Page 73 of They Will Fall

I squeeze his hand, wanting to play on his joke, but this really isn’t a joking matter. “It was a girl. Her name is Temper.”

“Okayyy.” He drags out the word like he’s confused. “So what’s the big deal? Sorry,” he corrects himself, “small deal.”

“This girl helped me out of a sticky situation and agreed to let me hide out in her dorm. Once I got there, we started talking, and it turns out she lost her dad, too.”

“Lots of people lose a parent or two, Angel. What are you getting at?”

I inhale sharply, speaking on the exhale. “Her dad’s last name was Foster.”

Ridge’s eyebrows pinch together and he pulls his hand off my leg. “And she’s a member?”

“Well, yeah. She attends BCA. She said her dad was a member and now he’s not. She just learned of him a couple years ago.”

“There are no other Fosters that are Blue Bloods. Our lineage was short. My ancestors are all deceased. It’s just me and my dad. Well, now it’s just me. That’s impossible.”

“Do you think…”

“Do I think she could be a relative? Fuck. I don’t know.” He runs his hand through his hair. A mix of excitement and dread pooling in his features.

“Before you get too excited, there’s more. And I don’t want this to hinder your idea of her because if she is your sister, or a relative at all, I want you to reach out to her. But, she’s the one who gave me up to Maddox’s dad. She told him where I was in exchange for a ride to BCU…so she could find you.”

“So she’s a fucking rat?” He swerves the car a bit, jerking toward me, and I brace myself against the side of the car.

“Well, no. She was just trying—” He swerves back into his lane and my heart skips a beat.

“Don’t defend her.” His voice rises. “In fact, don’t even say another thing about her.” Ridge grips the steering wheel tighter, all the blood draining from his knuckles. “Fuck her. Anyone who hurts you is worthless in my book.”

I run my hand down his arm, happy that he’s so protective over me, but also a bit concerned that he doesn’t care to know more about the girl who might be his sister. This could be the only living family member Ridge has left. I don’t want to be the reason he misses out.

“She was really sweet,” I tell him, hoping to change his mind. “Funny, too. And like I said, she helped me out of a sticky situation. She scared off the guys I ran into.”

“You mentioned those guys. And I still haven’t gotten names.”

I don’t dare delve into detail about what happened with those bastards. If I told Ridge the extent of what those guys did to me, he’d be whipping this car around and adding names to his list of victims before we’ve even fully dealt with the issue at hand. I believe karma will give them exactly what they deserve, so I’ll keep the details to a minimum.

“I don’t know their names. Buuuut, I know someone who does.”

“That Temper chick?”

“Uh-huh.”

“Is this your way of trying to get me to talk to her?”

“Maybe.” I raise my shoulder, trying to play it off with a shrug.

“Well, it’s working. I’m gonna find out who those guys were and make sure they know they don’t fuck with my girl.” His hand returns to my lap and I lace my fingers between his.

My heart flutters. I love it when he refers to me as his girl. And I’ll never admit it out loud, but I love knowing he would kill for me.

“I’m just saying, think about it. I’m willing to move past what she did, if you are. There could have just been a misunderstanding. Stanley is a manipulator, we don’t even know what he said to her.”

There’s a beat of silence before he asks, “Is she a junior or senior?”

“Must be a junior. She wasn’t there last year when I attended. Oh,” I blurt, “she goes by Temper Rose. Said it’s her mom’s maiden name. Just in case you decide to look her up or go find her.”

“We’ll see what the future brings. Right now, all I care about is getting you back to your room and keeping you safe.”

It’s not a no, so I can rest easy on that. I want this so badly for Ridge. And if by some chance she turns out not to be his sister—or a relative at all, for that matter—that’s okay. He’s still got me, Lev, and Maddox.

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