Page 10 of Heat & Deceit
What time is it?
I move to check my phone, only to remember I left it. Scowling, I glance around for one of those buildings that’ll have a digital sign displaying the day’s information. People move around me, everyone rushing to get to wherever they’re going. Some to work, some to get food, some to meet up with friends. Museton is a great place to hide; with a population nearing five million, anywhere I go is always crowded with people.
There, off to the side, is a sign. I continue walking and stare at the messages flashing across, waiting for it to rotate to the clock. My feet hit the transition from sidewalk to street with ease, having finally memorized this particular path, after weeks of working at Tranquility.
Someone lays on their horn just as the time flashes.
Seven-forty.
A loud crash sounds, but I don’t look. I can’t let anything distract me.
Fuck. I only have ten minutes. I take another step.
“Whoa there,” a deep, rumbling voice says as arms fully wrap around me and pull me back into a hard body.
I suck in a startled breath. That’s my first mistake. Heady vetiver and leather fill my nostrils, distinctly alpha in nature. My second mistake is craning my neck to look at the person holding me. Forest green eyes with yellow starbursts rimming the pupils peer down at me. My third mistake is trying to move away from him. His arms tighten and tug me even closer.
“Stay,” he commands. The sound of his voice is gentle yet firm. A demand I can’t deny.
My eyes widen as my body melts against his. Every hard plain of his body presses against my soft frame. He’s big and tall and strong. He’s an alpha. I tremble a little at the thought, and his eyebrows draw down.
I don’t like that look.
He’s much handsomer without the scowl.
What the hell am I thinking? He’s not handsome; he’s holding me hostage. That thought sends a jolt of panic straight through my heart. My limbs are shaking, but thanks to his command, I can’t move away. A car door slams, and a harsh citrus scent taints the vetiver and leather.
“What the fuck are you doing? I almost killed you!”
“Easy,” the alpha holding me lifts his gaze from mine.
“Easy? She stepped into oncoming traffic, and I crashed my fucking car into a trash can!”
I did? He did?
My attention jumps to the citrusy-smelling stranger. Red faced and glaring, the beta stares at me like I’m enemy number one. The arms around me tense slightly but don’t release me. As much as I don’t like being held against my will, something—a fuming beta with a tomato face—tells me it’s safer in his arms.
“It was an accident,” the alpha rumbles.
“One she’s responsible for. Do you know this stupid beta?” The guy spits the question.
The urge to cuss him out is on the tip of my tongue, but that’s memorable. So is almost being hit by a car. All I can do now is try to minimize the impact. My apron is clutched in my hand, the logo hidden out of sight. A tiny blessing. Neither man will know where to find me.
“I’m sorry,” I tell the guy. “I’m late for work, and I think my manager is going to fire me. I was trying to check the time, and I wasn’t paying attention to the street. I—” stop talking, because now I’m rambling. “I’m sorry.”
“Sorry isn’t going to fix my car,” the guy growls, gesturing toward an older model sedan that’s half on the sidewalk. The metal trash can he hit is tipped over, the contents spilling across the concrete like blood. Stinky, rotten, disgusting trash-can blood.
In general, his car seems fine. It’s not even dented. I press my lips together to keep from saying as much. He seethes and flicks his gaze between me and the alpha behind me. My entire body tenses—how did I forget he’s holding me?
To save you from being run over.
Sensing my discomfort, he says, “You can move.”
I step out of his arms, and this time, he lets me go, trusting me to walk on my own, now that I realize what almost happened. I move to the side and back. Safely on the sidewalk. He tracks my movements before turning back toward the angry guy. People rush around us. They can’t be bothered to stop, not in a city like this. That’s part of why I chose it.
There’s so much going on at any given point, why would anyone care about what’s happening with me?
The alpha stands taller and widens his stance. “Your car is fine.”
