“I don’t have kids; let me live vicariously through you. Someday, she’ll find out all that fairy-tale stuff about love is just a lie, so let her enjoy it while she can. Did you find your mama?”

That’s when the waterworks came on. Naya hugged my shoulders and I cried against her shimmery white blouse.

“Don’t cry, chickypoo. It’s going to be okay, you just wait and see. I really hate to leave you,” she said guiltily.

“No, it’s fine. I know you’re late. Maybe we can talk tomorrow, but I’m going to be in and out all day.”

“That’s what he said,” she purred.

Naya knew how to snap me out of my funk and make me laugh. She blew a kiss and dashed off, leaving me alone on the steps. I had just wiped a crumb from the corner of my mouth when the sound of heavy footsteps approached from below. A long shadow emerged on the walkway and a man came into view. He slowly ascended the stairs and I leaned to the left to see if it was one of Naya’s lovesick puppies who often swung by when she was at work.

Officer McNeal rounded the corner and smiled.

“Alexia Knight,” he said from the landing below. “Have you been dodging me?”

“How come you’re never in uniform?” I asked skeptically, looking at his black pants and shirt. McNeal looked like a cop, but it didn’t feel legit, if that makes any sense. He looked forty, but something about his grey eyes seemed much older.

“I’m a detective—we’re not required to wear uniforms.”

“So why did you introduce yourself as an officer?”

He threw his left foot up on the step and leaned on the railing. “Your father is in some serious trouble and we need to locate him.”

“You know about the kidnapping?”

His brow arched. Apparently he didn’t. “Nelson stole something that’s extremely valuable, and now the owner wants it back. He threatened to hunt down Nelson’s family, and we’re just looking to track your father down before this escalates out of hand.”

Then a light bulb switched on. “You’re not a cop, are you?” I rose to my feet with each foot on a different step. “You’re working with the man my dad owes, aren’t you? What did he do? Because he kidnapped my mother.”

McNeal looked me over and cocked his head to the side. “It doesn’t seem like he took everything of value.”

The remark confused me, but I quickly realized McNeal might see me as a way to bait my father.

“You think he cares about me?” I laughed but the sound quickly died as I narrowed my eyes at him. “I’m not even his real daughter. He left us years ago and doesn’t give a damn about my life.”

McNeal drummed his fingers impatiently on the railing. “Your father is a thief.”

“What did he steal, a few grand? Write it off.”

“Fifty million in diamonds.”

Holy shit.

“My dad worked in a warehouse,” I said in a voice of denial.

“Is that what he told you?” McNeal huffed out a laugh and glanced upward. “He was a runner who completed payment transactions.”

“What does that mean?”

“If someone didn’t pay their debt, your father finished the transaction,” he said with his fingers shaped like a gun.

Oh my God.

“You’re lying.”

“Am I?” He took a step up and I took a step back.

“I’m going to find him, and the longer I’m forced to wait, the more dangerous I become. Your family has been nothing but trouble; I should have washed my hands of you years ago by taking him out too.”

“Too?” This time I stepped forward. “What do you mean… too?”

“I can sense by your energy you’re not human,” he said. “And I’d be curious to know more about how that came to be. Your brother was a fool. At least your father wasn’t begging for immortality; he just wanted a fat paycheck. Humans should know their place.”

I was three seconds from lunging at him. “What do you know about Wes? How could you know him?”

“Nelson wanted to bring him into the business.” McNeal shrugged. “Only, your brother didn’t want monetary gain, that stupid human wanted immortality. Some of your kind get fixated on living forever and are willing to do anything, give up anything. Like a Mage is just going to give away that kind of power for a job? Fuck no. You got to earn your keep with us and show us your worth. It might take a lifetime to earn, but I didn’t tell him that. Just gave him his assignment and he chickened out.”

“What assignment?” I breathed. My heart raced like a hummingbird and my legs trembled.

“To kill a young Shifter—an alpha. We got a population problem around here with some of those wolves eating up land, and I’m trying to solve it. You take out the young alphas, and they can’t form packs. Packs are stronger, so creating more rogue Shifters by circumstance makes them easier to pick off—it’s a numbers game. Plus, no female wolf is going to pair up with a man who isn’t part of a pack. He had a problem with the assignment; some shit about the guy being his friend.”

