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.”
Not good enough. Tao curved his hand around her nape. “I know you can take care of yourself, and I know that keeping you close might make you feel suffocated. I don’t want to make you feel that way, but I have to know you’re safe. Just give me this.”
Deliberating on it, she poked her tongue into the inside of her cheek. “Okay. I’ll wait outside the office, where I’ll call Ruby. She’s not going to let me in the room while Lucy’s vulnerable anyway.”
Tao kissed her again. “I can live with that.”
An hour later Hugh escorted Tao into Sage’s spacious mahogany office. It was very old-fashioned, with antique bookcases, a double-pedestal desk, and a vintage leather office chair.
Instead of leaving, the Beta leaned against the window at the right of Sage’s desk—a supportive move. Tao came to a halt in the center of the room, standing solidly and at the ready. The Alpha sat at his desk chair before him, looking tired.
“Tao, I can guess why you’re here,” said Sage with a weary sigh. “I can assure you that my attention is focused on finding out who shot at Riley and my daughter. Hugh and I will be interviewing each member of the flock today—not accusing them of anything, simply asking questions that may help. I am ruling no one out at this point.”
“Good, but I didn’t come here to ask how you plan to deal with this.”
“Oh?”
“I’ve come to notify you that my Alphas are sending some wolves here. They’ll arrive sometime tomorrow.” Tao noticed Hugh stiffen in his peripheral vision.
Fingers digging into the arms of the chair, Sage pushed to his feet. “Now hold on a damn minute. If you want to bring outsiders here, you ask permission.”
“The only permission I’ll ever seek is that of my Alphas. They’re the only people I’ll ever answer to.” Though, truth be told, Trey would have snorted at that comment and claimed that Tao was too single-minded to answer to anyone but himself. According to Trey it was one of the reasons he’d named Tao Head Enforcer. The Alpha didn’t want blind obedience, he wanted people who were decisive and wouldn’t fold under the weight of Trey’s dominance.
Face reddening, Sage said, “This is my territory and my flock.”
“Let me ask you a question. Do you have a single suspect?”
Sage averted his eyes. “No.”
“That’s a lie,” said Tao. “You know who it could be, but you don’t want to believe any of your flock could possibly be responsible. It’s understandable. It also gives you too many blind spots. Outsiders won’t have that problem. They’ll be able to look at the matter objectively. You’ll benefit from having them here.”
Hugh pushed away from the window. “He could be right, Sage.”
“I don’t need the help of outsiders,” Sage insisted, Alpha energy radiating from him.
Tao stood tall and strong against the dominant vibes. He didn’t fold under Trey’s and he wouldn’t fold under Sage’s, so the Alpha raven needn’t think he’d make Tao submit to his wishes. “You can guarantee Riley’s safety? Really?” Doubt was heavy in every syllable.
“I know you’re worried for her,” said Sage, “but it doesn’t give you leave to show such disrespect.”
Clearly the Alpha was mistaking Tao for someone who gave a shit about the feelings of anyone outside his pack. “This isn’t about respect, so set aside your ego’s need for it for just a minute. I’m not questioning how long your proverbial dick is. None of that is important to me. Riley’s important to me. Her safety is my priority and, considering you believe her to be one of your flock, it should be yours too.”
“She is part of my flock. You’re not the only one who cares for her. I want this person caught too. They shot my daughter. If it hadn’t been for Max, she might well be dead. Knowing someone from the flock could be the shooter . . . it’s hard.”
“So let my pack mates onto your territory tomorrow without playing any dominance games,” said Tao. “They can help. Someone seems to believe they have a valid reason for hurting both Riley and your daughter. I want to know who that is. Don’t you?”
“Yes, I do.” Sage picked up his tumbler and chugged down what looked like whiskey. “All right, your pack mates can come here. But let’s get one thing clear: they can talk to my flock and question them, but they don’t detain anyone—they don’t take over this matter.”
“They don’t want to; they just want Riley safe. I’d appreciate it if you could ask your ravens to cooperate when we come asking questions.”
“I’ll tell them.”
Satisfied, Tao turned and left the office. Riley was waiting on the burgundy leather sofa outside, ankle twirling in a gesture of impatience.
She stood with a smile. “Everything okay?”
“Fine. Come on.” Hand in hand they made their way through the building, passing various ravens along the way—all of whom looked shaken. Finding out that one of your flock mates was going around shooting fellow ravens would have a way of doing that to a person, he supposed. “How’s Lucy doing?”
