Thunder (Alpha Love - a Paranormal Werewolf Shifter Romance Book 3) (12 page)

“I’ll be out in a moment,” he says to his crony, as he turns back to Sofie. “I’m afraid that we’ll have to cut our dinner short. I hope you’ll forgive me.” Sofie doesn’t ask if he’s referring to the interruption or the fact that he nearly strangled her. “There was something else that you wanted to discuss though, if I’m not mistaken?” He looks at her knowingly, but she doesn’t say anything. She is still too shocked to make polite conversation after what he’s just done to her. “You were going to ask for an advance on your salary, I believe? Some…bill that need to be paid?”

Sofie recovers the power of speech. “How…how did you know that?” The only person that she’d had that conversation was with Finn, and she didn’t believe that he would have told anyone else. Finn wouldn’t betray her—that much she could guarantee.

“As I said, I protect my investments.” He gives her his arm to lead her out of the private dining room. “Of course an advance wouldn’t be a problem. I wouldn’t want anything…unpleasant to befall that beautiful face of yours. That would be a shame.” He leads her through the restaurant as the diners stare at them appreciatively.

Sofie realizes that, from the outside, they would look like an ordinary couple—well-dressed and attractive. No one would be able to guess the truth of what just took place in that room. She wants to shout at them that they have no idea what kind of a man he is, what he’s willing to do to get what he wants. But she doesn’t, she’s still too shaken for her brain to tell her body what it should do.

He leads her out into the lobby, in full view of the people at the bar and any passers-by. “I do hope that little problem you’ve been having with your account is solved soon.” The way he says it makes it clear he knows exactly what’s happened with her bank account. And after everything she’s heard from him, it’s not surprising that he’s reached a new low. He was the one that had hacked her account, made it impossible for her to get the cash she needed without his help.

She barely reacts, as he asks her to hold out her hand, so he lifts her arm, holding the flat of her palm out. Then, he starts counting out hundred dollar bills, one after the other, laying them out into her hand, all crisp and shiny and new. When he’s finished, he closes her hand around the cash. “Thank you for a wonderful evening, Sofie.” He says the words so sincerely anyone around them would be forgiven for thinking that he was a nice, normal man. The truth was that he was anything but. He kisses her demurely on the cheek. “Remember our agreement. Oh and you might want to straighten out your dress, wouldn’t want to give people the wrong impression,” he whispers cruelly in her ear before moving away from her, striding back towards the elevator, and then he’s gone.

As the elevator doors close behind him, Sofie wakes up from whatever dream she had been caught in. She looks at the stack of money in her hand and adjusts her dress, which has ridden up a little during the struggle between them. She takes in the distasteful expression of some of the people around her. At first she’s confused, but then she catches sight of Lindsey. Her expression of shock tells Sofie everything that she needs to know. Lindsey clearly thinks that Luke is paying her for services rendered, and it’s an idea that’s probably shared by everyone else in the place.

Of course, that had been his intention. He would have known that someone was watching them. He wanted to get between her and Ashton, and above all else, he wanted to make a point. He wanted to show her that he has power over her, that she’s his puppet to control. She turns back to where Lindsey had been standing, desperate to explain to her that what she had just seen wasn’t what it looked like. However, she’s already gone. Sofie is left standing in the lobby with the crisp notes in her hand, and it feels like the dirtiest money she’s ever held.

Sofie feels the eyes of the curious onlookers following her as she walks out of the hotel, trying to keep her head held high. She looks around outside, shivering despite the warmth of the night. But it’s as if Lindsey has disappeared, no doubt she’ll be on her way to Ashton to report on what she’d seen.

She hands her ticket to the valet who rushes off to get her car. She stands alone on the sidewalk, her arms around her chest as she hugs herself against the cold that’s not coming from the air; it’s coming from inside of her.

“What the hell was that?” Lindsey’s voice comes out of the darkness followed by the woman herself.

Sofie looks at her and sees the disappointment written all over her lovely features. “If I told you, then you wouldn’t believe me anyway.” She shrugs, defeated and exhausted. Too much has happened in the past day to take on anything else.

“Try me, all you have to do is tell me what the cash is for, and we can settle all this. Ashton will understand.” Lindsey looks earnestly at Sofie, desperately wanting to hear something that’s more plausible than what she’s afraid has happened.

“Why aren’t you already half way to tell Ashton what it is that you already suspect? The way you looked at me in there; I know what you think.” Sofie takes a deep breath, trying to keep the tears that she can already feel building at bay.

“Because I wanted to hear what you have to say first!” Lindsey is angry, throwing her hands up in despair. “Tell me, Sofie. Tell me why that creep gave you a whole chunk of cash after being in that room alone all evening? Just tell me the truth.”

“The truth!” Sofie laughs hoarsely, not even able to fake it. “Isn’t that rich! Why don’t you ask Ashton if he’s ready for some truth? If he’s ready to really share something with me.”

“Sofie, I can’t help you if you don’t let me. I’ve made a promise. I have to tell Ashton what I saw, but give me something else to tell him. Give me a reason. Why did Luke give you that money?” Lindsey looks down at the wad of dollar bills still clutched in Sofie’s hand.

