Page 131 of Piece You Saved

I stare at him.

He stares back.

I should want to tear into him for his refusal to back down. I don’t. My wolf—and I—see his strength and respect it.

He’s a lone wolf, yet he didn’t just survive. He thrived. That couldn’t have been easy. I know because Kade, Aden, and I lived that life. The difference is we had each other to pull ourselves out of it.

He’s a survivor. Like me, Kade, Aden, and Saige. Saige has pulled us together, and I can’t help but think that’s the reason I’m so accepting of him.

I look at Harley and I think of what my pack might need when I’m gone because I can’t control myself, and likely never will. Yet Rylan needs to die on that bridge.

The next time Saige forgets to close her door, I could kill her, and I wouldn’t know it until I shifted back to my human form covered in her blood. I don’t remember everything that happened last night. But I remember her terror-stricken face.

And her scream…

Rylan needs to die.That’sthe priority.

Maybe the best thing would be if we took each other out.

“I need you to watch her. Aden will stay in the car if I order him to, but Kade will want to stick by Saige as well.” I wait for the next round of gunfire from the garden to halt before I continue. “And I need you to not take your eye off her for a second.”

If I can shift and get to Rylan before he can harm Sam, I can end things on my own. It’ll mean exposing myself, but maybe that’s what needs to happen. Maybe it’s the best thing that can happen.

Harley’s gaze sharpens. “You sound like you have a plan.”

“Don’t provoke Kade on the way.” I continue. “Not on the bridge and not after.”

“After?” He arches a brow. “Why does it feel like you’re planning something you don’t want to tell me?”

That’s because I am.

“You and Kade have something big in common. Saige. Protect her. That’s what it means to have a pack, in case you didn’t know,” I explain. “Someone always has your back, and you always have theirs. No matter what. It’s home, family, and security. She isn’t going back to him.”

Steely determination hardens his blue-green eyes. “What will you be doing while we’re protecting Saige?”

Ending things the way I should have back when Kade set Rylan’s plot of land on fire.

“Finishing what I started. And Harley?” I refocus on the map, trying to figure out where he might stop, and how I can get to him before he kills Sam.

“What?”

“Stop provoking Kade. Aden has accepted you. So has my wolf. Keep pushing Kade, and he never will. Do you understand?”

I might not be around to hold you together.

Silence.

Harley clears his throat. “I do.”

I nod and point at one section of the map. “Good. Now this part of the bridge. If I was Rylan, this is where I would park. What do you think?”

CHAPTER 35

SAIGE

Ican’t be the only one who blinked and the sky was suddenly a deep bruise color.

A cold wind comes out of nowhere to whip me in the face as Dariel appears at the back door to say, “It’s time.”

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