The Alpha's Rogue ✔️

29 | Honest Work - Part 2

2958 words

"Huh. So stealing money is just so normal for you. Right. How could I forget?" she waved a hand airily, before shaking her head in frustration. "You rogues disturb me."

"We weren't only stealing money from rich and dirty crimelords."

She didn't know what to say to his blunt statement. Was he waiting for her to grow curious and ask what he meant? Biting her tongue, she refused to take the bait and instead focused on a dull star far above them.

"But just so you know," Zion continued when he couldn't take her silence any longer. Savannah smiled to herself. "That brothel we raided was owned by one of the clients of BrightFuture. That's the type of men we take from; those who see no value in lives, and have no care beyond what they can gain from any situation. They steal souls, ruining the dignity that every human deserves."

"I know there are monsters everywhere. I like to kill them before lunch, but I don't let innocents get in the way. Innocents like those other clients you stole from who might just be wanting to make an honest living so they can look after their families."

"Sometimes we can't help who gets caught in the crossfire. If it was your family on the line, would you let a chance at revenge slip through your fingers just so someone else doesn't get hurt?" Zion turned to her, a serious light in his eyes, his jaw clenching dangerously.

"Revenge?" her eyes widened.

He immediately looked away and pursed his lips, clearing realising he'd said more than he intended.

"Wait! You can't drop that on me without an explanation," Savannah reached and clutched his arm firmly. Sparks sizzled between them, but she stuffed the warm feeling aside and focused on Zion's hesitant expression.

"When Bastien tried to kill me, he muttered something about me being the biggest bounty he would collect so far."

"That's understandable. You're at the top of the council's most wanted list. Everyone knows you'd bring in the highest reward."

"But it wasn't the council who paid for the kill."

"What do you mean?" Savannah felt her stomach twist at the way his voice turned sour. The dark expression in his eyes told more than she guessed his words would. But when he started speaking, her heart kicked up its speed, racing to keep up.

"After I killed Bastien, I went to his territory. He'd bragged about having half the reward in his account already. He was so sure of taking me down," Zion's jaw clenched, a faint flutter in the muscle though he tried hard to disguise it.

Savannah felt her heart stumble at the significance of how deeply he was pained by something. She wanted desperately to know exactly what it was that hurt him so much.

"Sure enough, I found records of a money transfer in his office account books."

"You searched his office?" Savannah spluttered, then pressed her lips shut when he looked at her sharply. Realising she probably didn't want to know how he so casually found himself in an Alpha's office, she didn't interrupt anymore.

"The money was transferred from an offshore account in Catalya, then sent through an account in one of BrightFuture's clients before being wired to Bastien."

That piece of information fell deep in her mind. "That's not surprising. A lot of the council own investment properties on the Islands. They like to holiday there in total luxury at least three times a year. One of them could have paid Alpha Bastien from any one of their accounts—"

"It wasn't the council, Savannah! Aren't you listening? They didn't kill...." he paused, took a deep breath, and filled the silence with a weary sigh. "It wasn't them who were after me. I know all their fake account names and aliases. It was someone else who wanted me dead. Bastien was just a greedy sucker who got carried away with their promises. They underestimated me, but I made sure they never would again."