Page 353 of Power Play

Aura stepped toward him. “Rider—”

“No.” His gaze remained on mine. “I’m not trying to be cruel. Charm, you’re one of mine, and I protect mine.”

My throat closed.

“Ryan is one of mine too. You can’t be in this lodge if he comes back and doesn’t want you here. That’s a hard limit.”

“I know.”

“No sneaking over, waiting in his room, or catching him alone because you think if he looks at you long enough, he’ll remember he loves you.”

The bluntness pulled the air from my lungs.

“He remembers,” Rider continued. “That’s why he can’t be near you.”

Tears spilled over my lashes. “I’ll stay in the other cabin.”

“If he comes back?”

“I won’t come here.”

“Even if Bliss and Aura ask you to?”

“Yes.”

“Even if you hear him?”

The question struck somewhere raw. “What do you mean?”

“If he loses it. If you hear him yelling, breaking shit, crying, or anything else that makes you think you’re the person who should comfort him.”

My lips trembled.

“You stay away,” Rider said. “Right now, you’re the reason he needs comfort.”

“I understand.”

He studied me for a second before nodding. “Okay.”

The fight didn’t disappear. It lingered inside every silence and withheld glance while the afternoon moved forward.

Cade pulled Bliss aside. Easton and Aura disappeared into the kitchen, where their voices remained low enough that I couldn’t hear the words but sharp enough to reveal the argument continuing.

I carried my bags to the second cabin myself. Nobody offered to help, and I was grateful.

The walk through the snow gave me enough privacy to cry without making everyone watch. The smaller cabin was beautiful and quiet, with warm wooden walls, blue blankets folded across the beds, and a fire already burning in the living room.

Ryan had done this too.

He chose the place because he remembered that Vivi needed somewhere quiet. He entered the code, turned up the heat, and made sure her room was ready before I arrived.

He remembered everything important.

From now on, when Ryan remembered me, I would be the woman who looked at the floor.

I unpacked nothing. My suitcase remained beside the door while I sat on the edge of the bed and stared at my hands until Bliss and Aura came looking for me.

They entered without knocking. Bliss sat on one side of me, and Aura took the other.