Page 41 of New Blood

That unfair accusation made her find her voice again. “I didn’t steal anything! Those are my belongings!”

“Well, we’ll see!” He leaned into the car and snatched the key from the ignition before he walked around it, opened the passenger side door, and yanked her backpack out.

Enraged, she jumped out of the car and marched toward him, just as he began to unzip the backpack.

“That’s mine, you fucking asshole!”

“Wow, didn’t realize you have such a vile vocabulary! And here I thought you were a shy mouse. Guess that was just a disguise.”

“It’s not a disguise! Now give me back my car key!”

“Not a chance, kiddo!” He pulled a black zippered leather folder out of the backpack. “Well, what do we have here?”

Austin unzipped it and opened it. It was stuffed mostly with twenty- and fifty-dollar notes: the money her mother had saved up for a rainy day.

She reached for it. “Give it back to me! That’s my money!”

He blocked her and grabbed her wrist, holding her back with such ease that she knew she was no match for him, even if she wolfed out.

“Yeah, well, right now it looks like you stole it and are making an escape in the middle of the night. Know that saying: like a thief? That’s what I’m seeing right now. What else is in there? The Gallaghers’ silver?”

Tossing the money on the passenger seat, he reached into the backpack again. This time, he pulled out white lace panties. He looked at them, then met her eyes.

She glared at him, furious now. “You want me to wear them to prove that they’re my size?”

That seemed to shut him up for a few seconds. He cleared his throat. “I don’t think that’s necessary. They look like your style.”

“Sounds like an insult,” she snapped and stretched out her hand. “Now give me back my car key so I can leave.”

He tilted his head to the side. “Yeah, see, I can’t do that.” He tipped his head in the direction of the passenger seat. “There’s still the question of the money.”

“But that’s mine!”

“If it is, you’ll get it back, but that’s not a decision I’m gonna be making. This is a matter for Jude.”

Shock coursed through her. She couldn’t face Jude. He was the very reason why she was leaving.

“No! He has nothing to do with this.”

“He’s the alpha.”

“Please, Austin, please let me go. I promise you I didn’t steal anything. I just want to leave,” she begged.

Austin sighed and pointed to the backpack and the money. “Pack up.”

Excited and hopeful that she’d managed to convince him to let her go, she shoved the money and panties back into her backpack and zipped it up. But before she could place it back on the passenger seat of her car, Austin snatched it out of her hands and heaved it over his shoulder.

Stunned, she stared at him.

A grin formed on his lips, then he shook his head. “You didn’t think I would just let you leave, did you? Let’s go; Jude’s probably still awake.”

She clamped her jaw shut and pushed down the tears that were threatening to well up in her eyes.

Fuck! So much for a clean escape.

25

Jude exited his bathroom, wearing nothing more than a short towel around his lower half. He’d taken a cold shower, but it hadn’t helped tamp down his sexual need in the slightest. In fact, all day he’d had to battle with his inner wolf, preventing the damn beast from rearing its ugly head and going after Danielle, pressing her against the closest flat surface—no matter where—and fucking her. No, not just fucking. Making love.