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I was ruined. Completely and utterly altered in a way that felt permanent, like the woman who’d walked into this barn no longer existed. There was no recovering from this. No pretending it hadn’t happened.

What was I going to do?

The barn door suddenly slid open with an unmistakable scrape, followed by a pause that stretched just long enough to make my stomach drop.

Then Ryder’s voice carried in, dry and faintly impressed. “Noted. I should knock from now on.”

CHAPTER 29

STERLING

This was the first time I’d truly contemplated murdering my best friend.

Not in a joking way, and it wasn’t just a fleeting, irritated thought. As soon as I’d heard his voice, I’d fully mapped it out. The location. The timing…the cleanup. I’d bury his body instead of incinerating it or dissolving it in lye on account of our long friendship. There were three decent spots on the property where I could take him, and all of them were places where Ryder would never be found.

Sienna was still stretched out on the table, flushed and wrecked and far too exposed for anyone else’s eyes. I quickly grabbed a folded horse blanket and draped it over her, covering her legs and tucking it around her like it was second nature. Protective didn’t even begin to cover how I was feeling. This was instinct. Ownership. A part of me that wouldn’t negotiate.

Her gaze flicked up to mine, wide-eyed and vulnerable, and something in my chest tightened hard.

Ryder’s presence filled the doorway, and I went still as he took in the scene with one lazy sweep of his eyes—the table, the blanket, Sienna flushed and breathless, me standing in front of her, and his mouth kicked up at one corner. “Well,” he drawled, “that explains why you’ve been ignoring your phone.”

“Get out,” I said flatly.

He continued on as usual.

I swallowed, still tasting Sienna on my tongue, like she’d branded me from the inside out. It took effort not to turn back to her, peel the blanket away, and drop back down on my knees.

Ryder grinned, clearly reading my thoughts.

“Ryder.”

“Relax,” he said, holding up both hands innocently. “I’m just here to deliver the good news before you try and pretend the outside world doesn’t exist.”

“There is no good news that starts with you walking into my barn uninvited.”

He shrugged. “Babs fixed the mechanical bull at The Hollow.”

I stared at him.

He beamed like he’d just impressed me. “Like, fixed-fixed. Not ‘it might maim you’ fixed. Which means we’re celebrating.”

“We’re not going,” I said immediately.

Ryder snorted, and he lifted an unimpressed eyebrow. “You absolutely are, Hayes. It’s nonnegotiable.”

“I said⁠—”

He held up a hand. “Before you start growling at me, think about it. Babs fixing that bull is basically a religious event in this town. If we don’t show up, people will assume you died. Or worse. That you’re being antisocial.”

I took a breath through my nose, reminding myself that I didn’t need to risk prison for him.

“She’s tired,” I said, stepping closer to Sienna without thinking, my hand hovering at her back like I could shield her from him by sheer will. “And I’m done for the night.”

Ryder laughed. “Done for the night,” he repeated, rolling it around like it was a joke just for him. “Is that short for something? Because you’re lookin’ a little pale over there, Sienna. You sure you’re ready for whatever he means by that?”

I glanced back at her and saw what he was talking about. Her hands were clenched under the blanket, and her breathing was shallow, those gorgeous green eyes darting around like she was looking for the exit instead of enjoying the aftermath.

Hmm. Maybe she did need a night out.