by Jayne Rylon
Breathing hard, he stared at the bright red spatters mixing with sweat before trailing down his torso and wrists like bloody tears. Was this what his dad had looked like after he killed Kaige’s mother and got away with murder because no one gave a fuck except a helpless brat?
Most likely.
Except worse. Way worse.
Could he ever snap, like he had today, and hurt someone besides himself? Someone he cared about?
He hoped not, but…
Fuck.
“You almost burned out, kid?” Tom’s soft question didn’t disguise his concern well enough. “Thought you had that temper under control these days.”
“I’m out here, aren’t I?” he snarled, despite his best attempt at staying calm. Biting the hand that fed him all those years ago wasn’t his intention. “Beating the shit out of some old tires instead of your hardheaded son.”
“In that case, I’m glad you’re venting on these poor Goodyears.” Tom chuckled until Kaige spun to face him, intending to jog past and grab his keys. A ride would finish clearing his head.
“Jesus!” Eli’s father by birth, dad to all of the Hot Rods by choice, reached out when he spotted the damage Kaige had done to himself. “Come on, Nova. Let me clean you up.”
“I’m not fifteen anymore. It’s not like I scraped my knee or some shit.” Kaige shrugged and dodged, afraid of contact with any decent human being. He felt dirty, and not because of the iron tang building in the air.
“Like you would have let me nurse that either.” Tom rolled his eyes.
“When’d you become such a mother hen?” He tried to distance himself again.
“Right about the time my wife died and left me alone with a young son…seven sons and a daughter, though I didn’t know it then…to raise on my own.” No matter how much time passed, Mr. London had never fully recovered from losing the love of his life. Their screwed-up system had worked in part because he was every bit as mangled inside as the kids he’d sheltered.
“Shit, Tom. I’m sorry.” Although he congratulated himself on keeping his tone level, inside he seethed. Because again he’d hurt someone he respected. He couldn’t do anything right, it seemed.
“It’s okay.” Tom kept convincing him with that utterly placid stare and his steady grip, which led Kaige toward Tom’s neat house halfway between the garage and the shed. He must have spotted Kaige bolting past. Instead of taking him inside, he escorted his charge to the garden behind his home.
They sat together near the memorial markers Sally had made in honor of the mothers both Eli and Alanso had lost. Maybe he could ask her to paint one for his mom too someday. When it didn’t hurt so much to think about it. Another decade might do the trick.
Kaige crashed onto the bench nearby. Tom paused to dip his handkerchief in the stream that meandered around the seating area before joining him. He handed Kaige the cool, damp, folded cloth. “You’re all right, Nova. Everyone’s got their buttons. Which one did my son mash today?”
Kaige gritted his teeth as he wiped blood and sweat from his bare chest before rinsing out the soft cotton and wrapping the soothing square around his already swollen hand. After a minute of silence, he switched it to the other. He couldn’t afford to lose mobility in his fingers with the Culverson job on the schedule for tomorrow. It’d be a lot of detail work installing the custom dash and gauges.
The fabrication of parts like these marked one direction he hoped to take the garage. Unique skills would go a long way in making Hot Rods the premiere customizer in the Midwest. The high profit margin on the work would ensure their success and allow them to subsidize divisions of the business they enjoyed, even if they weren’t necessarily cash cows. It was a central pillar of his strategy. Maybe one he should have shared with Eli sooner. After all, if he had, the bossman might not have assumed Kaige was sleeping on the job. Too bad he hadn’t wanted to burden Eli with details given his infatuation with Al and Sally lately.
Kaige’s grimace had nothing to do with the sting of his shallow cuts and everything to do with King Cobra’s mandated assistance. Realizing how long he and Tom had lingered there in silence, he wasn’t sure if the older guy still wanted to know what had caused the ruckus. But at least the sounds of the trickling water and the orange flash of koi swimming past helped Kaige regain his composure.
Serenity. He needed some bad.
The clearing of his raw throat sounded harsh in the still evening. He returned to the bench and took a seat next to Tom.
