Last night had surpassed anything I had read in my romance novels or imagined in my fantasies because it was real, and it was mine.
I stretched out my legs beneath the crisp sheets. I had no recollection of how my jeans got removed, but my socks and black shirt were untouched. Reno’s side of the bed was neatly made—the bedspread was pulled so tight I could bounce a quarter off it.
I reached for my phone to check my messages. Nothing from Trevor.
Reno hadn’t left a note, but the keys to his truck were on my kitchen table in front of a red apple. I snatched the fresh fruit and took a few juicy bites. With the money deposited into the Sweet Treats account, I now had to turn my attention to Sanchez. Instead of calling, because I’d go ballistic at him for what he did to Trevor, I left a text message of where to meet me for the exchange.
My terms.
If he wanted more cash, then he needed to tell me before our meeting. I had no intentions of showing up only to find out I was going to be short on my payment. No more negotiations; this would be the final transaction.
Screw his abandoned warehouses and screw his mind games. If he wanted his money, then he’d have to meet me at the mall. I wasn’t about to get myself chopped up into pieces, never to be found again, because I’d decided to meet a maniac alone. I’d learned my lesson after the first time and wanted to take every precaution. This wasn’t something I had any experience doing, and if he continued coming after me, I’d either buy a gun or call the police. I had little faith the cops would do much outside of filing a report, and I was uncertain if I’d done something illegal in doing business with a loan shark. I didn’t know the laws, but if they found out I’d taken money out of the business account, I’d really be in legal trouble. The most I could get against Sanchez would probably be a restraining order, and a lot of good that would do me living alone in the parks.
I took a quick shower and put on a pair of knee-length shorts, sneakers, and a sweatshirt. A clip held some of my bangs away from my face and I passed on the perfume and makeup. I had no desire to look or smell attractive for this man. Unfortunately, his money was in my brown purse, so I headed over to Lexi’s to pick it up.
An hour later, I arrived at Austin’s house and knocked on the door. I heard the sound of heavy footsteps approaching and the door swung open.
My eyes traveled upward, landing on a stern-looking man with lots of tattoos on his arms. A wolf, justice scales, a dagger—a myriad of images were married to his flesh and created a staggering display of imagery. A black sleeveless shirt hugged his body and it was then that I noticed his eyes. They were the palest of brown with flecks of gold in the irises. They glittered like amber and warm honey, standing out against his dark features and brooding expression. I glanced at his bare feet as he leaned on the doorjamb and stared down his nose at me.
“What a pleasure to see you again, April,” he said insincerely.
What the heck did I ever do to this guy? Ben might have been a flirtatious handful, but Wheeler was too belligerent for my liking.
“I left my purse upstairs and came by to pick it up.”
His eyes scratched down the length of my body with a judgmental sting. “Speaking of pickups, is that our truck you’re driving around?”
A flush of heat touched my cheeks. “Reno lent it to me.”
“That so?”
I looked directly into his eyes and stared. Didn’t blink, didn’t look away. I wasn’t in the mood for games—not after everything I’d been through in the last twenty-four hours. I also didn’t like imperious jackasses who sought to deflect attention from their own problems by instigating verbal warfare against someone else. His brows sloped down at a menacing angle and he tipped his head to the side, neither of us speaking a word as the sound of a distant airplane flew overhead.
“Wheeler, you’re letting all the cold air out. Who’s at the… oh, April! Please come in,” Ivy insisted, nudging Wheeler out of the way and taking my hand. “Would you like some tea? I just took it out of the sun.”
“No, thanks. I can’t stay. I left in a hurry and forgot my purse, so I stopped by to pick it up.”