Page 46 of Perilous Healing

Then the doors open, and elegant orchestra music fills my ears. The aroma of food drifts toward us, filling my lungs and making my stomach churn. Food is the absolute last thing on my mind as we step off the elevator and into a ballroom that has been decorated with one long table, a dance floor, and an orchestra.

Guests mingle, most of them men and women I don’t recognize.

Until I see him. River Culvers stands just a few yards from us, dressed in a tuxedo, laughing alongside a smiling woman.

Every muscle in my body goes rigid, and my desire to rip him apart where he stands nearly obliterates all rational thought.

“We’re in,” Bianca says softly. I know it’s more for the team’s benefit than mine, but it grounds me.

“Good. Stick to the plan. Alert us of any changes,” Lance says.

River’s gaze finds mine and he smiles, an animalistic grin that’s branded in my nightmares for so long, I can no longer recall a time he didn’t haunt me.

“You okay?” Bianca asks, looking up at me.

I grunt, unsure I can trust what might come out of my mouth should I choose to speak at this moment.

River excuses himself and crosses toward us, the woman no longer on his arm. “Selena and Silas. What a beautiful couple you make.”

“No need to check us for weapons?” Bianca asks.

“You’re far too smart to bring one in here after I explicitly told you not to. But not to worry, should one appear at any point this evening, I have an entire team of people on standby just outside of your sleepy little coastal town.” His words are murderous, but his tone remains pleasant.Sadistic man.

“You hurt anyone, and you’ll suffer greatly,” Bianca tells him with a smile.

River’s own spreads. “I doubt that very much.” He turns to me. Standing about six inches shorter than me, he has to tilt his head to look up at me. “How have you been, Silas? I have to admit, I’ve missed our little chats.”

I growl.

His amusement is plain as day. “There’s the murderous SEAL I remember. How’s fatherhood treating you? Real shame about your sister.”

I lunge forward, but Bianca pulls me back. “Are we here so you can taunt Silas? Or is there a purpose to this? Because I can assure you, in a fight with no weapons, you still don’t stand a chance.”

River’s gaze doesn’t leave mine. “Last I remember, I did.”

“You had me chained,” I growl. “Let’s see if the outcome is the same while I’m free.”

River laughs. “You always amused me. More so now, though, I have to say.” He leans in. “You’ve never been free, Silas. I merely loosened the leash.” He turns to Bianca. “We’ll get to the reason soon enough. For now, though, I expect you to be pleasant to my guests, dance at least once, then join us for dinner. Once everyone is excused, we’ll move onto the business portion of this meeting.”

“Dance? You expect us to dance?” she asks.

River looks at her, then at me and grins. “I do. Both of you.”

“You do realize I just got shot, right?”

He looks annoyed. “You have one good arm. Make it work.”

“Why?”

“Because this is a party, Selena, and you need to act as such.” He looks past us and nods. “Excuse me for a moment.” Moving away from us, he heads over to greet a couple who just came in.

“This is—I don’t even know what this is,” she mutters.

“Sounds to me like you two should hit the dance floor,” Michael quips through the earpiece.

My stomach churns. I’m a good dancer. Great even, thanks to the lessons my mother forced me to take when I was young. But the idea of holding Bianca close, of breathing in her scent and feeling her body move with mine—how am I supposed to keep my head with her so near?

Is that his point? Does River somehow know what she means to me and he’s using her to distract me?

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