by Ali Parker
She left the three of us sweating our balls off (I suppose Ellie was sweating her tits off) and pulled out of the drive. By the time she came back, we had made decent headway. The project would take us another few days, especially if it was just Ellie and me, but it was enjoyable work. I’d done engine swaps dozens of times and knew the ins and outs of the job like I knew the back of my hand. The time passed quickly, and in this heat, that was the best I could hope for.
The four of us spent the next hour sitting around, drinking beers, and eating our sandwiches. If Ryder had shown up for an impromptu visit, he would have given us an earful, but with work being so slow, we didn’t see the harm in taking some time to ourselves to enjoy one another’s company.
It was the best part of the job and the Lost Breed.
At least, it was in my opinion. I didn’t know how the others felt. They had real families to go home to at the end of the day. I had an empty house.
Mind you, it was a house, so that was better than nothing. Working with Ryder and being part of the MC had filled my wallet more than I could have dreamed it would. I was on my feet, but I was alone.
That was why moments like these among friends were worth risking a chewing out by Ryder.
Chapter 4
Angela
I took a step back and planted my hands on my hips as I regarded my newly color-coded walk-in closet. My shoes were on the back wall, tucked into white cubbies and facing outward. My purses sat above them on an open shelf lit by pot lighting in the ceiling above. Jewelry and accessories were in drawers in an island in the middle, and the east and west walls were filled with rows of clothing.
The right side was all business. I had gone out and purchased new clothes for starting at the New York Times. I wanted to start fresh and go in representing myself—my new, not-tied-to-Daddy’s-credit-card self.
My haircut had taken a more drastic turn than I had first intended it to. While sitting in the chair at the salon, the hairdresser asked me if I wanted a trim. My hair was long and healthy and thick, and he suggested he could do a bit of color to brighten it up, throw in some layers for movement, and give me a few shorter pieces around my face to accentuate my high cheekbones.
Instead, I asked him to dye it dark and chop it all off into a pixie cut.
I looked fierce as fuck. At least, I thought I did. The short hair made it impossible to cover all the piercings in my right ear; I’d never wanted to hide them in the first place. I liked how light it felt. I wasn’t carrying this heavy weight of hair in a ponytail anymore. I felt free and weightless and ready to conquer the world.
I walked along the outer edge of my closet and ran my hands over the shoulders of my shirts as I passed them. I was about to head out to surprise Axel, so I didn’t want to dress up too much. He worked at a mechanic shop, and I had no interest in showing up in a flashy outfit. I wanted to blend in and not represent the family he had fled from ages ago by showing up dressed to the nines.
I opted for a pair of black jeans that were ripped up the thighs. They hugged my hips and legs like they were painted on, and getting them over my ass was a bit of a process. Once they were on, I selected a cropped loose tank top. I slid my feet into a pair of black sandals and threw on some gold bracelets and hoop earrings. I stood back to look at my reflection one more time before deciding that this would do just fine.
I grabbed my car keys and left my apartment. I rode the elevator down to the underground parking lot and got into my black convertible Alfa Romeo. I took the top down and turned up the stereo loud enough to feel the bass in the seat under my ass. I pulled out of my stall and hit the New York City streets.
The sun shone down on my shoulders, and I kicked myself for not wearing sunscreen. I was glad that Axel’s shop was only twelve or so miles from my apartment. I hopefully wouldn’t burn to a crisp before then. I followed my GPS and groaned loudly every time I had to stop at a red light—which was roughly every five hundred feet. New York City. Land of traffic lights and taxi cabs.
At one of the stop lights, a car with a rumbling engine pulled up beside me. I could feel the eyes of men on me without having to look over. It was a Spidey sense, I supposed, but one that most, if not all, women possessed. There were men in that car watching me. I was certain of it.
I didn’t look over until one of them stuck his arm out the passenger window and banged it on the outside of his door to get my attention.
I pulled my sunglasses down my nose and looked lazily over at them. They were driving in a mustang. It was silver and not particularly eye catching.
