Page 9 of Not Ready

I saw the company name of Assurance on Bishop’s card, but I thought I’d be going to his personal residence. Apparently, I somehow ended up at his place of employment.

Maybe he was rushing so quickly, he accidentally rattled off the wrong address…

It’s the best guess I can come up with.

“What the fuck is this?” A man approaches from the open garage. He has broad shoulders and a trim waist. Tattoos line every inch of skin showing around the long sleeve T-shirt from his neck to his hands. He has on a backward baseball cap, but medium-brown curly hair spills out around his forehead. The sides seem shorter from what I can see. He’s also rocking a full beard a few shades darker than the hair on his head. His bluish-gray eyes assess everything as he comes closer.

“Sorry, sir. We’re just in the middle of determining that,” the guy on the right says, pulling his shoulders back.

The new guy is definitely an alpha. His strong jaw, combined with the commanding vibe, have my impulses acting weird.

I catch myself as my eyelashes bat, seemingly of their own volition.

I put an end to that immediately.

This isn’t the time for flirty lash batting.

Now is the time for getting the hell out of whatever I accidentally stumbled into.

“I’m just leaving,” I say, pulling at my coat again. God, I’m way too chubby for this thing these days, but buying a new jacket for just a few months seemed like a huge waste of money.

“We told you that you can’t leave until we figure out how you got in here in the first place,” the guy on the left says.

“She’s not one of the ones for Mercer,” the guy on the right says.

That sends a shiver of unease down my spine.

Are they human traffickers?

Did I just walk myself into an even worse situation than the one I ran from?

That would be my luck.

I back away again and try to keep my voice strong. “I think there’s been a mistake?—”

“Hey, it’s okay. Ignore those two idiots. I’m Holton Hayes.” He stretches out a hand as the curls escaping his ball cap bounce in the wind. “Tell me who you’re here to see.” I blink at his hand but raise mine after several long seconds. We shake as he tilts his head, giving me an encouraging smile. “Go on.”

“Bishop, but I think he gave me his work address by accident. It was kind of a quick emergency thing. I’m sorry. I don’t want to get him in any trouble, and I get the feeling I’m really not supposed to be here.”

“You’re here to see Bishop.” Holton turns, glaring at the two original men. “You hear that?” He takes a step forward. “You better be real fucking glad she didn’t leave because of your bullshit. Learn to read the room or find new employment. You can discuss which one of you will be telling the big guy that you almost scared away his guest during your three laps around the property!” His bark makes me jolt. My body snaps into action as I take off, but he gently grabs my hand. “Not you, sweetheart.”

“But sir,” the guy on the right says. The man on the left is already jogging off, which I was about to do before Holton stopped me. My body seemed to think the alpha command was directed at me.

“Go!” Holton barks again. He looks at me. “Sorry about them. Good help is hard to find and all that.” He lets go of my wrist and moves his hand to my lower back. “Let’s get you inside. It’s freezing out here.”

My flats drag against the concrete. “I should just go. Really, I didn’t mean?—”

“Hell no.” He chuckles. “I’m not telling Bishop he had a guest that disappeared. No fucking thank you.”

“Mr. Hayes?”

“You can call me Holt,” he says as we make it into the open garage. It has to be large enough to fit four or five cars.

“Holt, can you tell me why Bishop would give me this address?” I ask. “I thought I was going to his house…”

“He lives here. We both do.” Holt nods to the three steps that seem to lead to a door that will head into the massive house. I stand frozen as he takes the steps, opening the door and waving a hand for me. “It’s much warmer inside.”

I glance back in the direction of my car, but I can’t really see it past the wall of the garage. “I could just wait in my car.”

---