During their talk with the Alphas, she and Camden had each heard the other’s tale of what occurred when they were apart. As such, she knew all about how Julius implicated Grant. Just the same, Camden knew all about Grant’s visit and her short fight with Wayland.
Aspen propped her chin on his chest. “I wasn’t scared of Wayland.” She’d only been scared that his plan would work.
“I still hate that I wasn’t with you.”
“I don’t. The only thing that stopped him from shooting me was that you weren’t there to see it happen.” She stroked her fingers over his throat. “Mostly, you’re just kind of bummed that you didn’t get to pay him back for the awful shit he did.”
“Yeah, I am. He died too fast, too easy.”
“Agreed. But I didn’t have the luxury of dragging it out. You, however, did get to have some fun with your opponent. Well, it was your tiger really. But I’m betting you egged him on and made all kinds of callous suggestions.”
“You guessed right.”
She nibbled on her lower lip. “Do you think Gustavo wrote the letters he gave Julius?”
Camden toyed with the ends of his mate’s hair, loving how silky soft it was. “Maybe.” If so, the man had channeled Esme well, because the things that were written in the letters were exactly the sort of things she had and would have said. “I’ll call Sheridan tomorrow and tell him what I know. He’ll get to the bottom of it and deal with Gustavo.”
It was unlikely that Gustavo would be executed. To kill him would probably also cause his mate’s death. Plus, he might have manipulated Julius, but he hadn’t forced the man’s hand. Julius had gone after Camden because he chose to. No one could punish Gustavo for the actions of another, only for his own part in what occurred. He’d most likely be imprisoned temporarily—one of the worst punishments for their kind. No shifter breeds did well with being confined, but tigers found it torturous.
Camden had considered claiming the right to punish the male tiger, but that would mean venturing to his old territory to visit Gustavo in his prison. Camden didn’t want to be drawn back there. He didn’t want to take any more steps into his past. He’d rather concentrate on his present and his future.
Plus, Camden couldn’t guarantee he wouldn’t slit Gustavo’s throat for the mere pleasure of it—that could start a war between the two prides. Gustavo wasn’t worth that.
Aspen let out a long breath. “Poor Judith. No wonder she left. It was either betray her mate to Sheridan, or leave said mate altogether.”
Camden sank his hand into her hair and lightly scratched at a particular part of her scalp, watching as her eyes went heavy-lidded. He called it her happy spot, but never aloud. He’d rather keep his eyes exactly where they were. “I’d never betray you, no matter what you did.”
“Right back at you, so I can’t even be mad at her for not telling Sheridan about Gustavo and Julius.”
“I can, and I am. It makes me a hypocrite, yeah, but whatever. Judith could have at least given someone an anonymous heads-up of what she’d discovered. If she had, today might have gone very differently.”
“To be fair, though, she didn’t know that we thought someone other than Julius was guilty of the crimes. You never told her pride about Wayland. She would have believed we were already well-aware of the danger your uncle presented. The only thing she thought she was hiding was her mate’s involvement.”
“Yeah, well, someone had better make him pay. He aimed Julius at me like the man was a damn weapon, and Gustavo wanted said weapon to shoot to kill.”
“Seems like it wasn’t only Judith who saw you as a last link to Dirk. Gustavo did, too. He wanted to sever it. In that respect, I guess karma came for her. She spent many years doing sly shit to Esme and enjoyed trying to come between your parents. Now something’s come between Judith and her mate.”
As Camden once again brushed his thumb over the spot where the gun had jabbed her temple, Aspen turned her face into his hand and kissed his palm. “It took serious effort to act unconscious when all I wanted to do was snap Julius’s neck. The guy had no business walking the Earth. He was one sick puppy for sure. Nothing like you. Why that dark look? Surely you don’t think you’re anything like that messed up motherfucker.”
“I know I’m not like him. But if I lost you, I think that’s exactly who I would become. Not a person who’d assault women, but a person who’d no longer give a fuck about right and wrong. A person who wouldn’t care about the lives he ruined. The potential to be like that is in me.”