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She took the wad of paper towels he handed her. “Thanks,” she murmured as she wiped up the mess. Breanna tossed the wet towels in the trash and glanced up at him. His steady gaze on her unnerved her. Gathering her papers and shoving them into a manila folder, she rose to her feet, expecting him to move back a little, but he didn’t. Her body brushed against his and a strong jolt zinged through her. “Can you please step back? I’m trying to get out.”

“I’m not stopping you.” She pressed her lips together and rearranged the papers in her folder. “Am I making you nervous, lady?”

When she looked up, she knew he’d be wearing a smirk on his full lips. Anger replaced nervousness. “Not at all.” She stood up again and pushed him back. She must have caught him off guard, because he stumbled back slightly. For a brief second, rage flashed in his gaze, but then admiration replaced it.

“I’ll be back tomorrow to see Chenoa.” She tossed her hair over her shoulder and walked to the elevator.I bet he’s checking out my ass again.Tempted to turn around, she resisted. She stepped into the elevator, breathing a sigh of relief when the metal doors shut, staring at her reflection in the shiny gold-toned doors. Her face was flushed.

What the hell’s the matter with me? And why did I tell him I was going to be back tomorrow? He’s such a jerk.She forced all thoughts of him out of her mind as she walked across the parking lot. When she settled in her car, she cranked up the radio and sang along until she arrived at her house on the other side of town.

The first thing she did when she entered the kitchen was go to the freezer; she hadn’t eaten since earlier that morning and she was starving. The minute she took out a frozen pizza, her front doorbell rang. Knowing only her brother would come to her house at eleven at night, she grimaced and shoved her dinner back in the freezer. She padded over to the door, looked out of the peephole to make sure, and then opened it. Her brother, tall and skinny, smiled at her as he wiped his runny nose with a tissue. “Hey. Did I wake you?”

Breanna took in his haggard appearance and flushed skin and sighed inwardly. “No, I just got back from the hospital. A client of mine ODed on heroin.” She looked fixedly at him. He fidgeted and scratched an open sore on his neck.Is he injectingtherenow?She moved aside. “Come on in.”

He slinked past her and plopped down on a large cushy chair by the fireplace. “You got any pop?”

“Diet Coke. Is that good?” He nodded and she headed to the kitchen. Seeing her younger brother strung out on drugs broke her heart. Nicholas was the youngest of the four of them. He was twenty-one to her twenty-nine, and she always felt very protective of him, especially since their mother had basically stopped caring about them when Nicholas had only been four years old.

“Can you hurry with that pop?”

She grabbed a cold one out of the refrigerator and went back into the living room. After she handed him the can, she settled on the couch. “Why are you here?”

He took a large gulp. “Can’t your brother come by and say hi?”

She shook her head. “Not this late and when he’s obviously using. Did you come by for money?”

His body stiffened and he acted indignant, but she saw the panic lacing his eyes. It was the panic of a user who was scared to death he wouldn’t get his next fix. It angered and broke her heart at the same time. “You always think I want money.” He finished his drink, crushed the can, and threw it on her glass-topped coffee table.

“You do,” she said softly. “When you’re on the stuff, I never hear from you unless you need money. Shelby and Jeremy tell me the same thing.”

He snorted. “Shelby shouldn’t be talking. She’s nothing but a whore moving from one guy to the next that she meets online. Do you know she’s shacking up with a married man? The dude’s doing that shit in front of his wife, and Shelby brags all the time how he gives her everything and nothing to his wife. And Jeremy is in and outta jail all the time, so why the fuck is he saying anything about me?” His nostrils flared.

Nicholas was right. She and her siblings were the quintessential fucked-up family. “That may be true, but you’re putting up smokescreens. Do you need money?”

He averted her gaze. “I always need money. Who the fuck doesn’t?”

She rubbed her temples.I can’t keep doing this, but I can’t stand the thought of him alone on the streets.“How much do you need?”

He smiled. “Just a few hundred. My rent’s due and I’m a little short.” He averted his eyes.

She knew he was lying, and he knew she knew; it was a game they played each and every time. “Spend the night here. I was just ready to heat up a frozen pizza. It has pepperoni on it.” When he looked everywhere but at her, she knew he’d walk out the door and head straight to his dealer. When he was young, the promise of pepperoni made him settle down, his big blue eyes widening as he watched her set a bubbling slice of pizza on his plate.

If only life were that simple again.

“Can I take a raincheck? I’m beat and I gotta get up early for work tomorrow.”

She stared fixedly at him. “Don’t lie to me, Nicholas. You quit your job at the grocery store three weeks ago.”

Without missing a beat, he flashed her a too-wide smile. “I got another job. Working at the car wash. The tips are pretty decent.” He scratched at the sore on his neck again. “So, you got the money?”

She went over to her purse and counted out three hundred dollars before handing them to him. “You should put a bandage over that.” She pointed to his bleeding sore. “You’re going to get an infection.”

He leaned in and kissed her on the cheek, then squeezed her to him. “You’ve always been the one to worry about me. You’ve always cared. I appreciate it.” He pulled away and ambled to the door. “I’ll call you over the weekend. Maybe we can grab a bite to eat or something.”

She nodded and watched him disappear into the misty night, the long shadows enveloping him.I’m losing him. I don’t know how to stop it.Breanna closed the door, her heart heavy. First Chenoa, then her brother. Two young people caught up in a macabre dance of death.

She went back to the kitchen, opened the freezer, and stared at the pizza. Hunger had left her, so she closed the door and sat on the kitchen chair, numb from exhaustion and sadness. Then Steel’s face—angry and proud—flashed in her mind.Whoa. Where did that come from?Chenoa’s father intrigued her, but she knew he was an outlaw biker and that meant bad news all around. She found him to be rude, cocky, and an overall jerk.

She’d go over the following day to see if Chenoa was better. She hoped the biker wouldn’t be there.Then why did you tell him you were going to be there?She was tired. She didn’t know what she was saying, and the way he stared at her made her nervous as hell. It was like he was seeing into her, becoming a part of her.

She didn’t have time to think about him.

Breanna swung around and opened her laptop. If she was going to keep helping Nicholas, she’d have to get a part-time job on the weekends; a county employee’s salary was barely enough for her to live on. And with Jeremy getting out of jail soon, she knew he’d need some money until he could find employment. She pulled her hair into a high ponytail and crossed her legs on the chair. Instead of typing “bartending” and “waitressing jobs” in the search engine, she typed “Night Rebels MC.”

I’m just curious, that’s all.

But she knew that wasn’t all by a long shot. She couldn’t get the rugged biker out of her mind.I seriously need to get laid. It’s been like five months since I broke up with Mark.She shook her head and closed the computer, knowing the biker’s penetrating green eyes would stab at her dreams that night.

I can’t let him get to me. I hope I never see him again.As she thought the words she knew they were a lie. She was very much looking forward to their next encounter.

Damnit.