“I, uh, I guess I got things wrong,” he said, studying Urban’s very shiny sheriff star to avoid looking at his face. “I bought into my editor’s take on what was going on here and didn’t give anyone the benefit of the doubt. And I didn’t really think about what my story might mean for your pack.” He swallowed hard. “I’m sorry.”
“Who are you working for?” Urban’s voice gave nothing away.
“Wasworking for,” Riley corrected him. “I got fired.” He frowned. “Or quit. I’m not quite sure. But it wasThe Daily Sentinel.”
“Yeah, that figures,” Urban said. “They hate shifters.”
That star was really interesting, but it could do with a bit of a polish on one of its arms where it looked like jam, or possibly blood, had gotten onto it.
“You might want to park somewhere legal tonight if you’re planning on sleeping in your car again,” Urban said, and Riley’s gaze jumped to his face. It was still expressionless as Urban turned on his heel.
Riley stared after him. Had he just been given tacit permission to stay? Butwhy?Unless Urban was going to send the pack after him tonight. But it hadn’t felt like a threat. Maybe—oh, God, maybe Urban knew that he was serious about making up for what he’d done, and maybe that meant there was still hope with Jason.
For a reckless moment, he thought about going to the ranch or diner, but then he caught himself. The very last thing he should do right now was to push Jason. If he did that, he’d push him away. But maybe—oh, God,please—if he stayed long enough, showed how sorry he was,maybeJason would come to him.
He sat in the shade, dreaming about how it would be when Jason forgave him and took him back. No inconvenient details about where they’d live or what he’d do for a living—just him and Jason together again, living somewhere just the two of them, where everything was perfect, and Jason’s soft brown eyes smiled at him without even a hint of disgust.
Riley didn’t care anymore that Jason’s mate might come along at any time and destroy their perfect life. He was willing to take the risk, even if it meant having Jason for only a little while. Better that than nothing.
A sourness caught in the back of his throat when he remembered—he didn’t evenhavethis. It was nothing more than a dream. But if all he could do by staying here was get Jason to understand that Riley hadn’t targeted him tousehim, that was worth doing.
Now all he had to do was figure out how to get Jason to speak to him again.
Chapter Twenty-eight
JASON
Jason sat among the trees, overlooking the long, sloping field down to the house. Up here, he could be on his own but was still close enough to see the pack coming and going and know he wasn’t completely alone. Except in the way that he was.
Riley had barely been in his life a heartbeat, yet the emptiness without him was unbearable. Had his life always been this hollow? He couldn’t even cling to the faint hope that one day his mate would find him.
His mate. How could his mate have been that sort of person? What did it say abouthim?Misery filled every corner of him, until he tore at the grass with his fingers, driving dirt deep beneath his fingernails—anything to make him feel something else, to stop himthinking.
He flinched as a shadow fell over him, and he looked up to see Karl, his broad shoulders emphasized by the softly clinging gray t-shirt he wore. Karl settled quietly on the ground beside him.
Jason liked Karl, a lot. He didn’t speak unless he had something to say, he didn’t pry, and he wasn’t temperamental, not like Christian. But it was unusual for Karl to seek him out, and so he stopped digging into the dirt and waited to see what he wanted.
“I hear the reporter’s still here, sleeping in his car,” Karl said conversationally.
He might as well have punched Jason in the gut, because he suddenly couldn’t breathe. Riley was still here. Butwhy?
“I guess I know as much as anyone about making bad choices,” Karl said. He picked a long blade of grass and rolled it gently between his fingers, easing it open at the seam as if his whole concentration was on that rather than his words. “You convince yourself it’s the right choice, and by the time you realize your gut knew better than your head all along, it’s too late. And it doesn’t matter how much you want to, you can’t go back and undo what you’ve done.” The blade tore, and he dropped it.
Jason stayed stubbornly silent.
“Maybe he’s an asshole, and that’s all there is to it.” Karl looked sideways at him. “That said, he wanted you enough that he didn’t back down from Matt, even when he thought I was going to rip his throat out, but he’d have gone in a heartbeat ifyou’dtold him to leave. Seems to me, someone who’s just a selfish dick wouldn’t have done either of those things and wouldn’t still be here now.”
Jason’s fingers dug into the dirt beneath him. “He lied,” he said, his voice low and desperate. He didn’t want to believe Karl. He couldn’t risk opening himself up again. “He was only ever with me because he wanted a way in to the pack. He was going to betray all of us.”
“And maybe now he wishes he hadn’t done that,” Karl said. “Or maybe he doesn’t care. There’s only one way to find out.”
“How am I supposed to believe anything that comes out of his mouth?” Jason shot at him, furious at Karl for making him do this.
“You tell him that if he lies to you again, I’ll tear his throat out, after I’ve chewed on his liver a while,” Karl said, getting lazily to his feet.
“You didn’t see what he wrote,” Jason said, his voice breaking. “He doesn’t evenlikeshifters.”
Karl looked down at him, amusement gleaming briefly in his dark eyes. “Seems to me, he likesyouplenty,” he said. “There’s a hell of a lot about you to like, Jason, if only you’d see it.”
