Free The Wedding Rescue, Book Four (An Alpha Billionaire Club BBW Romance) by Alexa Wilder Page B

surprise, the heels of my sandals slipping in the gravel, but I managed to stay quiet. I really didn’t want to wake the neighbors. The family on the left side of the house had two young kids. They were sweet. On my right was Mrs. Carmody. She had ears like a hawk and hated noise. I was quiet, so it wasn’t usually a problem, but if she caught us skulking in the dark on my back deck, she’d call the police. That would be a problem.
    “You’re alone,” Steven said, sounding oddly curious.
    “What do you want?” I was surprised at how steady my voice was. Inside I was trembling with fear and rage.
    “I wasn’t sure you’d be smart enough to ditch the guy. You almost hit the mother-load there, didn’t you? How’d you like my video? Hot, right? I must have jerked off watching you come five times already.”
    “What do you want?” I hissed again, my stomach turning at the thought of Steven watching me with Dylan.
    How had I ever thought I liked him? Looking at Steven in the shadows of my deck, he was completely unassuming. By all rights he should have looked like a dirty, greasy weasel. Instead he was blandly handsome. Blond hair in a conservative cut. Khakis. A dark blue polo shirt. An evil bastard wearing the costume of a normal, everyday guy, and I’d fallen for it.
    “You don’t want to talk about my movie making skills? How about we talk about distribution? I can have that video up where the whole world can see it anytime. Won’t take me more than a minute or two.”
    “What. Do. You. Want?” I demanded one more time. If he wouldn’t tell me what he wanted, I couldn’t give it to him and make him leave me alone.
    “I want your 401k,” he said. “I saw the statement in your files. You’ve got almost sixty grand in that thing. Sign it over to me and I’ll give you the video. And I don’t want you to see that guy again. Dylan Kane is a problem I don’t need. You go back to him, I show the video.”

2
Leigha
    I stared at him in shock. What an idiot. He was right; I did have a lot in my 401k. I was an accountant. I was responsible with money. And Haywood & Cross had a very generous employer matching policy. But I couldn’t just withdraw the money and hand it over to Steven.
    “That’s not how it works,” I whispered. “It’s not a bank account. I can’t go to an ATM or write you a check. I have to fill out paperwork, send it in through my human resources manager. It takes at least a week, probably more. And then there’s an early withdrawal penalty. At least 10%.”
    Steven’s eyes narrowed. He kicked one foot at the corner of my deck like a frustrated child.
    “You’re lying,” he said.
    “Why would I lie about this? I want that video. I want you to go away.”
    “You have to give me something. I’m not giving you the video for nothing. Anyway, you make good money and you never spend any of it. I’m not leaving with nothing.”
    My mind raced furiously. I didn’t have anything to give him. No jewelry worth pawning. Same for electronics. He’d already taken my easily accessible savings. Then a thought occurred to me.
    “Why the hurry? You know I called the police after you emptied my savings. Did you know I hired a lawyer to sue you?” He shrugged and looked away. “So why risk coming after me? And you obviously know who Dylan is. If I’d told him, he would have crushed you.”
    “Not before I uploaded that video,” Steven sneered at me.
    “True, but can you imagine what Dylan would have done to you? So why come after me again? Why not find some other sucker?”
    In my panic, the weirdness of Steven’s actions hadn’t penetrated. I’d only thought of protecting Dylan by coming here to meet him, not why Steven would be doing all this in the first place. Steven shuffled his feet in the gravel and murmured something I didn’t catch.
    “What?”
    “I said, I owe some people money.”
    “How much money?” I asked. I didn’t have cash, but I needed to know how deep in the