It felt like a sheet of ice slid over my skin. McNeal was talking about Austin. Wes was trying to become immortal and his first assignment was to kill his best friend.

“You killed my brother?”

“Not personally,” he corrected. “I keep my hands clean and outsource all the dirty work. Keeps me out of Breed jail.”

“You aren’t afraid I’ll turn you in?”

He smirked. “You know what they call an accusation without proof in our world? Slander. And there are heavy consequences for ruining an immortal’s good name.”

A loud motor purred in the parking lot and abruptly cut off. When the door slammed, McNeal whipped his head around.

“We’ll deal with this later. You better think real hard about where your father is, because things could get messy.”

Faster than I could track, McNeal ran off. Just a blur of movement down the stairs and across the lawn. I felt dizzy and gripped the railing.

“Alexia!” a man shouted, footsteps climbing up the stairs.

It was Lorenzo.

He cupped my chin in his hand and tilted my head up. “Are you unharmed?” Then he looked over his shoulder. “I saw the Mage; do you know him?” His eyes narrowed to slivers and I shook my head. “Sit,” he said, coaxing me down on the step.

“He’s after my father.” My hands wouldn’t stop shaking and my cheeks felt flushed. “What are you doing here?”

“I got a man on your house and he gave me a call to let me know you were back. I heard you went to negotiate with Ivan. If that’s the case, he’ll have your mother back faster than we will. Cole must have paid him a fine penny for that favor. My men got as far as a gas station outside of El Paso but lost the trail. He’s been stealing cars and changing directions—giving us a run for our money.” Lorenzo’s voice softened and he caressed my right cheek. He drew in a deep breath and his eyes hooded. “You’re okay?”

“I don’t know what I am anymore,” I replied in a distant voice.

“Beautiful?” he murmured against my cheek.

Lorenzo sat to my left with his right elbow propped on one of the steps. With his left hand, he tenderly caressed my cheek, then my neck, and suddenly his fingers were traveling much, much lower. Over the curve of my breast, down the slope of my flat stomach, and then he brazenly cupped his warm hand between my legs.

“Nothing is more damaging to my willpower than seeing a woman in her prime. This’ll be your first time in heat, won’t it?”

All I could feel was the warmth from his hand, and my body quivered from his touch. Sparks shot through me and I closed my eyes, listening to the sound of his hypnotic words. The inflection in his voice had power and reminded me of how Austin spoke. It made the wolf inside me want to submit.

Over my sweatpants, his thumb slowly began to stroke in tight, small circles. I arched my back in response, unable to control the effect Lorenzo had on my body. The craving was beyond what I’d ever experienced before, and all he was doing was touching me.

Barely.

“I can make it feel so good your first time,” he said in a low, rough voice in my ear. “You’re going to want to bend over for me, because the instinct will be strong to be taken from behind. It’s deeper that way.”

My breathing grew heavy while his thumb continued circling. Images of bending over for Lorenzo flooded my mind, him slowly stripping down my sweats to my ankles and, oh God. His mouth was against my ear and I was getting close… too close.

“I’m an experienced alpha, Alexia. I know how to handle you properly. I know what will make you feel good and ease your discomfort. I know how to draw out the pleasure.” Then he breathed in deeply. “You’re so close,” he said in a broken whisper. One that barely maintained control. “Come with me, Nashoba. Come into my pack. Come into my bed. And then just come for me.”

His thumb changed direction and I muffled a cry, my body trembling as I gripped the railing with my right hand. His fingers didn’t stop, his knuckles putting pressure against my core while his thumb rolled in mind-blowing circles.

“That’s it,” he said, softly kissing my jaw. “Stretch out and let me take care of everything.”

It was too much and then I panicked. What the hell was I doing on the stairwell letting a guy I barely knew bring me to orgasm? Even worse, I was on the verge of experiencing one that was so intense that I was liable to scream. Imagine explaining that to the cops.

I flew forward and ran down the stairs. I staggered across the grassy lawn, panting as he strode up behind me. My heart thumped against my chest with such intensity that I could barely hear myself talking.