by Dahlia West
She’d text him later. ‘Thanks, had a nice time. See you around.’
Except she wouldn’t see him around.
Ava didn’t think she had it in her to lie right to his face.
She snatched up her helmet, unlocked the front door, and slipped out. She only made it down the front steps, though.
“Hey!”
Ava turned to see Daisy sitting on the porch next door, coffee mug in one hand, waving to her with the other. Ava stifled a groan. Under normal circumstances, she liked talking to Daisy. Whenever the older girl came into the shop, they talked ink, which was Ava’s second favorite subject after bikes. But here, caught out, having obviously spent the night with Emilio, Ava just wanted to duck and run.
She crossed the yard quickly, intending only a quick hi and goodbye, but Daisy kicked the chair across from herself. She was grinning wildly. “I thought you two looked a little hot and heavy at the bar yesterday,” she called out.
Ava blushed as she remembered being confronted by Emilio in the hallway. She hadn’t thought anyone could see them. The way Daisy was cackling, Ava was certain the girl had seen everything. And then some.
Ava wrinkled her nose as she climbed the porch steps. “It wasn’t hot. Or heavy,” she insisted.
Daisy snorted. “Oh, honey, you two just about set the whole place on fire. I thought you might go at it right there in the bar!”
Ava grimaced as she took the offered chair. She shook her head. “Nope. No way.”
“Not for lack of interest.”
Ava sighed. There was no use in denying that she liked Emilio. She couldn’t lie about that. “Rule ninety-nine.”
“What’s that?”
Ava rolled her eyes. “Never do your woman in the bathroom.”
Shockingly, Daisy’s face turned a shade of red Ava had never seen before. Her mouth dropped open. “Oh! Oh, um...”
“Whatever,” Daisy said loudly, straightening herself in the chair. “Not my finest moment. I was desperate. Months in jail with only other chicks will do that to a woman.” She fingered her wedding ring lovingly. “Worked out okay.”
Ava sat back in her chair, shocked. “Jail?”
Daisy waved her hand. “Long story, not for young ears.”
Ava squared her shoulders. “I’m not that young!”
“Another time, then.” The blonde took a long sip of her coffee and looked at Ava over the rim. “Trying to sneak away?”
Ava squirmed. “It... wasn’t the way I drew it up.”
“Didn’t go well? ‘Cause, honey, if that’s the case, my vote is you try again. Because you two have some kind of something going on, that’s for sure.”
“It went fine. But—”
“Just fine?” Daisy asked archly.
Ava’s cheeks burned. “Better than fine,” she replied quietly. “I didn’t know it would be like that. Didn’t know it could be like that.”
Just then, the front door opened behind Daisy and a tall, dirty blond with a rough-hewn jaw stepped out to greet them. Ava had seen Jimmy Turnbull once or twice when he’d come into the shop, but she only knew him to say hi. Encountering him now was a different matter entirely, and one she wasn’t exactly prepared for.
He caught sight of her, hesitated for a moment, and then sleep must have seeped out of his brain, because he started grinning like his wife. “Walk of shame,” he teased.
Ava bristled. “I’m not ashamed!” But she was embarrassed and she was certain her face was as red as the jacket in her lap.
Behind them, Emilio’s voice interrupted them. “She’d better not be. I’ve got a good job, nice place. I’m stunningly handsome, and I’ve got abs for days.”
Ava sank low in her chair, avoiding eye contact. She hadn’t heard him approach. Now he was already climbing the steps of the Turnbull’s porch. So much for a quick getaway.
Emilio wasn’t about to let her hide from him, though. He crossed to her in two long strides, pulled her to her feet and laid a blazingly hot kiss on her mouth.
Daisy made a teasing squeal from behind them. “Yikes! Honey, get the hose!”
Easy snorted derisively. “Please, everyone knows I’m the hot one.”
Emilio laughed. “You used to be. Now, it’s me. I’m six-feet-three-inches of Mexican Spicy Chocolate.”
“What?!” Easy argued as he slid into the empty chair beside Daisy. “No. Just no. Louisiana Hot Sauce is where it’s at. Six-foot-five-inches of Bayou Bad-boy. No woman can resist me.”
