put
his
life at risk.

And he’s the one who single-handedly kept the entire shifter community from being exposed. Him. Not me.

Detective Townsend
. I didn’t do shit on this case, Councilmen, other than follow his lead. Trust me, SPAC

would be far better off having Britton Townsend back at the helm.”

Dispute
that
, asshole.

“Detective, we are well aware of Officer Townsend’s abilities. But you have been a valuable asset and

exemplary leader to the SPAC department for almost four years. One case outside your specific expertise

doesn’t make you any less valuable to us. In fact, you bring to the job a certain reliability that’s impossible

with a shifter. As a woman of our species, you do not have a beast, and therefore, we have no worries of

you shifting at inappropriate times. And yet, you have a powerful ability, more so than most shifters. Please

do not take your temporary demotion on this case as a slight. The High Council depends on you.”

Holy hell, he’d disputed it. Desperation gripped her insides. She beat it back. Getting personal with the

council wouldn’t help matters. If anything, it would cheapen every point she’d just made, because she

would then be arguing on Britton’s behalf as a distraught mate and not a respected partner. Either way,

pleas stemming from emotions would fall on deaf ears. They’d put a mother in Kerker for nothing more

than protecting her child. Why would they care if a convicted criminal couldn’t be with his mate?

As she stared at the ten faces she’d served for almost ten years, disappointment filled her all the way to

the marrow. “There is no way to change your mind?” she asked tightly.

“I’m sorry, Detective,” Harwood said. “But the law is the law.”

“Very well. In that case”—she approached the table, unholstered her gun, unhooked her badge, and laid

both in front of Harwood—“I quit.”

Seeder slammed his fist against the table and glared at him. “That does it! Now we’ve lost
two
of the

best SPAC agents we’ve ever had because of your mulish stubbornness. Happy?”

Pensively ignoring Seeder’s outburst, Harwood studied her. It was the first time she’d seen any emotion

from the man other than resolve. “You would really quit over this?”

She tilted up her chin. “I’ve worked within SPAC for ten years. My father is a retired SPAC agent. My

brothers all work for SPAC. I grew up respecting this council and everything it stands for. We protect our

species. The day you personally flew out to Jersey and offered me the head SPAC position here in North

Carolina was one of the proudest days of my life. My family was so honored. But, you know what,

Councilman? I had to arrest a hysterical mother, and helped sentence her to life in prison, for nothing more

than wanting to be with her child.” When the councilman opened his mouth, she held up her hand. “Yes,

she broke shifter law, but her punishment was
excessive
.”

When Harwood opened his mouth again, she waved her hand sharply, stopping him once more. “I’m

not finished. Instead of finding a way for the parents to be able to stay with their child so they didn’t resort

to hiding their children, instead of finding a way for you all to work together, a
compromise,
you
used

Samantha Mills to make a political statement. Because of that decision,
you
put the entire shifter community

at risk.
You
. And now, a good man has once again been stripped of the very abilities that were needed to

save the community
you
put in danger. Why was he punished in the first place? Because he saved an

innocent little girl from a life of hell. And now
he’s
living one. Damn. That’s one despicable criminal who

deserved the book thrown at him, Councilman.” By now, her anger, disgust, and mockery rang clear in her

voice. “I’m not proud of being a SPAC agent anymore, sir. I’m
ashamed
. And I cannot in good conscience

work for an organization that does bad things to good people.”

Deafening silence followed her speech.

At length, Harwood said, “I’m simply upholding our laws, Detective.”

A hard smile came to her lips. “I believe I just quit. So it’s plain old Val now.” She turned to go, then

turned back for one more turn of the knife. “Just a piece of advice, Councilmen. The humans…they have

this thing called amendments. Keeps a lot of people happy.” She whirled, stalked to the door, and whipped

it open. Before she shut it behind her she looked back, and was filled with satisfaction at the stunned faces

staring after. “Welcome to the twenty-first century, assholes,” she muttered.

Chapter Thirteen

As the phone rang in his ear, Britton squeezed his eyes closed, preparing himself for the coming jolt.

“This is Val. Please leave a message.”

The moment her sweet voice sounded, revulsion stole his ability to speak. Opening his mouth, he tried

to push words past the vise around his throat, but couldn’t get anything out but a pathetic squeak.

Disgusted, he yanked the phone from his ear, hit end, and had to refrain from hurling the device against the

wall. Next time maybe he’d try recording a message in advance on his smartphone, then playing the

recording into her machine when it beeped. Jeez. This was ridiculous. Next he’d be reduced to writing

actual letters. Who did that anymore? But desperate times called for desperate measures. And he truly was

desperate.

He hadn’t seen Val in five days. Why? Because the crazy woman had quit her damn job.