Overcome (6 page)

Her tirade was cut off when Albatross thrust his lips on hers and insinuated his tongue in her mouth.

Damned if he didn’t taste sooo good.

She had entered the first circle of hell. Her fingers squeezed her iPhone so tight, she thought it might crumble into tiny glass shards any minute.

“So you’re telling me there’s not a damn thing I can do?” Her heart pounded so hard she felt it against her rib cage.

“Anna, I know you’re upset. And you have every right in the world to be. I’m going to work on this immediately. However, until we find out what happened, those men are legally living in your house.
They
aren’t the bad guys here. Peter is. If he underhandedly sold the house and forged your name, then we’ll take action against him and do our best to get the house back. Until then, I need you to relax and let me work.”

“My lease is up Friday, James.”

The sigh he blew across the phone was almost palpable. “Then you’re going to have to extend it or find something else. This isn’t going to be an easy or quick fix. I’m sorry.”

“Me too.”

The tears gathered before she’d even disconnected with her lawyer. She’d tried once again to get ahold of Peter, thinking, hoping, she’d maybe dialed wrong in her anger yesterday, but no, the same tones had rung in her ear. He’d changed his phone number and so nicely neglected to let her know. Not that she ever wanted to speak to him again, but dammit, they owned a house together—or did—and now she needed him and couldn’t get to him. Totally convenient on his part.

Yesterday had been bad, what with finding out her house had been sold out from under her feet and nearly getting arrested for her unstolen car. She guessed she ought to thank her lucky stars her car had actually been at the house when Marc and Colton had driven her there. And though they’d tried their damnedest to get her to stay, she’d hoofed it to her car and peeled out. Feeling overwhelmed was an understatement.

Today was looking to be just as awful. Talking to James had not left her feeling as though the axis of her world would right itself anytime soon. Instead she saw the chasm of the earth opening larger in preparation of swallowing her whole.

Seeing the evidence in the mirror this morning of the bruise on her brow from her meeting with the linoleum hadn’t improved her mood. Luckily the bump had gone down, and she’d been able to cover the awesome dark blue color with make-up. She now faced a day of apartment hunting while wallowing in self-pity and indignation. Regardless, she didn’t think showing up to view apartments looking like an abuse victim would help.

Or maybe it would.

Her shoulders drooped as she walked to the manager’s office. She’d never stoop so low as to pawn herself off as an abuse victim, no matter how dire her circumstances. She’d pull on her big girl panties, keep her head held high, and hope to shit James made all of the madness disappear.

For now, though, she had to find a place to live.

You do, sort of, Anna. You can choose to live in your house with two strangers who want to eat you in a sexual way.

Damned if her clit didn’t take notice of that thought.

Anna shook herself of the notion of her naked between them and refused to think about how it would feel to have one cock in her pussy and one in her…

“Stop. Stop. Stop.”
She bit her lip. The day was pretty. Sunshine, warm breeze, unusual for this early in spring in Missouri, right? The weather was glorious. Sunshine, warm breeze,
do not think about sex,
sunshine, no snow,
two penises—
“Damn it!”

Sucking in a breath and steeling herself, Anna threw open the office door.

“Can I help you?” She’d startled the poor man, the last thing she wanted to do before she begged to keep her place.

“Yes. Um, I was scheduled to move out this weekend, but the house I was supposed to move into has temporarily fallen through. I need to get an extension on my lease.”

He turned to his computer and punched in several keys. “You live in 2A, right?”

“Yes, sir.”

“Oooohh, I’m sorry. That place has already been leased to someone else.”

Nausea bubbled in Anna’s belly, “Is there anything else?”

He shook his head. “No.”

“Please, Mr. Cameron. I’m only asking for one month. Enough time for me to find something else.”

“I’m sorry, Ms. Belky, but I’ve already leased your place to another couple. There’s nothing I can do. There’s another apartment coming due in two months. I can move you into that one.”

Anna lowered her brows. “In two months.” She’d been so sure her landlord would understand her plight and give her an extension.

He shrugged. “That’s all I got.”

