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He nodded. “If another raven shifter appears on our territory, we’ll know somehow.”
“Okay, well, then, think of this: they don’t need to get past the fence if they have a rifle. They can just shoot from there.”
“Not if we all stay near the mountain, far away from the perimeter. They’d need to get closer.”
“You’re talking about luring them into a trap.”
“You got a better idea, baby? Because I’m all out of them at this point. You want blood, don’t you? Leading them away from here is your best chance of getting it.”
Leading them away also meant her uncles would be safe, she thought. She wouldn’t be abandoning them; she’d be protecting them. But it would also mean bringing that danger to others she cared about. “Don’t ask me to lead this person to the kids, Tao, I can’t.”
He cupped her neck with both hands. “The kids will be well protected at all times, and so will you. They’d rather that you came home with danger on your heels than that you came home with a bullet in your head.”
She flinched. “Ouch.”
“I’m not trying to hurt you, baby. I’m just pointing out the reality of the situation. There is no easy solution here. What we know for sure is that you staying with the flock won’t help anyone, especially if the majority turns against you. You’ll have no real help, support, or protection here. At home you’ll have all those things and you’ll give your uncles peace of mind by being away from here. You have to admit, that sounds like the best and safest option at this point.”
Yeah, she thought with an inward sigh, it did. “Okay. When do we leave?”
Relief rushed through him. “Right now, before anyone gets wind of the news and takes a shot at you while they still can.”
“Then let’s get packing.”
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
As Trick drove them through the perimeter gates of Phoenix Pack territory, Tao waved to Gabe, who was manning the security shack. His wolf let out a long breath, losing much of his tension now that they’d returned to their land.
The vehicle shook slightly as they drove up the rocky trail toward the mountain. Trick and Dominic had picked the six of them up from the airport in the pack’s nine-seater Chevy Tahoe. Having listened to the sequence of events that had occurred on Exodus Flock territory, they were supremely pissed on Riley’s behalf.
Although she’d wanted to say proper goodbyes to the flock, Riley had agreed to tell only her uncles and the Alphas that she was leaving. Sage and Ruby had claimed to be disappointed to see her go, but their relief had been obvious. They’d been good enough to let her say a quick goodbye to a mostly healed Lucy, though.
Her uncles had been genuinely upset to see Riley leave, but they’d also agreed that she should be far away from what was happening. Tao was glad of that, because her uncles alone had the power to change her mind. Thankfully, they hadn’t tried to. They had, however, threatened Tao with dismemberment if he didn’t keep her safe.
He turned to Riley, who was looking out the window, admiring the view of the lighted windows, arched balconies, and smooth stairways carved into the mountain up ahead. “You okay?”
“Sure,” she replied without looking at him.
“Such a little liar.” Who would be fine after everything that had happened? Taking her hand, he massaged her palm with his thumb. “You’re away from that shit now.”
She cast him a weak smile. “Not if it follows me here.”
Tao cupped the back of her head. “If it does, we’ll be ready.” As Trick pulled into the concealed parking lot at the base of the cliff, Tao unclicked Riley’s seat belt. “You go see the kids, I’ll update the Alphas and the rest of the pack on what’s been happening. Okay?”
“Sounds good to me.”
He kissed her. “Then let’s get moving.”
They all grabbed their duffels out of the trunk and jogged up the cliff steps. Inside the tunnels of the mountain, Jaime and Dante headed to their room while Makenna and Ryan headed for theirs.
Reaching a junction, Tao dropped another kiss on Riley’s mouth. “I’ll catch up with you soon.”
Taking her duffel from him, she said, “Okay, tell everyone I said hi and that I’ll talk to them later.” With that she disappeared down the tunnel.
Once she was out of sight, Tao, Trick, and Dominic then made their way to the living area.
“I can’t even begin to imagine how mixed up she must be feeling,” said Trick. “You should be able to trust your Alphas and your pack with your life. I’ll bet she trusts only a handful of the flock.”
“The majority of them appear to be good people, particularly her uncles,” said Tao. “There are always bad apples. And the bad Exodus apples are sour as fuck.”
Dominic grinned at him. “At least something good came out of her trip. The two of you—”
“Are none of your business, so don’t start.” Striding into the living area, Tao found most of the pack lounging around. Taryn muted the TV, and everyone turned to face him.
“I got the short version from Dante over the phone,” said Trey. “Give me the long version.”
So Tao did. Like him, they were not only ready to burn shit down; they had no real idea what the hell was going on. “We need to tighten security.”
“We already did when Ramón started harassing us.” Trey slung an arm over the back of the sofa. “We haven’t let it slack, and we won’t until we get our hands on the shooter.”
Dominic folded his arms. “Are you sure they’ll follow you here?”
“I believe they will,” replied Tao.
“Is it possible that they deliberately didn’t fire any fatal shots?” asked Taryn. “Maybe the gunman doesn’t have the stomach to take a life, so they’ve settled for severely injuring their targets.”
Tao nodded. “That would make sense. After all, if this person did use Wade all those years ago, it was likely because they didn’t have it in them to do the killing themselves. Either way, they didn’t succeed in punishing Riley unless they count a graze on her arm as a mission completed. My gut tells me they’ll follow us. I told Sage to let us know if any of the flock suddenly have a reason for taking a temporary trip.”
