Addie Page 2

  “Hey, bitch,” Gunman Number One says, waving the gun back and forth in front of my chest to regain my attention. Apparently, he doesn’t like to be ignored.

  “How can I help you?” I ask politely. Because I’m a professional bank teller even when I’m being robbed.

  The gunmen are both wearing ski masks—how unoriginal—so I can’t really see the face of the one in front of me except for his blue eyes. Make that bloodshot blue eyes, and his pupils are huge. This guy is higher than the waistband on mom jeans. Which means he’ll be even more likely to react to things without thinking them through first.

  “Open your fucking drawer,” he orders, feeling pretty high and mighty behind his gun and mask.

  I lean forward and try to get a sniff of him, but really, all I can pick up is some god-awful cologne. I think I wrinkle my nose on accident, so to cover up the reaction, I quickly grab my keys and sort through them for the right one. It takes me embarrassingly long, considering I’ve worked here for four months. But seriously, there are a shit ton of keys.

  “Here it is,” I chirp. I fit the key into the lock and...nope. Definitely not the right key. “Shoot,” I say. Freezing, I look back up at the gunman. “Not shoot shoot, like the gun,” I tell him quickly. “I meant shoot like shit. Bad word choice on my part,” I mumble.

  He just looks at me, unimpressed. “Bitch, open that drawer, or I will ‘shoot shoot’ you.”

  I smile nervously, trying to assuage the situation. “Right-o,” I say. But then I do the dumbest thing ever and make a finger gun at him. I’m surprised at this point that he doesn’t actually shoot me. Thankfully, the next key I slip in, successfully turns, allowing me to open the drawer.

  With his other, non-gun wielding hand, the gunman tosses a plastic bag at my face, making it bounce off my cheek. “Empty your fucking drawer. Gimme all of it,” he snaps.

  My colleague, Beth, comes walking back out from the break room just as I start shoving the stacks of cash into the plastic bag. I try to signal her with my hand behind my back to go hide, but he notices her. “Hey, cunt, I see you! Get your ass over here and empty your drawer, too!”

  Poor Beth hurries forward to her window, nearly tripping over her own feet when he continues to shout at her. Meanwhile, the other gunman is terrorizing all the bankers on the other side of the building, and I can see him hollering for my manager to come open the vault.

  “There,” I say, piling in the last of my cash. He snatches the bag from me and swings the gun to point it at Beth, who’s shaking like a leaf as he continues to berate her.

  When I see her start to cry, my blonde brows draw together in a frown and my eyes cut to the douche. “Dude, we’re doing what you asked. Stop being such an asshole,” I tell him.

  In reply, the gunman rounds on me, and then lifts the gun to my head.

  At. My. Head.

  My lip curls up in rage, and just like that, I snap.

  I move faster than he can blink. Using the ball of my palm, I smack his hand, making the gun point up. It startles him, so his trigger-happy finger pulls, and a shot rings out as the bullet cracks through the air and hits the ceiling. Screams sound out from terrified customers and employees, and drywall peppers down from above making the air dusty with damage.

  But I’m already moving.

  I reach across the counter, grab the guy by the back of his stupid mask, and slam the motherfucker’s face into the counter so hard that I hear his nose break.

  He screams and drops the gun onto the counter. Using the back of my hand, I fling it to the floor behind me. Then I leap onto the counter and jump down behind him to the other side. Blood is pouring from his nose and he’s cradling it gingerly, but I quickly turn him around and knee him in the balls. He hits the ground with a screech.

  “You fucking bitch!”

  I only have about a second of triumph before another gun is pointed at my head by Gunman Number Two. I really don’t like guns being pointed at my head.

  “You’re gonna pay for that, bitch!”

  Gunman Number Two raises the butt of his gun to hit me, but before he can make contact with my head, he suddenly goes flying backwards and hits the floor hard. Penn has the man on his belly in a vicious chokehold before the gunman even knows what hit him. He tries to flail around, but Penn is way too strong. A lot of shifters can boast extra strength. I won’t lie, seeing Penn’s muscles flex as he overpowers the man is pretty hot. Unable to throw Penn off, the gunman finally succumbs, and he passes out cold. It all takes less than a minute.

