Finally, it clicked. "Ohhhhh. That Biff." I'd seen him around town, but until now, I hadn't known his name. Still, I had no idea what Cassie was talking about.
I asked, "So, what'd you hear?"
After a dramatic pause, Cassie said, "I heard that last night, you and some tattooed guy practically jacked your own car."
I almost dropped the phone. Jacked? What did that even mean? As far as the rest, I knew only one person with a tattoo – April. And yet somehow, I doubted that the butterfly on her ankle had anything to do with this fiasco, whatever it was.
"Wait a minute," I said. "Do you mean my car was stolen? You're kidding, right?"
Cassie hesitated. "You don't have it?"
"My car?" I wanted to cry. "No. I don't."
Cassie paused for a long, silent moment before saying, "Huh. That's odd."
It wasn't odd. It was a nightmare. Desperate for more information, I said, "Look, I'm totally clueless here. Can you just tell me what you know? Like start from the beginning or something?"
Her voice grew quiet. "Are you okay?"
"I'm fine," I lied. "I'm just confused, that's all. So, will you just tell me? Please?"
"Alright," Cassie said. "This is what I heard. Late last night, Biff gets a knock on his door – not at the auto shop, but at his house. And it's some tattooed guy that Biff doesn't recognize. And this guy has a wad of cash, and he tells Biff he's there to pay the towing bill."
"What towing bill?"
"The one for your car. It was towed from some campground or something?"
I froze. The campground. Joel. Joel's brother. His other brother. A guy with tattoos. I heard myself say, "Oh, shit."
"What?"
My mind was racing. I recalled Joel standing on my doorstep. "I brought you something."
My gaze shifted toward the side of my house. There were several walls between me and what Joel had wanted to show me.
If I looked now, what would I see?
Cassie said, "Are you still there?"
"Uh, yeah. Sorry. I’m listening."
"So anyway," Cassie continued, "Biff tells the guy, 'If you want the car, come by the shop at eight.' And the guy tells him, 'I've already got the car. I’m just here to settle the bill.' So Biff looks to the street, and sure enough, there's your car, idling in front of his house."
"So the car was running?
"Right," Cassie said. "And Biff sees you behind the wheel."
"But I wasn't." Walking slowly, like someone in a trance, I started moving toward the front door.
"Yeah, well, it was dark and all." Cassie paused. "Maybe he just assumed it was you. I mean, who else would be driving your car?" She perked up. "He said you waved out the window, all cheery like."
Absently, I murmured, "Uh-huh."
"So it was you?" Cassie gave a shaky laugh. "Wow, you almost had me there."
At this point, I hardly knew what to say. "But Biff was paid, right?"
"Not just paid," she said. "Double. In cash."
My front door was now within sight. I kept walking, slowly, with a mixture of anticipation and dread. I mumbled, "Double?"
"Yeah. For all the trouble. Or at least, that's what the guy told Biff."
"But he was still mad?"
"Biff? Not hardly." Cassie laughed. "He thought it was hilarious. I mean, yeah, he was surprised and all, but trust me, he wasn't complaining. I just saw him at the donut place. In fact, he was the one who told me."
"Uh-huh." Silently, I opened the front door and walked through it. I was afraid to look. And afraid to not look. Slowly, I inched toward the side of my house.
When I rounded the corner, I heard myself gasp. Sure enough, there it was – my car, parked exactly where Joel had indicated last night.
He'd called it a surprise.
Well, it was definitely that.
Chapter 45
The sound of tapping jolted me awake. My eyes flew open, and I saw Joel standing just outside my car window. I shot up in the driver's seat and glanced around. It was dark outside. Already?
I rubbed at my eyes. How long had I been parked here, anyway? When I'd pulled up, it had been late afternoon. The way it looked, I'd been asleep for hours.
I looked to Joel's campsite. There was no fire. In fact, there was no tent. I felt my eyebrows furrow. When I'd arrived, the tent had been standing there just like before. Now, it was gone.
