By the next morning, Lexie had her emotions under control. Before bed, she’d had a glass of wine—or two. Then she’d allowed herself the luxury of shedding a few tears, watched some funny animal videos on YouTube and gone to bed.
At five-thirty, she’d risen and gone for a short jog before getting ready for work. Unlike some people when they’re upset, Lexie was an emotional eater. She’d scarfed down a big breakfast, filled her giant travel mug with coffee, and headed for Bad Boy Autos. No Starbucks for her.
Every spare dollar went into what she called her Freedom Fund. It was a separate bank account she’d asked Tom to set up in his name in case Jason learned of it. She was listed as an authorized user on the account, supposedly for business purposes, but the money was all hers. They were the only ones who knew about its existence.
Lexie would use the money to pay off the other bills Jason had stuck her with. She’d done the math, and with careful management and being frugal as hell, she could be out of debt in five years.
Because she had no large savings, and to stop the foreclosure on her cabin, she needed at least nine months of hefty mortgage payments besides the other debts he’d left her to pay. Alternatively, she needed to find Jason and retrieve the money he’d stolen. Suddenly, thirty days seemed short.
Pulling her Jeep into the parking lot, Lexie smiled when Zip Chang stepped outside his bay to see who had arrived. The young Chinese man smiled and waved. Lexie returned his greeting as she got out and grabbed her backpack, which she used instead of a purse.
“Hey, Lex. How goes it?” Zip asked as she drew closer.
“It goes just fine. How about with you?”
“Good. I brought donuts. They’re in the break room,” Zip informed her.
“You know I’ll be all over them later on,” Lexie said.
The other bane of her existence, Marcus, sat at his desk with a cellphone to his ear, drumming his fingers on his desk blotter. His gray eyes met hers, and the frown on his handsome face deepened. Lexie ignored him and continued on to the break room.
Tom stood by the coffeemaker, pouring some fragrant brew into a mug. A huge yawn gripped him as he turned to look at Lexie.
She smiled. “Baby keep you up again?”
Tom and his wife, Kendra, had become the proud parents of a baby girl, Matti, four months ago.
He stirred sugar into his coffee. “Yeah. She’s living up to her name, ‘lady of the house.’ She started screaming at one this morning and woke Connor up. So, both of them were driving us crazy. Connor wanted to play, and Matti was fussy. We didn’t get back to bed until almost four.”
Lexie loved four-year-old Connor, who had adopted her as an aunt. She often babysat for him when Tom and Kendra went out.
“I’m sure Matti will settle into a routine soon,” Lexie said. “I’ll go get changed and get started. Don’t want my pay docked for being late.”
“Lex, I know you’re pissed at me, but we can’t afford to antagonize a man like Kade.” Tom’s eyes reflected his regret. “Journalists are notorious for using their platform when pissed.”
Lexie gave a curt nod as she put up the defensive walls around her heart. “I know. Don’t worry about it. I’ll get it done and then I’ll get him—and hopefully his brother—out of my life. No worries. I’ll talk to you later.”
She didn’t wait for Tom to respond. A door at the back of the break room opened into a small locker room, complete with a shower and two changing stalls. Lexie grabbed her overalls from her locker and slipped them on over her jean shorts and turquoise tank top. She made sure her ponytail was secure and stuck her cellphone in her pocket.
Looking in the mirror over one of the two sinks, Lexie stared at her reflection and gave herself a pep talk. She had work to do, and she’d focus on the job, putting everything else out of her mind.
Only when the cellphone rang to say Kevin had found Jason would she breathe easy. Kevin and his team had tried to follow the money, but it looked as if Jason had it in cash, and that’s why they had to find him soon. Not only could Jason sniff the money up his nose, someone could steal it. Nine months. He’d had the money for nine months. Hope of getting any of it back was slim, but she prayed there was enough to see if the bank would let her continue on a payment plan to pay the rest back… a proper mortgage. Only she’d have to explain what Jason had done. Would that get him in trouble? She thought the bank might not like the publicity of being conned.
The sick feeling churning in her stomach wouldn’t go away. She may not have spent very much time at the cabin, but it represented the last fun time she’d spent with her mother, Clara, before the motor neuron disease ravaged her. It was also where, as Lexie sat holding her hand, Clara took her last breath.
