“No, I don’t think I will.” River pushed away from the stall door and closed the distance between them, his face set in lines Anson had rarely seen outside of combat. “You know what I had to do last night? Hold her while she cried. Because of you.”
The hammer slipped in his grip. The image of Maggie crying—because of him—tore all of the oxygen from his lungs. And the image of Maggie in River’s arms gutted him.
But wasn’t that what he wanted? What he’d planned when he’d called River instead of anyone else? For her to find someone better, someone whole who made her laugh instead of cry?
“Don’t.” The word was like broken glass in his throat, scraping everything raw on its way out.
“Don’t what? Tell you the truth?” River stepped closer, invading his space. “She didn’t wantmethere, you dumb motherfucker. She wantedyou.”
X let out a low whistle. “Joder. Cuidado, hermano.You’re walking out on thin ice.”
Anson set down the hammer with the same exaggerated care he used to handle bomb components. But right now it wasn’t the hammer about to detonate, and it took every ounce of control he possessed to keep his breathing even. “She’s better off?—”
“If you say ‘without me,’ I swear to God I’m going to punch you.” River’s eyes flashed. “And we both know how that’ll end.”
X moved between them and held out his arms as if he intended to keep them apart if one of them lunged. “Okay, easy. Nobody’s throwing punches.”
River took a step back, hands raised. “Fine. No punches.” His voice dropped, the anger giving way to something rawer. “But damn it, Anson, you’re making a mistake. A big one. You’re about to throw away the best thing that’s ever happened to you.”
Anson straightened, finally meeting River’s gaze. The anger there wasn’t what he expected—it wasn’t jealousy or rivalry. It was the fierce protectiveness of someone defending family.
“I’m not—” Movement in the center aisle caught his attention, and he broke off his protest.
Jax moved into view, his expression grim. Behind him were Jonah and Ghost.
“You are,” Jax said quietly. “And we all know it.”
Great. The cavalry had arrived. “This isn’t your business.”
“Actually, it is,” Jonah said. “When one of our own is self-destructing, it becomes everyone’s business.”
“Intervention time.” River grinned without humor. “The ‘don’t be an idiot’ special.”
X dragged a hand down his face. “You assholes planned an intervention without telling me?”
Troubadour shifted nervously, sensing the rising tension.
Anson patted the horse’s neck, wanting nothing more than to mount up and ride until everyone at Valor Ridge forgot his name. But Troubadour only let X ride him, and his own horse, Hazel, was on the other side of the barn. He’d have to go through the gauntlet of his bunkmates to get to her.
“Actually, I didn’t plan anything,” River said, running a hand through his already-messy hair. “But I’m glad to see I’m not theonly one who thinks our resident blacksmith needs to pull his head out of his ass.”
Ghost remained silent, leaning against a support beam with his arms crossed, but his icy gaze never left Anson’s face. Something about that unblinking stare made Anson’s skin crawl more than River’s outright confrontation.
“So what happened?” Jonah asked, his voice gentler than the others but no less firm. “Because Maggie was at breakfast this morning looking like she hadn’t slept. Wearing your shirt, by the way.”
“Yeah, okay, I did notice that,” X chimed in. “But it wasn’t the good kind of been-up-all-night look. When she left with Bear?—”
“She left?” Everything in him went cold. He’d done it, managed to scare her away. He should be relieved. He should be…
So why the fuck couldn’t he breathe?
“Yo, he’s gonna pass out,” Jonah said.
Several hands reached for him at the same time, but he shoved them away. “I’m not going to—” He bent double. “—collapse.” But the word came out like a wheeze, and he had to brace his hands against his thighs as black spots danced in his vision.
“Sure looks like it,” Jax muttered. “For Christ’s sake, breathe, Sutter.”
He forced air into his lungs, fighting the rising panic. “Where’d she go?”
