Unfiltered & Unhinged

by Payge Galvin

  Wrex eyed Dev. “That work her Superhawk?” He grinned. “You might want to reconsider that, brother.”

  “I’m not your brother,” Dev practically snarled. “And I haven’t decided yet.”

  The blond grinned, eyes blazing in the overhead lights. “Word to the wise, bro. You might want to think long and hard about the kind of work you take.” He winked. “Wouldn’t want to end up on the wrong side of something you’re better off staying out of.”

  Dev didn’t say anything, just speared Wrex with a level gaze. If he was bothered by the other man’s threat, he didn’t show it. “Be seein’ you,” he said in a tone that implied Wrex shouldn’t let the door hit him on the ass on the way out.

  “Count on it, Devlin.” Wrex signaled to his muscle. “Take it easy, Cass. Say hi to Liam for me.” He gave her one final grin before heading back out into the parking lot.

  “Tweaker,” Dev said, lip raised in a sneer. He began pick up stray parts and tools. “Why the hell are you with him?”

  “I’m not with him,” Cass hissed, feeling angry and trapped and stuck.

  “You’re racing for him! What the hell else would you call it?”

  Blackmail? Overdeveloped sense of responsibility? Crap luck? She discarded each smart ass answer as it came to her. “You don’t know a damn thing about it!”

  He flung a wrench into the box. “You’re right, I don’t. Find someone else to work on your goddamn bike. I don’t need this kind of hassle. Maybe Wrex or Liam or whoever else you’re in with can recommend a mechanic.”

  Who did this guy think he was? Her fury spiked, turning her insides to magma. He might be hotter than the surface of the sun, but he didn’t get to make assumptions about her and talk to her like that. No one did.

  “Liam’s my brother,” she snapped, her voice throaty and low from trying to keep a handle on her anger. “And before you go making any more assumptions about exactly who or what I am, understand that I am not one of Wrex’s skanks.” She’d slept with Wrex before she knew what he was really like. But that wasn’t something she was going to share. “My brother made some bad decisions, and I’m trying to get him out of it. End of story.”

  Dev rocked back on his heels, and eyed her. “Why are you telling me this?”

  Because you’re hot didn’t seem like a particularly good answer, even if it was true. Because I can’t stand you looking at me like I’m some kind of mouth-breathing imbecile, especially when I really want to see you naked was also a bad choice. Cass was running out of options here. Her hands clenched into fists in her frustration.

  “Hell if I know.” Cass turned on her heel and stalked out, intending to get Scott to help her load the bike back into his truck.

  She felt very tired all of a sudden. She’d have to find a new mechanic, and she wasn’t going to have the Superhawk fixed in time for the next race, which put her deeper in debt to Wrex. This day was turning into a suckfest of epic proportions.

  And it still wasn’t as bad as the night in the coffee shop. At least nobody had died today.

  Yet.

  “Hang on a sec.” Dev caught her hand in his and pulled her gently back into the garage bay. When she resisted, yanking her hand out of his, he held his up in a gesture of apology. “Look, I’m sorry I misjudged, okay? Wrex is bad news and so are the people he gets involved with.”

  As an apology it wasn’t much, but Cass nodded, considering it was the best she was likely to get. “Tell me something I don’t already know,” she huffed. She jerked her head at her bike. “Gimme a few minutes, and I’ll be out of your way.”

  “I’ll do it.”

  “Excusemewhatnow?” She clearly must have a hearing problem. Great. How much would those disappearing hearing aids cost? There was no way that sexy mechanic man just re-offered to fix her baby. Not after all of the drama of the last few minutes.

  “I’ll rebuild your bike.” He grinned at her confusion. He had a very nice grin. It was the kind of grin she could feel in between her legs. Cass didn’t know whether to be happy or embarrassed.

  “Are you serious?” Was he just jerking her around? “You made it pretty clear how you feel about anything having to do with Wrex.” She couldn’t help the suspicion that crept into her voice. Things that seemed too good to be true usually were.

  He shook his head. “Hey, I still think he’s an asshole, don’t get me wrong, but I’ll fix your bike. As an apology for jumping to conclusions. You can pay me in installments when I’m done.”

