Savage (Wolf Ranch 4)

I glanced out the plate glass window and down Main Street. There hadn’t been enough snow for the streets to need plowing, but there were big piles of it from the last storm. I saw the bank the next block down, and my blood ran cold. If he could get to my credit card, he could—

Dashing over to the desk, I shoved the small amount of cash in my wallet I had at the mechanic. “Here. This is good faith. I’ll be back to pay you. Keep the car. I have to run to the bank.”

I didn’t wait for him to reply but bolted out the door and down the street, my boots splashing through the small puddles. Thankfully, Cooper Valley was tiny, and most stores and businesses were within blocks of each other. I burst through the bank’s entrance with a gust of cold wind and definite dread.

It took ten minutes to learn that Todd had withdrawn all the money in my personal checking account, and I was, in fact, overdrawn since my electricity bill was set to auto-pay.

While the bank teller hadn’t done anything wrong, in fact, she’d been following the law, she looked really upset about my situation. Her pity only made me want to cry. I wanted to scream. I wanted to rip my hair out. I wanted to rip Todd’s head off and shove it up his tiny ass.

I went out onto the sidewalk because there was nothing else the bank could do for me. I’d checked to see if Todd had an account, wanting to take his money out like he had done with mine. But no. Of course not.

The cold breeze raced down the street. I didn’t care. I was already numb. Before Todd got another dime of my money, I called human resources at the hospital and explained the situation and asked them to immediately switch my paycheck off of direct deposit. If I had to hide cash in a can in the backyard, that was what I’d do to keep it away from Todd.

In order to get the money, I had to make it, which meant I had to get my ass to work. I walked back to the mechanic, trying to think about how I was going to pay him all the while hoping he’d be kind enough to drop me off at the hospital.

When I cut across the street, I stopped at the curb. Stared... then blinked. Leaning against a shiny black Mercedes was Todd. His arms were crossed, and he was smiling at me. He wasn’t quite six feet tall and had a slim build. He had a personal trainer although any money he spent was wasted since he didn’t look the least bit fit. On his feet were his signature loafers, even in the crappy weather. And his car… how the hell was it so shiny after the storm and the sloppy roads?

I looked like hell, having only eaten the avocado toast earlier. I was in my scrubs, my hair pulled back in a ponytail beneath my knit hat.

Maybe it was the pregnancy hormones. Maybe it was because he was a total fucking asshole, but I lost it. He’d stolen money from me. Money I needed to pay rent. Electricity. Food. He didn’t give a shit. No, he did. He gave a shit that I left, and he was forcing me to come back to him by bleeding me dry.

“What the fuck is wrong with you?” I screamed, waving my arms and approaching Todd, getting in his face. I hadn’t seen him in months, not since the last court visit, and that had been with lawyers present. And a judge.

“What’s the matter, honey?” His eyebrow rose in mock confusion.

“You know what’s the matter. You stole money from my bank account. You cancelled my credit card!” I practically shook with fury.

He frowned. “How could I steal from my own wife? It’s not your money. It’s our money.”

It was possible the top of my head blew off then and there. There was no our.

“Ma’am, is everything all right?” The mechanic must have come out when I started shouting. Bless his heart for checking on me, but there was nothing he could do for the hurt Todd had already caused me.

“My wife is being irrational. I will take her home.” He reached out to take my arm, but I wrenched it away.

“We are legally separated,” I snapped. “We’d be divorced if you just signed the fucking papers.”

“Language, honey,” he said in a patronizing tone.

“I have a restraining order for you to stay away from me.”

He held up his hands as if I was the one who’d messed with him. “You’re the one who approached me. How was I to know you’d be here?”

“You slashed my tire, asshole. That’s how you knew I’d be here. You’re a dead man, Todd. Dead. You’ve fucked with me for the last time.”