Page 155 of The Alpha's Second Chance Mate

My heart lurched as the woman hurried inside, then came back and handed Dallas a thick envelope. My brother tucked it inside his jacket pocket, then said something to the two men in his group, sending them off in different directions. One of them headed straight for the diner.

“Shit,” I muttered.

The man, a big goon of about six-foot-three and at least two-hundred-and-fifty pounds, shoved the diner door open, using far more strength than necessary. The door banged against the wall, and what little conversation had been going stopped abruptly.

“Good afternoon, everyone,” the man said in a bad imitation of a preschool teacher. “You know what time it is.”

The customers all stared back at him in terror. I kept my head down, staring at the remnants of my sandwich, hoping he wouldn’t get curious and take a better look. I was sure most of Kyle’s men would know me on sight.

“Lee!” the man bellowed.

From the corner of my eye, I saw a woman flinch.

“Oh,” the man said with mock concern. “Did I scare the pretty little lady with my big bad voice?”

Tilting my head to get a better look, I watched the man stride over and lean on the table, eyeing the couple.

“Is she scared of my big voice?” he asked again.

“It was nothing,” the man with her said. “She… uh, she sneezed. That’s all.”

“I sneezed,” the woman said.

“Hmph,” the henchman grunted. “Didn’t hear a sneeze? I wonder—” he leaned even closer— “if she’s scared of how big my voice is, would she be scared of how big my?—”

“I got your money,” a voice rang out.

The guy whirled around, leaving the couple alone, and I raised my head as well. An older man came forward, trembling slightly, holding out an envelope to the thug.

“Well, well, well. Lee, it looks like you’ve been doing well for yourself,” the guy said, snatching the envelope away and weighing it in his hand. “You got any news for us?”

Lee shook his head, keeping his eyes downcast. “Nothing. No.”

“Unfortunate, but I do like it when you make this easy for me,” the guy said. “Now, maybe we’ll see if your customers and employees want to contribute to the fund?”

“That’s not part of the deal,” Lee said.

While the men argued, I slid out of my seat and crept into the bathroom at the back of the diner. Once the door was closed behind me, I pulled my phone out and shot Langston a text.

Cole:Got a tax collector here. I’m gonna make my move on this guy.

From the dining room, I heard the man call out, “Where’d that fucker in the back go? Anyone see the asshole?”

That would be me. Looks like our little dance was going to happen sooner than I thought.

A couple seconds later, the bathroom door was kicked open. I didn’t give the guy any time to get his bearings. Lunging forward, I grabbed his wrist and pulled him forward, catching him off balance. He was huge, but I was an alpha. A beta was no match for me.

He crashed to his knees and looked up at me. The light of recognition flared in his eyes before I punched him, the cartilage in his nose shattering under my knuckles. He fell back, slamming onto his back.

“You dumb fucker,” he mumbled, slurring the words through his broken nose. He tried to sit up.

I pressed my boot to his chest, holding him down.

He glared up at me, blood streaming from his nose down into his mouth, staining his teeth red and pink. “You look exactly like the boss’s little shit-getter. The errand boy. You his big brother, ain’t you?”

“Indeed, I fuckingam,” I growled, letting my alpha aura surge out.

He flinched back, wincing as my energy washed over him. Reining it back in, I let the guy recover a bit.

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