  “I’ve got the money,” she said, thinking of the cash in the backpack underneath her bed. She wasn’t a charity case. She didn’t expect a free rebuild, especially when nothing was ever free.

  He stuck out his hand. “Deal then?”

  Cass eyed it for a moment, and then took it. “Deal.” She sighed. One less thing to worry about.

  Dev’s expression turned serious. Pulling a pen from his back pocket, he rummaged around for a sheet of paper. He wound up finding a matchbook in the second drawer of the toolbox. Ripping the matches out of it, he scribbled on the inside of it and handed it to her. “This is my cell. I’ll call to give you updates on the rebuild, but if you want to check on it, just use that number.”

  He folded the matchbook closed and pressed it into her palm, closing her fingers over it.

  Cass swallowed, caught up in his nearness, unable to do more than clutch at the matchbook spasmodically. His body was close to hers, so close she could feel the heat of him, smell the scent of him. Her fingers clenched convulsively, crushing the matchbook in her hand. His face was close to hers, his eyes searching her face. All she wanted to do was lean forward to close the distance between them and press her lips to his. To slide her tongue into his mouth and wrap her arms and legs around him and feel the strength and warmth of him all over.

  His gaze lowered to her mouth. Cass licked her lips, watching him from beneath her lashes, anticipating his kiss. Dev’s hand slid around her neck, gripping the hair at the nape of her neck in a loose hold. She thought briefly of Scott, sitting in his truck and probably watching them, and then decided she didn’t care. She stepped into Dev, her own hands grabbing the sides of his shirt.

  The sound of a fist banging on metal made her jerk out of her hormonal haze. Scott beat on the side of his door once more, shouting, “Come on, Cass! I’ve got a bar back shift!”

  Dev pulled his head back slowly, but he didn’t let go of her hair.

  She stared at him, feeling the pull of his gaze like the tide feels the pull of the moon. “I should go,” she said, but made no move to leave.

  “Okay.” He didn’t let her go.

  They stood in the garage bay, still in a half-embrace. Cass didn’t know what the hell she was doing, but it didn’t matter. Her life felt like it had careened off course when she wasn’t looking; what did one more detour matter? If she had ordered a man from a menu, picking all of her biggest turn-ons, she couldn’t have done better than the man who had his hand in her hair right now.

  “Damn it, Cass! Let’s go!”

  Dev let go of her reluctantly.

  Cass took a shaky breath, feeling too full and not full enough, almost like she was on the edge of something. Insanity? Tears? Sexual frustration? A little from Column A and Column B? She didn’t know what she was doing anymore.

  She slid her hands down the plackets of Dev’s gas shirt. “I’m gonna go now.”

  Dev nodded, amusement in his eyes. As she took a step back, he said, “You use that number, you hear?”

  “CASS!”

  “Be right there!” she shouted back, rolling her eyes. “Thanks,” she said, flashing Dev a shy smile as she stepped out of the garage.

  “Your bike’s in good hands,” he assured her, hooking his thumbs into the front pockets of his jeans. “No need to worry.”

  Her smile faltered, falling away completely as she climbed into the cab of Scott’s truck. Her bike might be in good hands, but now what was she supposed to race?

  C
hapter 2

  Her twin brother, Liam, was already at her apartment when she got home. He had his feet up on the coffee table, and he was watching some MMA fight at ear-splitting volume. Cass threw him a dirty look as she made her way to the kitchen with the bags of groceries. Her roommate was out, but Liam had a habit of making himself at home wherever he happened to end up.

  “What did you get?” he called from his spot on the sofa.

  Cass slammed down a can of chicken soup. “Nothing for you!” she shouted back. She really wasn’t up for her brother’s freeloading crap right now.

  She heard him moving around in the living room and groaned inwardly. Why couldn’t he just leave her alone for five damn seconds? Cass was still reeling from her run in with Wrex and whatever it was with Dev. A little quiet to deal with her afternoon would have been appreciated.

  Liam stuck his head around the corner to peek into the kitchen. “Aw, don’t be like that, Cassie girl.”