“Hey, there,” the passenger called over the roar of his engine and muffler. “Nice car.”
I slid my sunglasses back up my nose and adjusted my grip on my steering wheel. “I know,” I called back, turning my head back to the road.
“Is it yours?”
I turned my music off. “Are you fucking serious, buddy?”
The man was probably in his early thirties. He was handsome in a common sort of way, with a smile that could have been sweet had he not just been an asshole.
“Of course it’s mine,” I said. Did it matter that it was a gift from my parents for landing my job at the New York Times? Kind of, but he didn’t need to know that. Just because I was a woman didn’t mean I couldn’t drive an expensive sports car.
“Sorry, I was just wondering,” he said defensively.
I rolled my eyes and cranked the volume on my stereo up again. Both men in the mustang tried to get my attention, but I kept my eyes fixed on the traffic light, and when it turned green, I made a point to escape them and weave through traffic like I used to in Los Angeles. I managed to get a traffic light ahead of them before being stopped once more and boxed in by what felt like hundreds of yellow taxi cabs.
“And this is why I want to live in the country someday,” I muttered under my breath.
I arrived at Axel’s shop over an hour after leaving my apartment, which was insane considering the fact that they weren’t that far away from each other. I pulled into a gravel lot, turned down my music, and found a parking spot that faced the shop.
There were two motorcycles in the parking lot, as well as a little Volkswagen and a silver coupe of some sort. I peered around, getting a feel for where my brother had been building his empire for the last decade.
It was smaller than I had expected, but that was probably because the shops I was used to were sprawling buildings that catered to the elites. Axel had always said they weren’t real mechanic shops when we had to go there to get my parents’ vehicles serviced. He said they were too clean. Too nice. Too shiny.
This place was none of those things.
The outside of the building was concrete, and the bay doors were a very pale shade of blue. I wondered if they had been painted that color, or if the summer sun had slowly caused it to fade each year. In any case, it needed a paint job.
There was a large white tent pitched on the left side of the shop, and underneath it were four motorcycles and a pickup truck. Each looked to be in some state of disrepair, and I assumed they were future projects.
A drill whirred from inside the shop as I grabbed my purse from the passenger seat. I set it on my lap and rifled through it, on the hunt for my lipstick. I found it at the very bottom of my bag and then flipped down my visor.
I used the tiny mirror on the back of the visor to paint my lips red and smacked them together. I flipped the visor back up and found myself looking at a new sight. The bay doors had just been rolled open, revealing the inside of the shop.
There were two women and two men inside. One of the women was blonde and tall. She was wearing blue jeans, a white tank top, sneakers, and a long-sleeved shirt tied around her waist. The other girl, a petite brunette, was dressed in more presentable attire: dark red jeans and a loose white top. She must be their office worker.
One of the men had his back to me. I assumed he was the one who had just opened the shop doors. There was a red rag in the back pocket of
his jeans, which were all frayed and ruined at the ends. He was broad shouldered and tall and more than likely a friend of my brother’s.
My eyes went to the fourth person in the shop. He was standing beside the blonde woman and had his arms crossed over his chest. He was lean, but I could see the definition of muscle in his forearms. His skin was dark, and his hair was black. All four of them were chatting amongst themselves, and when one of them said something funny, he threw his head back with joyful, genuine laughter.
Sabian Delgado.
I shook my head in disbelief. It had been a long time since I’d seen him.
In fact, the last time I saw him was the last time I was in New York three years ago. I had lied to my parents about coming to New York City to see an old friend from high school, who wanted to take me to some Broadway shows and tour me around the city. After much persuading, my parents had agreed. I’d been twenty years old, and they knew they couldn’t keep me under their roof forever.
There had been no friend who wanted to take me to Broadway shows. I had simply missed my older brother and wanted to see him.