“Eli thinks I did a shit job as second-in-command these past couple months.” Nova let his head hang back so he could study the sky, which edged toward twilight.
“What?” Tom sat up fast enough to rock the bench. “No, he doesn’t. He’s told me several times how grateful he is for your help and that… Oh.”
“Oh, what?” Kaige looked up enough to raise a brow at his real dad. The only one who’d ever counted for shit.
“He regrets the strain he’s putting on you. On everyone. Did he try to reclaim some responsibility to lift the burden?” Stuck between Eli and Kaige, Tom would never take sides. He was fair and always had been. So it made it hard to dismiss his speculation out of hand.
“He hired a consultant before discussing it with me. Or anyone.” Kaige sighed. “Some prissy old lady, Ms. Brown, who’s going to show up tomorrow morning and tell us how she thinks we should run the joint.”
“Ouch.” Tom shook his head. “Eli should have spoken to you first.”
Hating to defend the asshole, Kaige cleared his throat. “He said it was an impulse. She’s the sister of the wedding planner.”
“Ah, now we’re getting somewhere.” Tom nodded. “I believe my son can be hasty. Hell, all of you guys are.”
“Learned that from the best.” He smiled at his mentor. “Who else would offer up their own home to a runaway after only knowing him a few hours? Shit, seven times, for that matter.”
“Sometimes you have to trust your gut.” Tom held his hands up. “I’m not making excuses for Eli. He could have texted you or something on that phone of his that does everything but wipe his ass. You know, while he was at his appointment. But maybe you should meet Ms. Brown and give her a chance before you decide my son thinks less of you than I know he does.”
Kaige took a deep breath and then another. The thought of someone snooping around in the work he’d done, judging his efforts, still didn’t sit well. But what Tom said made sense. Damn him.
As anger ebbed and rationality returned, he allowed himself to consider things from Cobra’s perspective. Could hiring help have been a misplaced gesture of kindness, or guilt?
Son of a bitch. Maybe.
But Kaige didn’t have to like it.
“Thanks, Tom.” He smirked as he met the guy’s gaze dead-on for the first time. “I’ll give it a try. I won’t deck anybody, but I can’t promise I won’t be a pain in the ass.”
“You wouldn’t be the Super Nova I know and love if you could help yourself from that.”
They laughed together.
“I bet you ten bucks Ms. Brown doesn’t make it to lunchtime.” Kaige grinned.
“Hmm. We’ll see.” Tom might have shook on their wager if Kaige’s knuckles hadn’t drawn a wince from the older guy. Instead he laid his hand on Nova’s wrist and squeezed.
Kaige refused to groan as he trailed his aching fingers along the orange and yellow stitching that dotted the green leather inside his Nova. The colors exactly matched the flames running down the side panels of the emerald metallic paintjob Sally had slaved over. Holden had done a phenomenal job with the interior, attending to the tiniest details, like the constellations embroidered across the headrests. His friend always did great work. Still, this had to be some of his best. Anything they did for a fellow Hot Rod went above and beyond.
The wide bench seat made a great couch. Kaige reclined, with one arm behind his head and his feet crossed, ankles resting in the open window as he finished reading the news on his tablet. By
getting up at the ass crack of dawn, he’d escaped to the garage to avoid crashing into any of the other members of their gang.
Childish and embarrassing, his outburst from the night before left a bad taste in his mouth. Bitter. He couldn’t believe he’d lost his cool. Worse, he could only hope he could resign himself to freezing out Ms. Brown today with a chilly welcome, instead of caving to another bout of rage. Especially in light of everything that had come before his explosion. They hadn’t gotten a chance to discuss what yesterday’s fun meant for them going forward. Had it been a onetime show?
He didn’t think so.
More like, he hoped not.
Lunchtime couldn’t come soon enough. On his break he’d call up one of the Powertools crew members—Dave, maybe—and see what advice their more experienced counterparts had for him about bridging the gap between friend and lover now that he was calm enough to listen. Kaige planned to use the rest of the day sweating side-by-side, hard at work, with his friends. Manual labor in their garage bays should take the edge off any awkwardness. Tonight they could dive into details, and likely each other, again.
