“We only drank Coke,” said Riley, wasting no time in grabbing pancakes from the pile at the center of the table. “How’s your head?”
Max shrugged one shoulder. “It’s been worse. It’s also been fucking better.”
Ethan pushed a glass of water toward him. “Drink more.”
Dutifully, Max took a sip and then turned to Tao. “Well, Tao, tell me about yourself. I know you’re a Head Enforcer and you’ve marked my Riley, but that’s pretty much it.”
Tao sliced into his pancake. “There’s not much worth knowing.”
“Did you grow up in the Phoenix Pack?” asked Max.
“No,” replied Tao. “My childhood pack split when I was about fourteen. Some of those that left formed a new pack, the Phoenix Pack.”
“I heard some stories about your Alpha, Trey,” said Max. “Heard his wolf turns feral during battles, and that your Alpha female was latent until she mated Trey.” Tao nodded in confirmation. “I also heard they’re both pretty crazy,” Max added.
After chewing his pancake, Tao said, “It’s a fairly common belief.” It was also true.
Max put down his glass. “How long have you been Head Enforcer?”
Riley exhaled heavily. “Max, will you stop? He’s not actually interrogating you, Tao, he’s just terribly curious.”
“What else do you expect from a raven?” Max smiled. “I suppose we could talk about you instead, sweetheart. I have some pictures here he might be interested to see.”
“Max . . . ,” she growled. But it was too late. Her uncle dug out his wallet and showed Tao his collection of her childhood photographs, some of which were too embarrassing for words.
Studying one of her on her fifth birthday, Tao said, “You look . . . sweet. I can’t imagine you ever being sweet.”
Ethan chuckled. “She was sweet when she wanted something.”
“And so damn cute and funny,” said Max. “Remember her second Christmas with us, Ethan?”
Max ignored Riley’s groan and turned to Tao. “We asked her to write a list of the things she wanted so we could post it to Santa. She came to us later and it read, ‘A new bear, a bike, a Minnie Mouse dress, and a pair of tits.’”
Tao burst out laughing.
“Turned out she was trying to spell ‘tights,’ but it was still freaking funny.”
Riley shook her head at Max. “I can’t believe you pulled that out of the vault.” He smiled, not the least bit repentant.
Hearing his cell phone chime, Tao fished it out of his pocket. He frowned as the words “Private Number” flashed on the screen. “I’ll be back in a sec.” Standing, he moved a few feet away as he answered. “Hello.”
“You let me down, Mr. Lukas.”
Tao stilled. Motherfucker. How the hell had Ramón Veloz gotten his number? “Excuse me?”
“I told you to impress the seriousness of my situation upon your Alphas. You failed me in that.” The reprimand was sharp and held a note of betrayal, as if Tao were one of his minions.
“No,” said Tao, “you failed to hear me when I told you that my Alpha can’t heal fatal diseases. Maybe there are other healers who—”
“Do you have important people in your life, Mr. Lukas?”
He had plenty of important people in his life, but he didn’t see what the fuck that had to do with anything.
“Sad as it may seem, my brother is really the only person in my life whom I consider important.” Funny, because Ramón didn’t sound as if he found him important. There was no emotion when he spoke of him. “He once saved my life. It’s something I wasn’t able to repay him for until now.”
“You don’t want him to die, I get that, but it doesn’t change that there’s nothing my Alpha female can do for him. You need to accept that.”
“Would you? If someone important to you were dying, would you accept it? What about that little raven I saw you with?”
He really had done his homework on the pack if he knew Riley wasn’t a wolf.
“If she were dying, if death threatened to steal her from you, would you accept it? Or would you do what you could to save her?”
Tao automatically turned to look at her, watching her laugh with her uncles.
“I suppose we shall see.”
Tao scowled. “What the hell does that mean?” The line went dead. Cursing, Tao shoved his cell back into his pocket and—
Thunder cracked through the air, making him jerk to a halt. No, not thunder, he realized a second later.
Gunfire.
CHAPTER SEVEN
Heart in his throat, Tao raced to Riley’s side as she tipped up the table, using it to shield herself and her uncles. The smell of her blood hit him, twisting his gut in knots and sending his wolf crazy. “Riley, look at me!”
“I’m okay, it’s just a graze,” she said, eyes wide. The bullet had sliced across her upper arm, tearing through cloth and skin. Her nostrils flared and her gaze cut to her uncle. “Ethan?”
That was when Tao noticed the blood blooming near Ethan’s shoulder. “Shit.”
“We need to get him inside,” said Max. Slinging one of Ethan’s arms around his neck, Max quickly hauled him into the cabin. Tao used his body to shield Riley as they quickly raced after them, slamming the door shut.
“Keep away from the windows,” ordered Tao, ushering Riley straight into the small dining area attached to the kitchen. Wetting a cloth, he used it to dab at and clean her wound. She didn’t even flinch—her attention was on her uncles.
Max helped Ethan into a chair and then tore off the bloody shirt. Riley winced at the sight of his wound. The hole wasn’t as big as she’d thought it would be, but it was ugly and swollen and bleeding profusely—like a mini volcano on his shoulder. Too close to his heart, she thought. Too fucking close.
Dread oozed through her, thick and malevolent. She rubbed at her chest absentmindedly. Her heart was beating so fast she thought it might explode. Every breath she took hurt, as if her lungs were on fire.
Nothing could happen to him, nothing. Not to this person who, like his mate, had loved her and supported her and been her fucking anchor when she most needed one. But the blood just kept coming. Fear clawed its way up her throat until she could taste the metallic tang of it in her mouth. Her raven was going out of her ever-loving mind.