“Better, thankfully. She’s awake, but she’s drowsy and weak.”
“Why don’t avian shifters like being around others when they’re injured?”
She shrugged. “I never really thought about it before. It’s instinctive. We’ll only tolerate people around us who we trust when we’re vulnerable. Ethan only tolerated your presence when he was injured because he’d rather that I was guarded.”
“Wolves like having pack mates around when they’re injured.”
“Yeah, but your breed is much more tactile than ravens.”
He inclined his head. “I guess that’s true.” Outside, Tao noticed Sawyer at the fringe of the woods, having a fairly animated conversation with a red-faced Duncan. Duncan’s body language was defensive while Sawyer appeared completely at ease. “I’ve been meaning to ask you. Why did you break up with Sawyer?”
“It wasn’t really anything to do with him as a person,” said Riley. “People thought I’d make a good Beta female, so they liked the idea of us together and hoped it was more serious than it truly was. Sawyer doesn’t want a mate, because he doesn’t want to share power when he ascends to Beta, but Hugh told me that makes him uncomfortable handing over the reins. He feels that he personally is a more effective Beta because he has his mate, Dana, supporting him, so he’d prefer it if Sawyer was mated.”
“And Hugh was hoping you would be that mate.” Tao’s wolf snarled at the idea.
“Yeah, so I ended the fling to nip all that in the bud.”
“The flock should have known better than to think you’d ever be Beta female—you wouldn’t like that position.”
He was right, but Riley asked, “What makes you think I wouldn’t have been happy as Beta female?”
He snorted. “You’re a nonconformist, Riley; enforcing rules and regulations would have gone against your nature. Besides, positions of authority don’t impress you, so your heart wouldn’t have been in it. Being a Beta is demanding work. Unless you love it, you can’t be productive at it. The role of Guardian would suit you better.” A Guardian watched over the young within a pack. “I told Taryn as much, and she agreed. She’ll probably offer you the position when you finally give her official acceptance of the offer to join the pack.” He frowned at her odd expression. “What?”
“I don’t like how well you see me.”
“I know you don’t, baby. Isn’t it better that I see you?” He smiled at her “not really” look and rubbed his nose against hers. “Don’t worry so much about it.”
“I cannot believe you.”
At the new voice, Riley turned sharply to find Cynthia striding toward her, with Shirley close behind. “Problem?”
“My sister is shot because you led a madman here, and instead of taking responsibility for that, you’re trying to pin the blame on someone from the flock?” clipped Cynthia.
“Not true, but I can see why you’d want to believe that,” said Riley. “I mean, if someone really is finishing what Wade started, you’re on their list.” Riley wasn’t ruling out Cynthia as a suspect, actually, but she decided to keep that part to herself.
Hands curling, Cynthia said, “There is no ‘list.’ This has nothing to do with Wade or what happened four years ago.”
Riley cocked her head. “I don’t think you really believe that. I also don’t really care what you think, though, so why don’t we both just walk away?”
“If it were up to me, you’d be walking all the way off this territory. You brought this trouble here; you need to lead it back to where it came from.”
“Everything was fine here until you showed up,” Shirley piped up. “Now everyone’s eyeing each other with suspicion.” She looked at Tao. “If you want my opinion, your Alphas should think twice before giving Riley a place in your pack. Some people are just poison.”
Tao glared at her. “That’s the thing: I don’t want your opinion. I’m clueless as to why you think I would.”
Protectively, Cynthia ushered Shirley to stand behind her. “Don’t bother, Shirley. Let him find out for himself what trouble he’s accepted into his pack.” Looking down her nose at Riley, Cynthia shook her head in contempt. “It should amaze me that you thought you’d get away with manipulating the flock into believing one of its own is a killer. But then, you got away with manipulating Wade into—”
Riley snapped her hand around Cynthia’s throat and dragged the bitch to her. “Finish that sentence, I fucking dare you.”
Eyes wide and nostrils flaring, Cynthia just stared at her.
Riley’s raven wanted to peck her fucking eye out. “You know, Cynthia, there are no guys standing around with their pants down, so I can’t help but ask myself why the fuck you keep opening your mouth.”
Sawyer shouldered his way through the crowd that was beginning to form. “What the hell is going on here?”
“She has Cynthia by the throat,” said Shirley, sounding a little shrill. “You’re an enforcer. Aren’t you going to do anything?”
