Seduced by the Loan Shark by Roxie Rivera Read Free Book Online Page A

climbed into one of his cars. As he
    pulled out of his gated community, he said,
    "About your brother's debt with me…"
    Dread settled in the pit of my stomach.
    "Yes?"
    "I wrote it off the second you walked
    through my office door."
    "What? But you said—"
    "I know what I said. I just—I wanted
    you. I knew a girl like you would never—
    not with someone like me."
    "So you bluffed me."
    "Yes."
    "I should kick your ass, you know that?"
    He laughed and smiled over at me.
    "You could try, Tiny."
    "God," I said and wiped a hand down
    my face. "You know what's even crazier
    than this hot mess with my brother and the
    money and your blackmail?"
    "No. What?"
    "I'm not even that pissed off at you." I
    couldn't believe it but it was true. "I
    should be. I should be furious with you—
    but I'm not. How screwed up are we?"
    "We're not anymore screwed up than
    most couples, I'd guess."
    My eyes widened. "Are we a couple?"
    He rubbed his thumb across my palm. "I
    don't know. Are we?"
    I considered all that had happened in
    the short hours Id' known him. There was
    no denying the connection I'd made to
    Hagen. Our relationship might not have
    started in the most noble of ways but it
    was real. It was true. We were creating
    some sort of foundation. This could go
    somewhere.
    I bit my lower lip. "I think we play this
    one day at a time."
    "I can do slow and easy."
    Our peace made, we drove in silence
    through the ridiculously early Houston
    morning. The windshield wiper blades
    thwacked softly as they cleared away the
    heavy dew that accumulated on the glass.
    The warm, muggy morning promised an
    even hotter, more miserable day.
    When we reached the hospital's parking
    lot, Hagen found a spot and killed his
    engine. He shot me an apologetic look. "I
    can't go in with you. Not now."
    I started to ask why but then noticed the
    police cruisers parked near the emergency
    room entrance. "Oh."
    "I didn't have anything to do with your
    brother's injuries, Cassie. If the cops see
    me strolling in there with you, it's just—
    it's going to cause more problems for you
    and your brother than you need."
    "I understand." I figured this wouldn't
    be the first time we had to navigate a
    tricky situation because of Hagen's history
    and occupation. I wondered if this was
    why he was so keen on the idea of
    shedding his past as a loan shark and
    moving into the world of legal lending.
    "While you're in there, I'm going to
    make some calls. This thing with your
    brother? It ends today. Right now.
    Whatever he owes around town, I'll make
    it right."
    "No! Hagen, you can't. I mean, it's too
    much."
    He shook his head. "This is my gift to
    you."
    "Why?" I asked in a whisper.
    He cupped my face in his big hand and
    caressed my cheek. "I told you I'd take
    care of you. Now let me do that, Cassie."
    I leaned over and kissed him gently.
    Our lips lingered for a long moment
    before I finally pulled away and grabbed
    my purse. "I'll text you when I find him."
    He nodded. "I'll be waiting. Take your
    time."
    Purse in hand, I left his car and walked
    across the mostly empty parking lot. There
    were a handful of hospital employees and
    firefighters enjoying an early morning
    smoke under a small awning away from
    all the entrances. I smiled at them as I
    walked by and couldn't help but wonder
    how crazy I must have looked all decked
    out in my little black dress at four-thirty in
    the morning.
    A packed emergency room greeted me.
    Over a dull roar of coughing, moaning and
    rustling food wrappers, a weather man
    rattled off the day's lows and highs for the
    Gulf Coast region from the television
    mounted on the far wall. I made my way to
    the information desk and waited in line for
    my turn.
    An exhausted woman in scrubs greeted
    me with a lackluster hello. She took my
    information and told me to have a seat. I
    picked a spot as far away from the
    coughing, sputtering patient as possible.
    Catching a cold or something worse
    wasn't high on my list of to-do's.
    It was