An Unwanted Second Chance (JB Tirado) novel Chapter 60

Riley felt terrible after lunch, trying to sit at her desk to work was proving useless. Her body was achy and sore as she closed her laptop. She had managed to confirm with the commander for a video chat the next

morning to update him on the situation, but she couldn’t focus long enough to write the report on the attack. When she tried to write out what happened, all she could see was Kent’s body on the ground, blood pouring

from his wounds.

So she gave up, pushing the laptop away. She had just stood up when there was a knock at the door. She

opened it, surprised to see Leo and Wesley standing on the other side.

“We wanted to check on you,” Leo said with a faint smile. “I heard that the alpha got out of the hospital today.

She nodded. “He did.”

Wesley shifted his weight from foot to foot for a moment, frowning. “Leo filled me in on some stuff,” he said

finally. “I was hoping you would feel up to talking about it.”

She sighed, motioning for them both to come in. Both men sat in the armchairs while Riley sat on the edge of her bed, rubbing her forehead.

“How are you feeling?” Leo asked, his forehead creasing.

She shrugged. “I’ve had better days. I need space from Kent to think clearly so I guess I’ll just feel miserable.”

“The last time you had space from him I thought it was going to kill you,” Wesley said softly. “Maybe space

isn’t the answer.”

She frowned at Wesley. “What did Leo tell you?”

“I told him everything that happened at the hospital,” Leo cut in.

“We don’t have to talk about it if you don’t want to,” Wesley said quickly. “I know you’ve had a rough night and

morning. It can wait until tomorrow.”

“There’s no sense in that.” Riley waved her hand dismissively. “We may as well just talk about it. Kent got out

of the hospital this morning and we talked.”

“What did he say?” Leo asked.

She sighed. She didn’t want to go into a lot of detail about their conversation. It just felt so private to her. She

chewed her lip for a moment, deciding how best to explain it.

“Kent said that it was Max’s idea to wait until I accepted the bond. He admitted that he thought I was going

to accept him soon, but he has also been making it a point for the last week to tell me how he doesn’t want

me to feel pressured.”

“Do you believe him?” Wesley asked quietly.

She shrugged, looking at the ground. “I know he isn’t lying.”

There was silence for a moment before Wesley spoke again. “Are you going to accept him?”

She bit her lip. furrowing her forehead as she continued to stare at the floor. “I don’t know. I was going to but

Chapter 60

now I… I don’t know.”

There was a beat of silence. “Can I ask you a different question?” Wesley said.

She looked up to find him watching her. “I guess.”

“If you knew that Kent was lying a week ago, why didn’t you tell Leo or I?”

+ Points

It was a fair question, but one with no easy answer. “At first because I thought I could get him to tell me quicker if you didn’t know. I thought he would talk sooner if I tried to make it seem like it was just between me and him. But then… I don’t know. He just kept asking me to wait and I just wanted to believe that he knew what was best, that he was trying to do what was best. It was just so important to him to protect Max and I guess I wanted to respect that.”

Wesley stared at her for a long moment. “I do understand what you’re saying. I think you were in a bad position with your mate, but…” He took a deep breath, glancing at Leo before turning back to her. “I think you need to make a decision about Kent and make it soon. I think this whole situation has clouded your judgment considerably. You are acting. in ways that seem very unlike you and keeping secrets from Leo and I, your teammates, when we would have been able to help you.”

Riley’s chest tightened. “I’m sorry. I know I’ve been hiding a lot of things lately. It’s not acceptable and I won’t

do that again moving forward.”

Wesley rubbed his chin for a moment. “We need to tell the commander everything.”

“I know,” Riley said with a nod. “I’ve scheduled a video meeting with him tomorrow morning. But I would prefer to talk to him on my own. I’ll take full responsibility for my actions. I don’t want to see any consequences for either of you.”

Wesley raised an eyebrow. “Are you sure? I can be there, I can take whatever comes at me.”

She smiled slightly. “I know you can, but I need to do this myself.”

“Are you going to tell him everything?” Leo asked quietly.

She nodded. “Everything. Even what’s going on with Kent.”

“Good.” Wesley stood up. “Now you need to find your mate.”

“Why?” She frowned at him.

“Because you clearly don’t feel well,” he said simply.

She shook her head. “That doesn’t matter.”

Wesley rolled his eyes. “You’re too stubborn for your own good.” He turned, heading towards the door.

Leo chuckled when the door shut behind him. “That went well.”

She stared at Leo for a moment. “It actually did. Wesley was pretty level headed which isn’t a way I’m used to describing him.”

Leo smirked. “His mate has mellowed him out quite a bit. Plus I may have threatened him to be nice.”

“You didn’t have to do that,” she muttered, rolling her eyes. “I could have handled him yelling at me.”

“Perhaps, but you’ve had a rough day.”

There was a knock at the door and this time she knew who was there just by the way her heart fluttered in

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Chapter 60

her chest at the sound.

“Come in,” she called towards the door.

Kent opened the door, looking from her to Leo and back. “Wesley told me I needed to come here.”

Leo laughed, standing up. “I should go.”

“I’m going to punch him,” Riley muttered, shaking her head.

* Points >

“He’s just trying to help,” Leo said with a smile as he moved to the door. Kent stepped out of the way as Leo

walked out and then turned back to Riley.

“I take it you didn’t request my presence,” he said, his voice soft.

She sighed and stood up, walking towards him. “No. Wesley thinks I’m being stubborn.”

“Well, you probably are. You’re always stubborn.”

She scoffed. “You’re one to talk.”

He frowned at her for a moment. “You have been feeling sick though. I was trying to ignore it.”

“I’m fine,” she said, sighing. “You’re the one that just got out of the hospital this morning.”

He smiled wanly. “Yeah, I’ve definitely had better days. That was a hell of an attack. I’ve never been hurt this badly before.”

Riley suddenly remembered the blood pouring from his neck, the way her hands did nothing to stop the flow. She remembered the panic and fear in the pit of her stomach, convinced he was dying before her eyes and

she was useless to stop it.

“Hey,” Kent said, wrapping his good hand around her shoulder, “what’s wrong?”

It was then that she realized she was shaking, tears pooling in her eyes as she struggled to catch her breath. Kent wrapped his good arm around her shoulders, pulling her gently against her chest.

“It’s ok,” he whispered into her hair. “Tell me what’s wrong.”

“I thought you were going to die,” she managed to say into his chest, her voice strangled. “I was so scared. I kept thinking you were going to die and I didn’t know what I would do if I lost you.”

“I’m ok,” he said soothingly, kissing her hair. “I’m fine thanks to you.”

She wrapped her arms around his waist, burying her face into his chest. She took a deep shuddering breath, inhaling the smell of him.

“I’m still mad at you,” she whispered into his chest.

“I know,” he replied, but she could hear the smile in his voice.

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