Riley tensed. Not because she feared Sawyer, but because the laugh that came out of Tao was a dark, menacing sound that made the little hairs on her arms and nape stand on end.
“Touch her,” Tao said to Sawyer, “and I’ll kill you.”
Sawyer sifted a hand through his hair. “Riley, stand down.”
Ignoring him, Riley kept her attention on Cynthia. “You can submit or you can fight me here and now—either works fine for me. Honestly, I’d prefer the fight. I’ve got a lot of anger to burn off.”
Cynthia’s eyes fairly glowed with hatred, so it came as a sincere shock when the female then looked down in a gesture of submission.
Riley shoved her away. “I guess I can’t blame you for backing down. I wouldn’t want to get my ass kicked in front of my male either.”
Stroking her throat soothingly, Cynthia bared her teeth. “Don’t you have an off button or something? By the way, some guy from the village down the road just called; apparently their idiot’s gone missing.”
“Aw, bet you thought up that insult while Sawyer was using a map to find your G-spot. Am I right?”
Sawyer planted himself between them and snapped, “Enough.” He sighed. “Riley, why don’t you and the wolf go see your uncles or something? Cynthia, I thought you wanted to see your dad.”
Shirley glared at him. “She’s trying to make the flock believe one of us is a killer and you’re doing nothing?”
“Stop trying to stir the pot, Shirley,” said Sawyer. “You’re a grown woman. Act like one.” He turned his back on her and, with one last look at Riley, stalked away. The crowd then gradually dispersed, whispering among themselves.
Head held high, Riley crossed to the rental car and hopped into the passenger seat. She and Tao had agreed that since the route to the main cabin provided no real cover, they would use the car to get there. She was glad of it now, because she needed to get away from Cynthia and Shirley fast or she’d seriously let loose on the shit-stirring bitches.
What bothered her more was that the flock had just stood around, watching the drama unfold—no support, no speaking to Sawyer in her defense, no nothing. Not that she needed anyone to defend her, but dammit, they were supposed to be her flock. The Phoenix wolves would never have stood by while allegations were thrown at her feet. If nothing else, they’d have been at her back in a gesture of unspoken support. And she had to face that the Phoenix Pack felt more like home than the Exodus Flock did.
Neither she nor Tao said a word as he drove them back to the cabin. Inside he surprised her by shoving the coffee table and sofa close to the wall, creating a large space. He then turned to face her and invited, “Hit me.”
She blinked. “What?”
“Hit me,” Tao repeated, sensing just how on edge she was. “You’re gonna snap if you don’t get it all out of you. Don’t worry; I can take a punch from an itty-bitty thing like—motherfucker.” He stroked his jaw, trying to ease the pain pounding through it thanks to the blow she’d just dealt him. “You weren’t supposed to be that enthusiastic about it.”
She shrugged, smiling sweetly. “Sorry.”
Yeah? She sure didn’t sound it. Giving her a little space, he planted his feet shoulder width apart. “Again.”
Tao really hadn’t expected her to come at him like a street fighter on crack, but Riley literally didn’t pull her punches. She was fast. Wicked fast, actually. Fluid too. Even fighting, she moved with grace. She knew every sensitive zone on a person’s body and she targeted every one of them with punches, kicks, and those razor-sharp talons.
Tao did his best to block each blow, but she was a sly little scrapper and had no problem fighting unfairly, so she clipped him a few times. She hadn’t once drawn blood, though—not even when she’d raked him with her talons. Still, he’d have some bruises for sure. And that made him and his wolf kind of proud.
Tao found himself smiling as he asked, “Who taught you to fight?”
“Ethan.”
He grunted as she caught him on the jaw yet again. “Damn. Why do ravens always go for the face?” Blocking yet another punch, he yanked her to him and locked his arms around her. “Feel better, baby?”
She puffed out a long breath. “I don’t feel like I’m going to explode anymore.”
“Good.” He stroked his jaw. “You punch like a guy. Let’s never do that again.”
“Okay.”
He nuzzled her. “As much as it pissed me off that Cynthia confronted you, I can’t deny it was pretty hot when you grabbed her by the throat. Part of me wanted to bend you over right then and fuck you raw.”
She smiled, melting into him. “You can do that after we shower . . . or maybe even while we shower.”
“Sounds fair.” Draping an arm over her shoulders, Tao guided her up the stairs.