Nowhere to go, no relatives to live with, not even any friends who could keep her in a spare bedroom for a few weeks. At least not within reasonable distance of the school. Back in Kansas City, yes, but here, notsomuch. Her best friend, Olivia, had just gotten married. No way would she intrude on newlyweds. Simi had given birth a month ago, and for sure she wasn’t going that route, and Todd, although she was sure he would insist on helping her, had a new partner, and she definitely didn’t want to get in the middle of that relationship.

Deflated, Anna bit her lip. “When is the last second I can be here?”

“They move in Saturday.”

“Great.” She could have been more magnanimous, probably should have so she didn’t burn her bridges, but she couldn’t help feeling shit upon. Not that it was really Mr. Cameron’s fault. No, she placed every ounce of blame on Peter and Candy Apple.

She sincerely hoped her ex’s penis shriveled up and fell off. This was supposed to be her week of new beginnings.

Anna turned and left Mr. Cameron standing in his doorway. “Do you want the apartment or not?” he called after her.

“Not.” She glanced back over her shoulder. “I need something today, Mr. Cameron. Otherwise you’ll find me in a homeless shelter two months from now.”

“Mm. Sorry.” He jerked his head to the side. The look he gave her said he didn’t give a shit one way or another whether she had a place to live. The door closed.

And so she stared limbo in the face.

Where to go? She had to find something in the next four days or she’d also find herself out of a job since no one would want a homeless teacher leading their impressionable children.

“Damn you, Peter.” Maybe if she cursed him enough…

She stabbed her key into her car door, slipped into the seat with as much flounce as she could muster in the tight space, and rested her head on the headrest. “What the hell do I do now? Find a new place, that’s what. How hard can it be? There have to be places to rent around town.”

She’d found this one easily enough when she’d first moved here. In fact she’d come based on an ad in the paper, and it had been the first one she’d looked at. Loving the space, she’d snatched it up, afraid if she’d taken the time to see more, she’d lose this one.

There was another set of apartments over off 2
nd
Street. She’d look at those and go from there.

An hour later she wanted to cry. The place on 2
nd
, aside from not looking the best, was full. Even if they hadn’t been full, they definitely didn’t appear to be the safest of places to live. Not because they were in a bad neighborhood—there really wasn’t a
bad
neighborhood in Trenton—it was the simple fact the buildings had to be a century old if they were a day and didn’t look like they’d ever been rehabbed. The manager there had pretty much laughed in her face when she’d asked him where the other complexes in town were.

“We only got two here, lady. If you cain’t find nothin’, then you outta luck.” With those words, he’d sucked in a good amount of his half-gone cigarette, pivoted, and walked back to his TV behind the counter as if she’d disrupted an important business meeting. Sponge Bob blared from the speakers. That should have been her first clue to turn tail and run without even inquiring.

Too bad desperate times called for desperate measures. And because of this, Anna had cruised every street of the town hoping Sponge watcher had been wrong. He hadn’t. There were no other apartments in town. The biggest complex was set aside for the students who attended the small college there. She would have to go into the nearby towns. Which was laughable since a nearby town of any size meant a minimum thirty-minute drive. She supposed she shouldn’t complain since many people probably drove more than that on a daily basis, but it wasn’t something she wanted to do. Especially not when winter and snow hit.

A quick peek at her watch told her it was lunchtime. The grumble of her stomach did too, reminding her that she’d been too overwhelmed to attempt to eat breakfast. In fact, lunch didn’t sound so hot either, but starving herself wasn’t going to get her anywhere. And since she really didn’t relish the idea of sitting in her apartment and staring at the packed boxes of what had started out to be a new beginning, she decided to hit the diner. It was still a tad early for the lunch rush, so thankfully there was a space open near the entrance. The angled parking spots running along the front of the strip of shops were sometimes fought over. Usually good naturedly, sometimes not. Small towns had their share of hotheads too.

Before she could shut the car door, a shadow fell over her. The second she glanced up, her breath left her. He wore a cocky smile that said in the end he’d win and have her served up on a platter for their enjoyment.

Damned if she didn’t have to clinch her thighs together.

