Eyes narrowed Luca said, "Nice to see you too, Inez. I am glad you are in a jolly mood."
Inez rolled her eyes at him. She knew that the man was trying to mess with her; that was the kind of man Luca was. Unlike Dominic and Tao, whose hatred was simply palpable, Luca's was like venom. It flowed deep in his veins but it never appeared on the surface unless he wanted to show his fangs.
Though he spoke and talked with her as if they were still friends, Inez knew that he didn't think of her as his friend anymore. The fact that he had once been the ringleader of a rumour that she was pregnant with a rogue's child, which had intensified the bullying, was enough evidence.
She walked past him. Inez had no freaking idea why this man was here or why he couldn't have just waited for her in the pack to ruin her life. But she was not going to stay behind to find out.
However, just as she stepped past him, she saw that her truck, which was parked right under the shade of the little archway that was outside the large manor, was gone. Fury ripped through her heart. shifters were highly territorial creatures and they didn't like it when people messed with what was theirs.
She might be half-blood, but she was a shifter nonetheless.
"What did you do?" Inez asked, sounding perfectly civil, even though she wanted to rip Luca's throat for messing with her. She had been rejected, humiliated, and even threatened in less than twenty-four hours. The last thing she wanted was her truck, which was a gift from her grandmother to be thrown in a place where she might never find it again.
This was why she didn't want to talk or deal with Luca. The man didn't fight fair; he didn't touch the people he had a grudge against; he attacked their vulnerabilities.
"Nothing. Not yet at least," he tipped his chin at his sleek sports car and said to her in an imperious tone, "Get in."
Every fibre of her being was against the idea and maybe it showed on her face because Luca chuckled at her. He said to her, "I wasn't asking you. I was telling you, if you don't, then you might not see that little truck of yours. I believe it's precious to you?"
It was more than just precious. It was the last memory of her grandpa and her grandmother had gifted it to her when she had turned eighteen. Even though the truck had multiple flaws, Inez had never thought of replacing it, even though she had to turn it on with a bunch of curses.
All because that truck held precious memories for her and her grandmother. Maybe her mother too. If that woman could get down from the high pedestal of arrogance, she would admit that she liked having that truck in her garage.
"What do you want?" Inez asked coldly. She was not in a good mood and Luca's actions of touching her truck and taking it away when she was working only made her even angrier.
"Just get in, Inez. I don't bite unless you want me to." He winked at her, making Inez grit her teeth. This was the last thing she needed. If it were up to her, she wanted to turn around and head back to the pack on her feet, but she knew that Luca was not joking.
If he came this far just to threaten her, then he wouldn't leave her alone just because she succeeded in avoiding him.
As for how she knew this? Haha, that was just the perk of being his ex-best friend.
Inez sighed unhappily. She looked at the man with resignation and Luca only smiled in return. He opened the door on the passenger seat and made an exaggerated gesture of bowing like a gentleman.
But the more he was like this, the more Inez started to get worried. She walked towards the passenger seat, tapped it with her hands, and carefully examined it. She even went out of her way to examine the brakes and steering wheel.
"You are getting nervous for no reason," Luca chuckled lightly when Inez slid into the seat next to him with the air of a person who believed that the car was about to explode.
"What can I say? Your presence makes me super nervous, Luca." Inez was not lying; if she had to take a man down in a fight, then she would rather hope that it was Dominic.
At least that man would kill her in a matter of seconds. Luca— on the other hand, had the habit of playing with his prey.
He was also the head enforcer of the pack, who was in charge of interrogating criminals. The way he could break someone's nerves was phenomenal.
The man only laughed.
His careless manner made Inez bristle with anger. However, she didn't show it on her face. She hated that tiny part of her heart, which was still hoping that this man would tell her that he never meant what he had done to her and simply squashed it down.
Turning to look at him, she asked in what she thought was a polite voice, "Why did you come looking for me?"
"It's nothing." Turning the radio on, Luca started humming along as he continued, "There was a slight change in plans. Alpha Sokolov has pushed the meeting to tomorrow because he has to attend to some emergency."
Even though Inez knew that the trouble had only been pushed by one day, she still heaved a sigh of relief. This was good as well; her contract was expiring tomorrow, which meant that she could just finish the meeting and hand in her resignation.
Though the process would be a bit bumpy, she didn't mind it as long as she could leave this hell hole.
"And I also wanted to talk about your contract."