Alex went into his bedroom as Diego yelled out, “Nice work, bro.”

Alex sighed and stared at the ceiling. He’d have to tell Roxy what he’d said in case Diego said something first. Which would be exactly like Diego. Alex grabbed his iPod and headed back to his pretty new neighbor’s house to tell her the news.

Roxy was about to head to her office with the intention of making some headway on the new book when she remembered the card Alex had brought over. She went into the kitchen and picked it up off the counter. No return address, but there was some stickiness in the corner like the label had peeled off.

The cancellation on the stamp was too smudged to read.

She got a steak knife and ran it under the edge, then pulled the card out. She stared at it, unable to comprehend what she was looking at for a moment.

Enjoying your new house?

The words were scrawled in black marker on a lined notecard, the kind people used to write recipes on. Or plot points. The handwriting wasn’t familiar. But it felt threatening. And deliberate.

She dropped the card on the counter and backed away. She watched it for a few seconds, like it might do something. Then she put her hands on her hips and got a little frustrated with herself. “This is silly. It means nothing.”

But that wasn’t true. It meant something. Otherwise, what had been the point of sending it? No doubt it had come from Thomas. Like their marriage hadn’t been punishment enough. The man just couldn’t let her be.

A knock on the door made her jump, and she shrieked before she could stop herself. She snarled out a groan, angry at herself for reacting that way. She strode to the door and pulled it open. “Yes? Oh, hey, Alex. I didn’t expect to see you again so soon.”

His brows bent together. “Did I just hear you scream? Everything okay?”

She waved her hand. “It was nothing. A spider. You know.” She wasn’t about to tell him about that silly piece of mail. “What’s up?”

He glanced toward his house, a very long-suffering look on his face. “If you happen to run into my brother, our lunch tomorrow is a date. Like, an actual date. I told him that to keep him from asking you out. As you surmised, he’s kind of a player, but if he thinks I’m interested in you, he’ll leave you alone. It’s the bro code. Or something like that. Anyway, I thought you should know so you don’t get blindsided. Or think I’m trying to pull something.”

She tried to suppress a smile. “Got it. Our lunch date is a date, but only if Diego asks.”

“Right. Sorry to bother you.”

“No problem. And no bother. Hey, one question.”

“Sure.”

Not that the weird note had made her jumpy about having strangers in her house, but… “Do you know Undrea Seely? She installs and maintains fish tanks? She’s cool, right? I mean, she seems that way and she came highly recommended, but—you know what, never mind. I’m just being weird.”

But he answered anyway. “I don’t know her personally, but yeah, I hear she’s nice.” His brows lifted. “Is that who’s installing the tank for you?”

Roxy nodded, liking that Alex had actually listened to what she’d said. Maybe that was just the cop in him, but it made her feel nice. “Yep. So it would be okay for her to be in my house alone? I just might not be here the whole time, and I was wondering.”

“You don’t have anything to worry about.”

“Okay, thanks. That’s what I was thinking, but never hurts to ask. See you tomorrow. For our non-date date.”

He smirked. “Yeah.” Then he gave a wave and jogged down her path to the sidewalk.

Her gaze lingered a little longer than was neighborly, but Officer Cruz was in very good shape. His running shorts showed off muscular legs that were hard not to admire. She finally pulled herself away from the door as he disappeared down the street. Time to get back to her office.

And back to the main man in her life, Wolfgang Blackborne.

She settled into her chair, tapped the touchpad to bring the screen to life and logged in. Her manuscript sat there, formatted and waiting, the blank white pages of the Word document mocking her with their emptiness. She stared at the screen for a moment, then put her fingers to the keyboard and started typing.

Wolfgang Blackborne stared out across the jagged castle ruins. Wind scoured the Scottish moors, buffeting his face and tugging at his long, leather coat. His childhood home had once been a majestic place. But that had been three hundred years ago. Before he’d been turned into the beast he now was.

He’d thought his life was about to be perfect again. That he’d be able to rebuild here, create a legacy for the family he and Marabella would conceive. But he’d lost his beloved Marabella. And his brother had betrayed him.

Now he cared only for one thing. Vengeance. And with the help of his pack, he was finally going to get it.

Roxy nodded. That was good. That was a start. Only eighty thousand more words to go. She sighed and started tapping away, losing herself in the world of the Blood Moon Brotherhood until her stomach started to growl.

She looked at the time. She’d been at the keyboard for almost two hours. That was enough for the day, considering it was getting late. She got up, went into the kitchen to fix something to eat and saw the note again.

She picked it up and was about to pitch it in the trash when a small voice in her head said not to. She really didn’t want it in her house, but maybe she’d hang on to it for another day or two.