While the Alpha female repeated the process, her mate sidled up to Tao and patted him on the back. “You okay?”
“No, I’m not fucking okay,” clipped Tao. “If that knife had hit an artery or stabbed—”
“It didn’t.”
“Nothing can happen to her, Trey.”
“Nothing did. Look, she’s fine now.”
A little shaky on her legs, Taryn got to her feet. “I need water and chocolate.”
“Any excuse for chocolate,” teased Trey, supporting her weight.
“I’ll get it!” Lydia volunteered before disappearing out of the room.
Tao pulled Riley to her feet and held her close. She was still trembling, but it was no longer from shock. It was from rage. He tightened his hold on her, rocking her from side to side.
Dominic folded his arms. “So, wait, someone tried to kidnap Dexter?”
“One minute he was clinging to Trey, the next he was gone,” said Tao.
“Clinging to Trey?” Dominic rubbed his jaw. “Do you think that maybe they thought he was Kye? I mean, they could have been thinking Taryn would be more likely to cooperate if they had her pup.”
Taryn shook her head. “Everyone knows shifters are protective of all members in their pack. Ramón will have known that I wouldn’t let any kid die for me.”
“What I don’t understand is why he won’t just approach another healer,” said Trick.
Trey narrowed his eyes. “Maybe he did. Rhett, check to see if any well-known, powerful healers have died recently.”
Their resident hacker got out his iPhone, presumably to search recent news articles.
Tao gratefully took one of the bottles of water that Lydia brought in from the kitchen and unscrewed the lid. “Here, drink this.”
Riley took a sip, still silently seething, so he gently rubbed her back.
“I’ll kill him,” Tao rumbled.
“Don’t go hunting Ramón,” Trey ordered. “I mean it, Tao. While we’re here, he can’t get to us. As much as I hate not being proactive, I refuse to put Taryn in a situation where she has to choose between her own life and that of someone from our pack.”
“Are we assuming that Ramón backed off so we’d slacken our security?” asked Gabe.
“I think it’s possible that he did back off for a while,” said Rhett. “Three healers in California died recently—one was a cougar, one was a bear, and the other was a fox. They all had brain hemorrhages.”
Tao turned to Taryn. “Could that happen to a healer if they burned out their gift?”
The Alpha female shrugged. “Probably, I don’t know. But it seems odd that three would die that way.”
Makenna leaned into Ryan. “The guy is obviously convinced you’re the one who can help his brother.”
“But I can’t,” said Taryn.
“People like him don’t accept ‘I can’t,’” said Ryan. “They’re used to having everything their way and to having people follow their orders without question.”
Taryn threw up her hands. “Surely watching three healers die would make him think that hey, shifters can’t heal diseases after all.”
“Maybe he’s just not prepared to give up on his brother and he’s willing to exhaust every possible option,” said Rhett. “In a way, you’re like an experimental drug to Ramón, I guess. From his perspective, he has nothing to lose.”
Trey squeezed his mate’s shoulder. “He’ll try again.”
Rubbing at her forehead, Taryn sighed. “Trouble seems to be coming at us from all sides, and it’s pissing me off.”
Taking Riley’s empty bottle from her, Tao said, “Come on, baby, you need to rest.”
Riley frowned. “I need to see Dexter.”
“He’s probably still sleeping,” Tao pointed out.
“I need to see Dexter.”
He held up his hands, sensing that this was a fight he wouldn’t win and that she was very close to freaking out. “I’ll take you.” With a hand at her back, he led her to the infirmary. Inside, Dexter was lying on a cot while Grace, Hope, and the other kids looked on. The cub’s eyelids were fluttering and he made a mewling sound.
Grace smiled at Riley. “I was just about to call for you. Your name was the first thing he said when he woke up. He’s not very alert, but he’s all right.”
Riley kissed his head. “Hey, little man.” Her raven wanted to tuck him under her wing. “You okay?”
“Tired,” he whispered, as if he didn’t have the strength to talk. “Balloon.”
Tao blinked, surprised. “You’re right, we forgot the balloon.”
Riley smoothed the hair off his forehead. “We’ll get you one next time.”
The cub let out a little purr and closed his eyes. In mere seconds he was asleep again.
“I don’t think he remembers anything,” said Tao.
Grace fixed the coverlet. “It’s not uncommon with some tranquilizers. I’ll keep watch over him, Riley. You go rest.”
“But—”
“You’re wearing a blanket and you have blood on you,” Grace pointed out. “Go on, he’s fine. Scoot.”
After she’d given the other kids a quick kiss on the cheek, Tao led her out of the infirmary and to their bedroom, locking the door behind them.
Pacing, Tao shoved a hand through his hair and squeezed his eyes shut. “When I saw that bastard dragging Dexter away, I swear my heart stopped. And then he pulled out the knife . . . I’ve never been so fucking scared in my life.” Opening his eyes, he froze. Her stare was blank, her chin was tucked into her chest, and her stance was completely closed off. “Oh hell no.” Advancing on her, he growled. “You don’t get to beat yourself up about this. It was not your fault.”
She swallowed, her rage and shame palpable. “I should have been watching him.”
“You were. We all were.”
“They couldn’t have taken him if I’d been watching.” Riley inhaled deeply, knowing she was close to snapping. She didn’t want Tao to feel the brutal edge of her anger, not when he hadn’t done anything to deserve it. If he was there, she’d take it out on him. “I need to be alone for a little while.” It wasn’t a request.
He growled again. “Don’t you fucking dare. Don’t you pull away from me.”
“I’m not.”
“I can see you doing it. When you’re hurting, you shut down. You retreat and pull away.” Tao wouldn’t allow that. “Talk to me.”
She flexed her fingers. “I just want a little time alone. What’s so bad about that?”
“Would you leave me alone while I was hurting?”
“This isn’t about me! It’s about a two-year-old cub who’s already been through enough!”
“And you’re hurting for him, but you’re also blaming yourself. It. Was. Not. Your. Fault. You hear me?”
“I need some air.” She whirled toward the balcony, but a hand snapped around her arm and spun her back to face Tao. Anger shot through her veins, making her extremities tingle. “Don’t you fucking manhandle me.”
“I didn’t hurt you, I never would, but I’m not letting you go. I won’t allow you to punish yourself, Riley. That’s what you’ll do if I let go. You’ll shift and fly all over the fucking land until you’ve overexerted yourself.”