“Because I need it, and I asked him for it. That’s why he gave it to me.” Sofie grits her teeth, trying to keep herself afloat, trying to stop herself from telling a truth that she can never walk away from. Ashton only knows half of her back story. He doesn’t know the scary part, the part that will make him think differently of her. She never wanted him to see her as this fragile person who needs protection and needs looking after. Besides, the Collector and everything around it was her problem to deal with, not his. He had enough on his plate; he didn’t need any more drama from her.

“Why won’t you tell me? What is it that you’re trying to hide?” Lindsey looks like she wants to shake some sense into her, but Sofie remains silent. She’s made her decision. “Fine, you won’t tell me why you need the money. Will you tell me what happened in that room?” Lindsey crosses her arms, waiting studying Sofie’s face for a sign she can use.

Sofie remains silent. Luke’s words echo in her ears.
Would you allow me to take everything away from him, when you know that you could do something to stop me?
She knows that she can’t tell Lindsey. If Ashton were to find out that Luke was using him to threaten her, she doesn’t know what he would do.

Besides, when it came to her or the safety of the pack, the pack that he was sworn to protect and treasure above all else, she figures she knows what side he would come down on. There was no need to ask him to choose, she’d already made the choice for him. She’d made it as soon as the words were out of Luke’s mouth.

He was right; he’d found her Achilles heel, the one thing that she couldn’t live with. If Ashton thinks that she’s slept with Luke, then it makes things easier. He won’t want her anymore; he’ll probably hate her and leave her alone. Then, she can do what needs to be done to keep the werewolf secret safe.

Lindsey gives it one last shot, trying her hardest to give Sofie the benefit of the doubt, an opportunity to explain. “Sofie, please. You know what this looks like. Give me something to tell him, something that isn’t…this.” The plea in Lindsey’s eyes is clear.

“You can tell him that I’m sorry.” She doesn’t add that what she’s sorry for is being the reason that Luke has taken such an interest in Ashton and the rest of his pack. That she’s the reason their secret is perilously close to coming out.

Lindsey searches Sofie’s face, knowing that something isn’t right. “Whatever you think that you’re doing, it’s not how this is supposed to go.” Lindsey shakes her head, clearly disappointed.

A few hours earlier and Sofie would have asked what she meant, asked how things were supposed to go. But the day has been too long, and she’s already made her decision. Knowing any more about any of it now would only complicate things further.

“You should go,” Sofie says, as the valet brings her car around. Lindsey turns, slowly to go, but not before she hears Sofie’s whispered words that sound like a goodbye. “Thanks for believing in me.”

By the time Lindsey has turned around to stop her, Sofie has already sped off down the road.

***

Once in the car, Sofie totally loses the ability to keep it all together. The tears that have been bubbling under the surface for so long finally spill out. She’s wracked by sobs as she thinks about what Ashton will think of her, how much he’ll hate her, and how much she’ll have hurt him.

Sofie cries as she thinks about Luke, the way he had treated her like the only thing that mattered about her was the way she made him feel.
He doesn’t care that I have a life that he is slowly destroying. It’s like I’m not even a real person to him, just a means to an end. What was it that he had called me? His little bird. His damaged bird. He gets off on the troubles of my life. I wonder if in his little delusion, he is the hero saving me from a life of pain and hardship. He’s sick, well and truly sick.

Over the course of the drive, she gets herself under control, taking deep breaths, talking to herself, convincing herself that this is the right way to go.
After all
, she reasons,
everything was pointed towards an end to her and Ashton. He’s a werewolf, and I’m not. That pretty much sums it up. I don’t belong in his world. He needs to be with one of his own kind, someone that can understand, someone that can be his mate.
She tries to forget about the fact that it makes her nauseous to think about him with someone else or that after less than ten days together it’s hard to imagine her life without him in it.

As she pulls into the parking lot, she rests her head on the steering wheel, taking deep breaths, collecting herself. She checks her face in the rear-view mirror. Luke’s hands haven’t left a mark on her cheeks or her neck. The thought of his hands around her throat makes it difficult to breathe, as if it were happening all over again. Her eyes are puffy and red but, apart from that, there’s no permanent damage. Her headache is in full swing again, but that is becoming the new normal.

She walks through reception at speed, making a b-line for Finn’s room. She could use a friend right now, preferably someone that didn’t think she exchanged sexual favors for money. But before she makes it half way down the corridor her friendly neighborhood motel receptionist stops her.

“Umm, Ms. Braun…Sofie!” Brett calls out.

She had wanted to avoid everyone apart from Finn. “Brett, I don’t mean to be rude, but I’ve had a really, really long day followed by a really, really long night, and all I want to do right now is to go to my friend’s room and get as wasted as humanly possible. So, if you don’t mind?” She turns around without waiting for a response, wondering if she really is as crazy as his expression tells her he thinks she is.

“Okay, umm…right, well, I sure am sorry to hear that Ms. Brau…Sofie. I just thought you might wanna know that your friend was here looking for you.” Brett’s earnest explanation pulls Sofie up short.

