Page 37 of Bad Blood Wolf

He saw Jasmin tense up. Shit. She hadn’t forgotten he’d told her he needed the money by Sunday night, and she was more than smart enough to put two and two together.

“You sure?” she said. “Doesn’t seem like they have a right to make you work on a Sunday night.”

“Personal business,” Brody said, and just barely kept himself from wincing. The same words he’d used when saying why he hadn’t gone to Idaho. “And yeah, sorry. It can’t wait. I just have to use the restroom, and then I need to get going.”

“Down the hall on the left,” Jasmin said, pointing. She was still watching him, her eyes slightly narrowed. Fuck.

He used the bathroom and then returned. “Where’s my jacket?” he asked. Everybody looked around.

“This it?” Flynn said. It was slung over the back of the barstool he was leaning on, at the kitchen island.

“Yeah. Thanks.”

Brody liked the rest of the crew, but Flynn made him nervous. The big lion had a habit of staying so quiet you barely noticed him, despite his size and his alpha presence. Like the way a lion could suddenly rise out of the tall grass and pounce, and you couldn’t believe anything that big had escaped your notice long enough to sneak in for the kill.

Flynn might be as crazy as they said. But it was the most dangerous kind of crazy—cool, calculated, and not bound by anyone’s rules or expectations. Not society’s, not his crew’s, not anybody’s. If Brody threatened Jasmin or anyone else in the crew, he had no doubt Flynn would take him down without hesitation or regret.

Brody shrugged on his jacket. “Walk me out, Demazon?”

She gave him a long level look, then followed him outside to the porch. He turned to face her.

“I had a great day,” he said.

Don’t ask questions, he begged her silently. Just let me take care of this on my own. “Will I see you at the fights tomorrow?”

Her eyes narrowed. “The money I got back for you isn’t enough? You still need to fight to get more? Seven hundred, three nights a week—that’s over two thousand a week. What the hell are you into, Brody?”

Fuck. He should have known she wouldn’t let it lie.

“Nothing that threatens you. And I want to keep it that way. Please just stay out of it, Jaz.”

He reached out for her, but she stepped back.

“How can I?” she said. “If you really want to be my ‘boyfriend,’ like you said, anything that costs that much and takes over that much of your life is going to affect me. I deserve to at least know what it is before I make up my mind if I’m going to let you in.”

Brody heaved a sigh. She was right, but it didn’t help. He couldn’t tell her.

He hated that he couldn’t tell her.

“I’m sorry,” he said. “I just… I can’t. I just have some stuff to take care of.”

“Men stuff?”

“My stuff.” He reached out and cupped her cheek. “I don’t want to get you involved.”

She gave a little snarl and pulled away again. “So letting me in on your secrets isn’t one of those boyfriendy things you were planning on doing. With all those feelings you supposedly have for me.”

He blew out a sigh. “I do have feelings for you. That’s why I don’t want to get you involved. I’m trying to work this out, and if I can, then I won’t have to lay it on you.”

“Isn’t that what relationships are supposed to be about?”

He gave a frustrated growl. Why was she making this so hard? “I don’t know. Maybe. But this is something—” He broke off. “Just leave it alone. Please.”

She grabbed his arm, digging her claws in. “What is it? Drugs? Gambling? Blackmail?”

He couldn’t do this. It hurt too much, and there was no way he could do what she wanted. What she needed. He felt like he was bleeding inside.

He jerked his arm away, and her claws tore gashes in his sleeve. “Jaz. Please. Leave it. I’ll call you tomorrow.”

He gave her a quick, hard kiss, and left her.