Page 83 of Searching for Valor

As they filed out of the waiting room, Rylan caught Izzy’s hand and gave it a gentle squeeze. “I should head out. I’ll call you later, okay?”

She nodded, her chest tightening at the thought of him leaving. If Noah’s account of events was accurate, then not only did someone try to kill Rylan, but they’d held him captive for two days and interrogated him. She knew a drunken fall couldn’t have put all of those bruises on him. She’d known it, but everyone else believed he had fallen so far off the wagon that he’d intentionally hurt himself, and she’d gone along with it, afraid to cause waves.

But she was done with that. She was done with worrying about whether people liked her or trusted her. The people who mattered did, and that was all the approval she needed.

And she was done making herself small out of guilt for a choice that she would absolutely make again.

From now on, when her gut told her something was not right, she was making waves. Hell, she would be a fucking tsunami.

She touched the fading black eye. “Please be careful.”

Rylan’s eyes softened. He leaned in, pressing a gentle kiss to her forehead. “I will. You too, okay? Stay alert.”

Izzy watched him go, anxiety churning in her gut. She wanted to go with him, to have his back. But Noah needed her here. And her family...

She turned back to find them all watching her with varying degrees of curiosity and concern.

“So...” Sofia said, breaking the silence, and looped an arm through Izzy’s. She waggled her eyebrows suggestively. “That’s Rylan, huh?”

Izzy rolled her eyes but couldn’t suppress a small smile. “Yes, that’s Rylan.”

“Sis, you were not lying when you told me about him this summer. He’s even hotter in person. Those shoulders! And that jawline?—“

“Body like that, I bet he’s excellent in bed,” Abuela said, earning a horrified “Mamá!” from her son.

Abuela tsked, shaking a finger at Javier, chiding him like he was still just a boy instead of a nearly sixty-year-old man. “What? You think because I’m old and a widow, I can’t still appreciate sex? How do you think you got here, niño? It wasn’t immaculate conception, I’ll tell you that.”

“Ugh,” Diego said and made exaggerated gagging noises that earned him a smack across the back of his head from Mateo, even though Mateo looked just as disgusted.

Izzy laughed and looped her other arm through her grandmother’s. “I’m really glad you’re all here.”

“Where else would we be?” Abuela asked and squeezed her arm.“La familia es lo primero.”

“And Noah is family in all ways but blood,” Mamá added. “Now, let’s go take care of our boy.”

La familia es lo primero.

Family comes first.

It had been their family mantra for as long as she could remember. It was both comforting and suffocating at times.But right now, with everything falling apart around her, it was exactly what she needed.

chapter

twenty-nine

Since Sawyerprobably wasn’t at work yet, Rylan took time to stop at home before heading to RWCR. Valor was quite disgruntled at not only being left out of the bedroom all night, but also abandoned this morning without his breakfast, and he made sure Rylan knew all about it.

“Yeah, yeah, I know. I’m the worst dog dad ever,” Rylan grumbled, kneeling down to scratch behind Valor’s ears. The dog huffed, turning his head away dramatically. “Oh, come on. Don’t be like that.”

Valor trotted over to the kitchen, picked up his empty bowl, and threw it. When that didn’t get the reaction he wanted, he stared at Rylan with intense brown eyes and stomped a paw.

“Okay, drama queen. You’re hungry. I get it.” He picked up the bowl and fumbled the huge bag of kibble out of the pantry.

As he poured the kibble, Valor’s tail began to wag, his earlier indignation forgotten at the promise of food.

“There you go, buddy. Eat up,” Rylan said, setting the bowl down. Valor dove in, crunching away happily.

Rylan watched him for a moment, then headed to the bathroom for a quick shower. As the hot water cascaded over him, he wished Izzy were here with him, hot and soapy, gaspinghis name as he worked her with his hands and mouth against the tile wall?—

---