by Roxie Rivera
Hagen rose from his seat and shocked me with his height. I'd heard that he was a big guy but he made the super-sized goon out front look like a toddler. Hagen gestured to the chair in front of his desk. "Have a seat."
His gentle voice caught me off-guard. Instead of falling under the spell of his gentlemanly display of manners, I recalled just how ruthless this man could be. I'd learned enough over the last week of helping my brother dodge the heat on his ass to know exactly what Hagen was capable of doing with those big hands.
As I settled into the chair, my butt right on the edge of the hard seat and my back ramrod straight, Hagen sank into his and looked me over. "So you're Little Ronnie's sister?"
I didn't miss the disbelief in his voice. "Yes. I'm Cassie."
"Cassie." He repeated my name. "You're the little sister studying to be a rocket scientist, right?"
"Sort of," I replied while wondering how the hell he knew anything about me.
He frowned. "You're not in college? Or you're not a rocket scientist wannabe?"
"I'm studying astrophysics. It's not exactly the same thing as a rocket scientist. They're usually aerospace engineers."
Hagen's lips twitched with amusement. "I see."
"I doubt it."
The briefest flash of annoyance crossed his face at my sarcastic come-back. "Why are you here?"
"You know why."
"Because that weasely bastard of a brother of yours owes me thirty large?"
I gasped. "Th-thirty? But I thought—"
He laughed, the sound harsh and cruel. "Let me guess. He lied about how much he owes, right?"
I reluctantly confirmed his guess. "He said five."
"That was the initial loan but then he rolled it into another one. He's been light for the last six pick-ups in a row."
"Light?" I felt completely lost by the gambling and loan lingo he tossed around so easily.
"He was short thousands of dollars each time I sent a guy around to pick up the payments," Hagen explained. "Add in the interest and we're sitting at thirty thousand owed."
"Thirty thousand," I echoed softly. I couldn't even wrap my head around that number. I lived on less than half that in an entire year. How the hell Ronnie had managed to piss that huge amount away in just a few short weeks?
As if he could read my mind, Hagan said, "Poker. Your brother had a hot streak a few months back and then went cold. He just keeps digging that hole deeper and deeper. Frankly, you're lucky he hasn't had his fingers broken for those card counting tricks of his."
I sighed heavily. It wasn't the first time he'd tried his stupid card tricks. Like me, he had a mind for numbers. He simply didn't use his gift wisely. It was always about the next get-rich-quick scheme.
"So let me guess," Hagen said, a smile on his face. "Ronnie gave you some sad, weepy fucking story about being down a couple grand, right? You thought you'd come in here and shake that tight little ass of yours to get me to wipe the debt clean?"
"What? No!" I vehemently shook my head. Reaching into my purse, I withdrew the fat envelope of cash and placed it on his desk. "I brought this."
He eyed the envelope. "Four thousand?"
Surprise rippled through me. "You can tell just by looking at it?"
Hagen nodded. "When you've been in this business as long as I have, you pick up tricks." He sat forward and snatched up the envelope. "That still leaves him twenty-six short."
I bit my lower lip. "I thought he owed five grand. I brought what I could scrape together and hoped you'd let me pay the rest over the next month or two but twenty-six thousand? I—I just—I can't."
He tossed the envelope back at me. I barely caught it. "You shouldn't. He's a big boy. Let him dig himself out of this mess. Besides," he sat back in his chair and lifted his hands behind his head, "I don't do payment plans."
I shivered as his searing gaze roamed my body. When he spoke again, his tone had changed. "Although…I might be willing to make an exception—just this once. It's not every day a brilliant, beautiful college girl walks through my door."
I bristled with indignation and shot to my feet. "I'm not a whore."
"I didn't say you were," he shot back in that silky voice.
I dropped the envelope on his desk. "Here's the four grand. You can take it or leave it but that's all I've got."
Pivoting on my heel, I gripped the handle of my purse and strode toward the still open door. Fuck you.
"Do you know if your brother has good health insurance?"
Hagen's warning remark froze me in place. My eyes closed and I tried to slow my racing heart. His threat hit home. I knew what happened to men who owed Hagen money. They ended up in the hospital with smashed faces and broken ribs. Sometimes even worse than that.
Sure, Ronnie had gotten himself into this mess but he'd never been the same since the car accident that took our parents. He'd been driving that night and so proud of his new car, a graduation present. Wet roads and a deer in the middle of the highway had taken away the two people we'd loved most. The guilt of the accident had changed him forever. Gambling seemed to be the escape from reality he'd chosen.
Gulping down the painful ball of nerves clogging my throat, I stepped back into the office and closed the door. On shaky limbs, I turned slowly and leaned back against the wooden plank. I met Hagen's triumphant gaze. "What do you want from me?"
He eyed me carefully. "You love your brother this much?"
"He's all I have left."
Hagen studied me for a long moment. Finally, he held out his hand. "Come here."
I hesitated before complying with his request. I placed my purse in the chair in front of his desk and walked around the edge of it to stand next to him. He grasped my small hand in his huge paw and dragged me between his knees and the desk. The sturdy piece of furniture bit into my bottom.
Only an inch over five feet, I was so short we were practically eye to eye as he sat in his office chair. He dwarfed me like some kind of giant. At least he smelled nice. I picked up on the faint cedar note in his cologne. He had nice eyes, I grudgingly admitted to myself, the brown irises a rich coffee color. There was something handsome about him. Not in the classical way, of course, but in a rugged, tough guy sense.
"You're shaking," he commented gently.
"You scare me," I answered honestly.
"Don't be afraid of me, Cassie. I'd never hurt you."
"Your reputation tells me otherwise."
"Don't believe everything you hear." He grasped my waist and effortlessly lifted me up onto the desk. My eyes widened at how easily he manhandled me. "Lift up your skirt."
End Excerpt.
Available now at Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Kobo, Apple, Smashwords and All Romance eBooks.
Roxie's Backlist
Chance's Bad, Bad Girl
Halftime With Craig
Tease
Quid Pro Quo
Eddie's Cuffs 1
Eddie's Cuffs 2
Eddie's Cuffs 3
Seduced by the Congressman 1
Seduced by the Congressman 2
Seduced by the Loan Shark
Disturbing the Peace (Romps #1)
Search and Seizure (Romps #2)
About Roxie
I like to write dirty books that make your pulse pound. I’m the naughtier alter ego of another erotica and erotic romance author who wanted to write more taboo stories. You can find me online at www.roxierivera.com.
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