  Her brother was like the male version of her. They were born six minutes apart. Liam was the elder, not that he acted like it. His hair was the same thick dark brown as hers, his face the same heart-shape, his eyes the same green. He didn’t have the sprinkle of freckles across the nose like she did, but he had a small scar over his left eyebrow, a mishap with a thrown roller skate when he was eight. He had a crooked grin which he employed to great effect against the opposite sex, including most of Cass’s high school friends.

  He was a menace.

  “Ran into Wrex today,” she snapped, unable to keep quiet about the visit from her brother’s bookie. “He sends his best.”

  “His best what?” Liam joked, frowning when Cass didn’t laugh. “Come on. Smile.”

  She finished unpacking her groceries, wishing once again she was by herself. “Wrex destroyed my motorcycle, Liam. You’ll have to forgive me if I don’t feel like grinning like a lunatic.” Cass rubbed at her temples, feeling the headache pounding there.

  “Yeah, but you found someone to fix it, didn’t you?” he asked, waving her anger and unhappiness away. He gave her a sunny, unconcerned smile.

  Cass slammed a hand flat on the countertop, unable to stomach her brother for another minute. If her bike was in one piece, she would have taken off to go for a long ride until she cooled off, but since it wasn’t, she was trapped here with no way out. She was in this mess because of him, because he couldn’t cover his debts, because she’d been covering for him for most of their lives.

  “You don’t get it, do you? You’ve never gotten it!” She whirled on him, the events of this afternoon hitting her like a fist. “That motorcycle was what was paying off all that money you lost on bad bets! Now what the hell are we supposed to do?” She didn’t wait for him to answer. “If you would have just gone away with me when I asked you, we wouldn’t be in this mess!”

  Liam leaned one hip against the countertop, giving her a rakish smile. “To be fair, if I hadn’t made those bets in the first place, we wouldn’t be in this mess.”

  “Goddamn it, Liam!” Cass stormed out of the kitchen, unwilling to share space with him. “This isn’t some kind of stupid joke!” She wanted to punch him in the head like she did when they were kids and he did something dumb. “Have you seen what Wrex does to people who can’t pay? And without the bike, that means it’s on both of us!”

  “I’ll talk to Wrex,” Liam began, his face growing serious and pale.

  Finally. Maybe he was finally understanding just what could happen to them, the gravity of the situation. Or maybe he was just worried that she wasn’t going to help bail him out of his mess again. It could go either way with her brother.

  “I’ll make him understand,” Liam added.

  Cass laughed out loud at that, her voice sounding ragged and a little crazy. “Understand?” She chuckled once more, shaking her head. “Wrex isn’t interested in understanding. And he’s not interested in money—I offered him enough of it when I tried to buy you out.”

  Cass didn’t want to think about why he’d passed on the small fortune she’d offered him. Wrex couldn’t be so impressed with her racing skills to pass up stacks of bills, but he’d turned her down, saying they’d stick to their original agreement of her paying him back by racing. She didn’t really want to think about why.

  “You could just leave me. Get out of town like you asked me to do.” His smile was sad.

  Cass rolled her eyes, wanting to scream. She couldn’t explain why she didn’t just leave him behind. Was it because they were twins? It was like she’d be leaving behind another part of herself. Or was it because she’d been taking care of him for so long that she didn’t know who she was without someone to take care of?

  “Don’t be an idiot,” she snapped.

  Liam came around the counter and took her hands in his. “I’m sorry you’re stuck with me.” He ducked his head so they were eye to eye. “You’re a better sister than I deserve.” He bumped his forehead into hers.

  Cass bumped him back, a gesture from their childhood. She was still angry with him, but she knew she had to let it go. It wasn’t like getting angry with Liam ever changed anything. “What are you doing here?” she asked, changing the subject to something less complicated. “Besides mooching my cable.”

  He grinned, pulling away to lean his back against the countertop. “I’m a little short on rent money.” He shrugged. “So I figured I’d hide out here until I figure out a way to get it.”

  “I just started a new job. I don’t have any cash to spare.” She tried not to think about the stacks of bills in her backpack under the bed. If Liam knew about it, well…Liam should never know about it.

  “I heard there’s another sideshow scheduled for next month. A big one.”

