Page 98 of Knot a Bad Idea

River snickers. “Goodnight, Tammy.”

I roll my eyes. I’m still not used to the fact that Skylar’s pack is on a first name basis with my mom.

But that’s what Tammy does. She extends her heart out to people, and they always find a way to her.

I wonder if that’s what Pack Axton felt when they met her.

Did they realize that she could have been an important part of their lives?

What a shame that they’ll miss out on having Tammy Waters in their corner.

“Hey,” Skylar says to me. “Can I talk to you for a second?”

I scoop up the box and grimace at the weight. “Yeah, you want to come upstairs with me while I open this?” I ask her, and she nods. River runs up to her, pecks her on the cheek and subtly smacks her butt, then leaves with the rest of her pack, along with Ben and Devyn.

We head to my bedroom, and Skylar stops at the inside of the room.

“Can I shut this?” she asks quietly. “I know you like to keep it cracked.”

I nod. “That’s fine. What’s going on?”

“Okay.” After closing the door, she sits on the edge of my bed, chewing her lip. “Don’t freak out.”

I sit on the floor with the package, ripping at the tape. “That bad, huh?”

“I’m serious. Promise me you won’t freak out.”

I successfully pull a long piece of packing tape off one side of the box. “Just tell me, please. I can’t promise you a reaction without knowing what the hell you’re talking about.”

“Okay, so I had Vincent look into the thing that you told him not to look into.”

I pause. “What are you talking about?”

She swallows. “You know, the guy that died in prison?”

I hold my breath and drum my fingers on the edge of the box. “…yeah?”

“Vincent knows who paid the prisoners to jump him.”

I clutch the box tightly. “And?”

Skylar doesn’t answer me.

“Skye? Who was it?”

Silence.

I finally turn my attention away from the package and to my friend, reading the answer on her face.

“Oh, what the fuck,” I mutter, letting the realization sink in. “It was Donovan, wasn’t it?”

Skylar nods.

My gut instinct was right.

I let go of the box and wrap my arms around myself, curling into a ball.

Donovan paid to have my captor killed.