Damn it! Not now. He ignored the pulsing of his cock in his coveralls. Luckily the loose fabric would help disguise any untimely chubbies. The odds of an inappropriate hard-on reoccurrence, or a dozen, before dinner were pretty damn good. Unless Ms. Brown shriveled his balls permanently when they met up in…
Kaige glanced at the time displayed on the modified vintage radio—all the looks of a classic with the conveniences of a modern day ride. Perfect. Three minutes to go before he had to face the music.
He supposed he could have wandered into the office early, but that meant either loitering there like a kid waiting for the principal to arrive after he’d fucked up royally or making small talk with Cobra. Probably the later, since Eli usually refused to be anything but punctual. Unless Alanso or Sally distracted him, as they had more and more often recently.
Considering last night, Kaige figured it was best not to get riled up before the meeting.
For Tom, he’d try to keep an open mind. Assume King Cobra had positive intentions. Once he’d chased off the meddling Ms. Brown, he would have a chance to show his friend what tricks he’d been keeping up his sleeves for the future of the garage.
“Yo, Super Nova.” Bryce startled Kaige when he passed the rolled-down window near his head. “Quit hiding and get to work.”
“I’m not—”
“Sure. Get over your moping then.” Rebel grinned as he joked, though the sting resulting from his jabs proved there might be some truth to his taunts. Kaige watched his friend through the front glass of his windshield as the guy set up his station. Bryce was their customer service rep in addition to a kickass mechanic. He had a way of keeping people calm and smoothing things over with a professionalism that Kaige envied. Today seemed to be no exception. “I saw your nine o’clock pulling up just now. And Eli’s already in his office. Don’t make him more grumpy by not starting on the dot.”
“He’s pissed at me?” Kaige couldn’t necessarily blame Cobra. He’d robbed them of the chance to iron shit out in private before their audience with a stranger. If nothing else, Hot Rods stuck together.
“Nah. I think he’s more annoyed with himself.” The big guy rubbed the back of his neck with one hand. “I can see both sides. I think he realizes now that he should have approached the situation differently.”
“Hey, don’t worry.” Super Nova flipped his tablet closed and gave his friend his full attention. Rebel hated when they fought between them. Maybe it was something from his past he’d never divulged. In fact, of all the Hot Rods, Kaige knew the least about Bryce’s history. He’d always been super tight-lipped about his life before Hot Rods. Even more than Roman, and that was saying something. “It’s gonna be okay. We’ll work it out. I promise.”
“I know.” Bryce smiled. “We always do. I don’t like to see you two at each other’s throats, that’s all. Any of us, really. It’s not worth it, you know. We’ve been through enough shit we had no control over to get tangled up in stuff we can do something about.”
“I’m going. Right now.” Kaige sat up and swung his feet out of the now-open door. He stepped into his boots and laced them up. While he did, he looked to Bryce and grinned. “We’ll kiss and make up. No worries, Rebel.”
“Get the hell out of here.”
A leather work glove hit him in the head, scattering his dreads around his face, as he strutted toward the main office of the garage, still smiling.
They’d make it through today. Like every day.
Kaige shoved open the glass door separating the garage from the front office of the shop. He stepped inside and nearly tripped over the mat designed to keep the low pile, industrial carpets reasonably free of oil and dirt.
Ms. Brown perched on the edge of a molded plastic guest chair across the wide desk from Eli, who sprawled in his King Cobra throne, fashioned from the seat of a Ferrari F360 Challenge. Her spine risked cracking from being forced so straight and her long, graceful fingers were folded in her lap.
Kaige blinked then looked back and forth between the shop owner and the consultant the guy had hired on sight yesterday. Now this was starting to make more sense. After all, Super Nova took one glance at her and knew what he’d like to do.
Though nailing her up against the wall really had nothing to do with work and everything to do with leisure.
Rich mocha skin and wide brown eyes offset the pearly white of her teeth. Seriously kissable lips were enhanced by a deep maroon gloss. Lustrous hair in oversized waves curled below her shoulders, making him dream about tugging it just a little as he slid inside her over and over.
