“Suma left that part out when he approached you, didn’t he?” Conner held up his hand to stay the execution. They were all in place. The leopard was young and impressionable. And stupid. He’d looked up to the wrong leopard. “Suma led an attack on Carpio’s village. They killed several people in the attack and kidnapped children to force Adan into opening up drug routes. Suma betrayed our kind to an outsider and he also murdered a female leopard. Is that the kind of man you want to work for?”

Isabeau’s swift indrawn breath was audible. The leopard nearly let go of her, retracting his claws in his shock. “That’s not true.”

“Isabeau is going to walk toward me and you’re going to let her. You’re surrounded with no way out. Keep looking at me,” Conner commanded when the young leopard started to turn. “I’m the one who is going to decide whether you live or die, not anyone else. What you do right now is going to be a life or death decision.”

“How can I trust you?”

“No matter what, I’m going to teach you a lesson,” Conner said. “You don’t get to walk away free when you made my mate bleed. As for trusting me, you’ll have to decide what you want to take a chance on. You touch her again, I give you my word, you’re a dead man.”

Conner never took his gaze from that of the young leopard’s. He knew the man could see the truth in his eyes. He knew he could see his raging leopard, the demand to kill. The young man sniffed and caught the scent of the others surrounding him. He swallowed and stepped back away from Isabeau, raising his hands slightly.

“They really killed a female leopard? You’re certain?”

“She was my mother,” Conner said. “I’m certain.”

Isabeau gasped, and made a small sound of distress.

The young man paled. “I didn’t know. There’s no mistake?”

“Suma works for and recruits for Imelda Cortez. She’s head of the largest drug cartel in the region and she’s directly responsible for the murder of the tribes and destruction of our forest,” Conner continued. “That’s who he revealed our people to and that’s the man you were working for.”

The leopard swallowed and held his hands out away from his body, raised his head to expose his throat. “Carry out the sentence then. Ignorance is not a defense.”

Chapter 6

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