Sawyer shouldered his way through the crowd that was beginning to form. “What the hell is going on here?”

“She has Cynthia by the throat,” said Shirley, sounding a little shrill. “You’re an enforcer. Aren’t you going to do anything?”

Riley tensed. Not because she feared Sawyer, but because the laugh that came out of Tao was a dark, menacing sound that made the little hairs on her arms and nape stand on end.

“Touch her,” Tao said to Sawyer, “and I’ll kill you.”

Sawyer sifted a hand through his hair. “Riley, stand down.”

Ignoring him, Riley kept her attention on Cynthia. “You can submit or you can fight me here and now—either works fine for me. Honestly, I’d prefer the fight. I’ve got a lot of anger to burn off.”

Cynthia’s eyes fairly glowed with hatred, so it came as a sincere shock when the female then looked down in a gesture of submission.

Riley shoved her away. “I guess I can’t blame you for backing down. I wouldn’t want to get my ass kicked in front of my male either.”

Stroking her throat soothingly, Cynthia bared her teeth. “Don’t you have an off button or something? By the way, some guy from the village down the road just called; apparently their idiot’s gone missing.”

“Aw, bet you thought up that insult while Sawyer was using a map to find your G-spot. Am I right?”

Sawyer planted himself between them and snapped, “Enough.” He sighed. “Riley, why don’t you and the wolf go see your uncles or something? Cynthia, I thought you wanted to see your dad.”

Shirley glared at him. “She’s trying to make the flock believe one of us is a killer and you’re doing nothing?”

“Stop trying to stir the pot, Shirley,” said Sawyer. “You’re a grown woman. Act like one.” He turned his back on her and, with one last look at Riley, stalked away. The crowd then gradually dispersed, whispering among themselves.

Head held high, Riley crossed to the rental car and hopped into the passenger seat. She and Tao had agreed that since the route to the main cabin provided no real cover, they would use the car to get there. She was glad of it now, because she needed to get away from Cynthia and Shirley fast or she’d seriously let loose on the shit-stirring bitches.

What bothered her more was that the flock had just stood around, watching the drama unfold—no support, no speaking to Sawyer in her defense, no nothing. Not that she needed anyone to defend her, but dammit, they were supposed to be her flock. The Phoenix wolves would never have stood by while allegations were thrown at her feet. If nothing else, they’d have been at her back in a gesture of unspoken support. And she had to face that the Phoenix Pack felt more like home than the Exodus Flock did.

Neither she nor Tao said a word as he drove them back to the cabin. Inside he surprised her by shoving the coffee table and sofa close to the wall, creating a large space. He then turned to face her and invited, “Hit me.”

She blinked. “What?”

“Hit me,” Tao repeated, sensing just how on edge she was. “You’re gonna snap if you don’t get it all out of you. Don’t worry; I can take a punch from an itty-bitty thing like—motherfucker.” He stroked his jaw, trying to ease the pain pounding through it thanks to the blow she’d just dealt him. “You weren’t supposed to be that enthusiastic about it.”

She shrugged, smiling sweetly. “Sorry.”

Yeah? She sure didn’t sound it. Giving her a little space, he planted his feet shoulder width apart. “Again.”

Tao really hadn’t expected her to come at him like a street fighter on crack, but Riley literally didn’t pull her punches. She was fast. Wicked fast, actually. Fluid too. Even fighting, she moved with grace. She knew every sensitive zone on a person’s body and she targeted every one of them with punches, kicks, and those razor-sharp talons.

Tao did his best to block each blow, but she was a sly little scrapper and had no problem fighting unfairly, so she clipped him a few times. She hadn’t once drawn blood, though—not even when she’d raked him with her talons. Still, he’d have some bruises for sure. And that made him and his wolf kind of proud.

Tao found himself smiling as he asked, “Who taught you to fight?”

“Ethan.”

He grunted as she caught him on the jaw yet again. “Damn. Why do ravens always go for the face?” Blocking yet another punch, he yanked her to him and locked his arms around her. “Feel better, baby?”

She puffed out a long breath. “I don’t feel like I’m going to explode anymore.”

“Good.” He stroked his jaw. “You punch like a guy. Let’s never do that again.”

“Okay.”

He nuzzled her. “As much as it pissed me off that Cynthia confronted you, I can’t deny it was pretty hot when you grabbed her by the throat. Part of me wanted to bend you over right then and fuck you raw.”

She smiled, melting into him. “You can do that after we shower . . . or maybe even while we shower.”

“Sounds fair.” Draping an arm over her shoulders, Tao guided her up the stairs.

CHAPTER ELEVEN

You’re not listening to me, are you?”

Blinking, Riley looked up from her seat at the breakfast bar. “I am,” she lied.

“Oh yeah?” said Tao, doubt heavy in his voice. “What did I just say?”

She pursed her lips. “I’m still processing it.”

“What exactly are you processing?”

“Let’s not revisit the past, Tao.”

He closed his eyes and banged his empty mug on the counter. “Too early for this shit, Porter. Too early.” Pouring more coffee into the cup, he said, “I was telling you that I found my watch this morning. It was in my duffel. I wonder how it got there,” he added drily.

She stifled a smile. “Very mysterious.” Drinking her coffee, she watched him bustle about the kitchen—checking cupboards, messing with the fridge magnets, and tampering with the juicer. Riley had to smile. He was so used to having all his time taken up by a cute little pup that he just didn’t know what to do with himself. “You find it weird not having to run around after someone.”

Tao’s brow furrowed. “I’m enjoying the break.”