Page 98 of Piece You Saved

Dariel slams the glass on the table.

It explodes.

Fragments of glass shower over us. It’s a miracle none of it gets in our eyes. Mostly, it seems to settle in Dariel’s thick dark hair, sparkling under the bright overhead lights.

His eyes flicker from wolf to man. I’m too furious to do the smart thing and run. I’m not going anywhere without that phone because I refuse to do anything else.

“That’s why you can’t go after him. I know what he’s capable of and I can’t let that happen to Sam.” I lean toward him. “And it will. If you believe nothing else, believe that I knowexactlywhat he’s capable of.”

Sitting back, he scrubs a hand over his hair, dislodging some of those sparkling bits of glass, and sighs. “This isn’t a good idea.”

“I’m the only one he will listen to.” I lay my hand flat, palm side up. “For Sam’s sake, give me the phone.”

He stares at me.

Silence reigns for five full seconds.

I release a quiet sigh of relief when he lowers his attention to the phone, stabs one digit, and slides the ringing phone across the table. As I pick it up and hold it to my ear, I will myself to be brave, to be strong, and to be fearless. If I want Sam to survive this, I need to be all that and more.

Rylan answers on the fifth ring, and he sounds like he’s smiling. “I was wondering when you’d call back.”

His smooth, cultured voice rips me from the present to the past when I spent hours yanking on my chain, hoping to break it. Worse, they remind me of the nights he sent me to Nathan. I force my panic away.

“I’ll meet you, but you can’t put one finger on Sam.”

Rylan pauses, and I feel his surprise. And then his pleasure when he purrs, “Saige. Even better. I’ve longed to hear my mate’s voice.”

Out of the corner of my eye, Kade wraps one palm around the whiskey bottleneck. Is he imagining it’s Rylan’s throat?

“I’mnotyour mate.” The denial slips out even though I try to stop it. Antagonizing him when he has Sam’s life in his hands isn’t a good idea. But he’s not my mate. The only connection we have with each other is hate. That’s all.

Rylan laughs, and the rumbling sound makes my teeth ache. You’d never know the Hounds had wiped out most of his pack. “I’ve missed your sweet denials. And I’ve missed you in my bed.”

The past whips into me.

I’m in his bed. We’re not fucking. He’s a wolf, and he has his teeth in my throat as I shriek out my pain while Nathan holds me still.

I forget how to breathe.

Harley touches his knee with mine. It’s a brief moment of contact, but it helps me focus.

Helps return me to the present.

“You won’t miss me for long.” I meet Dariel’s eyes. “Unless you do anything to Sam.”

Dariel straightens in his seat as if he knows—or has guessed—exactly what’s coming. I tighten my grip on the phone in case he tries to take it away before I can deliver my message.

“And what might I do to the lovely Sam?” Footsteps echo down the phone line. He’s crossing the room. But where is he? Is he in an empty room? It sounds like he might be. “She really is quite beautiful. Nothing like you, though, Saige. I think I might enjoy her for a short time.”

A woman whimpers.

I squeeze my eyes shut, swallow my need to cry, and reach for my rage. It’s more useful to me than letting panic win out like it wants to.

And then I peel my eyes open, sit up, and meet Dariel’s rage-filled stare. “If you touch her, if you have anyone else put their hands on her, you willneversee me again.”

“Wherever you go, I’ll find you,” Rylan croons. “You know I will.”

I force myself to hold my nerve, to keep on holding my nerve. I keep my breathing slow and steady because I cannot panic now. It’s drowning me, but I can’t let him hear my fear. Sam’s life is at stake.

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