Page 50 of Shattered By the Currents

“Fuck you.” Then he glared at Connor and Ryan. “Fuck all of you.”

“Touch her again and I’ll do more than bruise your cheek.” Yeah, he was threatening the guy in front of the sheriff. He didn’t give a shit.

“Now, boys.” Ward lifted his hands. “Let’s all take a moment to?—”

“I’m done here.” Nathaniel stormed off.

The second Nathaniel left, Connor turned to Raven and scanned her from head to toe. “Are you hurt?” The voices of Ryan and Ward continued behind him, but he put all his attention on Raven.

“No, I’m okay.” She swallowed. “Just a bit shocked.”

He lifted his hand and ran it over the back of her head. Thankfully, there was no bump. Thank God. He’d have been tempted to go after the asshole again…and break his nose this time.

“You should have pressed charges,” he growled.

She shook her head. “No. It was far more exciting watching you nail the guy.”

She may have been going for humor, but he didn’t crack so much as a smile. “What happened?”

She glanced at where Nathaniel had disappeared. “That sweatshirt…my ex had one exactly the same. I saw the back of it and I thought it was… I thought he was Xander.”

Connor’s frown deepened. “Wasthe sweatshirt Xander’s?”

Her eyes flared, like she wondered the same thing. “I don’t know.”

He slipped an arm around her waist. “Come on. Let’s get home.”

He scanned the streets, then the large patch of green, almost expecting someone to jump out and threaten them.

When they reached his truck, he helped Raven in before moving over to his own side. He lasted about two minutes before he couldn’t keep his question inside any longer. “Are you in trouble, Raven?”

“What?”

“Are you in trouble? The dangerous kind? Is your life at risk?”

At her silence, he shot her a glance.

“I’m not sure,” she finally said.

Tension tightened his muscles. “What happened between you and your ex?”

He didn’t need to look at her to catch the reaction this time. Her entire body became rigid. She was so still he wasn’t even sure she was breathing.

The silence stretched to the point he was certain she wouldn’t answer.

But finally, she said, “I can’t tell you.”

His fingers clenched the wheel, frustration simmering beneath his skin. “Why not?”

“We made a deal.”

“A deal?”

“Yes. And I can’t break it. I can’t risk…”

He shot her another glance, catching the fear in her eyes. “You can’t risk what? What would happen if he found out you broke this…deal?”

“Lives would be at risk.”