Page 24 of Knot Her Cowboys
“I’ve got to shower,” I told Riley. “I’ll be back in a bit.”
I didn’t want to leave her, but it couldn’t be helped.
“Wait,” she said as I stood up. “Can’t you just shower here? I can’t see you while you’re in the stall. I’ll close my eyes for you to get in and out.”
I exchanged a look with my packmates before focusing back onto Riley. “You’re sure?”
She covered both eyes with her hands. “I need all hands on deck for figuring out how to deal with my alphas, but I don’t want you to get hypothermia.”
I slipped out of my clothes and into the shower, the hot spray chasing away the chill.
“What the fuck do I do?” she lamented. “They’re going to be so mad they got kicked out, and somehow it’ll bemyfault for making them come here to begin with.”
“Hey,” said Cash, “just a wild out-of-left-field question, but why are you with these guys to begin with?”
Riley fell silent.
I flipped off the water, eager to be part of the conversation, so I yanked a towel around my waist and stepped out to find her staring down at the water and offering only a small shrug in answer.
Cash looked like he was caught between shaking her like a snow globe and climbing into the tub to cuddle her. “Riles, that’s a fucked-up response for being in a relationship. Do you even like them? Do they likeyou? ’Cause it sure as shit doesn’t seem like it.”
“I—” She pressed her lips tightly together to stop the barely perceptible tremble. “Bruce has never been that mad before, and Bryan?—”
“Barely defended you at all,” Cash snapped.
Riley’s lip wobbled. “It used to be better.”
“Okay, let’s all take a breath.” I slid down to the floor next to the tub, accepting a second towel from Dakota to wrap over my shoulders. “The most important question is if Riley feels safe with her alphas.”
“Do you?” Dakota asked.
“Yes?” Riley tapped the surface of the water with her fingertips. “Mostly. When they’re in their element, they’re very steady and things are fine.”
“Conditional safety isn’t exactly ideal,” I pointed out. “Bruce was one of the most hostile guests we’ve had in a long time, and Bryan didn’t help the situation.”
“If it makes you feel any better, he’s never hit anyone before that I’m aware of, and that’s the first time his temper has been directed at me.”
“Itdoesn’tmake me feel better, actually, and I’ll tell you why.” My heart squeezed when she lifted her dark brown eyesto meet mine. “A first time usually leads to a second. You get treated like that once and don’t bring down the hammer, and it leaves you open to be treated like that again. I’m not going to say there were probably signs before it got to this point, but I would like you to sit back and consider. Look at your memories through this new lens and see if you can recognize a buildup.”
“Do I have to do that right this second?”
“No, your recovery is more important, but you’re planning on moving to another country with these men, so the sooner you do it the better.”
Riley shifted, crossing her arms over the edge of the tub so she could lean her cheek on them and look at me. “Do you want to tell me why you’re bringing all this up to a stranger?”
“My sister went through something very similar. Her pack started off sweet and charming, little pushes here and there to test her boundaries, picking apart her dreams, isolating her from the community, until it was too late for anyone to help her. She passed away about three years ago, in a car accident in South Dakota. We only found out she was trying to run from them when my dad realized he missed a voice message from her.”
Riley’s arms were around me in the next moment. “I’m sorry.”
I curled my fingers over her wrist, letting the sweetness of her lupine scent steady me. “I didn’t recognize the signs fast enough to help her, but I’m trying to say something to people when I see it happening now, no matter how awkward. I don’t know if it helps, but I know for damn sure being quiet fixes nothing.”
“You threw yourself into a whole river to save me when my own fiancés didn’t even get off their horses to help. I don’t necessarily like thinking about the fact that things could get worse, but I promise I won’t bury my head in the sand about it.”She relaxed against me, far more comfortable than I’d expected her to be. “I haven’t said thank you for that yet, have I?”
“Might’ve gotten skipped over.”
She hugged me tighter and planted a loud kiss on my cheek. “Thank you for saving me.”
“You’re more than welcome.”
