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“What the hell happened to you?” I asked.
He glanced at my teammates before steering me away from the bar. “Sorry, girls. I need to borrow Kat. Family business.”
Ignoring my arguments, he pulled me to the side of the building, away from wandering eyes. Once we were behind the bar, he finally released me, only to keep me between him and the brick wall. There was one light above the back door that illuminated his face as he rested a hand next to my head.
“What do you want?” I snapped, rubbing my arms to stay warm. A sweater and leggings weren’t enough to keep the chill away.
“Eli and West are most likely going to blab about some things I’d rather you find out from me.”
I glanced at his bloodied lip. “You get into a fight with them again?”
He chuckled. “I wouldn’t exactly call it a fight. At least not a fair one.”
“What happened?”
His grin faltered. “You learning that they didn’t screw over Noah on purpose. Does it change things?”
“Change things?”
“Do you trust them?” he asked, looking genuinely curious.
My conversation with West flashed through my mind. “No. I think there’s more that they aren’t telling me.”
“But you let them touch you.” Bitterness crept into his voice, making me scowl.
“You touched me too, River,” I reminded him coldly. “I gave myself to you first. Back when I was still on good terms with all three of you.”
“I know,” he murmured. “I remember what you told me.”
My heart stuttered, pain lancing through my chest at the memories. How innocent and naïve I’d been five years ago. Before it had all changed, and I believed that when I came back to Braidwood, everything would be as it had been before I left.
“You told me that you couldn’t give me all of you. Only a piece. Because I was connected to the other parts that made you feel whole.” His eyes stayed on mine the entire time he repeated the words I’d told him all those years ago.
I swallowed, not letting myself relive that day all over again. “Every single piece burned to ashes years ago. Impossible to get back.”
He didn’t say anything for a few long moments. Taking a shaky breath, I attempted to move around him. I wasn’t about to stand here in the freezing cold and rehash our past. He caught my arm before I got far.
“I’m part of a gang,” River said, his voice low and tight. “The Reapers.”
I stared at him, positive I misheard him. “Not possible. You’re a Ward—”
“It’s true,” he cut me off sharply. “And Eli and West just found out. It was only a matter of time before they told you. I wanted you to hear it from me.”
“That was the gang William was meeting with,” I hissed, the pieces falling together. “You protected them instead of me because you’re with them?”
“It wasn’t that simple—”
“You were seventeen.” My voice was getting higher as my anger began to rise. “Still in school. What the hell were you doing with a gang?”
He ran a hand through his messy waves, keeping a grip on my arm with his other hand. My eyes darted to the end of the street when I thought I saw movement before I looked back at River.
“Why do you think William was so furious when he found out what you were planning on doing?” he asked, pain darkening his eyes.
“Why?” I screamed, tears pricking my eyes. “He realized I was trying to get him sent to prison. Because of you. It would have worked out perfectly if you hadn’t ratted me out.”
“He wasn’t supposed to be dealing with the Reapers. There was bad blood between them and the families. William was going behind their backs to do it.”
That was news to me. My heart was hammering as I glared at him, waiting for him to keep explaining. Snow started to lightly fall, and I watched the flakes land on his hair. The first snowfall of the season. It was nearly December and usually my favorite time of the year. I couldn’t enjoy it in this moment.
