Page 23

Justin’s temper is growing by the day. If wedon’t help her now, Mia could be in real danger. Until we are ready to approach her, I want to ensure that she has nothing to fear.

As I slip out of the apartment, I take one last deep breath of the honey scent and close the door behind me. Until we have a more permanent solution, I will protect Mia from the shadows.

eight

. . .

Kane

The liquor burns my throat as I take my first sip. I just returned from closing on the house. The ink isn’t even dry on the paperwork, and already, I’m impatient to have Mia tucked away there, safe and sound.

Draining the last of the scotch, I shake off my suit jacket and drape it over the back of the chair. I leave the glass on the counter and make my way to the couch in the living room. The townhouse is quiet today. Finn is off watching Mia, and Jace is off doing God knows what. These moments of silence are rare and treasured.

Suddenly, the front door slams open.

I sigh and pinch the bridge of my nose. “Finn, do you mind not putting dents in the wall?”

Finn seems to notice the door for the first time and offers a sheepish shrug. The alpha tends to underestimate his strength.

“This is important,” he says breathlessly.

“I take it something happened?” I reply, my heart racing with worry for Mia.

“No. Well, yes,” Finn says, taking a seat across from me in the old wingback chair. “Mia is in trouble.”

Every muscle in my body tenses at his words. It had been a few days since there had been any newsworthy occurrences with Mia. However, her situation is volatile. I should have expected this.

Finn throws a stack of papers on the coffee table between us.

“What are these?” I ask, bending over to pick them up.

“Bills. Well, overdue bills. Loads of them. I found them in Mia’s apartment.”

I sift through the bills. Sure enough, some are almost three months past due. Mia is drowning in debt, and that idiot Justin isn’t lifting a finger to lighten the load.

“It isn’t just that. Justin came into the cafe today asking for money. Mia had to turn him down because she was broke after paying the rent.”

Of course, that idiot is asking for money. Mia would have given it to him if she’d had it. This means she must be in dire straits.

God, the more I learn about our omega’s life, the more depressing it becomes. She is trapped in a hopeless situation, with no one to help or support her.

No one but us, of course. We need to be doing more. As the head alpha, I should be spearheading it. I will handle this discreetly, of course. There’s no sense in showing our hand until we’re ready.

“Consider these paid off,” I say, pocketing the bills.

An hour later, all her bills are paid off. For an alpha, it often pays to have several aliases. It isn’t hard to use one of them to deposit money into Mia’s account. As soon as I see the transfer go through, my entire body relaxes. This will keep her afloat until we figure out our next step.

Better yet, it will keep her safe from Justin’s anger—for now, until she’s ours.

“Well, if it isn’t Mia’s mysterious savior,” Jace jokes as he walks into my office.

“I take it Finn filled you in on Mia’s predicament?”

“It’s just that this is a lot of money. Is it wise to send this to her anonymously without knowing how she will react? Or how Justin will react?”

My temper flares.

“Are you challenging me?” I ask, standing up so that I towered over him. “The last I checked, you were supposed to be watching Mia. Your job isn’t to police my actions. Do you want her to suffer? Is that what you want?”