I looked back to Joel, who eyed me through the car window. From the look on his face, he wasn't thrilled to see me.
After last night, I could see why. I rolled down my car window and summoned up a tentative smile. "Hi."
He didn't smile back. "Hi."
I cleared my throat. "I, uh, came to thank you."
His expression didn't change. "You're welcome."
I pointed to my steering wheel. "So I guess this was the surprise, huh?"
Joel gave something like a shrug, but said nothing.
I forced another smile. "Hey, would you mind scooting out of the way?"
"Why?"
"Because I wanna get out."
"No need. I’m leaving."
I felt a twinge of panic. "What do you mean?"
"I mean, the trip's over. I'm heading out."
Now, it was more than a twinge. "To where?"
"Does it matter?"
Okay, I realized that I'd been pretty rude last night, but couldn’t he see how everything had looked from my point-of-view? I studied his face. Apparently not.
I sighed. "Look, I'm sorry, okay?"
He shrugged. "Okay."
"Will you please just step aside? I really wanna talk."
"Yeah? I know the feeling."
I stared up at him. "What is this? Some kind of payback? Just because I wouldn’t let you in last night?"
His jaw tightened. "I never asked to come in."
I cringed. He was right. He hadn't. All he'd asked was for me to come outside so I could see the surprise. And stubbornly, I'd refused.
I felt awful. Still, I had to point out the obvious. "It was the middle of the night. How was I supposed to know?"
"You weren't. That's why they call it a surprise."
"Well, maybe I was surprised, but not by that."
At Joel's blank expression, I plowed onward, "I was surprised you ditched me. You know, for those two other girls."
His expression didn't change. "What?"
Heat flooded my face. Was he really going to make me spell it out? Lamely, I mumbled, "I mean, is it any wonder I might've been a little miffed?"
"Miffed?"
I mumbled, "Well, yeah."
His eyebrows lifted. "Two girls? Like one isn't enough?"
He was totally missing the point. I looked away. "I dunno. Forget it."
"Which two girls?"
I was still looking away. Oh, I don't know. Maybe the two chicks hanging off you at T.J.'s. But I didn't say it. I couldn’t. He'd only think I was spying on him, assuming that he didn’t think that already. And besides, it was a little early in our relationship – if you could call it that – to get all crazy jealous on him.
For what felt like the millionth time, I reminded myself that he wasn't my boyfriend or anything. And even if he was, it's not like Cassie had seen them humping in the corner. Who knows, maybe they were all just friends. I bit my lip. Friends with benefits?
Maybe I was just a friend – or not even that, given the fact that he was leaving without saying goodbye. Through the glass of the passenger's side window, I studied his campsite. There was nothing there. And soon, he'd be gone, too.
At the sound of my name, spoken more gently than I might've expected, I turned to look. To my surprise, Joel's gaze had softened into something that looked almost affectionate. In a quieter tone, he repeated his question. "Which two girls?"
I'd never been one for playing games. For one thing, I wasn't very good at it. With a resigned sigh, I said, "Last night, someone spotted you with a couple of girls at T.J.'s." My own voice grew quiet. "And I guess I was kind o
f mad that you ditched me for them."
Joel studied my face for a long moment. And then, his lips twitched. "You weren't jealous, were you?"
"No."
He leaned down and rested his forearms on the window's opening. "Hey, lemme tell you something."
"What?"
"If it were me, and I saw you with two guys, I wouldn't've been happy."
My heart gave an embarrassing little leap. "Really?"
His gaze met mine. "You've gotta ask?"
My breath caught. I didn't know what to say. I was still dying to know who the girls were, but there was another question churning in my brain. "Are you really leaving?"
"That was the plan."
A spark of hope kindled in my heart. "Was?"
He looked toward his empty campsite. "The car's already loaded."
A wave of fresh disappointment coursed through me. "Oh." I looked around. "So, uh, where is your car?"
"At the storage place." He flicked his head toward the main road. "Across the street. You wanna give me a ride?"
I didn't, actually.