“Albatross.”

That got him. His eyelids drooped low, and he glared at her from beneath incredibly long lashes.

“It won’t be long before I change your mind about what you call me, sweetheart.”

Anna stiffened. “Not sweetheart. Anything but sweetheart. You call me that again and I’ll punch you. I don’t care if you are a cop.”

He threw his hands up in surrender. “Understood. No sweetheart. A particularly bad memory, or is that name reserved for use by someone else?”

She slammed the door closed and forced him to walk backward to the sidewalk. “
He
called me that before we got married. It’s one of the reasons I was swayed into his web of lies and deceit.” The thought actually made her shiver. “The way men call their women little pet names as if they’re something special. I felt special, too, until I found out how gross he really is.”

“Gotcha. No sweetheart. Fine.” He opened the door for her and pressed her forward with a hand at the small of her back, and she wondered why she was blindly allowing him to go to lunch with her.

“Then I expect no more words of special love from you also, Anna.”

She stopped dead in her tracks, and he bumped into her from behind. She had to crane her neck to look back at him. “I’m not sure I recall ever calling you a pet name.”

The corners of his mouth, the one she couldn’t decide whether she wanted to kiss or smack, lifted. “Ah, but you do.”

Anna snorted and turned her attention to the waitress waiting ever so patiently to seat them. The woman, maybe in her early twenties, couldn’t take her eyes off of the detective hovering so close, Anna could feel his heat.

“Hello, Alpha Montross. Just two?”

“Yes, Sherry. How’s your dad doing?”

Anna was once again shepherded by Albatross to the table the girl led them to, a space against the picture window. The red vinyl seat gave a funny squeak when she sat down, and Anna crinkled her nose.
Bite me, seat.

“He’s doing better. Momma says his leg is almost healed.”

“Good to know. Let him know if there’s anything else we can do to give us a call.”

Sherry nodded vigorously and her cheeks reddened. “I will. He says you saved his life.”

Anna lifted an eyebrow. She supposed saving someone’s life was something he did in his line of duty, but still. Albatross’s gaze shifted to her, though he continued to speak to Sherry.

“Nah. Just happened to be in the right place at the right time.”

“Well, thanks, all the same.”

“It’s my job to take care of my people, Sherry.” Colton’s voice dropped an octave, and his gaze remained riveted on Anna. She had a feeling he wasn’t just referring to his people but including her also. As in, he’d take care of her too if she’d only move back into his house. Maybe she was hallucinating. She shook her head and looked away. He’d totally had her snared. So much so she’d even thought of him by his given name.

The whole notion made her squirm in her chair. Which caused another creak of the vinyl that sounded ominously more than a creak. Her face flamed, but she did her best to pretend as if nothing had happened. If he didn’t know it was the chair, he could stuff it. The curve of his mouth upward told her he knew. Good thing. She really dreaded having to smack the man in public.

“Okay. What can I get you to drink?”

“I’ll have an ice water, please. Anna?”

“A Coke, thank you.” She had a feeling she would need some caffeine fortification for the coming hours.

Sherry walked away, but not before giving Colton another longing glance.

“She’s in love with you, Albatross,” Anna said deliberately, trying to bring herself back down to Earth.

“Ah ha!”

Anna jumped at his near shout.

“See? You’re using pet names.” He waved a finger at her. “None of those, remember?”

“Albatross is not a pet name.”

“It’s a term of affection.”

“You’re delusional.”

“He is not.” Sherry plunked Anna’s Coke on the table, causing some of it to slosh over the rim. “Alpha Montross is one of the best men on the planet.”

Colton snickered. “She’s teasing, Sherry. It’s okay. Have you met Anna Belky?”

“No.”

Anna noticed the girl was careful to place Colton’s water without spilling a drop. Great. She’d already made an enemy of a shifter person. Just what she needed.

“Anna, Sherry. Sherry, Anna. Sherry and her family are part of the pack. Her father got caught in a snare last night. Marc and I were able to extract him when we were out for a run.”

“And it’s already healed?” Anna couldn’t help but raise her voice.