  Tossing the robber’s prone body to the floor, Penn gets up and stalks over to the other gunman who’s still cursing and bleeding at my feet. Penn rips off the guy’s mask and shoves it into his mouth to muffle his voice. All it takes is one fierce scowl from him, and the gunman immediately stops making noise and lies down on the floor in surrender. It was a rather impressive scowl.

  Penn snorts in disgust at him and then turns to me. His face looks furious, and he’s doing this aggressive panting thing that for some reason really lights a fire in my loins.

  “You okay?” he asks, looking me up and down.

  “Yeah. Thanks for taking down Idiot Number Two.”

  “Any time. Although, it looked like you could’ve handled both,” he says, his tone mixed with surprise and admiration.

  I nod again. “I’m a badass.”

  He laughs, but when he sees that I’m serious, he tries to cough to cover it up.

  “I wasn’t joking,” I insist. “I am a badass.”

  “Right. Of course,” he quickly answers, but I can see that his hazel eyes are lit up with amusement.

  “Do you want to fight?” I blurt.

  His brows pull together. “What?”

  “You don’t think I could take you. I can see it in your eyes.”

  “Umm…” He rubs the back of his neck like he has no idea how to respond. He starts looking around the room, as if he’s hoping another gunman will come along that he can take down as a distraction so he doesn’t have to answer me.

  “I am badass,” I tell him again, because for some reason, I always like to have the last word.

  The gunman at our feet sneezes, getting blood all over my shoes. I sigh. “These were my favorite pair,” I tell him with a glower.

  He mumbles something into the ski mask stuck in his mouth, as Penn looks down at my blood speckled feet. “Those don’t seem like bank policy footwear,” he teases.

  I glance at my black Converse and shrug. “Customers can’t see my feet when I’m behind my window.”

  “Let me buy you some new shoes,” Penn says.

  “I got these online.”

  He sighs and runs a thumb across his jaw with a chuckle. “Damn. You’re a hard one to convince.”

  I’m not, really. I appreciate attractiveness as much as the next girl, but as a rule, I try to steer clear of predators like him. Luckily, I don’t have to say anything else, because I’m saved by the flashing lights outside as the police come rushing in. They take one look at the overpowered robbers before quickly cuffing them and hauling them away, while the other cops start to organize everyone for questioning.

  I sigh. There goes my early half-day. I’m gonna be stuck answering questions for a long time.

  When the employees and customers are separated for questioning, I lose sight of Penn, which is for the best. He’s excellent eye candy, but definitely not someone I want to mess with. Which is what I keep telling myself over and over again while my libido pouts in a corner.

  All of the employees have to give written and verbal accounts for the police, which takes forever. By the time the cops’ questions are satisfied, it’s after five o’clock. All of the customers are long gone when the employees finally get permission to leave. Before I can make my escape, my manager pulls me aside.

  He’s an okay guy. Balding and nasally, Tom sports a hefty belly over his dress pants. “Ms. Locke, if you could come into my office please?”

  Beth shoots me a sympathetic look and waves goodbye to me as I inwardly groan. “Sure thing, boss.”

  I follow Tom into his office and he shuts the door behind us. When he sits down behind his desk, he sighs. “Aderyn, I have to let you go.”

  I blanche at him, completely taken aback. “What? Why?”

  He gives me a look. “You know protocol. You broke just about every single rule we have when it comes to dealing with a robbery. Your actions put yourself and everyone in the bank in danger.”

  I scoff and lean back in the chair. “I wasn’t going to let them shoot anyone, including me. Besides, I handed him the money like I was supposed to.”

  “You were belligerent. You talked back and you provoked him.”

  “He was making Beth cry!”

  “And then you attacked him,” he reminds me, unimpressed.

  “Well, yeah. He pointed a gun at my face. How was I supposed to respond?”

