Page 96 of Knot A Chance

Reid stepped closer to me on my other side and spoke quietly. “I’m going to sneak around back and call Donovan.”

“Thank you,” Wyatt said in a low voice. “Take Ally with you. Get her out of here, please.”

“I’m not leaving you,” Ally said, turning toward Wyatt.

“Now!” Wyatt barked.

She glared at him. He so rarely commanded her I’d almost forgotten how much she hated it.

“Please, Ally” I said. “Give me one less person to worry about right now.”

“They’re right,” Reid said, grabbing her elbow. “You don’t need to be here. It’ll distract them both.”

Ally was strong enough to shake him off, but she didn’t, following Reid willingly around the corner of her bar and away from where Ryder stood looking up at the sky. He must have known we were all here, but he’d yet to look at us, making his presence even more terrifying.

I gently set Felix down on the ground. “Stay behind me, handsome,” I whispered.

Wyatt took a cautious step closer to Ryder and stopped suddenly as Ryder’s entire body stiffened. He stood up straight and pointed the gun at us. “Stay there. All of you.”

Wyatt lifted his hands in surrender. “Ryder, we’ve been wanting to talk to you since the accident. We know you weren’t the one who tried to kill Felix.”

“I remember you tried to stop Calvin,” Felix said, my body still blocking him.

“Calvin?” Ryder asked. “You mean Silver?”

Felix stepped out from behind me and I growled, holding my arm out in front of him. “Felix,” I hissed.

He ignored me, answering Ryder anyway, “Calvin. He works for Bennett at the garage. He’s the one who injected me with the second dose. You weren’t going to kill me. I remember almost everything that happened.”

“Do you remember rejecting me for him?” Ryder snarled, gesturing at me with his gun.

Felix nodded. “I’m sorry, Ryder. I never wanted this to be painful for you.”

“Well it is fucking painful!” he yelled. “But you know what’s worse than a bond being severed? Wondering when you’re going to get murdered for being too weak to kill the man who was willing to cut you out of his life in the first place.”

I looked at Wyatt and he shook his head slightly, giving me the impression that he didn’t know what Ryder was talking about either. “Do you mean Calvin?” Wyatt asked. “Did Calvin want you to murder Felix?”

Ryder scoffed. “You are all so blind to what’s going on in your town. And Crescent River. And Harvest Cove! Do you think Silver is the mastermind behind this operation? He’s a pawn just like me!”

“Why do you keep calling him that?” I asked.

“Every one of the higher-ups has a code name. It’s how they refer to each other. And then when we’re walking down the street, they all act like they don’t know each other. It’s psychotic. Vargkung is a fucking nutjob, but he attracts loyalty like a goddamn cult leader.”

Reid appeared at my side. “Where’s Ally?” I asked.

“Well, she shifted, bit me, and then took off,” Reid said, holding up his bloody forearm. “She really does not like being told what to do.”

I sighed. She’s such a fucking biter.

“Is Vargkung the one who wants me dead?” Felix asked.

Ryder groaned and stepped closer. “You don’t get it. He doesn’t care about you. He cares about his operation. My bond to you was a liability so he told me to get rid of you. But I couldn’t. I can’t, Felix. You’re a part of me.”

“Ryder, why don’t you put the gun down and come inside. We can talk about everything,” Felix said. He pushed my arm out of his way and stepped closer to Ryder.

“Trust me, Ben,” he said silently through the bond.

I swallowed my fear and let Felix go.