Daisy reached out and smacked him on the back of the head.
He ducked away from her. “I mean, they wouldn’t!” he corrected. “If I cared, which I don’t!”
As their playful slap fight devolved into kissing, Emilio gripped Ava around the waist, turned, and sank into her vacated chair while pulling her down on top of him. She landed with a soft whump in his lap.
His lips immediately found her ear. “Trying to run out on me?” he whispered darkly.
Ava shivered as his arms coiled around her like snakes, pinning her. She swallowed hard. “No,” she replied quietly.
His teeth grazed her ear lobe, nipping her.
She suppressed a yelp.
“Lies,” he whispered.
Without intending to, she sank back against him with a small sigh. It felt good to be wanted, she had to admit.
“All this food talk between you two is making me hungry,” Daisy announced. “What are you doing tonight?” she asked Ava.
Ava shrugged. “I work in the afternoon, but after that, nothing, I guess.”
Daisy turned to Emilio. “Bring her to dinner.”
Emilio looked surprised and Ava felt deflated despite having told herself it was just one ride. Last night, though, had turned out to be so much more than she could have hoped. It wasn’t quite as easy to give up as she’d imagined.
To her relief, Emilio’s mouth played out a lazy grin as he glanced at her. “Hadn’t thought of it,” he admitted. “Sounds like an awesome idea, though.”
“Do you play poker?” Daisy asked.
Ava dragged her eyes away from Emilio’s lips and nodded at the woman. “With my brothers sometimes.”
“Excellent!” Daisy declared.
Easy groaned. “Damn it!” He glared at Emilio. “You can’t find a nice, sweet, totally innocent chick to bring home?” he demanded. “Like Tildy? We don’t need another woman who can play cards!” He leaned forward. “They’re outnumbering us! We’ll be overwhelmed. We’ll lose ground,” he hissed.
She blushed and ducked her head as Emilio’s lips came down on her neck.
“Nope,” he declared. “This is the one I want. Sexy, dangerous, fearless. She can handle Poker Night. I’m sure of it.”
Easy laughed. “As though you can judge,” he teased. He leaned toward Ava and loudly whispered, “He can’t really play. We let him sit at the table, but he damn near loses everything he makes at the garage.”
Emilio bristled. “That is not true!”
“It is,” the older man beamed. “We would have kicked him out a long time ago, ‘cept his mama sends a check every week so we’ll pretend to be friends with him.”
Emilio rolled his eyes.
“True story!” Easy insisted.
Ava smiled. She liked Daisy, and she’d met Easy a few times before, when he’d come into the shop. She wanted to play.
What could be so hard about playing some cards? She licked her lips nervously and craned her neck to look at him. “Does anyone get naked at this Poker Night?” she whispered.
Behind her, Easy and Daisy laughed.
Thankfully, Emilio shook his head. “Nah, muñeca. There is a ninja cat, though. Very dangerous, very sneaky. She’s friendly, but kind of in a semi-psychotic, always-high-on-catnip way. She has claws and she’s not afraid to use them to get attention.” He leaned forward. “Kind of like you,” he stage whispered.
Daisy giggled and Ava knew she’d heard. She elbowed Emilio sharply in the ribs.
&nbs
p; “You’re coming,” Daisy declared, possibly to save Ava some embarrassment. “It’s settled. I won’t take no for an answer. And I know where you live.”
Reality came crashing back and Ava leaned against Emilio, suddenly deflated. “Um,” she said, clearing her throat, “I just remembered, I have to—”
Daisy shook her head. “You just remembered that you have nothing to do. And you’re coming to Poker Night.”
As her mind whirled to come up with a response that would get her out of it, Ava’s thoughts incidentally landed instead on something that Easy had said just a moment ago. A glimmer of hope burned within her, a way out of the mess with Clint and the Buzzards, and the way into a relationship with Emilio.
“Okay,” she said suddenly, and though she was actually enjoying herself, she slid out of Emilio’s lap to leave. To nip her growing crisis in the bud as soon as possible.