He shook his head to clear it. Unsuccessfully.
This beautiful young woman was no Ms. Brown. Hell no, she could try to hide behind that prim and proper suit jacket all she wanted. It didn’t obscure her lush breasts or the tiny waist that flared to perfectly curved hips. At most, he put her in her mid-twenties.
Right in range…
He was screwed. How could he freeze out someone who warmed him instantly? Shaking his head, he dedicated himself to doing exactly that.
“Kaige Davis, this is Ms. Brown. Her sister feels confident about pulling off the wedding in the next two weeks, like Sally hoped. Ms. Brown thought she could lend a hand on the business side of things to keep me freed up to help on the matrimonial front.” Eli couldn’t have phrased his introduction more politically. What was he hinting at?
Nola Brown squinted at the two men facing off, wondering if the office would get torn to shreds if the menacing newcomer decided to revolt. Why wouldn’t he stop glaring at her?
As if one surly bastard would scare her off? He had no idea the places she’d come from. Instead of wilting beneath his stare, which lingered too long on the curve of her breasts to be completely impartial, she sat straighter and snuffed the urge to adjust her suit jacket. She also refused to think about how damn attractive his sullen blue eyes, blond dreads and tattooed muscles were.
Dear Lord, did he have to flash that colorful art beneath his loose coveralls, which didn’t do a damn thing to disguise his trim work-enhanced body?
She focused on what the sexy garage owner had said, every clue a tool to use in securing his business. An account like this on her resume would do a lot of good.
So this had more to do with the burden of the wedding than his shop manager’s lack of strategic goals, huh?
Jotting a mental note, she resolved to ask his opinions once they got started. An ally would go a long way in making her job a success. Unfortunately his grimace didn’t make it seem as if he wanted to be pals.
“What’s your name?” The hostility in Kaige’s tone stole her voice for a moment.
Luckily, Eli covered for her. “I already introduced you to Ms. Brown.”
The guy who insisted on being called Cobra spoke slowly, as if Kaige were dense or maybe as if he feared offending the asshole who was supposed to
be his friend.
When she’d met the tough garage owner and his tougher lovers the day before yesterday, she never imagined the rest of the Hot Rods would make those three look like gentle ambassadors. Nola dug deep and extracted the front she’d worn as a youth on the streets.
She stood, towering in her six-inch heels, and jammed out her hand. “Nola, Nola Brown.”
Without hesitation, he returned the clutch with interest, while she wondered at the crinkle blossoming around the corners of his eyes—yeah, she’d tried to make him uncomfortable, but a guy like him shouldn’t dent beneath even her firmest grip—for a moment before glancing down and catching sight of scabbed knuckles. Who had he pummeled?
Banged-up hands but not a bruise on that pretty face meant it had been no contest.
For an eternity, they locked horns—or hands—their gazes clashing as if they indulged in a world-record-setting staring contest. Neither of them volunteered to back down first.
Until Eli intervened with a less-than-subtle clearing of his throat.
Balancing her no-nonsense stance with Kaige and the necessity of pleasing his boss, she yanked free of the newcomer’s hold, trying to convince herself that the pulse hammering through her veins had more to do with annoyance than attraction.
Because that was a really, really bad idea.
“I was talking to the lady.” Kaige flumped into the seat beside the one she’d recently occupied and slouched, his long legs stretching all the way to the base of the desk in front of him.
“Looked more like a pissing contest to me.” Eli grinned.
He waved her off when she began to give some lame excuse for their immature showdown. “He deserved it. You don’t have to spare anyone’s feelings around here. We’re big boys and girls. Or should be. Guess you see why we call him Super Nova, though. He’s got a bit of a temper. Sorry ’bout that.”
Nola nodded. “No worries. I can handle myself.”
“Nobody doubts that, honey.” The lascivious slant to Super Nova’s glance had her insides squirming despite her no-fucking-way chastising. She’d long ago trained herself to ignore bad boys. They only brought trouble.