  “Yeah.” Cass glanced at her brother, saw the look in his eyes. “Oh no. No!” She shoved him with her palms. “Don’t even think about betting. God, Liam! Are you trying to get us both killed?”

  He put his hands up in surrender. “It was just a thought!”

  “Well, stop thinking it!” She took a shuddering breath and stepped away from him. “Look, Mags is going to be home in a few. You should head out before she gets here.” It was a lie. Mags had a late class tonight; she wouldn’t be home for hours. But Liam was uncomfortable around Mags ever since the time he’d hooked up with her at a party before he knew she was Cass’s best friend. He’d been practicing a firm policy of avoidance ever since. Cass only used it when she was desperate for some space from her twin.

  “Understood. I’m outtie.” He kissed Cass on the cheek and headed to the door. “Sorry about your bike, C.”

  “I know, Liam.” She gave his departing back a weak smile. “I know.”

  ‡

  Cass heard the key in the lock of the front door and pushed herself up from her sprawl on the couch. She’d crashed after Liam left, feeling the stress of the day like a blow to the back of the head. She felt moderately human after her nap, but her head had that cottony feeling that came with deep sleep.

  At least she hadn’t had any nightmares. That was something, at least.

  “Hey Mags,” she called as her roommate shoved the door open.

  “Hey,” Mags called from beneath the weight of the messenger bag draped across her body, a gym duffle on one shoulder, and an armful of books. “Did I wake you up?”

  Cass shook her head, running a hand through her thick, tangled hair. “I needed to get up anyway.” She shoved herself off of the couch and ambled to the kitchen to get some dinner. “You want some mac and cheese?”

  “Hell yeah. Kraft Dinner?” The telltale thump of books hitting the floor punctuated her question.

  “What do you think I am? A Philistine?” Cass answered, putting the water on to boil.

  Mags leaned against the bar, a tired grin on her face. She was getting her Masters in social work and working a full-time job, so she was always in a perpetual state of sleep deprivation. “How’s the bike?”

  Cass busied herself with getting out the blu
e and yellow box of pasta and cheese sauce. Mags had been with her when she’d first seen her Superhawk lying on the ground in pieces. “I found someone to fix it.”

  “Sweet.” Mags walked to the fridge and took out a can of Diet Coke. “So who’d you end up taking it to?”

  Cass’s hands stilled on the box. She swallowed, remembering the scent and heat of him, the way his body felt so close to hers. She cleared her throat, feeling a flush climb up her neck. “Just some guy.”

  Mags looked at her closely. Cass dropped her head, trying to hide behind her hair. “Is he cute?” Her voice was teasing.

  Rolling her eyes, Cass threw a potholder at her roommate. “Cute is for puppies and unicorns. Dev is hotter than an active volcano.”

  “Yowza,” Mags said, pretending to fan herself. “And?”

  “And what?” Cass dumped the macaroni into the bubbling pot.

  “And what are you going to do about it?” Mags grinned at her, waggling her eyebrows lasciviously.

  “There’s nothing to do.” She shook her head at her choice of words. “Let me rephrase. He’s working on my bike. And that’s all he’s doing!”

  Mags pouted. “How am I supposed to live vicariously through you if you’re going to act like a damn nun?”

  Cass laughed, stirring the contents of the pot. “I’m so not a nun.” She was pretty sure nuns didn’t sleep with coffeehouse guitarists with the voice of an angel. Or maybe they did. She didn’t know their lives. What she did know was that she’d enjoyed a regular fling with Dillon, The Coffee Cave singer, but he was gone now. Like her friend Sugar, Dillon had taken off after the night of the shooting.

  “Then stop acting like it and hit the hottie,” Mags said, drawing her out of her musing before she could get maudlin. “And then come home and tell me every stupid, sexy detail.”

  Chapter 3

  Dev eyed the Superhawk warily, like it might come alive and try and crush him like creatures in a Michael Bay movie. He didn’t know why the hell he’d told Cass he’d do the work on the damn thing—he had enough to keep him busy without it. He should have helped her load the bike back into the truck and said adios to her pretty little ass. If he was smart, he would have done just that.