Page 79 of They Will Fall

I’m setting the platter on the counter when I feel a hand on my shoulder. “Can we talk?” I turn around to see Temper with her mouth curved in a frown.

“Sure,” I tell her as I wipe my hands on a kitchen towel. I set it down beside the mashed potatoes and take a deep breath. “What do you wanna talk about?”

“I’ll give you girls some privacy,” Mrs. Crane says before she dips out of the room.

Temper’s shoulders slump in defeat. “I owe you an apology, Riley. I’m so sorry.”

“Really?” My eyes perk up. “For what, exactly? Hiding me then disappearing, or telling a serial killer where he could find me?”

“All of the above.” She shrugs with a half-smile on her face, reminding me so much of Ridge, I might actually hit him just because it makes it that much easier to trust her again.

“Listen, Temper,” I say with a bout of grace in my tone. “I’m really fucking pissed at you for what you did. But, I love Ridge so much and I’m so happy he’s got a sister. It’s literally the best thing that’s happened to him.”

“Not really,” she says, and I squint at her in confusion. “The best thing that’s happened to him is you, silly.”

“Okay.” I chuckle. “Now you’re just kissing my ass.”

“Maybe.” She shrugs. “Or maybe I’m telling the truth. My intuition about people is pretty spot on and I knew the minute I saw you in those woods that you were one of the good ones.”

“You obviously don’t know me, or my boyfriends.”

The corner of her mouth lifts up in a crooked smile. “I don’t. But I hope to get to know all of you. So what d’ya say? Think you can ever forgive me?”

I roll my lips together, studying her. Wondering if I could truly ever trust this girl. Then, I remember the things I’ve done in the past and how I’d hate for my actions to be held against me. So I say, “I guess time will tell.”

“I can work with that. I swear I’m going to make it up to you, one way or another.”

"I actually know how you can start.”

“Do tell.”

“Don’t let your brother kill those three guys. They’re disgusting jerks, but Ridge doesn’t need any more blood on his hands. And those guys are going to learn the hard way that karma is a fucking bitch.”

“Ohhhh,” she drawls. “Don’t you worry about that. All three of those guys are about to get exactly what they deserve.”

“Is that so?” I tsk. “Is it safe to assume you have something to do with that?”

Temper waggles her brows with a mischievous grin on her face. “No one fucks with my friend Riley and gets away with it.”

“Oh, Temper.” I put an arm around her shoulders. “Something tells me we’re going to be good friends.”

“Well, yeah.” She huffs. “We’re practically sisters now.”

“Whoa now. Let’s not get ahead of ourselves.” We laugh in unison and I can already feel how close we are. I feel connected to my boys, but somehow with Temper, I feel like she’s the little sister I never had.

Ridge walks into the room wearing a smile. “Look at that. My sister and my girl becoming besties.”

“You shush.” I tease. “Baby steps.”

He curls his fingers at me, calling me over. “I’m gonna need you to baby step right over here because I’ve missed you.”

I drop my arm from Temper’s shoulders and eat up the space between Ridge and me. On my tiptoes, I press my lips to his. “I missed you, too.”

Lev and Maddox come into the kitchen and Maddox slithers up to my side. His mouth finds the crease of my neck. “Having fun without me?”

“Just talking,” I tell him, but the way the heat of his breath is riding down the V of my shirt makes me think I could certainly go for some fun.

Lev comes up behind me and his hands rest on my hips. “I think it’s time to say good night to Mrs. Crane and go back to our apartment.”

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