Page 3 of The Alpha’s Sin (Forbidden Omegaverse #7)

LOGAN

T o say I’m at a loss for words is a fucking understatement.

My much-younger sister-in-law is standing on my front porch, sobbing like her heart is breaking.

I step towards her, putting a hand out. God , she looks so fragile, standing there.

She has her arms wrapped around herself, like she’s trying physically to hold herself together and her pretty face is crumpled as the tears pour down.

I know what to do when a woman starts crying. I’m a little rusty at it—my wife, Sharon , died over ten years ago and I only dated one other woman seriously before calling it quits. But I still have an idea of what she needs.

I leave the doorway and wrap an arm around her. She’s shivering as she sobs and I notice for the first time that the sweater-jacket thing she’s wearing is way too thin for an Autumn day. She’s from Florida , I remember—not used to chilly weather.

“Come on inside,” I tell her. “ We need to get you warm.”

I bring her in and get her seated on the couch. It’s right across from the fireplace and I already have a fire going—it’s the first thing I do when I come home. It saves on the heating bills—plus I like the way it makes the house feel—cozy and warm and not quite so fucking empty.

Poppy is still sobbing like her heart will break and I feel my own heart squeeze in my chest. God , poor little thing! I haven’t seen her since the wedding—she looked radiant even though she was marrying my no-good brother. I remember thinking how beautiful she was—and how he didn’t deserve her.

And now he’s gone and proved me right.

She says he left her. I want details but not yet—she needs to finish her crying first. I keep my arm around her and she leans into me, burying her face in the side of my chest as her shoulders hitch. She smells like sadness—bitter and salty. Poor little kitten.

Because that’s what she reminds me of, despite the fact that I can smell she has Were blood in her veins. A little, lost kitten who needs someone to take care of her—to keep her safe.

At last her sobs calm down some and her shoulders stop shaking. She’s not shivering anymore either—good, the fire is doing its work.

“Okay,” I say, looking down at her. “ Now tell me what that little shit did to you. Did you two have a fight or something?”

“No, nothing like that.” She looks up at me with wet eyes. Her eyelashes are all spiky from her tears and the firelight has turned her hair into a river of gold. She’s beautiful, I can’t help noticing, even when she’s in pain.

“What then?” I ask. “ Is he all right?”

“I don’t know.” She shrugs unhappily. “ I guess so. He just left me about a week ago. He said he was…was going to work and then he…he…” She sobs and then catches her breath. “ He never came home.”

I tighten my grip on her.

“Did you check?—”

“Yes, I checked all the hospitals—he wasn’t in any of them. Her voice drops. “ And then I checked the bank. After my card declined.”

Shit! I feel my stomach clench. Tell me he didn’t…

“What happened when you checked the bank?” I ask her.

“It’s gone.” She shakes her head. “ All the money I had from selling my Grandma’s house—gone.” She takes in a deep breath, obviously trying to control herself. “ That’s when I realized he…he isn’t coming back.”

“Goddamn it!” I have to get up and start pacing— I’m too pissed off to sit still. “ That little shit!” I growl.

I wish he was here so I could punch him in his fucking face—how dare he run off on his pretty young wife like this? And after robbing her blind, too! That fucker!

Dirk is bad news—he has been since I’ve known him, which is basically his whole life.

There was a book awhile back called Children without a Conscience .

It’s about kids who are basically born as sociopaths—they don’t see other people in the world as real or worthy of respect.

Some of them get violent—others just turn into grifters.

That’s Dirk —he’s a grifter. And now look what he’s done.

I turn back to the couch, only to see Poppy shrinking away from me.

Her pretty eyes have gone huge as she stares up at me and they’re filled with fear.

God —is she frightened of me? I realize that I’ve been growling, deep in my throat—it’s my Wolf wanting to come out.

The full moon is getting near and my other half as well as my emotions are closer to the surface than usual.

“Sorry, I’m not mad at you,” I say hastily, pushing my Wolf down. “ It’s Dirk — I can’t believe he did this to you. And yet…” I run a hand through my hair. “ I can believe it.”

Her eyes go wide.

“Why? Has he done something like this before?”

“Nothing on this scale. You say he took all the money?”

“Over five hundred thousand dollars,” she whispers. “ My Grandma’s house sold for a lot because everybody’s moving to Florida now. He kept telling me we were saving it for a house. That’s why our wedding wasn’t very nice.” She sniffs and swipes at her eyes

“Holy fucking shit.” I drag a hand down my face. Half a million—that little shit stole half a million and left her!

“The bank manager said there’s nothing they can do since we’re married,” she says. “ And now I don’t have enough money to pay the rent or buy groceries or?—”

“Wait—he cleaned you out completely?” Even for Dirk that’s fucking low. I can’t believe he didn’t even leave his bride enough to pay rent or buy food.

She nods and looks down at her hands. Her shoulders are slumped—she looks utterly defeated. My heart fists in my chest. Poor kitten—she’s got nowhere left to turn. I can’t think of any other reason she’d come to me.

We barely know each other. I never met her until Dirk brought her up here.

I thought about warning her about him, but I was hoping he’d turned over a new leaf.

I wanted to believe he really loved her.

I mean, what’s not to love? She’s usually such a bright, happy, sweet little thing.

