Moon Glamour by Aimee Easterling (books to read to be successful TXT) 📕

out an order. “Sit,” he demanded, lowering me onto the muddy stream bank.

Then his fingers were prodding my ankle. I hissed, barely able to see the buckling of skin as his jaw tensed.

I didn’t want to know, but I asked anyway. “How bad is it?”

Tank’s head shook ever so slightly, a flutter of movement in the darkness. “Could be worse. Probably a minor strain.”

“Minor?” Despite the cold water, my ankle felt like a train had run over it.

“If you keep the foot elevated, it’ll likely heal within twenty-four hours.”

Well, that was impossible. Not the healing part—the keeping my foot elevated part.

After all, I needed to collect my car then head up to Highlands to nab Harper’s cell phone. She’d promised to remove the battery as soon as she hung up, but I couldn’t trust a teenager to dispose of incriminating evidence. The guard had seen me leave the museum with the bracer. This wouldn’t be a cold case, unnoticed until the following day....

Tank’s hand returned to my shoulder, pressing me backwards. “What do you think you’re doing?”

“The job’s not complete. I need to....”

My voice trailed off. I wasn’t about to spill my guts in front of a stranger. It was oddly difficult to remember that about Tank. That he was a stranger.

“Stay here,” he ordered, ignoring my abortive explanation. His hand retreated and something in me regretted the loss of contact.

Just because of the cold, of course. Cold air, cold water. A bit of shock in the aftermath of my injury. I was shivering and Tank’s hand had provided much-needed warmth.

Now, he loomed above me, more like a tower than a tank. “I’m getting my car. I’ll be back in five minutes.”

Before I could answer, he was gone.

I DIDN’T INTEND TO wait, of course. Not for a man who’d butted his way into my life without explanation or permission.

But it took over a minute to feel around for a stick hefty enough to lean on. And when I struggled my way to standing, there was someone present at the top of the bank.

Not Tank. Not a male of any sort. Instead, the streetlight behind her silhouetted feminine curves. Meanwhile, I inhaled the scent of blackberries so strong I could almost taste summer on my tongue.

Marina’s voice had all of the berries’ tartness and none of their sweetness. “You look...terrible.”

“How did you find me?” I demanded as she picked her way down the slope. Her lack of answer was answer. She’d found me, I knew, because she was more than human. Whatever Lupe thought, Marina was somehow affiliated with the fae.

But that wasn’t the most relevant point. She held out her hand in silence, demanding the bracer. Instinctively, I twisted sideways so the thick metal bracelet wasn’t within stealing distance. “The check,” I countered.

Unlike most of my employers, Marina didn’t try to cheat me. “Of course,” she murmured. “Must adhere to the formalities.”

And...there was a check between her fingers. I was 99% certain there hadn’t been one present a second earlier. But the night was dark and my ankle throbbed and Tank would be back any minute.

I took it. Unfolded the paper to ensure my name appeared on the proper line and a scrawled signature on the other. There were quite a lot of zeroes. More, if I was honest, than I’d seen in my bank account in my life.

While I gawked, Marina plucked her own prize from my wrist, raising it to rub against her face. Like a cat scent-marking her favorite armchair. The aroma of blackberries intensified. Out of the corner of my eyes, I thought I caught half a dozen fireflies illuminating a city sidewalk.

“Should I leave you alone to make out with your jewelry?” I asked dryly, sliding the check away into the hidden pouch in my wolf collar. Even though the precious paper would be safe there, my fingers lingered for a second before I managed to force them away.

Marina didn’t miss my reluctance to lose skin contact with my payment. Her eyes glinted...which they shouldn’t have. Not here in the darkness by the creek.

After all, the moon—if there was one—was hidden behind clouds. The street lights were arranged to illuminate road and sidewalk rather than stream bank.

Her voice, when she spoke, was similarly wrong. Musical, like the peal of bells. “There’s more where that came from.”

I didn’t need more. For once in my life, I had enough cash. I could finally consider scratching itches that had seemed irrelevant while serving as Harper’s secondary guardian. Perhaps I’d sign up for an art class....

And yet, my body disagreed with me. It leaned forward without my permission. My mouth echoed Marina’s assertion. “More?”

She smiled, the gesture so beautiful it shouldn’t have chilled me. But it did. “If you’re interested, I’ll be in touch.”

She turned away...and my greed popped like a soap bubble. What was I thinking? If there was even a 1% chance that Marina had been involved in the horse incident....

“This is between you and me only,” I called after her. “My sister isn’t involved.”

But Marina was already gone.

Chapter 11

I wasn’t alone for long. By the time I fought my way to the top of the bank, a car idled there. Emerging from behind the wheel was the male werewolf I’d met yesterday, the one whose ugliness scared teenagers and whose refusal to leave me alone raised my blood pressure...and woke other long-sleeping parts of my limbic system.

To my combined relief and disappointment, he was dressed now. Because werewolves tended to keep spare clothes in their vehicle. The contrast to my nakedness made his power even more intimidating when his hand clamped down on my right elbow.

“Where to?” he asked, his words quiet. He hadn’t intended to intimidate me, I gathered as he half lifted and half guided me toward the passenger seat. There, he pulled out baggy sweats and steadied me as I wriggled into them. He even knelt to assist my injured ankle through the door.

He stayed down there,