  Tom shakes his head in frustration. “I’ll tell you how you shouldn’t have responded! You shouldn’t have attacked him and made the gun go off! You’re supposed to put your hands up and surrender like a normal human being.”

  I am neither normal nor a human. But of course, I don’t say that. “I’m sorry, alright?”

  He shakes his head. “This is out of my hands, Aderyn. Your actions are all over surveillance. The bank won’t keep you on. You’re too much of a liability.”

  My stomach turns in knots. Dammit, I really need this job. My alpha is gonna be so pissed.

  I grit my teeth. “Fine. Thank you for the opportunity,” I say levelly.

  Getting up, I toss him my keys before opening the door to leave.

  “You’ll get your final check in the mail,” he says to my back.

  “Thanks,” I mumbl
e under my breath.

  Today is just not my fucking day.

  3

  Addie

  I stare up at the cloudy night sky as I float on my back. The water laps around me gently and I sigh in relaxation. After the bank robbery and getting fired, driving down to the lake was exactly what I needed. No matter what’s going on in my life, the water always calms me.

  I close my eyes and submerge myself completely for a few moments. Blackmuck Lake might have a terrible name, but the fresh water and the quiet location are perfect for decompressing. During the day, there’s a nice view of the mountains and the trees to give the perfect amount of privacy, and usually, this place is only known to the locals.

  As soon as I break the water again and take in a deep breath, I’m startled out of my thoughts.

  “Aren’t you cold in there?”

  I turn my head at the sudden voice and see a dark-skinned guy standing at the edge of the lake. I can’t see very well at night, not compared to most shifters, but I can tell from his silhouette that he’s packing some serious muscles.

  “Nope,” I answer.

  He bends down and flicks his hand in the water and makes a face as he wipes it off on his pant leg. “It’s definitely not warm,” he says, as if the temperature personally offends him.

  I snort. “It’s a lake, not a jacuzzi.”

  “I have no idea how your teeth aren’t chattering,” he says, and damn, his voice is all low and sexy.

  “I guess only the strongest can handle it.”

  He chuckles, and the sound sends a thrill through me. I start wading closer to him so that I can get a better look. When I’m within a few feet of him, my nose tells me what I’d already figured. He’s a shifter. He points his own nose up in the air too, obviously picking up that I’m a shifter as well. When he catches the scent, for a moment, I see his eyes flash, even in the dark, and I wonder what kind of animal lives inside of him.

  He crouches down on the balls of his feet and lets his hand swipe through the water again, like he’s trying to see how long it’ll take for the temperature to not bother him. Hopefully he’s a good dude. If it turns out he has nefarious plans for me, then I’ll have to go all badass on him and pull him into the lake. Clearly, his type of shifter doesn’t appreciate large bodies of water, so I could probably hop out and make a run for the campsite on the other side of the water.

  I swim nearer, and he rests his hands on his bent knees from the spot where he’s positioned. Under the moonlight, I can see his eyes tracking my movement and studying my features. “Most shifters don’t like the water,” he says as my feet hit the rocky sand and I start moving forward.

  That’s not exactly true. What he means is, most warm-blooded predator shifters don’t like water. But I’m sure that’s the only kind of shifters he thinks about. I shrug a shoulder and skim the water against my palms. “I’m not like most shifters.”

  A slow smile spreads across his face and his perfect teeth practically glow in the dark. “I’m Herrick. You must be in Pack Rockhead,” he wrongly assumes. I don’t correct him.

  If he thinks I’m from that pack, then he must not be a part of it. Which means he’s another newcomer, just like Mr. Millionaire Hotshot Coyote, Penn Weiss. My guess is that Herrick is one of the “buddies” that Penn mentioned.

  “It’s gonna rain soon,” Herrick says, looking up just as the clouds start to thunder above us.

  “You don’t like lakes or rain?” I tease. “Do you hate showers, too? Are you like those miserable cats when they accidentally fall into the bathtub?”

