Page 92 of Dominion
“I’ll call you right back,” Ashley promised.
She hung up and stared at the mess, tears burning her eyes. What should she do? She wished she could pack up all her stuff and get out that second, but she didn’t know where to go. Where could she rent a place on such short notice? And she didn’t want to rent, dammit, she’d been so excited to buy her own place.
Ben Stone, her twin sister’s wealthy new husband, had offered to help her with a down payment so she could buy a house of her own.
The sound of a car door slamming made her look out the window. Jeremy had better have a solution for?—
But it wasn’t Jeremy.
Three lethal-looking guys got out of a dark blue Range Rover and strode purposefully to the front door. They didn’t bother knocking and she stupidly hadn’t locked it.
Holy hell. They were here,in the house.They were going to kill her.
Heart jammed up high in her throat, she dived for the closet, squirrelling back behind the clothes.
Please don’t let them search the house.
Her phone lit up, the first note of the ring sending her into a wild swiping frenzy to shut it off. It went silent. She held her breath, listening to hear if the men downstairs had noticed, but only heard the sound of their voices calling to each other. Were they moving in to wait for her and Jeremy?
Her hands shook so hard, she could hardly read the phone, but saw it had been Ashley calling.
She texted her back.
They’re in the house.
Cody Steele washedthe plaster off his trowel and wiped everything clean. Almost finished—just a couple of quick coats of paint over this repaired hole in the wall and the house would be ready to go on the market. Buying historic buildings and homes, fixing them up and selling for a tidy profit had put his restless, hands-on personality to good use. CJ Steele properties had become well known in Colorado Springs for their real estate successes and his company provided jobs for most of the wolves in his pack.
Not bad, considering his dad had thrown him out of the pack at sixteen, saying he’d never amount to anything. It was a source of pride that he’d started and made his business successful completely on his own, starting a pack in a city where they’d previously been loose members of the Denver pack.
His cell phone buzzed and he pulled it out of his pocket and frowned. Ben Stone, the alpha from Denver. What in the hell did he want?
He answered it. “Cody speaking.”
“Cody? Ben Stone, from Denver.”
“I know who you are.”
“I need a favor from you—a big one.” There was a curt sense of urgency in the guy’s voice.
He ground his molars. Pretty presumptuous for a guy who hadn’t offered him or his pack even a hello since he took over as alpha nine months ago. “I don’t recall owing you one.”
Stone didn’t hesitate. “I’ll be the one owing. My sister-in-law lives in Colorado Springs and she’s run into trouble. I’m out of the country or I’d come down myself to handle things.”
“What kind of trouble?”
“Her place got broken into. There’s a threatening message spray-painted on the wall. Probably her loser ex-boyfriend got himself into some trouble, but she’s not involved. I need you to keep her safe.”
Fuck.
This was the last thing he wanted to get involved in. But having Ben Stone in his debt would only be a good thing for his pack. Ben had all kinds of resources, money being at the top of the list. He also had a large pack with members of every skill set, and being friendly with them would mean he’d never have to turn to his father’s pack for help. And he’d rather die than do that.
“Steele?”
He blew out his breath. “Yeah, okay. What’s the address?”
“I’ll text it to you. You’ll go right now?”
“I’ll go. What’s her name?”