Page 71 of The Scout

There was a beat of silence, then Sasha exhaled sharply. “Wait—what?”

“Yeah, it’s bad.” My fingers curled around the phone. “Sasha, you have to promise me you won’t tell anyone.”

“Of course,” she said immediately. “But Izzy, have you—have you gone to the police?”

I bit my lip. That was the logical response, the normal response. But this wasn’t a normal situation, and I had no doubt that Ryker and his team wouldn’t wantthe authorities involved. “No,” I admitted. “And I don’t think I should.”

“Izzy,” Sasha hissed. “What the hell do you mean, you don’t think you should?”

I exhaled, my grip on the phone tightening. “I can’t explain everything, but … Ryker and the guys he works with, they’re handling it. I don’t know. I don’t think they want the police involved.”

She let out a humorless laugh. “Right. Of course, they don’t. Because that’s not suspicious at all.”

I ran a hand through my hair. “Sash, I swear to you, I’m safe. I just—I don’t know what to do.”

Sasha sighed. “God, Izzy. This is insane.”

“I know.”

She was quiet for a moment, then her tone softened. “I’m worried about you. Not just because of Will, but because of … everything. You’ve been different.”

Different. That word struck something deep inside me, because it was true.

Sasha exhaled. “Are you still sleeping with him?”

I startled slightly at the sudden shift in conversation. “What?”

“Ryker,” she said, like it should be obvious. “Are you still hooking up?”

I swallowed, heat creeping up my spine. “Yes.”

Sasha let out a groan. “Oh, my God.”

I bit my lip, half-exasperated, half-amused. “What?”

“You have no idea how insane that is,” she said. “Like … the most dangerous man in Charleston just happens to be the guy you’re screwing.”

I laughed, shaking my head. “I mean … yeah.”

Sasha huffed. “Well, is it still good?”

A fresh wave of heat rolled through me, pooling lowin my stomach as memories from the pool, the bedroom, the shower slammed into me all at once.

“Oh, it’s good,” I murmured.

Sasha made a strangled noise. “How good?”

I pressed my thighs together, my body betraying me at just the thought of Ryker’s hands on me. “Like … I can’t even think about anyone else good. Like I’ve never had sex like this in my life good. Like I didn’t even know my body could feel this way good.”

“Jesus Christ.”

“I know.”

Sasha let out a long sigh. “I need you to find me a man like that.”

I smirked. “There are others at Dominion Hall. Ryker’s brothers.”

“Are they single?”

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