  He crosses his arms and flashes a grin. “I have no problem with a wet pussy.”

  I snort and swallow a laugh. “After all your anti-wetness talk, I don’t have a lot of confidence in you,” I say wryly.

  As I continue wading to shore, I watch as he scoops water up in his palm and then tips his hand over to let it leak back out. Some of the water escapes his palm and slowly drips down his forearm, dripping off his bare elbow. I have no idea why, but watching it trickle down his skin is oddly erotic.

  Most shifters are well-defined naturally, but Herrick is ripped with muscles, and I ogle his bicep a bit longer than I probably should. When he dips his hand in the water to do it again, my eyes follow every slow movement.

  “See?” he says, drawing my gaze back to his face. “My hands are good at getting things wet.”

  I laugh and groan at the same time, but I can’t deny that his words send a little excited thrill through me. “Hmm,” I say noncommittally.

  When thunder erupts over head, we both look up at the sky, watching the impending storm gather. I float around for a little while longer, mostly trying to wait Herrick out. I’m not ashamed of my body or anything, but my animal is wary of strangers and she doesn’t want me to leave the water. When the thunder starts to sound more serious, though, I decide it’s time to go, despite my animal’s proclivity for wanting to stay.

  Herrick watches me as I walk the rest of the way out of the water, and his attention kicks my heart rate up a notch and heats me up in the best of ways. I spot the towel that I’d left out several feet away in a pile along with my clothes. I feel his gaze burning into my back (AKA bikini-clad ass) as I walk over and pick it up. I start drying my body off with the towel, before using it to wring out my blonde hair.

  All the while, he continues to watch from his spot where he’s still kneeling, but instead of it feeling weird, there’s this undeniable magnetism between us that makes his attention welcome.

  I don’t know where I get the confidence, but I find myself wanting to give him a little show, so I slowly bend over to retrieve my things before tugging an oversized shirt on and turning back around to face him. I’m pretty sure I hear a groan of appreciation grumbling from his chest.

  I catch him taking in my bare legs and the white t-shirt where it sticks to my green bikini top, and my lips twitch at his expression. “See you around, Herrick,” I say before turning to leave.

  As soon as I start to walk away, I hear him take a few jogging steps to catch up with me. “Hey, wait up. Leaving so soon?”

  “Oh, you know, things to not do, people to not see.”

  Herrick chuckles again and walks backwards in front of me. “Can I get your number?”

  “I’m mated,” I answer automatically. Not because it’s true, but because this guy...let’s just say I’m not his type. And that’s not me being self-deprecating. It’s just true. He’s a predator and a total hottie. I’m a misfit. We might both be shifters, but we practically come from two different worlds.

  At hearing that I’m mated, his steps falter for a second before he turns to walk beside me. He leans in close and takes a big whiff of my scent. “No, you’re not,” he counters.

  “Oh, did I say mated? I meant not interested.”

  He laughs, and I can’t stop the smile that spreads over my face from the sound of it. “Alright, alright,” he concedes. “I see you like to play hard to get.”

  I let my gaze fall to the front of his pants. “And it looks like you like to play get hard.”

  This time when he laughs, he tips his head back and lets loose loud enough to echo with the thunder. The sound follows me as he hangs back. “I’m sure I’ll see you again, Lake Lady,” he calls.

  “I’ll be sure to bring a spray bottle to keep you away,” I say over my shoulder.

  His laugh tapers off with the thunder, and by the time I get to my beat-up Nissan, the skies have opened up and the rain is pouring down hard. Of course, the rain wouldn’t be an issue if I didn’t have a busted window that doesn’t roll up all the way. I spend the entire drive getting pelted by rain drops, soaking the interior of my car. Not that it’s really hurting much. The car is older than me, and has so many miles on it that the odometer has stopped working.

  By the time I get to the Aberrant compound, the fabric of the seats are squishing and there’s a good inch of water on the floorboards. I was already wet from the lake, but the rain doused me so much that my hair is plastered to my face and I’m seriously regretting this white t-shirt.