Page 94 of Knotting With A Stranger

“Oh my God,” she gasps, one hand rising to cover her mouth. Then her gaze locks on me, traveling from the cut under my eye to the blood on my lip to the way I’m leaning against the counter for support. Her face pales so dramatically, I worry she might faint. “James! You’re bleeding!”

The genuine fear in her voice breaks through the haze of pain and anger.

Before I can reassure her, she’s darting across the room, all sleep-warm softness and concern. She stands in front of me, her expression of such genuine worry that something in my chest constricts painfully. She takes the ice pack from my hand, setting it aside to examine the cuts on my lip and under my eye with gentle fingers.

“I need clean water and disinfectant,” she says over her shoulder to Archer, who immediately moves to comply. Her fingers tremble slightly as they hover over my injuries, not quite touching, as if afraid to cause more pain. “What happened? Are you okay? Your poor face...”

“Break-in,” I tell her, catching her hand and giving it a reassuring squeeze. Her skin is warm, soft—baker’s hands with the strength to knead bread for hours. “Caught two guys in the house. We had a disagreement about them being here.” I try for a light tone, but my voice comes out gravelly, tight with contained rage.

Her eyes widen further, fear replacing concern as she glances around, as if expecting more intruders to materialize from the shadows. “Someone broke in? Here? With all of us sleeping upstairs? In the middle of nowhere during a snowstorm?”

“My cousin, Travis, and some other muscle,” Hunter growls, his fists clenched so tightly at his sides, his knuckles have gonewhite. He’s coiled tension from head to toe, a spring about to release with deadly force. “The fucking coward came during a storm, thinking we’d all be dead asleep. He’s wanted that map since before Grandpa was cold in his grave.”

“Travis?” Lily looks between us, bewildered, her brows drawing together in confusion. “The one you mentioned before? Your cousin?”

Hunter nods, jaw tight enough that I can hear his teeth grinding. “The same piece of shit who’s convinced the map is his birthright, that he was cheated out of hisproperinheritance.”

Lily’s hands are gentle as she cleans my face with the towel and antiseptic cream Archer brought, but I can feel them shaking against my skin. The antiseptic stings, but I welcome the sharp pain—it clears my head and focuses my thoughts.

“I can’t believe they broke in for the map,” she says, her voice higher than normal with disbelief.

“People do anything for wealth,” Archer adds from where he’s leaning against the doorframe. His normally perfect hair is disheveled from sleep and the dash outside, giving him a wilder look than usual. “Money makes monsters of men. They could have killed you, James. If you hadn’t heard them...”

He doesn’t finish the thought. He doesn’t need to. We all know what could have happened if I hadn’t been awake, if Thor hadn’t alerted me.

“Travis is going to be sorry real soon. And Thor helped level the playing field.”

Lily’s hands pause on my face, her golden eyes searching mine. “Are you really okay?” she asks softly, the question clearly meant just for me despite our audience.

“I’ve had worse,” I tell her, which isn’t exactly the reassurance she’s looking for, judging by her frown. I try again. “I’ll be fine. Nothing broken, just bruised.”

Her attention shifts to the malamute, who stays close to her. “Oh, Thor! Are you hurt too, baby?” She reaches down to stroke his head, and he leans into her touch with a soft whine.

“He’s okay,” I tell her. “He’s fine.”

“We need to go now,” Hunter says. “The storm’s cleared—perfect tracking conditions. If we move fast, we can catch them.”

“I’m joining you,” I state.

“Wait, go?” Lily’s head snaps up, her gaze darting between Hunter and me. “Go where? After them? Are you insane?”

“Are you sure that’s a good idea?” Archer adds, his voice carefully neutral, but his eyes are sharp with concern. “No, better to just turn up at their place. They aren’t going to get far.”

One of Lily’s hands rests on my chest, as if to hold me in place. “James, you’re hurt. You might have a concussion. Maybe you should rest, let the authorities handle this.”

Her concern is touching, but it can’t penetrate the white-hot rage building inside me. The thought of Travis escaping after what he’s done—after endangering everyone in this cabin—is unbearable.

“Fuck that,” I growl, surprising myself with the vehemence in my voice. “They attacked me, threatened Thor, put all of us in danger—including you. I’m getting my fucking revenge.” My hands curl into fists at my sides, knuckles already bruised from connecting with Travis and his buddy’s faces.

“Those bastards broke into our home while you were sleeping upstairs. What if they’d gone up there instead of down here? What if they’d found you?”

The thought sends a fresh surge of murderous rage through me. The idea of Travis anywhere near Lily makes my blood boil and turns my vision red around the edges. My protective instincts—something I didn’t even realize I possessed until recently—roar to life.

“James...” Lily begins, but I can see in her eyes that she understands. She doesn’t like it, but she gets it.

“We’ve got the snowmobile in the back shed,” Hunter says, already moving toward the stairs. “We’ll take it, and I’ll drive. Let’s get dressed and leave now!”

“You have a snowmobile?” Lily asks, clearly trying to keep up with how quickly events are unfolding. “Could have used that to get home.”

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