Deacon looked down at his wristwatch again, stood up from his chair, and paced the small waiting area of the back office again. He'd been waiting for Leo for almost an hour.

"Stop pacing around here like a caged wolf," Brenda, Leo's assistant, told him. "You're making me nervous. He said he'd be here tonight, then he'll be here. I can have one of the girls bring you another beer…maybe something a little stronger this time to calm your nerves."

"Naw, I'm good. I've had enough already and I've gotta drive back to the mountains tonight," he replied.

Deacon had arrived well before the first group of club patrons had begun showing up, but now he could hear the DJ already giving his intro, birthday shoutouts, and all that other stuff. If he didn't get out of here soon, he'd probably be stuck elbowing his way through the crowd. But he wouldn't leave until he did what he said he would do; he wanted to be done with this. Leo was a busy entrepreneur and it had taken Deacon a few days to set up a time to meet with him face to face. Deacon didn't want to just drop the package off and leave it on top of his desk. He didn't really know any of the employees who worked for him now. Brenda was about the only person here who could be trusted, but then again she was a little on the ditzy side too when she got to drinking as she was now.

He watched as Brenda brought a cocktail glass to her lips and took a few healthy chugs. Then she said, "What about a quick session? You can take your pick of any of the call girls here tonight to help you loosen up. They'll probably appreciate the change. You know…see what you Tunica men are working with."

"No. I'm fine," Deacon stated, flatly.

"Suit yourself," Brenda said. She chugged the rest of her cocktail, looking him up and down. "You've been working out pretty good. You oughta talk to Leo about a job. He's been working on beefing up the security team."

"I'm not looking for a job. I have one. Plus, I didn't come to Aspen Valley to stay."

"That's unfortunate."

The door to the office opened and Leo sauntered inside followed by a couple members of the security detail.

"Speak of the devil…" Brenda commented.

"Deacon Remy." Leo grinned, shaking his head. "I thought I'd never see you again."

"I've been getting that a lot lately," Deacon replied, and then the two gave each other a brotherly hug.

Leo dismissed the security guards from the room and then he turned to address Brenda. "One of your girls was out there giving the new hire a hard time about her slowness. You might want to go check her ass before we lose the new person who has been very reliable for the past few weeks. I can't say the same about the hag who's hounding her."

Brenda made a noise of discontentment and rose from her chair. "I'm willing to bet I know whose doing all the bitching. After you speak with Deacon, don't run off again. I need to talk to you about an issue with one vendor."

"I'll be here until close," Leo confirmed.

When Brenda was gone, Deacon joined Leo in his office. He recalled the numerous times coming in here while he worked as a bouncer. Back then, Leo would hand deliver paychecks on payday. He spent a lot of one on one time with his employees, both shifters and humans, which was why he was both popular and well known in their community. Despite the reputation LIVE had earned for being the nightclub where the unexpected happened and where one could witness anything from the occasional drunken patron causing terror onsite or cops showing up to bust the latest felon, Leo was still a pretty well respected businessman.

"So what's up? You need a job? Cause I've got one for you," Leo began, shuffling through a stack of forms on his desk.

"No, that's not why I'm here tonight. Remember all those times you fronted me the money to pay the bills down at the auto body shop?"

"I remember vaguely, but I was doing you a favor."

"Yeah, well, I told you I'd pay you back one day and I meant it." Deacon dragged a few stacks out of a wool drawstring bag and piled them on the desk in front of Leo.

"I knew you meant it, Deacon, but you didn't have to go through all this trouble to come up with all that," Leo said, looking at the stack of bills in shock.

"It wasn't as much trouble as you think," Deacon replied. "I worked for that money because I knew that one day I'd have to come back here to pay the Remy debt."

"Is this what this is about? Your family's debt?"

"Partly so."

"Well, you know I'm not exactly on a dog pound food diet. I could do without you paying me back," Leo replied. "If this is all you've got…"

"No, it's not all I've got. I've been saving a lot lately. And honestly, I have nothing to spend my money on at the moment. Dale, the banker, says I should put it in the bank. Invest and all that, but I don't know who to trust anymore."

"Well, you could trust me, kid. I won't let you down. I'm possessive of my shit too, and I only fuck with one investment guy here in town and that's Dale. Have you gone to see the Alpha?"

"No." Deacon looked down at the table. "I'm sure he knows that there's a rogue on his turf though. I heard he's got eyes and ears in every corner of Aspen Valley and Cross City."

"I'm sure he does. With all these shifter killings going on, we need eyes and ears everywhere," Leo commented. "You need to see him. Let him know you're not here to cause trouble. He's more honorable than any Alpha the Pack has had. Trust me when I say that you want to get on his good side from the beginning. Plus if you're going around town paying folks back that's just like pumping money into our little community. He'd be happy to hear of that."

Deacon sighed. "I guess I'm saving that visit for last. I'll schedule a meeting with the Alpha before I leave town again."

They spent more time discussing Deacon's job at the casino in Tunica until someone who worked for Leo entered his office. Realizing that the guy was busier than ever, Deacon said his goodbyes and pushed himself out into the hallway and then into the main area of the nightclub.

He had every intention of high-tailing it straight to the front door, but then something surreal hit him, forcing his gaze to a tall woman in a royal blue form-fitting minidress. A women he knew…

Deacon couldn't believe what he was seeing. The woman was Monica Collins, the tempting raven-haired beauty who had visited him in his dreams for the past few nights. The same woman he had rescued from the side of the road. The same woman whose father had told him that she was meant to marry another. Not that he needed confirmation or anything that she was clearly taken, but there it was…as clear as the cloudless night sky. A tall guy with blond hair wearing expensive clothing and a beer in his hand stood right in front of her. They were off to the side a bit and away from the crowd. He was talking down at her. She was shaking her head. The uncomfortable and humiliating expression on her face didn't look promising. She spoke to him with her lips thinning in anger. Her hands were flailing as she spoke. At one point, she pushed at his chest. It didn't take a wolf with heightened senses to know that she was ticked off at him.

Emotions of white-hot anger and downright jealousy intensified in Deacon and the wolf within him. Confusion set in because he couldn't process his feelings or the scene playing out in front of him. He didn't know whether his emotions were fueled by the need to have her or from the obvious way in which her rich boyfriend was making her uncomfortable.

Deacon was riveted to the spot. The human side of him wouldn't allow him to look the other way. And his wolf refused to leave behind what was his. His next moves were fueled by his immediate and uncontrollable emotions.