I set my flowers on the coffee table, right by the couch where we made out, and then walk over. “Ricky?” I call softly, crouching beside him.
He twitches upright, swiping tears out of his lashes. “You came.”
“Of course. What happened?”
He shakes his head, misery in every line of his body. “I don’t know exactly, but I handed her phone back to her, and she was getting in the car when she flipped out. She shouted, ‘He’s gonna kill Zack,’ and tried to smash her phone apart on the pavement.” Ricky shoves upright and gets the broken phone from under a towel on the desk. “Can you get the OCB to retrieve the card and see what that bastard sent?”
“Yeah, I can do that.”
His hand shakes as he passes me what’s left of the phone, and my heart aches looking at the smashed edge. She must’ve been really rattled.
Rickon sits down on the bed and takes Red’s hand, stroking her long fingers over and over. “They’ve put her on an antipsychotic medication that makes her drowsy.” His voice catches. “I don’t know how long . . .”
I step in and clasp his shoulders, silently offering him what little strength I have. “She’ll be okay, Rickon. She’s been through far worse, but this time she isn’t alone.”
More tears trickle down his cheeks, and he scrubs them away with jerky movements. After gulping in a big breath, he pats my hand. “I’m sorry I sent you away last time without talking things over.”
I tighten my grip and swing him around to face me. “You’re not the one who needs to apologize. I crossed a line I shouldn’t have.” My voice breaks, so I clear my throat and point to the table where I left the flowers. “I was actually on my way to find you when the Omega Center rang.”
His green eyes open wide. “Those are for me?”
“The blue ones are.” I release him and retrieve them, sitting in the chair by his legs as I stare at the blue tones. “There aren’tmany men in the world who’d open their arms to a feral, but you took it in your stride.” I hold the flowers out and lift my gaze. “When I said you couldn’t handle his bond, I was just stupid. And shocked. But I’m really sorry. You’re the bravest man I know, and if you think you can handle it, I’m certain you can.”
Rickon takes the flowers with both hands, gazing down into the blooms like I’ve handed him a lifeline. He sniffs back tears and nods. “Thanks,” he whispers. He pokes a finger into the flowers, stroking the petals. “What beautiful colors.”
“They reminded me of your eyeshadow.” His choice today is a barely-there lavender that has smudged, no doubt when Red fought him.
Rickon grins and a touch of color comes back into his pale face. “By the way, Red reckons we should write letters for all our apologies. Like her sorry note.”
I chuckle. “Not a bad idea.” I’d probably be less clumsy if I wrote it down.
Rickon turns the edges of the silver paper down so show off the blossoms better, and the movement reveals his red-streaked arms.
“Have you had those scratches looked at?” I ask.
He lifts his arms, eyeing the narrow gouges as if it’s his first time noticing them.
“I’ll get some swabs,” I tell him. Of course he’s in no state to take care of himself.
A nurse brings me what I need, but when she offers to take over, I decline. I can’t do much for Ricky these days, so I’ll take whatever opportunity I get. He rolls his sleeves up out of the way so I can wipe the scratches with disinfectant.
He hisses at the sting.
“The nurse said these will heal best uncovered,” I tell him. “They don’t seem as deep as I first thought, but you still might want to get a doctor to look at them.”
“Nah, I’ll be fine,” he says.
As I set the swabs back on the tray, Red squirms and moans in her sleep. Rickon strokes her side, and she settles.
“She really is a handful,” he muses, the loving gaze telling me he doesn’t mind one bit. “I’m just broken up that she has to go through any of this. It’s not fair, you know?”
“Yeah, I know.”
Rickon sighs and clutches his flowers to his chest. “Do you know if Zack’s okay? She was really worried.”
“He’s in solitary until tomorrow, and I’m working on a deal with his cellmate to watch his back after that, so he’s safe for now.”
“That’s good news,” Rickon whispers. After a long pause, he says, “I get why you were worried about me bonding with a dominant alpha. I read about it, and if he has a big reaction, it’ll translate to anyone he’s bonded.” He rests a hand on his belly. “I think that might be part of the reason I froze so much at the courthouse. His rage was really intense.” The slender alpha frowns. “Everything was haywire that day, so I couldn’t really think about where the shock came from.”
