Chapter Ten
She was going to be a problem.
He couldn't help but feel that as he watched her go back to work. She was beautiful, smart, quick, and she seemed to know him without even talking to him. He wanted to know her better as well.
Instead of sticking around, though, he went back to his hotel room.
He had a lot to figure out.
Pulling his laptop out of his bag, he let it whir to life while he poured himself a drink from the overpriced minibar. He didn't use his computer often anymore. It used to be a major part of his daily routine, but lately, it had become more of a nuisance. A reminder of a funeral procession on every page he used to visit.
Today was no different.
Logging onto social media, he was greeted by the profile pages of friends who were alive just two months ago. His heart ached at their faces, and it pained him to think that he'd been so easygoing just a few minutes before.
Clicking away, he ended up in his email.
Most was spam, but something caught his eye.
It was an email from a non-shifter friend named Mac, titled “Where are you?” Anthony opened it immediately.
“Hey, Tony, you've been out of town for so long that people are getting worried. I hope you didn't do anything drastic. We can't handle another loss. Ivy has been asking about you. She came back to town. Let me know what's going on, dude,” it said, signed with Mac's first name.
A cold chill went through Anthony's body. He stared at the screen and looked for any kind of answer he could find. He was right when he was worried about being tailed.
Ivy was still looking for him. He was sure she'd made Mac mention her so that Anthony would know it.
She wanted him to expect her.
He knew better than to be surprised that she was seeking him out. Her whole family had always been driven like that. Always been stubborn and headstrong. The little bottle of whiskey didn't taste as great as it should have.
He needed to be careful with his connections.
If Ivy could find him he'd be dead.
Or, really, she'd try to kill him. He couldn't be sure what the outcome would be. She was a shifter woman, and they were unpredictable – clever and quick. Going against one wasn't ideal.
He could understand why she was mad.
Anthony was mad, too, after it happened. He'd been furious and felt broken as he wondered why he wasn't chosen for it and why he got off free. Ivy had been out of town, and she jumped right to blaming him. A lot of shifters seemed to think it was his fault. It made finding a pack who could accept him difficult.
Even in the current days, where Alpha were dropping off like flies, he had trouble getting anyone to think it wasn't him.
He needed to be careful about the connections he made.
If Ivy could find any weakness in him or around him, she'd exploit it to get to him. If she had an in, she'd use it.
Anthony finished the tiny bottle and closed his computer, not bothering to reply to Mac.
He shouldn't have touched his computer.
Shouldn't have bothered trying to find anyone who understood.
He wanted more to drink – anything to clear the situation out of his mind.
The mini bar had a bottle of vodka left, and he cringed at it. Clear alcohols were never his friend. Instead, he stared out the window at the Casino. He could go there, get a drink or two, and then come back to his room. It would ease the pain.
It used to ease the pain so well.
Standing up and straightening out his clothes, he headed back out to the Casino.
It wasn't until he walked in that he realized Sierra was still on shift. He ducked down, feeling like a stalker, and slipped into a table where another waitress was working. He figured if he didn't act like he was seeking her out that he wouldn't creep her out.
He needed to see her.
Something about her was so perfect and filling for his heart. Sierra was like Advil to a headache or a cast to a broken limb. The idea of her set him right, calmed him down, and prepared him for the day. He hardly knew her, but everything about her felt familiar.
When she walked out from behind the bar, talking to another patron, he felt an aching he didn't expect.
He'd never felt this way about anyone.
An appetite that wasn't just lust.
He watched her, and after a couple moments, she looked back at him.
Anthony kept his eyes on her. Didn't duck away embarrassed, didn't act like he wasn't looking. What was the point? He was just going to be there for a week or two if the pack didn’t like him, so why worry about how she felt?
Sierra approached his table, and Anthony was able to get another good look at what her body was like in that uniform. She was gorgeous, her body breathtaking, and something in him was dying to reach out and touch her.
He knew better.
She was a human.
She was a stranger.
Ivy was coming after him, and Sierra was definitely a weakness. He didn't care. He needed any bit of Sierra he could get, even if it was just as her customer at her bar.