Total pages in book: 62
Estimated words: 58940 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 295(@200wpm)___ 236(@250wpm)___ 196(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 58940 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 295(@200wpm)___ 236(@250wpm)___ 196(@300wpm)
He walked to the refrigerator to get three Budweiser bottles out.
Maybe he should just have sex with her and get her out of his system. The chemistry was there, whether they liked each other or not. Her body responded every time he touched her, almost like she couldn’t help herself. Maybe that was why she’d cried the night before after he’d pleasured her. She hadn’t wanted to give him that.
That idea made him gnash his teeth and want to put his fist through a wall. He would never force himself on a female and the idea that she hadn’t enjoyed what he’d done—But no. There was no mistaking her satisfaction. Why had she cried then?
His reaction to the scent of her tears had been instantaneous, almost a physical pain. It provoked twin, seemingly opposing physiological responses in him. Hyper focus—his body alert, ready to shift to protect her from whatever danger, but also a calm, as if to enable him to properly soothe her. He tried to remember if he’d ever felt that with a female before. Had one ever cried near him? He feared this reaction was also particular to a mate.
He flipped the caps off the beers and carried them by their necks to the sofa.
Melissa turned up her nose and refused it.
“Sorry, I don’t have any microbrews for you, princess.”
She rolled her eyes, blushing as if it embarrassed her to be called out in front of Mark. That only made him want to stuff the wolf headfirst down his toilet.
Mark was in the middle of telling Melissa something—probably something he should’ve been listening to. “The dispensary where Jeremy works got knocked over a few nights ago. Jeremy was the one who reported it to the police.”
Melissa nodded, as if she already knew this information.
“I’m guessing that he robbed it himself, or was in on the deal and that’s why Rabago is after him.”
Melissa paled.
“Do you know anything about it?”
She blinked rapidly, like she was holding back tears. “No,” she said, her voice wobbly. “I think you must be right. He came home that night and told me about the holdup. I thought he’d seemed excited and had written it off to the adrenaline of the drama, but this makes more sense.”
Mark nodded. “Who do you think he’d be working with?”
She swallowed, then shook her head. “I don’t know. Could be any one of his buddies. They’re all shit-for-brains.”
Cody didn’t mind her bitterness toward Jeremy, but what bothered him was how much emotion the fuck-up elicited from her. Why was that? Did she still care about him, despite it all?
“And you haven’t heard from Jeremy since yesterday? When did you see him last?”
“When I left for work in the morning.”
“Did he go to work that day?”
“I don’t know.” She brushed a strand of her auburn hair from her face. The haunted dullness in her eyes made him want to wring her bastard ex-boyfriend’s neck.
“And you’ve tried to contact him?”
“Yes, I texted him and warned him not to come home. He never responded.”
“Well, I’d like to get my hands on him before Rabago does. We could offer him protection in exchange for testimony against the kingpin. Barring that, Ben has offered to pay Rabago whatever it is Jeremy owes him in order to get you free and clear of the threat. That’s my second choice, though. I’d rather get this asshole off the streets.”
Melissa’s head wobbled as she nodded. “I don’t want Ben to have to pay off Jeremy’s debt, either.”
“So what happens if Rabago finds Jeremy first?” Cody asked. Personally, he preferred the second option. The sooner Melissa was out of the line of fire, the better. Then he could be done with all this mess. Except that didn’t feel right, either. He wasn’t done exploring this physical attraction he had for her.
Yeah, he just needed to fuck her and get it out of his system.
“Then Jeremy’s probably a dead man. But they’ll want the money back before they kill him, so keeping Melissa safely off the grid would be even more important. If they catch Jeremy, they’re going to torture him and they definitely would dangle the threat of Melissa’s death over his head to get him to sing.”
Melissa had gone pale. “You need to find Jeremy before he does, then.” She stared at her hands, and some itchy instinct told him she might know where to find the guy.
“Right,” Mark agreed.
“If Ben paid Rabago off, who would broker that deal?” he asked.
Mark’s lips tightened to a thin line. “I don’t know. It can’t be me or anyone on my team. Ben would kill me if I let Melissa do it, although she’s the most likely candidate.”
“I’d kill you first,” Cody muttered, drawing a raised brow from Melissa. “I could do it.”
Mark tapped the tips of his fingers together, his elbows resting on his knees. “You’re willing?”