I had stayed with him for a week and met many of his friends. One of which had been Sabian. As soon as I saw him, I was attracted to him. There was something about his brooding stare, full lips, and lazy gait that gave me butterflies. He was a rebel of sorts, and he was the polar opposite of what my parents would have wanted for me. I was smart enough to know that was the main reason I was drawn to him.
At first, he had avoided me like the plague. Then, when he realized that I didn’t bite and that Axel wouldn’t kill him for talking to me, we started chatting. And we hit it off. We spent more time together than we should have that week, and after I went home to Los Angeles, I thought about him for months. I even told some of my friends about the sexy Mexican I had met in New York City.
They all told me that I should just forget about him and find a white man who liked to play tennis on the weekends with my father. There was no way in hell I was going to do that.
I shifted in my seat and thrummed my fingers on my steering wheel.
Sabian was somehow hotter now.
He still moved with that laziness that was unique to him, like time couldn’t touch him. I watched as he stretched his hands over his head, revealing a dark trail of hair from his belly button to the prize hidden beneath his jeans. There was taut muscle there, and the cut of his hips had my brain thinking all kinds of dirty thoughts.
It had been a long time since I was with a man. That was probably why my parents were so willing to believe that I was seeing a guy in New York City.
“Okay, Angela,” I whispered to myself. “Just go up to them and say hi.”
I squared my shoulders as I gathered the nerve to approach a group of people who were my opposite in nearly every way. They were Axel’s friends. They had to be good people, right?
“Don’t be such a bitch,” I scolded myself.
Without another moment of delay, I opened my car door and stepped out. My sandals crunched on the gravel as I twisted and slammed my door shut. All four of them turned and looked at me as I began walking up to the shop.
Just smile. Sabian will remember you. It’s only been three years. I lifted my chin up.
He’ll remember you.
Chapter 5
Sabian
“Whoa,” Jamie said under her breath “Rich bimbo alert. Rich bimbo alert. Coming in hot.”
I looked up and out to the drive where I spotted a young woman walking toward us. Her car, an Alfa Romeo, was parked by Jamie’s Volkswagen.
She was dressed in a way that flattered her shape and drew my eyes to the curve of her hips and swell of her breasts. I couldn’t look away. Her hair was dark and short, and the sun glinted off metal and diamonds in her right ear. She had a fierce look to her, like she only drank absinthe and raw eggs. She was also sexy as hell, and I could see that her thighs were muscled through the rips in her jeans.
She lifted her sunglasses off her nose and pushed them up into her short hair.
“Holy fuck,” I breathed.
“Yeah, she’s fine as hell,” Jax said, stepping up beside me. “You gonna ask her out?”
“Fuck off man, that’s Axel’s sister.”
“What?” Jax asked, looking from me to the woman who was now nearly upon us. “Are you kidding me? He never told me his sister was a smoke show!”
“Why the hell would he?” I grumbled.
“Good point. Let me rephrase. You never told me his sister was a fucking smoke show.”
Ellie waved for us to shut up. “You’re sure that’s her?” she asked. “I haven’t met her, but Axel has talked about her, and they speak on the phone every now and then. It’s Angela, right?”
I nodded as Angela ducked under the bay doors needlessly. She turned to face me, flashed me a bright white smile, and cocked her head to the side. “Hey, Sabian,” she said with a voice that sounded like honey. “It’s been a while.”
“Sure has,” I said, forcing myself to look at her eyes rather than her cleavage. She had changed a lot in three years, and in my opinion, they were all good changes.
Her long blonde hair was gone. She’d traded it in for an edgy pixie cut that suited her. Her makeup was smoked out around her eyes, and her full, pillowy lips were painted a vibrant shade of red. She was not the rich pageant girl I remembered.
Angela put her hand on her hip and looked me up and down. “You look good.”
“So do you,” I said.
“And you’re still a man of few words.” She smiled. “I always liked that.”
Jax snorted and clapped me on the back. “We all like that about our Sabian here. Always keeps it close to the belt. Doesn’t use any unnecessary words, you know?” He stepped forward and held out his hand to Angela. “I’m Brian, but everyone around here calls me Jax. It’s nice to meet you.”