If I gave him a ride, he'd only be leaving that much faster. And yet, I couldn’t exactly refuse, not after everything he'd done for me. So I turned away and pushed open the passenger's side door.
When he circled the car and climbed inside, I reached forward to start the engine.
"Wait," Joel said.
I turned to look. "For what?"
"I wanna tell you something. Those girls – they weren't with me."
I searched his eyes. He looked so sincere. I wanted to believe him. But Cassie had seen them arm-in-arm.
At something in my expression, he added, "I mean, yeah, I was with them at T.J.'s, but we were just killing time."
Killing time?
While he'd been off at T.J.'s, I'd been at my house, waiting for him. I'd been worried. And angry. And just a little bit pathetic. The fact that he'd been merely killing time wasn't exactly a mark in his favor.
And then, there was the other thing. "But you had your arms around them."
"No," he said. "They had their arms around me." He gave something like a laugh. "They were dragging me in there."
I gave him a dubious look. "Against your will?"
"Pretty much. None of it was my idea."
"What do you mean?" I asked.
"Long story. But just so you know. Those girls? They're both engaged."
That made me pause. "Both of them? To who?"
"My brothers, actually."
"Oh." My heart suddenly felt ten times lighter. "Really?"
"Yeah. They came up with Jake and Bishop, who supposedly had to take care of something."
"Supposedly?"
"It sounded like bull to me. But the deal was, I had to keep the girls company."
"You mean because they're not from around here?"
"No." Joel paused. "I mean, yeah, that was the story Bishop gave. But you wanna know what I think?"
"What?"
"It was just a ploy to smooth things over." He gave a humorless laugh. "Like, we'd have a drink, they'd sing my brothers' praises, and we'd all be one happy family again." He made a scoffing sound. "Like we ever were."
"What do you mean?"
"Like I said, it's a long story. And trust me, you don't wanna hear it."
"You're wrong," I said. "I do." I hesitated. "Unless you'd rather not?"
"Forget them." His voice warmed. "Let's talk about us."
Chapter 46
I met his gaze. "Us?" Technically, there was no us, but I really liked the sounds of that.
He leaned a fraction closer. "Before I showed up last night, do you know how ticked I was, knowing I had to stay away?"
His words sent a thrill up my spine. And yet, they didn't quite make sense. "Sorry, I'm not following. Why would you need to stay away?"
"Because I didn't want them anywhere near you, that's why." His jaw tightened. "They fucking ruin everything." He glanced away. "Sorry."
I almost wanted to smile. "That's alright."
"Nah," he said, "it's not. It's just one of those things, you know? They make me crazy, the whole lot of them." His voice softened. "And then, there's you."
My hand was resting on the center console. He reached out and closed his hand over mine. Soon, our fingers were intertwined, and I felt some of the tension slip away. I said, "There's me? What about me?"
"You're so sweet, it makes me forget."
"Forget what?"
He gave a rueful laugh. "Everything." And then, as if shaking off a lingering gloom, he said, "The good news is, they're gone. And they're not coming back."
"How do you know?"
Joel smiled. "Because I bribed them."
"With what?"
"What else? Their own stuff."
At this, I had to laugh. "You mean the Camaro? And those, um, collector's items?"
"Yeah. Those too."
"Wow, so you actually returned them? Why?"
"Because I didn't want anyone showing up on your doorstep."
My heart gave a wonderful little flutter. "So you did it because of me?"
"And, for me. Because I didn't wanna leave town."
"What do you mean?"
"You ever wonder why I was staying in a tent?"
"Well, yeah. At first. But then I figured you just liked camping."
"Nothing wrong with camping," he said. "But I was straight with you that first night. It wasn't just a vacation. I was lying low, looking to avoid their bull."
I couldn’t resist teasing him at least a little. "So you were living off the grid, huh?"
"More like off their radar. I wanted some time alone. But then, something changed."
"What?"
His gaze warmed. "I met you."
Through the passenger's side window, I glimpsed the glimmer of a campfire though the trees. But it couldn’t compare to the glimmer in Joel's eyes when I whispered, "And I met you."