Emilio seemed reluctant to let her go, squeezing her for a moment, then finally releasing her. He got up too, though, and followed her down the porch steps.
As they crossed the lawn to his own driveway, he looked at her askance. “You were ditching me,” he declared quietly.
Ava bit her lip and slid on her jacket. “It’s not you, it’s me.”
He snorted. “Well, that I know. But if you think you’re just going to slip away, like a ghost, it’s not going to happen.”
Ava didn’t know how to reply to that, so she simply said, “It’s complicated.”
“I bet.”
They reached her Honda and she threw one leg over the side, settling down into the leather seat. Before she could put on her helmet, he reached out and put a hand on it. “You live fast, muñeca. You need to slow down.”
Ava looked up at him, saw everything she wanted but wasn’t sure she could have. She swallowed hard and pressed her lips together. “What if I can’t?”
He leaned down, his lips gently touching hers. “Then I’ll fucking chase you,” he said before he slipped his tongue inside.
Chapter Eighteen
Ava had barely enough time to get home, hop in the shower, and show up at Stark Ink with her hair dripping and her tank top in disarray. She wasn’t late for work, but Adam was still waiting for her when she arrived. He glared at her from the doorway of his workroom.
“Where were you last night?”
“With Sienna,” Ava replied as she tossed her jacket onto one of the receptionist chairs.
“Try again. Sienna came by. Looking for you.”
“I mean, I saw her earlier. Then...”
“Then what?”
Then I did some illegal racing, made a drug run for a one-percenter gang, and, oh, had sex with a hot-ass Latino with a dirty mouth.
As she looked at Adam, it was clear none of that could come out of her own mouth. No siree.
“I was with someone,” she finally told him as she flopped into the chair. She’d slept well beside Emilio, better than she would have expected, but she was still bone-tired today.
Adam’s eyes narrowed. “Who?” he demanded.
“No one you know.”
Adam merely waited. She knew her answer wasn’t good enough. He’d want a name. An address. Possibly a criminal background check.
She sighed wearily. It didn’t appear that being 18 had any effect on Adam’s over-protectiveness. Given the state of things, Ava wasn’t so sure that was a bad thing. Adam had a nose for trouble, and if she wasn’t careful, he would root it out of her.
Despite her penchant for leather and tattoos, racing was the only thing she’d ever lied to her family about. Ava was not a liar by nature. She’d never had a reason to be. As she looked at Adam across the lobby, she figured that sticking as close to the truth as possible was the safest bet.
“I really don’t think you know him,” she parsed out. “He works at Burnout, the garage not far from here.”
Adam’s eyebrows rose. “With Shooter Sullivan and his crew?”
Ava nodded.
Adam chewed on it for a while, still staring at her. “What’s his name?”
“Emilio.”
“I met him,” came Jonah’s voice from behind her.
She turned in the chair to see him standing at the end of the hallway that led to the apartment Jonah now occupied. She looked up at him, pleading, since Adam couldn’t see her face. Jonah had covered for her once before. She hoped he would again.
“What’s the problem?” Jonah asked Adam, ignoring her entirely.
“Nothing. I guess,” Adam replied. “She stayed out all night.”
Jonah finally gave Ava a real glance. “With him?”
She held her breath and nodded slowly. Jonah could guess at all the things they’d done last night. The way he was looking at her now told her he definitely was.
Finally Jonah shrugged and took a step across the black and white tile floor. “He’s okay,” he declared. “Seems like a decent guy. And Sullivan wouldn’t hire him if he wasn’t a stand-up guy.”
Jonah headed for the doorway to his own workspace. Right next to Adam’s.
“So, you like this guy?” Adam pressed.
“Eh. I don’t dislike him. And I’ve told him what’ll happen if he fucks with her.”
Adam paused to consider this. “Well, if he’s still around after that, he’s got some balls on him.”
Jonah stopped and grinned.
Ava’s heart fluttered as she recalled the bar fight Jonah and Emilio had gotten into earlier.
But all Jonah said was, “Yeah. Seems like it.”
Ava was beginning to get annoyed. “Are you two done discussing my sex life?”
