I let the words resonate. Free. Not just from Maddox, but from all the strings that held me to my past. The ones that had twisted my life into knots and kept me bound.
He cleared his throat. “You still want dinner? I can heat up a pan of lasagna or you can go pack your bags. You can have anything in your room, even though you haven’t let me buy you a damn thing.”
A tear rolled down my cheek. I’d hoped for this moment but never imagined how strangely fond I’d grown of Maddox. He played it off as if it were about the sex, but I knew him better than that. Somehow, I had crept inside his heart and he’d begun to care. I got up from my seat and stood behind him, slipping my arms around his neck.
“Thank you,” I whispered against his wavy hair. “No matter what anyone says, Maddox, you have a heart of gold.”
“Stay out of trouble, little girl. If any man puts his hands on you, then you come see me and I’ll take care of it. Stay away from lenders, you hear?”
I nodded against his shoulder.
“Go on,” he said in a soft voice, reaching around and patting my back. “Before I change my mind.”
And just like that, I was free.
***
After the incident at Howlers, Reno spent two weeks running a background check on Maddox, hoping to find something that would get him in trouble with the authorities. Only then would April be free, whether she wanted it or not. Why the hell would she become another man’s pet? The thought twisted into a painful knot in Reno’s mind as he thought about the two of them having sex.
Reno had come close to shooting Maddox’s animal, but Denver had come out and dragged him back inside the bar, leaving Maddox to shift back and get dressed. Reno had gone into the men’s room to cool off when he heard a ruckus coming from the adjacent bathroom. When he saw April on the floor, something dark had not only splintered his heart, but his animal’s heart as well. Reno’s wolf had thrashed at his skin to come out, and he’d fought hard to keep him tethered. Murder would not only lead to his arrest by the higher authority, but it would shame his pack if it couldn’t be justified. The odds were against him since Breed establishments were neutral ground with strict rules.
And murder was exactly what would have happened. Instead, he’d unleashed violence.
During the weeks that followed, Reno’s investigation on Maddox came up clean. He ran a legit business and dealt with the right people. Loan sharks weren’t illegal, but sometimes they did illegal things. Maddox’s record was so clean it squeaked. Unfortunately, without any evidence, he couldn’t do anything about the questionable loan made to Charles Langston. Maddox had meticulously covered his tracks, and there were laws against slander that kept Reno’s hands tied.
Maybe April didn’t want anything to do with the likes of Reno, but after that night, he knew with absolute certainty it had nothing to do with him being a Shifter.
Eventually, he could no longer sleep without knowing what their arrangement was all about. So Reno had called up Maddox to confront him and find out the truth. And the truth is exactly what he got.
Holy hell, that woman had given up her freedom to get out of debt. That amount of money was a drop in the bucket for Reno, who had been stashing his income away for years. But for a young girl like April, it must have seemed like quicksand. He didn’t want her to lose sight of her dreams, becoming a woman he’d no longer recognize.
So Reno cleared her debt. Every penny.
At first, Maddox wouldn’t accept his money but wouldn’t give a reason. Reno didn’t relent. He called him two days later, and after a heated discussion, Maddox said he’d do it for double the amount. Maybe he’d been testing him, but Reno had never flunked a test in his life.
He’d paid the full amount, but he had conditions of his own. The first being Maddox wouldn’t tell her about their arrangement. She could never find out about Reno’s involvement under any circumstance. April would then feel like she owed Reno, and he wanted to give her something she’d never had: financial freedom. A person deserved a clean slate in life at least once, and she had more than paid her dues. The second condition was that Maddox had to cut her loose immediately and tell her it was for personal reasons.
Maddox thought Reno was a crazy sonofabitch, as he put it, but he’d agreed. All men have a price. Reno had received the call the other day to confirm it was done, but Maddox had no clue where she’d gone.