He leaned toward me, and I met him halfway. Our lips met in a kiss so sweet, it felt like coming home.
Now, more than anything, I wanted to pretend that our fight never happened. But I couldn’t, because he was already packed and ready to go.
I pulled back and asked the question that I'd been dreading. "Are you still leaving?"
"That depends." His mouth twitched at the corners. "You still want me to?"
I gave an embarrassed laugh. "I didn't really want you to go."
He smiled. "Yeah? Could've fooled me."
I looked toward his empty campsite. "So, what now? If you're not hiding out anymore, what are your plans?"
"That depends."
"On what?" I asked.
"You."
I smiled, even as heat rushed to my face. "Can I confess something?"
"Sure, what?"
"I kept your duffle bag."
He gave a small laugh. "If you like it, it's yours."
I pretended to consider it. "Well, it is pretty nice. And I hear it might even include a cell phone." I met Joel's gaze. "But that's not why I kept it."
"Yeah? So why did you?"
"Well, I guess, if I'm being honest, maybe I was hoping for an excuse to invite you over, and see if we could smooth things out."
His gaze softened. "Baby, you don't need an excuse."
His words soothed my soul. And yet, I wasn't quite sure I deserved them. I gave his empty campsite a worried glance. "But I ruined your vacation. Want me to help you set everything up again?"
"Nah," he said. "I've got the campsite for another week, and the tent takes like five minutes to set up. If I had to, I could do it blindfolded."
I bit my lip. "Are you sure?"
"I'm sure." He flashed me a grin. "And besides, we had a deal. Remember?"
Like I could forget. Before his brother showed up, we'd been planning to swap secrets – me about the estate, and him about the fights.
I smiled. "I remember."
"Good," he said, "because I plan to collect."
"Speaking of collecting things…" I cleared my throat. "There's something I've got to say."
"Yeah? What?"
"Thanks, seriously. For everything, especially for getting my car back. Last night, I should've looked, and I feel awful that I ruined the surprise."
He gave me a boyish grin. "So you were surprised, huh?"
I laughed. "You have no idea. And just so you know, I'll pay you back."
"For what?"
"The towing, the repair, whatever." I paused. "Which brings me to a question. Who was the tattooed guy who picked up the car? Was that your brother, Jake?"
"Unfortunately."
My fingers tensed. Things were going so well, and I hated to the rock the boat. But this sibling animosity couldn’t be healthy. I said, "I've seen some of his videos. Pretty crazy stuff."
Joel made a scoffing sound. "If you think he's crazy in those, you should see him in real life. The guy's a total tool."
The bitterness in his voice hurt to hear. No matter how messed up everything was, Joel was luckier than he realized.
I gave him a sympathetic look. "I know you keep saying that, but it was really nice of him to help."
"Nice?" Joel made a sound of derision. "He wasn't being nice. He was being a prick."
A tool. A prick. What next?
"Oh come on," I said. "That can't be true."
"Wanna bet? Last night, we're all at the storage place, and I turn my back for five minutes, and what does he do? He swipes the cap I ordered–"
"Wait. What cap?"
"The distributor cap. For your car."
"You had one? Like on you?"
"Yeah. Sitting on some boxes." At my perplexed look, he added, "It just came in. I ordered it last Saturday."
I was so touched, I almost didn't know what to say. "Really? You did?"
"Yeah, except Jake grabs the thing and drives off. I could've killed him."
I gave a confused shake of my head. "I don't get it. Why would you be mad?"
"Because I didn't know what he was doing. Just all of a sudden, he's gone. With Luna, the sap who agreed to marry him."
"What, you don't like her?"
"I like her just fine. It's him that's the problem. But last night, they both take off. And just when I'm about to go looking for them, they come back. With your car."
"But how?"
"The usual way," Joel said. "He breaks in, pops the hood, replaces the cap, and off he goes."
Something Tattered (Joel Bishop Book 1) Page 17
