Page 61 of Rhett

“Since you appear to be all right,” Mack said to me, “I best be getting over to Rhett to calm this situation down before he rips Kirk a new asshole.”

Rhett shoved Kirk toward Mack when he arrived. “He’s spending the night in jail.” He jabbed a finger in Kirk’s face. “When you’re sober in the morning, you’ll be brought before the council for sentencing.”

“What?” Kirk cried, trying with no success to free himself from Mack’s grip. “No. Please. Sheriff, have mercy,” he begged. “This is my second offense. They’ll punish me this time.”

“And that’s what you deserve,” Rhett countered. “Now go on. Get.”

Mack dragged a whimpering Kirk away.

Rhett stormed over to me. “Are you sure you’re okay?” He scanned me with his hands and eyes.

“Yes. I’m just rattled.” I swallowed hard, and I bit my bottom lip to hide the emotions that had set it trembling.

His nostrils flared, every muscle in his body seeming tense, straining against his shirt and jeans. “Just in case, I’ll text Izzy, the town’s healer, and have her check in with you first thing in the morning.”

“No Izzy. I’m fine. Now let’s go. It’s getting late.”

I nearly jumped out of my skin when he clutched my hand, entwining his fingers with mine. My mind warred between the thoughts of how nice his touch felt and how I shouldn’t be enjoying this moment with him as much as I was.

“Now let’s get you home,” he said before escorting me across the street and into his parked cruiser. Slamming the passenger’s door, he strode around his vehicle before getting in.

The crowd dispersed, and Rhett pulled out from his parking spot, taking off down the now-empty street.

The tension hanging in the air between us was suffocating. “Rhett—”

He cut me off. “I spoke to Josie and warned her to stay away from you.”

I turned to stare at him. “So she admitted attacking me?”

“No. She didn’t. But there is no doubt in my mind that she did.”

“No doubt?” I scoffed. “It seems like you had a lot of doubt that night.”

“All I did was explain why I couldn’t arrest her, Nova. It may have sounded harsh, but it’s Others law.”

“This town is so strange.” I glanced through the passenger’s window. “I don’t understand anything, including—” I stopped short, not wanting to get dragged into an argument with him, especially after he’d just saved my life.

“Were you going to say that you don’t understand me?”

I bit my bottom lip, hesitating while contemplating Imani’s advice to be open with him.

Oh, fuck it.

What could it hurt to be truthful?

“Yes,” I answered, watching as he finally drove away from Main Square, continuing up the sloping road that led through the forest. “I don’t understand you or why I feel the way I do about you. I’m attracted to you, but frankly, I don’t like half the shit that comes out of your mouth. Or the way you’ve treated me since I stepped into this town.” I pursed my lips. “And now there’s this thing with my animal, who has been protesting rather loudly because I won’t accept you as my mate.” I rubbed my forehead. “God, I’m dreading how she’ll react when I leave the Ridge on Sunday.”

“You’re leaving?”

“Yes.”

“You can’t leave,” he argued.

“I can and I will,” I asserted.

He took his eyes from the road briefly. “I’ll fight for you, Nova.”

“There’s no future for us, Rhett.”