Angela shook Jax’s hand, and her eyes swept up to him. “I’m Angela. It’s nice to meet you too. Is Axel around?”
Jax shook his head. “Nope, lazy bastard is back home with his kids.”
Ellie rolled her eyes and piped up. “He’s not lazy. I’m Ellie, by the way. I’ve been really looking forward to meeting you.”
Angela grinned enthusiastically. “Ellie! My sister-in-law!” She threw her arms around Ellie’s shoulders, who stood frozen in her embrace for a brief moment before hugging her back.
“Be careful,” Ellie warned. “I’m covered in grease and—”
“Oh, I don’t care,” Angela said as she stepped back. There was grease on her biceps from where she had hugged Ellie. “A little bit of dirt never hurt anyone. Hi,” she added, waving to Jamie.
Jamie waved back, and I introduced her to Angela. Once the four of us were all acquainted, Angela turned to me and gave me a coy smile. “So, how have you been?”
“Good. Your brother keeps me busy here, and his wife kicks my ass all the time to make sure I’m not slacking. How about you? What brings you to our neck of the woods? Tired of all the avocados and hipsters back in LA?”
Everyone chuckled as Angela crossed her arms and the bracelets at her wrists jingled. “Actually, I just moved here. I got a job at the New York Times.”
“Shit,” I said. “For journalism?”
She blinked at me and her lips parted. She looked surprised.
“Didn’t think I’d remember that, did you?” I asked.
She shook her head. “No, I didn’t. But yes. I start on Monday.”
“Congratulations.” I nodded.
“Thanks.”
There was a short moment of quiet awkwardness as everyone waited for someone to offer up another subject. Ellie was the one who got the ball rolling again.
“So, Angela,” she started, “does Axel know you’re in town? He never mentioned it to me.”
“Actually, no.” Angela uncrossed her arms and fidgeted with her bracelets. “I wanted to surprise him, and I didn’t want him to try to talk me out of it. My whole fam
ily already spent the last two months trying to convince me to stay at home. I couldn’t hear it from him, too.”
“I’m sure he’ll be thrilled that you’re here,” Ellie said cheerfully.
Angela shrugged. “Maybe.”
Ellie frowned. “Why maybe?”
Angela bit her bottom lip and looked from Ellie to me, like she was expecting me to step in and help her explain this one. “He’s kind of always wanted to keep me away from this place.”
“I don’t understand,” Ellie said.
“The MC,” I offered, stepping in so Angela didn’t have to feel uncomfortable discussing the Lost Breed. “Axel didn’t want her getting tied up in it all. You know how it is, Ellie. Once you get too close, you end up being one of us.”
“Oh, yeah. I guess.” Ellie smiled at Angela. “Well. You’re a grown-ass woman. He’ll accept your choice to move here. And if he doesn’t, he’ll have me to answer to.”
Angela giggled.
“She means it,” I said. “And Axel won’t screw with her. He knows what’s best for him.”
Angela clapped her hands together. “Do you think I should surprise him, then? I was thinking it could be fun. We haven’t seen each other face to face in three years, and I would love to pull off a good surprise.”
“Yes!” Ellie cried. “You can come up to the house tonight. I’ll tell him I’m inviting some of the guys over for dinner so he won’t ask questions while I prepare everything. Then you can swing by and surprise him.”
“I don’t know about this,” I said tentatively.
Both women ignored me and launched into a discussion to start making plans for the evening. I shared an exasperated look with Jax, who shrugged.
I scratched the back of my neck. “Ladies,” I said, trying to get their attention.
Ellie and Angela talked over me. Their voices grew louder the more excited they got, and soon, they were both giggling like schoolgirls as they made plans to pull off the surprise.
“Hey,” I said, a little more firmly. “I don’t think a surprise is a good idea. Maybe give him a call first. You know Axel doesn’t like anything unexpected.”
