Page 3 of Pack of Crooks

“But for this, I really am sorry.” I slam my knee between his legs.

Grunting, the alpha bowls over, and the grip on my arm falls away as he holds his nuts.

I grimace, and back away, pulse fluttering. “Sorry again!” It really is a shame. Balls, in general, are kind of weird, but that alpha? His are definitely pretty. The kind I could su—No. Stop it, you desperate, horny omega.

Shaking my head, I spin on my heel and run before he can recover and bark me into submission. I put several blocks between us before I dip into the entrance of an alley, slam my back against a brick wall, and laugh. Delirious from the flight instinct and his scent.

Breathing in, I pretend he’s in front of me and all that vanilla and chocolatey goodness is for me.You’re delusional, Hazel.

Sighing, I fight the disappointment trying to gut me, and make sure no one is watching before I pull out his wallet and flipit open. I stare down at his driver’s license. Killian Lennox makes the DMV look good. It’s criminal that he’s both rich and pretty. Shifting my focus away from the ID, I rifle through the many cards. I won’t be using those. They’re too obvious. My fingers brush over cash. Tugging it out, I count the twenties. One, two, three, four. . . five twenties?

Seriously, Killian? One hundred dollars is all I get?

I bet he has a house full of things I can pawn. . . and then I can steal a shirt for my nest.

Should I?

No. That’s crazy.

He wouldn’t miss one shirt.

Well. . .

No. I can’t. I don’t break and enter any more. It’s too high risk.

I tuck the wallet back into my pocket, shove all thoughts of Killian’s gorgeous gray eyes to the back of my mind, and chew on my cheek.

That’s two bigger incidents today. I probably should be done. Testing luck three times in one day sounds like a bad idea. What would happen to Lottie if I were arrested? Tomorrow, I’ll find a new spot far enough away from where I ran into the alpha to be safe.

Or maybe I should come back and let him catch me again.

With a scowl that is doing nothing for me, I turn onto our block, ignoring the litter covered streets. Lower Manhattan is practically pristine clean in comparison to this part of town. The city spends money where it lives though. That’s nothing new.

My trip to the pawn shop didn’t go as I expected thanks to fucking Jimmy. Ever since I rejected his advances, he’s offered me less and less for the items I bring in, and he knows he can get away with it. He won’t turn me in. He’ll just make my life miserable until I agree to let him take me out.

That’s not fucking happening. Jimmy is disgusting.

I really need to find a new shop. Freddy’s is out of the question. He’s refused to touch anything I bring in ever since some lady stormed in, furious to find her earrings sitting in his jewelry case. He told Robbie, who owns Pawn Kings, and he told Garry, who would definitely call the cops. I hate that Jimmy is the only option close to home. It might be time to branch out. Maybe head to the shops on Staten Island.

A loudclunkpulls me out of my head. Flashing yellow lights perched on top of a massive tow truck have my steps quickening. It can’t be my car. I swear I had more time to catch up. The bank said the payments were due on. . . what’s today?

The guy wearing a gray button up shirt tugs a giant metal hook toward my beat up Honda.

My heart leaps into my throat. “Wait!” As I run toward him, I’ve never felt more pathetic. See that rock bottom? I’m plummeting toward it. The light stack of cash in my pocket isn’t enough to save my car.

The guy, whose name tag readsJosh, huffs and holds up a hand. “Back away, sweetheart.”

Sweetheart? I’ll show him how sweet I can be. Stepping toward him, I get ready to lay into him, but I hear a soft gasp behind me and my eyes flutter closed.Lottie. Fuck. I forgot she had an early day.

“Haze? What’s going on? Is he taking our car?”

Clenching my jaw to keep from screaming at Josh in frustration, I turn toward my sister, take in her terrified expression and wide blue eyes, and feel a knife slip between myribs, stabbing into my heart. All the fight rushes out of me and emotions clog my throat.

Good news? I’m not plummeting anymore. Bad news? I’ve already crashed. My sister’s lip wobbles. Shame curb-stomps me, and heartache rips me to shreds. I swore I’d take better care of her than Mom did.Maybe I’m more like her than I want to admit.My eyes burn, but I blink quickly, swallowing around the lump in my throat.

“It’s okay, Lottie,” I murmur, turning back to the guy. “Please,” I say to Josh. “I have money.” I pull out the measly five hundred dollars. I had planned to pay some toward my overdue rent first and get groceries, but I can sacrifice some to pay him off. “How much do you need?”

Josh shakes his head. “It’s too late for that.”