She squeezed her eyes shut so the welling tears couldn’t escape. She’d speak to Kade and tell him what she had learned. Kade might know where Jason would stay in Michigan, or who he’d stay with.
That decided, she straightened her spine and went to restore Kade’s Alfa.
Chapter Three
A week later, Kade returned to Bad Boy Autos to check on the progress of his car. He’d told Tom that Lexie should do whatever felt right with the vehicle, giving her complete control. She was one of the most respected restorers in LA. She’d make his car purr.
Although he’d wanted to see Lexie sooner, he’d been away working on a story. Besides, knowing her as he did, he knew she’d have become defensive if he’d smothered her. As long as she was still hunting for Jason rather than letting the police do it, he could give her the space to work her magic, which would give her some time to adjust to him coming around more often.
At least he now had a plan of how to help her. The private detective he’d hired to find Jason had followed his trail to Michigan. When he found him, if Jason didn’t have the money he’d stolen, he’d give Jason the money and watch him give it to Lexie to clear the debt. She’d never know it came from him.
Although a confident man, Kade didn’t enjoy being a hard-ass or using intimidation tactics when dealing with people, but this time Jason had gone too far. He’d broken the law, and he prayed he could make his brother get the help he needed.
He wondered if he was doing his brother more harm by not reporting his crime. On the one hand, prison might get him off the drugs, but on the other, it might simply feed his addiction. Kade knew drugs were rife inside.
It had always baffled him how a woman like Lexie could’ve fallen for Jason’s shit.
They do say love is blind.
While Lexie was tough and didn’t take shit from anyone, she was also kind and fun-loving with a soft center. Or she had been before Jason had gotten involved with drugs and started sleeping around on her. It had pained Kade to watch her suffer because of his brother. However, outside of trying to talk sense into Jason and offering to be a sounding board for Lexie, Kade hadn’t gotten involved.
He wished to God he had. He should have run interference and pushed Jason into rehab. He’d held back because he had taboo feelings for his sister-in-law.
Despite his feelings for Lexie, he’d hoped for her sake that Jason would wise up and things worked out between them. Instead, Jason’s behavior had only gotten worse. He’d crushed Lexie when he’d sold their restored 1960s Formula One race car. Then to mortgage her cabin and run off with the money and some track bimbo…
It had been the final blow, and Lexie had immediately started divorce proceedings.
Walking toward the garage, Kade saw Lexie’s bay door was open and headed for it. A cacophony of revving motors and various air-compressed tools greeted his ears, filling Kade with excitement. Even though he’d never been a pro race car driver, he shared Jason’s passion for fast cars and speed. He’d done his share of street and amateur racing, but he’d never considered that as a career.
Instead, he’d gone into journalism, writing about the racing circuit which led to a successful career, and also several New York Times bestselling suspense novels set around t
he professional racing circuit. He’d made millions, and now he lived a great life. Money, women, vacation homes, helicopters, fast cars. He had it all.
Yet lately, something was missing. He was lonely. He wanted what Tom had, love with the right woman, and all the things that came with a family life, especially kids.
But most of the women he met only saw his celebrity and wealth. He wanted something deeper, real, and everlasting.
Why couldn’t I have met Lexie first?
Approaching Lexie’s bay, Kade saw his car up on the lift. Lexie stood underneath it with Sully, conferring with him about something to do with the rear axle.
Kade paused for a moment as he watched them. Lexie hadn’t noticed him yet. Whatever Sully said had amused her, and her deep brown eyes shone as she laughed. The dimple in her right cheek appeared, and Kade had a sudden desire to kiss it—and every other inch of her. Even in her dirty navy-blue overalls, she was sexy as hell despite the fact they somewhat hid her delectable body.
It had always driven Kade crazy when she wore them—much more than the few times he’d seen her in a slinky dress or a bikini. Maybe it was because he knew what was under the overalls and he wanted to unwrap her like a candy bar.
Bringing his reaction to her under control, Kade entered the bay.
Lexie looked in his direction, and her smile faded when she recognized him. Kade tried to ignore his disappointment at the wary, irritated expression that settled on her beautiful features, but he wasn’t quite successful.
“Hi.” Kade gestured toward the car. “How’s it going here?”
Based on Lexie’s attitude the day he’d dropped off the Alfa, he thought talking about business first was the best course of action.
Sully said, “I’ll leave you to it, Lex. Good to see you, Kade.”
“Likewise,” Kade replied.