Jonah groaned and disappeared into his workroom.
Adam made a similar, pitiful noise, but didn’t retreat. “Don’t say that word.”
Ava cocked her head to the side. “What? Sex?”
He narrowed his eyes at her. “Why stop there?” he asked loudly. “Life. Let’s just say life, which covers... everything. You’re not allowed to have a life. You work in my shop, so I can keep an eye on you. I live at home, so I can keep an eye on you. I’m not ready for you to have a life.”
Ava snorted at him. “I have one.” Admittedly, it was a little fucked up at the moment. But she did have one.
“You’re grounded,” he moaned, but it was half-hearted.
“You can’t ground me. I’m an adult now.”
“I can duct tape you to the chair.”
Ava squirmed a little at that. Knowing Adam, it might actually be an option.
“I want to meet him,” Adam declared.
She squirmed again. This time for a different reason. She was supposed to be breaking up with Emilio, not bringing him home with her. “Um...” she replied, casting about for a response. “You don’t need to,” she said casually. “I don’t think it’s going anywhere. It was just a one-time thing.”
Adam’s face changed from resigned to resolved in an instant. “Ava, we talked about this. I’m not like that. You’re not like that. You can’t just—”
“No, I— I mean... I just mean things are kind of complicated right now. With Pop,” she added quickly. “I’m just not sure I’m up for anything really serious. Nothing like ‘meeting the family’ or anything.”
At that moment, her phone chirped. Without thinking, she fished it out and glanced at the screen.
Maybe I’ll let you win at Poker, too.
She smiled, unable to help herself.
Adam noticed. “Is that him?”
She sighed and set the phone down on the desk. “Yeah.”
“Don’t think he’s on the same page,” Adam pointed out.
Ava chewed her lip instead of responding.
The phone chirped again, almost immediately.
Need you for a run.
Disgusted, she shoved it away. Then she glanced up quickly to see if Adam had noticed. But he hadn’t. He was already turning away. “Don’t think he’s on the same page, at all,” he repeated.
Ava shut the phone
off and tossed it into the desk drawer. Let Clint stew for the day. She was busy and not inclined to help that bastard any damn way.
At noon, the bell over the door jingled and Sienna slipped inside. She was carrying an armload of Tupperware but glanced at the open doorway to Jonah’s workroom rather than at Ava.
“He’s out,” Ava told her. “Grabbing burgers down the block.”
Ava watched as Sienna’s shoulders sagged. The poor girl had been making up excuses to be in the same room with Jonah, even for a minute, for the last few years. Lunch was a new tactic now that Ava had taken the receptionist’s job.
Jonah had cottoned onto it pretty quickly, though, and managed to be out or with a client almost every time Sienna “dropped by”.
Ava was grateful for the potato salad, though.
“You weren’t home last night,” Sienna declared. “All night. I checked for your bedroom light. So, how’s your Latin lover?”
Something in Ava’s face must have given her away, because the other girl’s eyes grew impossibly wide. “No way!” Sienna whispered fiercely. “Really?!” She hesitated, glanced to see if anyone was around, then asked, “How was it?”
Ava couldn’t lie, especially not to Sienna. Nor did she want to. Last night with Emilio had been A-maze-ing. “Incredible.”
Sienna squealed. “God, I’m so jealous.”
Ava shushed her but retained her grin.
“When do you see him again?”
“Tonight.”
“Wow,” Sienna breathed. “He’s really into you!”
Ava shrugged. It was still a few days until Adam and Dalton’s weddings. A few more days of pretending that she was still the same old Ava. It was starting to wear on her. “Yeah,” she half-mumbled.
The shop’s phone rang and she was relieved for the distraction. “Stark Ink.”
“I told you to pick up the fucking phone when I call you.”
Ava froze, forcing herself to stare at the open appointment book in front of her rather than glance at Sienna sitting next to her.
“Don’t make me come down there,” Clint warned. “With a sack full of weed, waving it around the lobby, like I just don’t care. ‘‘Cause I don’t, Ava. I don’t care. I will seriously fuck up your life if you screw me on this.”