She doesn’t turn around to face him. For a split-second she wonders if he means Ashton, but Brett knows him. He wouldn’t be so vague about a man that he knows Sofie’s dating, if that’s what she could even call it. “My friend?”

“Yeah, he said he was an old friend of the family, of your dad’s?” Brett looks at the back of her head questioningly.

“What did you tell him?” Sofie’s mind is racing, as she asks the question. She already knows who the mystery visitor was. Her father didn’t have any friends, not anymore at least. All he had were debts.

“I said that you were out, didn’t know when you’d be back,” Brett shrugs wondering if he’s done something wrong. “Are you alright?”

“Fine. Thanks for the message.” Sofie hurries down the corridor, passing her room and hammering on Finn’s door.

Brett scratches his head, asking himself if all beautiful women are so highly strung.

“Hold on! Hold on!” Finn shouts through the door. He opens it, ready to inform whoever it is that he’s reached the highest level yet of Grand Theft Auto, and he’s found some secret Easter Eggs that no other player seems to have discovered. But he takes one look at Sofie’s tear-stained face and shuts his mouth, ushering her inside.

***

“Are you going to tell me what happened or are you just going to raid my mini-bar?” Finn is sitting on the edge of the bed, watching Sofie as she empties as many tiny bottles out of the refrigerator as she can. “Was it Luke? Did he try something?” Finn asks

“Yes and yes.” Sofie collects the miniature bottles in her arms and lays them out on the bed, taking a seat opposite her friend.

“Is that all you’re going to say? Well, are you okay? Did he hurt you?” Finn adjusts his glasses like they’re going to give him better vision of the past, of what happened to Sofie.

“Finnbarr, it has been a really long day, a really long week, a really long life. I don’t know about you, but I could really use a drink, or several,” she says, looking at the little selection laid out between them. She chooses a miniature bottle of tequila and unscrews it, ready to toast with him.

“Fine, well what are we drinking to?” Finn grabs a tiny vodka bottle and follows Sofie’s lead, raising it up to chink with her.

“How about to the end of the shittiest day of my life?” Sofie suggests, smiling sadly.

“Well, your life hasn’t ended yet, so it’s not technically the shittiest day. You could live to be a hundred and have tons of days shittier than this one…” Finn peters out as he catches Sofie’s look.

“Thanks, Finn. That’s really uplifting,” she mutters.

“Alright, well, how about to good friends?” Finn suggests the toast uncertainly, like he’s waiting for Sofie to rebut it.

“To good friends,” Sofie agrees before raising the bottle to her lips and drinking it down without a pause. She makes a face as the bitterness of the drink sends her taste buds into paroxysms. She selects another bottle from the load between them as Finn finishes his. “How’s Darwin?” She supports her head in her hand, hoping that the strong alcohol will go some way to dulling the ache in her mind and her heart.

“Not great, he’s pretty heavily medicated.” Finn sighs, taking his glasses off and cleaning them, a sign of his upset. He cares about Darwin—although he would never admit it to his face. “He’s still freaking out about what he saw, keeps insisting it was bigger than any wolf he’s ever heard of. I tried to tell him that it must have just been a trick of the light or maybe it just looked bigger to him because he was scared. He didn’t like that much.” Finn raises his eyebrows before taking another swig.

“I’ll bet,” Sofie says and smiles ruefully. “What did he say?”

“Told me that if I didn’t have anything sensible to say that I should get the fuck out.” Finn laughs as he recounts the story.

“Sounds like him,” Sofie says with a smile, thinking how much she would like to see him and how little he would probably want to see of her.

“He asked after you, you know?” Finn looks at her from under his floppy hair. “He wanted to make sure you were alright.” When Sofie doesn’t say anything, he continues, “He cares about you, talks about you when you’re not around, how he wishes his daughters could be as independent as you, how you’re the best geologist he’s ever worked with.”

Sofie looks up at him. “I think you should be speaking in the past tense, Finn. Darwin and I aren’t exactly like this anymore.” She holds up her crossed fingers.

“A few days of stupid fights doesn’t change a year and a half of mutual admiration, Sofe, no matter how sorry for yourself you might be feeling right now.” Finn gives her a pointed look.

Sofie can feel herself getting emotional again, she needs to move things into another direction. “So, my favorite computer genius, you get anywhere on my bank account? Figured out who’s been hacking my pitiful savings?” She’s already pretty sure she knows the answer to their latest technical mystery, but it would be nice to actually be told something certain, just for once.

Finn pauses, the next bottle half way to his lips. “All roads lead back to Shale. You were right.” Finn takes another swig.

“I do tend to be.” Sofie smiles back, raising her bottle to toast again. “To always being right.”

“Now that is something I can get on board with.” Finn smiles triumphantly, as they toast again.

But Sofie had to admit, sometimes being right didn’t make you happy. Luke knew about her debts, knew about her problems and, when she carried on seeing Ashton, carried on ignoring Luke’s advances, he’d taken the next step. He’d used her finances, or lack of them, to give him a way of making her dependent on him, making her need him.