The Penalty Box (Vancouver Wolves Hockey #3) - Odette Stone Page 0,84
it into my hands. “Take it. It’s all there. All the money you gave me, all the interest I charged. I forgive your brother his debt too. Just tell them to back off. Please.”
I stared down at the thick block of cash I could feel inside the envelope. “Are you serious?”
“Yeah.”
I lifted my head. “Did you start that fire?”
He winced. “I didn’t order that. One of my guys went rogue, and trust me, he won’t be setting any more fires.”
“Maybe some of your other guys have gone rogue and have been trying to scare me?”
“No way. No one is coming near you.”
Anger made me stand up for myself. “What about the break-in and the scarecrow? Or Mica’s car? You think you can intimidate me and get away with it?”
“I don’t know shit about that, but I didn’t send you a single text.”
“Who cares about the texting? You’ve been coming here and harassing me.”
“I’m the one who’s being harassed,” he yelled.
This conversation wasn’t making any sense. “Then why were you trying to scare me?”
He stepped forward, so his face hovered over mine. “Bitch, I’m the one who’s scared.”
We stood there staring at each other.
He tried again. “I’m begging you with my life. Please call off your fucking dogs.”
And without another word, he disappeared into the night.
I moved back into the house, set the alarm and sat down at the island to open the thick wet envelope. Inside was $107,000. All the money I had paid Yazimoto over the last two years. This made no sense. Why had he shown up here to give me the money back?
When he told me he hadn’t been the one to harass me, I believed him. The guy had been on edge and scared, begging me to get him off the hook. Which meant that Mica’s mysterious friend had held true to his word and had been working overtime to keep Yazimoto away from me.
A shiver of fear went through me. If Yazimoto wasn’t behind all the scare tactics, then who was? It was almost worse to realize that my perpetrator was an unknown entity with no known agenda.
I put the money in the kitchen drawer, not sure exactly how I should handle this situation. I would talk to Mica but not while he was on the road. This was a conversation that needed to happen in person.
I went to the clinic. They prescribed monthly birth control pills, which I would start the day my next cycle started.
And then finally the day came that I had been waiting for since Mica left. Eager to be done with work, I hustled the dogs in the car and drove home, unsure when he would arrive home.
When I opened the door, he was sitting at the island. He stood up when I walked in, and I flew across the room towards him.
“You feel good,” I moaned as he wrapped his arms around me.
“You taste fucking amazing,” he managed between kisses.
He backed me into the bedroom, with a trail of clothes behind us.
Two hours later, I lay on the bed, buck naked. Mica was on his stomach beside me, tracing circles on my back.
I giggled when his stomach growled loudly. “Do you need to be fed and watered?”
“I do if you want round two.”
I thought about that. “I have some pasta sauce that we can heat up. We just need to cook the pasta.”
He slapped my ass. “Yes, wench. Go cook for your husband.”
We cooked together. I did the salad, and he heated the food. I was in the middle of telling him a story about Sniper, when he interrupted.
“What’s this?” His voice sounded slightly strangled.
I glanced up to see that he held the envelope of cash from Yazimoto.
I put down the knife. “I was going to talk to you about that.”
“Am I going to like this story?”
I swallowed. “Probably not.”
I explained how Yazimoto had shown up here, begging me to take the money back and call off “my dogs.”
“I don’t think he’s the one who’s been trying to scare me. He didn’t have a clue what I was talking about.”
Mica crossed his arms. “Go on.”
“He admitted that one of his guys set my old place on fire, but everything else he swore he knew nothing about. I believe him.”
Mica’s eyes narrowed. “So he gave you all of your money back?”
“He gave it back and told me my debt was forgiven. He also said my brother’s debt was forgiven. Mica, he looked really scared.”