Tao would have ranted and railed at her until he got his way, but the sight of her—pale, confused, hands shaking with suppressed anger—made his heart soften. And not a lot could do that, because he was a hard bastard. “Ethan and Lucy would agree that this isn’t a place you should be right now.”
“Has it occurred to you that you’re wrong and it was the human? That he shot Lucy to scare us into leaving so we’ll be easier to grab?”
Actually, he hadn’t thought of that. It annoyed him that he couldn’t deny it was a possible scenario.
“Either way, Tao, I’m not leaving.”
“Why? What can you do here? You’re not an enforcer. Let the people responsible for the safety of the flock handle this—that’s their job.”
“Oh, and they’ve done a great job of that so far, haven’t they?” she mocked.
“You can’t find this bastard alone—”
“So help me.” Her voice cracked. She never asked anyone for anything, which was why Tao seemed taken aback by the request. It wasn’t that she was too proud to seek help, rather she liked relying on herself. But this . . . this was different. “I was a mess after the shootings, Tao. I don’t do well with grief, I’m not strong when faced with it.”
The self-condemnation in her voice pissed him off. “That’s not weak, Riley. Of course you find death hard to cope with—it must trigger memories and dredge up all the pain you felt when you lost your parents.”
“You think it was bad the other day when I disappeared in my ‘zone’?” Riley shook her head. “That was nothing compared to how I was after that party.”
“Do you think I’d judge you for that? Hell, you might not have watched all those people get shot at the party, but you were there and you heard it. That would leave anyone a mess.”
“It wasn’t just the victims I was grieving, though, Tao. I was grieving the friend I lost, and I couldn’t even be seen doing it because he’d taken all those lives. It was so hard to watch people hate Wade, to watch them forget that he’d been a victim of their kids all his life. I’m not saying those kids deserved to die. They didn’t, not by any means. But how was it fair that everyone so easily overlooked just how much pain Wade must have been in to get in that state?
“What made it worse was that I didn’t even have the space to grieve because Shirley was harassing me, blaming me for what he did. But Ethan, Max, and Lucy were there for me. They talked with me about the old Wade, looked through his pictures with me, and helped me grieve the person I once knew. They didn’t judge me or try to make me feel bad for grieving a killer. Without them I wouldn’t have coped. I really wouldn’t have. They were there for me when I needed help, so I’ll be damned if I’ll walk away from this and—”
Tao grabbed her nape and pulled her to him, wrapping an arm around her. “Shh,” he soothed, rubbing her back. He wanted to argue with her, talk her into changing her mind, but the pain in her eyes and voice absolutely gutted him. He kissed her temple. “I’ll make you a deal. We’ll stay and we’ll try to find out who did it, but if somebody tries to hurt you again in the meantime, Riley, we go. That’s the deal.”
“And if I don’t agree to go until I’ve made the bastard pay?”
“I’ll shoot you myself and haul your ass home where you’re safe.”
Um, no, he wouldn’t, thought Riley. She wouldn’t be going anywhere until this shit was over, but she decided to keep that to herself. She needed his help. Tao had a sharp mind and a keen eye; he was tireless when in pursuit of something. “Deal.”
She just had to hope she didn’t have to back out of that deal.
CHAPTER TEN
Tao woke to a very pretty view. Riley was sprawled over him in bed, her gorgeous hair fanned out all over his chest. Instantly he remembered last night. Remembered calming her as best he could, remembered taking her to bed and just holding her, remembered waking up at two in the morning to find her trying to edge out of the bed. Tao had coaxed her back to him, talked to her for hours about Lucy, about how close they’d been since childhood. Then he’d taken her soft and slow, drawing the whole thing out for as long as he could. Afterward he’d rolled onto his back, still inside her, and they’d both pretty much crashed.
He didn’t want to wake her—God knew she didn’t get enough sleep as it was—but he had an important call to make. He carefully rolled her onto the bed and slipped out from under the covers. She muttered something into the pillow as her face scrunched up adorably. His chest sort of . . . clenched. He frowned, not sure he liked the sensation.
Grabbing his phone from the nightstand, he made his way into the bathroom and called Trey. Predictably, the Alphas didn’t take the latest news too well.
As Taryn ranted in the background, Trey spoke to Tao. “Ramón denied having anything to do with Riley being shot at, but I didn’t believe him.”
“Why would you? He’s a prick who does tons of illegal shit for a living—not exactly a person whose word means anything.”
“I’m going to send some wolves to you. You need people there you can trust and who can help you work out what the hell happened.”
Tao couldn’t agree more.
“They’ll arrive sometime tomorrow. In the meantime, don’t let Riley go far from your side.”
“Don’t worry; I have no intention of doing that.” Even though her instincts would probably balk at it, especially since she was a dominant female.
“Be on high alert. Suspect everyone.”
Tao smiled. “The latter is pretty automatic for me.”
Ending the call, he did his business and then returned to the bedroom to find Riley gone. After tugging on some jeans, he followed the sounds coming from the kitchen and found her stirring two coffees, wearing nothing but one of his shirts. He came up behind her and snaked his arms around her waist. “Morning,” he said, kissing her neck.
She tilted her head to give him better access. “Morning. You called Trey,” she guessed.
“I did.” Tao turned her to face him and dropped a kiss on her mouth. “He’s sending reinforcements. We need people here we can trust to help us figure out what’s going on.”
“Sounds good.”
He grabbed his coffee off the counter and took a sip. “I need to let Sage know that more wolves will be showing up tomorrow. Before you assure me that you’ll be fine here, know that you’re coming with me. There’s no way I’m leaving you here alone. Huff and stamp your feet if you want—I don’t mind watching your tits jiggle.”
She folded her arms. “I actually wasn’t going to object. I’m not stupid, Tao. Someone means me harm. If I die, I don’t get revenge.”
He sighed. “Only a raven would care more about revenge than their own life.”
“I’ll go speak with Ruby and see how Lucy is doing while you talk with Sage.”
Tao narrowed his eyes. “I don’t like the idea of you out of my sight.”
She rolled her eyes. “I’ll be in the same building as you.”