Melting Steel: An Alpha Billionaire Romance Read Online Free Page B

4
     
    Henry
     
    I don’t know why I follow her. But I do.
    The lock on the front door of the building is broken, the plaster walls peeling, and the scent of mildew almost overpowering. The run down brownstone is only four stories, but I only make it to the second floor when I hear Keeley’s soft cry of alarm.
    A yellow stream of light filters through an open door, and even before I enter the apartment, I know someone has ransacked the place.
    “Shit,” I mutter, stepping over a broken vase and several scattered magazines. Nothing has been left untouched. Even the old, corduroy couch has been slashed.
    Sitting in the corner on an overturned bookshelf, Keeley’s face is pale, eyes unfocused. Her gaze drifts up to me, and she blinks several times as if she doesn’t really see me.
    I move across the room, crouching in front of her, and take her hands in my own.
    “Did that asshole from the club do this?”
    She lifts her shoulders in a small shrug. “Him. Drew. It doesn’t matter. It’s all gone.”
    Who the hell is Drew?
    “What were they looking for?”
    “Money.” Her gaze focuses on me, expression hardening. “Drugs.”
    I narrow my eyes. “Why would someone be looking for drugs here?”
    She drops my hands and stands quickly.
    “Are you selling?” I ask, a hard edge to my voice. It’s really none of my business, but I can’t shake the feeling that I need to protect her. If she’s messed up with drugs, it’s going to make things a hell of a lot more complicated.
    “No.” She squares her shoulders and looks me straight in the eyes, and I know she’s telling the truth.
    With a heavy sigh, she leans down to pick up an overturned plant, then places it on the window sill.
    “I’ll figure it out.” Her words are steel, but there’s a vulnerability behind them.
    “You need to call the police.”
    “No.”
    “Why the hell not?”
    She sits down heavily on the torn couch and puts her head in her hands. “Until I know what Drew’s done, I can’t risk it.”
    “Drew?” It’s the second time she’s mentioned the guy. Jealousy tightens my throat.
    “My brother.” She looks up at me, and my chest constricts at the fear I see in her eyes.
    I’m starting to put the pieces together.
    “And the guy from the club?”
    “Jax.”
    I grind my back teeth, remembering the way he’d grabbed her.
    “He thinks Drew stole from him.”
    “Did he?”
    “I don’t know. But if he’s using again, then it’s possible.” Despite what the asshole has done, the danger he’s put her in, I can hear the concern in her voice. Concern not for herself, but for her brother. “I have to find him before Jax does.”
    I have no doubt that whatever she’s planning is not only dangerous, but completely idiotic.
    If I was smart, I’d get the fuck out of here, now.
    Lust wars with self-preservation.
    Damn, if I don’t want her. But I already know that one taste will never be enough, and the woman has trouble written all over her. She could never be a one-night stand or a casual fuck, and that’s all I have room for.
    Nothing else. Nothing more.
    She doesn’t need my help, she already told me that. Not that I believe her. But I need to get away from her before I pull the caveman shit my cock is urging me to do.
    I don’t even know the woman, but I can safely say I’ve never felt so fucking possessive over anyone or anything.
    It’s my nature to control. To fix. Maybe that’s all this is.
    Maybe.
    Whatever it is, I know I’ve finally found my kryptonite. 
    Running my hand through my hair, I glance around the apartment, realizing that the lock on the door is broken, the wood frame splintered. She can’t stay here.
    “You have somewhere you can go for the night?”
    She follows my eyes to the door, then shakes her head. “Whoever did this isn’t coming back. I’ve got a lot of work to do cleaning this up, so–”
    “Where did you get this?” I bend over to pick up a small wooden sword that’s half hidden