And she’s beautiful too—curvy with that gorgeous hair and those big eyes…

Shit. I have to do something here. I have to make this right.

“I was hoping that…” she says something that ends in a mumble so low I can’t hear it.

“What’s that?” I raise my eyebrows at her. “ Sorry , I didn’t hear you.”

She looks up and clears her throat. Her cheeks are pink with embarrassment.

“I was hoping I could stay here—just for a little while,” she says quickly. “ Just until I can get a job and get on my feet. If I could just sleep on your couch?—”

I feel my jaw clenching. Dirk did this to her—he made her come here, begging, when it’s clearly the last thing she wants to do.

“You’re not sleeping on the couch!” I growl and she jumps, her eyes going wide.

“Okay, I’m sorry. I knew I shouldn’t have asked.” She’s up and heading for the door. “ It’s all right— I still have my car. I can stay in that.”

“What? No !” I move to block her exit. “ You’re not fucking staying in your car!”

She looks up at me and I can see the fear in her eyes. She’s frightened of me again. Damn it, I have to bring things down a notch. I’m just so fucking angry at Dirk ! But none of this is her fault.

“I… I don’t understand,” she stammers. “ Please , I’m sorry I bothered you. I’ll just go.”

I take a deep breath and rake a hand through my hair.

“You’re not going anywhere and you’re not sleeping in your car. Or the couch,” I tell her. “ You’re going to stay right here with me, in my spare room while I try to find Dirk and see if I can get any of your money back.”

Her eyes widen and I see a glimmer of hope.

“Really? You’d really do that for me?”

“Of course I will.” I put a hand on her shoulder—but gently, I don’t want to scare her again. “ Look , I’m sorry I got upset. I’m not mad at you— I’m angry at that little shit for treating you this way. He’s always been a grifter, but I never thought he’d do something this bad.”

“He’s a grifter? You mean he’s done things like this before?”

“Never this bad,” I say grimly. “ But I’m not surprised. Did he know about your grandmother’s house and how much you were getting for it?”

She shakes her head.

“Not exactly. I mean, we were in a class together and he came over for a study session—that’s how we met.

And I mentioned that the houses all around my Grandmother’s neighborhood— Seminole Heights —were selling for a lot but I didn’t want to sell and move.

After we started getting serious, he convinced me to sell it and move up here to be closer to you because you’re the only family he’s got. ”

My molars are grinding. That little shit used me as an excuse. And I know this is what he had planned all along. Get her to sell the house, marry her so nobody can say anything when he cleans out the bank account, and then skips town. Classic Dirk .

“God… I’m so fucking sorry.” I want to punch something to get the frustration out, but I don’t want to scare her again. I’m trying to keep my voice even. “ I’m sorry,” I say again. “ But he probably planned this from the start. I wouldn’t put it past him. That’s Dirk .”

She looks up at me, wounded…broken.

“I thought… I really thought he loved me,” she whispers and tears fill her eyes again. “ I was hoping there might be some reason—some explanation that you might know, since you’re his brother…”

I shake my head.

“I’ve known him all my life and I still haven’t figured out what makes Dirk such an asshole. We had loving parents—nobody beat us. We always had enough to eat. There’s no reason for him to be this way. No reason for him to treat you like this.”

“Maybe it’s me. Maybe I drove him away somehow.” She’s sobbing again and it’s tearing my heart out.

“No, baby…no.” I put an arm around her again and she leans into me. “ Come on,” I tell her, as I lead her through the house. “ Let’s get you settled in the spare room. Did you bring your things?”

She nods and sniffs.

“I knew I was about to be evicted—my landlord said if I couldn’t pay he would kick me out.

So I packed everything up and put it in the car—just in case.

I’m sorry to bother you, I just have nowhere else to go.

My Grandma who raised me is dead and I don’t have enough gas to get back down to Florida . ”

My hatred of my little brother flares up all over again. How could he leave her like this? How could he hurt such a sweet, innocent soul? I feel a powerful urge to protect her—to keep her safe from all this shit.

“It’s going to be okay,” I tell her and squeeze her shoulders gently as I get her settled on the side of the spare room bed. “ Give me the keys to your car. I’ll bring in your stuff.”

Mutely, she digs in the pocket of her jeans and hands them to me with a jingle.

“Thank you,” she whispers. “ I swear I won’t be a burden. I’m going to get a job and?—”

“Later for that,” I tell her. “ Right now, I just want you to feel comfortable. You did the right thing, coming to me. My home is your home. Got it?”

Her eyes widen a little and she looks uncertain, as if she’s wondering if I really mean it.

“I mean that,” I tell her. “ I promise you, not all the men in the Hayes family are undependable, lying bastards. You have a place to stay here for as long as you want. I’ll look after you until we get this straightened out.”

I see a little hope dawning in her eyes.

“Thank you,” she says softly.

I give a short nod. I’m still angry at Dirk . I wish I could find him and shake him—make him give back what he stole. But even if I could, I know he took more from her than money. He took Poppy’s trust—he took her heart and stomped on it.

I swear if I get a chance I’ll make him pay. But in the meantime, I’m going to look after her as though she was my own mate. Nobody is going to hurt her again—not while I’m around.