RILEY
Riley closed his eyes. The disgust in Jason’s face was beyond bearing, but it wasn’t that which undid him. It was the betrayal he could see deep in Jason’s gaze.
His knees gave out, and somehow, he found himself on the edge of the bed, hands curled uselessly between his thighs.
“Go on,” he said roughly, not recognizing his own voice. “Say it. Whatever you need to.”
Jason shook his head. “Say what? Ask how you could write such evil things about people who welcomed you to their home? Why you pretended to want me?” His voice cracked. “I was nothing but a story to you.”
Riley’s chest felt like it was being peeled open. He bit down hard, willing himself not to break, but there was nothing left to hold together. “It wasn’t like that,” he insisted, but his voice was thin, unconvincing.
“Oh really?” Jason’s laugh was hollow. He gestured sharply at the desk, at the notebook, the laptop. “I’ve read it, Riley. Every line. I know exactly what you think of us. How much smarter you are, how small-town and backwards you think we are.”
Riley shook his head. “I didn’t—I don’t think that.” But how could he expect Jason to believe anything he said now?
Jason’s breathing was ragged, his shoulders hunched. “You made me think...” His voice dropped, barely audible. “You made me believe I mattered.”
That landed like a punch. Riley reached out instinctively, but Jason flinched back, like the touch would burn him. His eyes were dark and shuttered.
Riley’s heart thudded wildly, panic lacing through him. “Please, Jason. I need the job. I thought—” He was desperate to find the right words, the ones that would fix this. “I thought if I could just hold it all together, keep you and the job both...”
“You don’t know when to give up, do you?” Jason’s voice was raw and bitter. He turned, fumbling for the door handle like he couldn’t bear to stay another second.
“Wait,” Riley blurted, lunging up.
Jason swung back around just long enough for Riley to see his hurt and hollowness, like something inside him had caved in.
“I’m sorry,” Riley whispered, the words reedy and useless.
But Jason was gone, the door snicking shut behind him.
A heartbeat later, Riley heard the slam of a car door. An engine started and then faded into the distance.
Silence crashed in like a wave, leaving Riley gasping for breath. He staggered back to the bed, sat down hard, and pressed his fistsinto his eyes—but nothing could block out the look on Jason’s face.
Nothing could undo what he’d done.
Chapter Twenty-three
JASON
Jason was still shaking when he got out of the car at the ranch. He had no recollection of the drive home, just the burning urgency to warn his pack they were in danger. And a need that went even deeper, one that had him curling in on himself as he unlocked the front door with trembling hands. He had to be home, to be safe.
It wasn’t only his hands trembling—his body felt as if it were falling apart. His heart was thudding erratically, he couldn’t get a full breath of air, and his skin felt stretched too tight. Everything in him screamed to shift, to run, to leave it all behind. To do anything to stop his pain swallowing him whole
But he couldn’t. He had to warn them.
He latched onto that thought like a lifeline. He had to tell them about Riley, about the article. About what was coming. He had to protect his pack. That was the only thing that mattered now.
Except it wasn’t. Because Jason’s whole world had just fallen apart. His body betrayed him, and he doubled over, clutching at his stomach, trying to hold himself together. There was no changing what had happened.
God, he’d been so naïve. He’d thought he’d found something, someone—a place to belong that was his and his alone. He’d truly believed Riley had wanted him. That someone likethathad wantedhim.How fucking gulliblewashe?
The humiliation burned like acid in his throat. But this wasn’t about him. He straightened up, swallowing down the bile and shoving his heartbreak deep inside where it couldn’t stop him doing what needed to be done.
Fists clenched, he marched down the hallway toward the kitchen and the sound of low voices. He stood stock still in the doorway for an instant, watching Matt crowd Jesse against the kitchen counter as they exchanged slow, lazy kisses. Seeing them together in such trust and contentment threatened to tear what was left of his heart apart. For the space of a few short,wonderfulhours, he’d believed he could have that too.
Jason stalked across the kitchen and flung Riley’s damn notebook on the table, causing Matt and Jesse to break apart.
