Total pages in book: 141
Estimated words: 133191 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 666(@200wpm)___ 533(@250wpm)___ 444(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 133191 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 666(@200wpm)___ 533(@250wpm)___ 444(@300wpm)
And it wasn’t the first time Thea had to brush off that kind of offer.
She pushed his hand from her ass and straightened. “I’ll bring you and your wife the check and then you should probably leave.”
Mr. Orange’s face reddened to blood orange with indignation while Mrs. Orange’s lips pinched together. Not long later Thea gave them the check and returned to get the cash they’d left while they were over at the alcove by the door to the kitchen, shrugging into their coats.
They hadn’t left a tip.
At all.
The guy felt her up and then attempted to prostitute her and he hadn’t even had the decency to tip her.
The bitter ugliness that Thea tried so hard to fight down bloomed in her chest. Pasting a serene expression on her face, she strolled toward the kitchen and just as she reached Mr. Orange, she pretended to trip on a chair leg. Colliding with him, she expertly slipped her hand inside his coat to the inner pocket where he kept his wallet and withdrew it. As they fumbled against each other, she slipped the wallet into her apron pocket.
It all happened in a matter of seconds. No one was the wiser.
“I am so sorry.” She gave an embarrassed, innocent smile as she stepped away from him.
“Clumsy girl,” Mr. Orange huffed, tugging on the lapels of his coat.
“Really, I’m so sorry. You have a wonderful day.” Thea turned away as Mrs. Orange muttered something insulting about Thea to her husband, thinking she couldn’t hear.
Smirking to herself, Thea wandered through the kitchen, grabbed a filled trash bag, and stepped out into the alley behind the restaurant. The feeling of being watched lessened, and she dumped the trash before opening the wallet. She grinned seeing the wad of zlotys and promptly hid the wallet beneath the wheel arch of the left back tire of Anthony’s car. Zuzanna said the car had sat untouched in the alley for months because he hated driving in the city.
If the Oranges returned before her shift was over, looking for the wallet, they wouldn’t find it on her or in her locker. After her shift, she’d grab the wallet and dump everything but the cash.
That Thea didn’t even feel guilty about it probably made her a terrible person, but there was no one in her life to judge her, to care about her actions, so why should she?
As Thea stood from her haunches, the hair on her arms and neck rose like she’d walked through static. Reflexive instinct made her whip around, and she choked out a gasp at the appearance of the tall man towering before her.
Where the hell had he come from?
The surrounding air shifted and an earthy scent like damp soil passed over her.
She knew that base scent.
He wasn’t a man.
He was a werewolf.
Hence all her hair standing on end.
But the back of her neck wasn’t tingling, and her heart wasn’t beating fast, so apparently, he didn’t present a danger.
Still, she glanced around, freaked out he’d gotten this close before her instincts kicked in.
How?
Looking at him, Thea wanted to take a step back, but she worried he’d misconstrue it as a sign of fear. Not that it mattered. Thea knew wolves could smell fear.
Staring up at the powerfully built supernatural that stood at least six and a half feet tall, Thea should’ve probably felt fear and would have if her danger signals had been blaring. A deep scar cut through the werewolf’s left cheek. He looked battle-hardened. Cold determination blazed out of his startling pale gray eyes.
Despite the simplicity of his clothing—T-shirt, jeans, and hiking boots—everything about him screamed warrior. It was the scar, the scary ruggedness of his countenance, and the aura of power that emanated from him, caressing her skin like a hum of energy. She would bet her life he was an alpha.
What the hell did an alpha werewolf want with Thea?
His gaze flickered to the wallet under the wheel and his upper lip curled into a sneer. “A thief too.” He looked back at her in icy regard. A shudder rippled down Thea’s spine. “I shouldnae be surprised.”
He sounded Scottish.
“Who are you? What do you want?”
And then something happened Thea never expected. The hulking werewolf moved faster than she knew werewolves could. As fast as she’d seen a vampire move. It was too late to react, to respond.
Something pricked her neck.
Fury blasted through her as she glared up into his cold eyes.
Determined to teach the wolf a lesson, Thea readied herself for battle … and then she finally noted the almost-empty syringe in his hand just as the burn began. A familiar substance clung to the base of the syringe.
No!
He’d found her.
Ashforth had found her.
The burn spread and Thea’s knees buckled as a familiar agony rushed through her. She could almost visualize the concoction merging with her blood, heating her cells to the boiling point. Refusing to scream, she fell to her knees and curled in on herself, choking back the misery.