Page 7 of Sasha's Wounded Wolf

“Lincoln was the one who found the remains of a device on the rear axle. He stayed behind while me and a few of the others got you out of there. It tossed the back end of that truck into the air, sending you guys into a flip. There was no way Patrick could have done anything about it. Lincoln suspected there was another placed on or near the gas tank to make it blow, but there was no way for us to verify that once the fire got done with it. Everyone we’ve talked to said there was no way the tank would have blown like it did without help. None of you were supposed to walk away from that, Ro. None of you.”

“None of us did,” I uttered.

“Yeah,” E agreed. “None of you did, and it fucking destroyed us. Then I found out about the attack on Sasha. Christ. Knowing she went over the falls. I searched. Lincoln searched. We knew you’d want answers when you woke up. When there was no sign of her. Damn, man. For a moment, I didn’t want you to wake up. Not to that news.”

“Don’t judge yourself for that,” I told him. “You were right. I didn’t want to wake up to that.”

“I keep thinking I failed you, Ro.”

“Stop.” I kept my voice hard, firm. We’d had this discussion before, too. “You saved my life. That’s who you are, E. You saved me. You stayed by my side, and you’ve never once allowed me to feel sorry for myself.”

“That’s what brother’s do,” he muttered, and we grabbed palms, leaning in until our foreheads pressed together. “From first breath to last.”

“From first breath to last,” I repeated, a phrase that hit on a deeper level now that we’d lost Patrick and Josh. “We’ve got this, E.”

“We do,” he agreed as we moved apart. He glanced toward the kitchen. “One of us should go after Lincoln.”

He said that, but we both knew Easton would be the one to go. I had no intention of making my presence known. Not yet. Not until I was ready. As much as the ghosts in the house were getting to me, I wasn’t leaving it any time soon. I’d already given up on the idea of going to the meeting between Easton and Bastion. There was no way I’d be able to keep myself hidden. Especially if Raina was there, which I expected. My sister would never let Easton and Lincoln meet with her mate without her there. Hell, I hoped they were both prepared for the bomb that would be my sister’s temper.

Tomorrow night, everything would change again when they all met. When Easton and Lincoln let Bastion and Raina know someone had intentionally attacked me. None of the wolves with me had ever spoken of what they’d found that day. Other than us, no one else knew there was even a hint of foul play in the accident. Except for the men who’d tampered with the truck, and none of them would ever speak again. One had been dead before we got to him. The other two hadn’t known who’d hired them. Or at least, they hadn’t confessed anything before their deaths. Those we’d suspected had played a part in the attack on Sasha had already been dispatched. There was no question in my mind as to who’d done that. Nico. Then he’d gone off grid.

Both Easton and Lincoln had tried to reach Nico while I was still in a coma. They’d been desperate for information on Sasha. Hell, they’d wanted to have her there with me, thinking she might be the only person who could pull me from the depths of the hell I’d fallen into. They’d exhausted every contact available, but no one had known where Nico was. Everyone had assumed he’d gone into seclusion to mourn his sister. Even Easton and Lincoln. I knew better. I knew how close Nico and Sasha were. Twin wolves. Their bond was rare and unique even among shifters. Nico would have known immediately when Sasha was attacked. He would have felt it. Every moment of the attack.

He would have gotten to her as quickly as possible then gone hunting for those responsible. How long would it have taken him to get word of my accident? To learn I’d died. Fairly soon, I believed. He’d ditched both his and Sasha’s phones and disappeared. Taken her somewhere I couldn’t find them. I was grateful even as being without her destroyed me in ways the fire hadn’t.

“Lincoln went to look around. Check out some of the old haunts. Get a lay of the land since we’ve been gone,” Easton said as he walked back in.

“Am I doing the right thing?” I asked as I stood in front of the photographs Lincoln had hanging on the wall. Pictures of his parents. He and his sister. Of the five of us, laughing and mugging for the camera.

“It’s too late to back out now, Ro. The meeting is set for tomorrow.”

“That’s not what I’m talking about. I mean hiding.”

Easton paused on his way to the recliners, head jerking as he turned to stare at me.

“In the beginning, yes. You were injured. There was too much unknown.”

“There’s still stuff we don’t know,” I couldn’t help reminding him.

“True,” he agreed with a nod. “But you’re not knocking at death’s door anymore. You’re here. Stronger than ever. So, if you’re hinting you’re ready to let Bastion and Raina know you survived, if you’re ready to let everyone know you’re back, then yes. Hell, yes! We’re home, Ro. Let’s stay.”

“You want to join the James Pack?”

Easton snorted a laugh. “Not in this lifetime. I’m Rigton ‘til I die.”

“There’s no more Rigton pack, E. I keep telling you that.”

“And I keep telling you that you’re delusional. As long as you live and breathe, the Rigton Pack survives. In you. In those of us who have never left your side,” Easton argued then held up his finger as his phone rang. “It’s Lincoln.”

“Hey,” he answered while I turned back to the pictures on the wall. “What? Where? How long ago?”

At the change in tone, I whipped back around, understanding something big had happened.

“I’ll tell him. Head back as soon as you can.”

Easton stared at me in complete silence.

“What is it?” I demanded when I couldn’t take it any longer. “Did something happen with Raina?”

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