Page 9

eight

. . .

Kane

T he 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?”

“Calm down,” Jace replies, his face reddening. “I care about her just as much as you do. Maybe even more.”

“Fuck, I’m sorry for exploding like that,” I say, letting out a long breath. My heart races a mile a minute, and all I can think about is Mia's suffering.

“We all want what’s best for her,” Finn says quietly, observing the exchange from his chair. “The biggest threat to her is her own boyfriend. Justin.”

Mia

After my shift at work, I’m standing in front of the ATM, unable to believe what I’m seeing. This can’t be real. There must be some mistake.

But no, it’s right there on the ATM’s screen.

My account, which had held all of twelve dollars this morning, now contains over ten thousand dollars.

This is a mistake. It's some kind of banking fluke. I know they will catch it eventually, but in the meantime, this might just be the miracle I needed. I withdraw forty dollars for Justin. This will keep him placated and me safe. It won’t be too hard to pay that back when the funds are repaid.

I shiver against the cold.

The wind is brutal tonight, and I still have three blocks to walk from the ATM to home. I’ll figure out this account thing tomorrow when the bank is open. Still, as I walk home, I can’t help but wonder about the mistake.

It seems like a glaring error to deposit ten thousand into an almost overdrawn account. A nice bank teller will explain it to me tomorrow, I’m sure. But the timing seems so odd.

These thoughts run through my mind as I finish the walk home and finally enter the apartment building. The front door creaks as I slip inside, and the stench of stale cigars hits me like a brick to the face.

I hate that my pantry is empty because all my money goes to paying for an apartment I can’t stand. It’s been three years here, and I still haven’t gotten used to the sketchy neighbors and awful odors.

Last week, my bedroom doorknob came off in my hand.

For a moment, I let myself fantasize about getting out, finding a place that isn’t so damn depressing. Maybe not taking Justin with me.

I would be alone, but I would be free. Perhaps even happier. I banish the fantasy as I slip into my apartment.

Justin is already on the couch, once again playing one of his never-ending video games. His headset is next to him, so at least I won’t have to hear him trash-talking his opponents.

“You’re home late,” Justin says as a greeting. Okay, this is much worse. Maybe I’d prefer it if he had his headset on.

I don’t rise to the bait. He wants a fight, but I’m not giving him one. “I have your money.”

“Yeah?” he says, his face brightening as he looks at me.

I dig into my coat pocket and pull out the two twenties. Sighing, I press the bills into his eager palm. The moment the bills leave my hand, I breathe a sigh of relief. This will keep Justin appeased for at least a few days until I can figure something out.

Justin’s eyes narrow as his hand closes around the money. “What are you hiding?”

It’s hard, but I manage to fight down the rush of panic, keeping my voice even. “What do you mean?”

“I usually have to pry money out of you, and you mope about it for a good few days. But tonight, you seem too chill about it. What gives?”

“Justin, you’re being paranoid.”

I don’t want to tell him about the money. It doesn’t feel like a good idea at all. Not only would he burn through the money, but he would accuse me of lying about its mysterious origins. For now, it feels safer to keep this to myself.

The bank will probably take it back tomorrow, anyway.

For a moment, I think Justin is going to press further. He doesn’t look satisfied with my answer. But then he picks up his controller again and returns his attention to the TV.

“You better not be lying to me, Mia. I don’t like liars.”