Page 17 of Unbonded
My cell buzzes at that moment, and I dig it out of my purse to see Stanley’s name on the screen. I can’t hide my reaction, and Bram nods at the phone. “Is he the problem?”
It’s a strange way to put it, and I shrug. “He’s one of them.”
He doesn’t say anything, and when Stanley starts calling for a second time, I mute the phone and push it back into my purse. “He’s the contractor working on my house. I owe him money I don’t have, and he’s being difficult about the repayments.”
“Hmm.” His fingers tap the wheel again, faster now. “And he’s in there?”
“He’s a part-owner, I think. He told me I had to be here at eight…” I grimace as I look at the clock on the dash. Stanley is going to be furious if I don’t show and I hate the way it makes my skin tighten with panic. I can feel Bram watching me, and I say defensively, “I wouldn’t be here if I had a choice.”
He makes a low sound in his throat, but he just nods and punches something into the screen on his dash. “What’s his name?”
“Stanley King. Why?”
“And his company?”
“Kingdom Projects, in Borough Park.”
I’m about to ask him why he wants to know when the dash screen rings, and a gruff voice rattles through the speakers like gravel. “Bram, what have you got for me?”
“Another name to add to your list,” the alpha next to me replies. “Stanley King. He’s a contractor in Queens, but he’s also a part-owner of the Red Haze on Grand.”
“That shithole?” I cringe into my seat, but to my surprise, Bram reaches out and places his hand over mine. Not squeezing, just resting it there, his body heat soaking into my skin. “Okay, that’s enough for me to look into the guy. Anything else?”
“Not for now.”
“Take care, man.”
The call ends and Bram nods at the dark screen. “Perry is a detective in the FBI’s Financial Crimes Unit. I’ve done some forensic accounting for a couple of his cases, and I just added King to his persons of interest list.”
My mouth falls open. An hour ago, I was despairing that if I asked the cops for help, they would probably deliver me up to Stanley’s doorstep, and now this strange alpha has turned the tables on him in the most unexpected way. “What will happen to him?”
Bram shrugs, his wide shoulders flexing in his dark shirt. He’s wearing all black, and the color looks so good on him I feel a flutter in my chest. Although maybe that’s just my grateful little heart, because for a moment I don’t feel so completely alone.
“Depends how dirty he is,” Bram goes on, his gaze still narrowed on the club door. “But that place is bad news. When Perry was looking into an omega trafficking ring, it came up as a buyer. My guess is that most of the omegas working there don’t have much of a choice about it.”
I groan, my stomach now rolling with a different kind of nausea. Stanley has invited me here numerous times and Ialways managed to use work as an excuse to turn him down. But he insisted this time, maybe because of the Safe Haven pack he found on my kitchen bench. He’s crossing lines more than ever, and I’m pretty sure he’s decided I’ll work off my debt right here. I bite my lip, my eyes blurring as I stare at the club door.What would have happened if Bram hadn’t stepped in?
“I didn’t know,” I whisper, wrapping my arms around myself. I’m so cold I can barely feel my fingertips. “I mean, I knew he was an asshole, but…”
Bram’s hand is now snaking around behind my shoulders, and after a tiny pause, he pulls me into his side. There’s still the console between us, but he’s so big it feels like I’m being enveloped by his warm body. “It’s okay,” he murmurs, his knuckles brushing my cold cheek. “I’ll take care of it, okay?”
I know I shouldn’t get my hopes up – monsters like Stanley King don’t go away easily - but I can’t resist closing my eyes. It feels so good to be comforted by another person, especially when they carry a whiff of Dash on their skin. Not that Bram doesn’t smell amazing in his own right. In fact, his scent is almost as cozy as Corbus’ cedarwood fragrance, and I arch my neck, chasing its source. It buzzes across my skin, and I squirm, trying to get closer.
Bram doesn’t make a sound, and it’s somehow easier to give into my instincts as silence envelops us. Everything is dark, safe, and warm, especially as my lips skim up the thick column of his neck. With his short hair, I have unrestricted access to his scent gland, and I dip towards it without a second thought. Pleasure curls down my spine as I lap at the raised flesh, the muskiness of his skin making my lips tingle and my thighs clench. I moan, suddenly desperate for more, but the car starts under us, and I pull back with a pout.
Except… that’s not an engine.
It’s an alpha purr; a hypnotic rumble that’s so deep and soothing, it’s like a hand caressing my bruised heart.
An alpha’s hand, that most definitely does not belong to you!
Awareness hits like I’ve just been dunked in a bucket of cold water. And it’s not myheartthat is perched on his lap and rocking against the huge bulge in his pants.
In what world am I straddling Bram Webber and sucking on his scent gland?
I leap off him so fast, I smack my knee against the console, but I barely feel the sting. How can I when I’m vibrating with embarrassment for climbing him like a sugared-up toddler?
It’s only as I cringe back into my seat that I feel a trickle in my panties, my pent-up body growing slick at its proximity toall that. “Oh, my God, Bram! I don’t know why I did that. I’m so,sosorry!”