He watched Sully walk away, a little jealous of the easy, friendly rapport he and Lexie shared. Kade wanted that with her, and his determination to win her over intensified as he returned his attention to her.
Lexie clenched her teeth when she saw Kade, then willed her jaw to relax. Watching him walk toward her in jeans with a white t-shirt that stretched tight across his well-muscled chest, a thread of female appreciation wrapped around her. He had a different build than Jason. Jason was shorter, about her height, 5’8”—that’s how he’d fit in the racing cars. Kade was taller, about 6 feet, and all muscle.
It wasn’t every man who could rock the shaved hair look, but Kade did it with ease. His short, almost black beard emphasized his strong jaw and drew attention to his sensual mouth. As her gaze roamed over him, Lexie noticed the tattooed armband around each bicep, amused by the fun names. The right one was labeled “thunder” while the left had been dubbed “lightning.”
She couldn’t hold back a smile as she asked, “You named your guns? That’s pretty conceited.”
Kade grinned and flexed his muscles, amused that she’d noticed. “Not conceited, just telling the truth. I’m the current boxing champ at my gym.”
“I didn’t know you boxed,” Lexie said, trying to remember if Jason had ever mentioned it.
“There’s a lot you don’t know about me, Lexie.”
The invitation in his voice made Lexie frown a little. He was trying to entice her into asking questions, but she resisted taking the bait.
“I guess so,” she responded. “Well, I’ll show you where we’re at with things.” She motioned for Kade to follow her and led him to the rear axle she and Sully had been discussing. “You really should’ve taken a better look at this car before you bought it. The car was stored somewhere with a lot of moisture exposure. Probably parked on grass and left uncovered. There’s a lot of rust under here.” She tapped the axle. “Including this. See this place here?”
Kade moved closer and looked at the rusted-out spot she’d indicated. “Yeah. That doesn’t look good.”
He stood so close that Lexie felt his body heat and smelled his citrus and spice cologne. The combination was delicious, and Lexie had to work hard to not lean closer and inhale it deep into her lungs.
Annoyed with herself, Lexie stepped away from him a little. “It’s not. If I took this out on the road, I wouldn’t get very far before it would snap. I’m surprised it didn’t when it was loaded on the tow truck. It should be replaced.”
“Damn,” Kade muttered in dismay and turned his coffee-brown eyes on her. “Is the rest of it as bad as this?”
The car lover in Lexie sympathized with him. “Not all of it, but there’s more wrong with it than there isn’t. The floor in the front on the passenger side is rusted through, and three of the brake drums have to be replaced.”
Kade passed a hand over his face and sighed. “Do you have an estimate yet?”
Lexie nodded. “Yeah. Look, Kade, this will cost a fortune. Are you sure you want to go through with it?”
Lexie bit her bottom lip as she waited for his answer. Although she didn’t relish the idea of seeing Kade a lot, restoring the Alfa to its former glory excited her.
Watching his gaze travel over the underside of the car, Lexie knew Kade was a gorgeous guy. Those guns of his weren’t the only thing impressive about him. Wide, chiseled chest, narrow, defined abdomen, tight ass, and powerful calves—all those attributes added up to one very tasty man.
A part of her had always been attracted to Kade, and she’d felt so guilty. Jason was his brother.
Did the fact that she found Kade attractive mean that she no longer loved Jason? Had it really been love at all?
If she’d loved Jason, she’d loved a Jason that never existed.
Disconcerted by her train of thought, Lexie shut them down and got back to business.
“Honey, with me, money’s no problem. You know that. Let’s do it.”
Lexie’s eyebrows lifted. “Okay. But you’ve got more money than sense.” Lexie walked to the computer and woke it and logged into the invoicing system. Finding Kade’s estimate, she printed it off and handed it to him. “Read it and weep.”
Kade shot her a curious look and then studied the estimate. Lexie barely restrained her mirth as Kade’s eyebrows climbed his forehead. She watched him scan the paper a second time before he pointed to a line of text.
“You have paint on here, but there’s no cost and no description.”
“Right. I was hoping you might let me give the little Alfa something more than a boring red paint job.”
“You mean racing stripes or something?”
Kade’s frown was adorable. She laughed. “No. But something tasteful to match the car. I came up with some ideas if you’d like to see them.”
“Hell yeah.”
Lexie kept a silly smile off her face and pulled a huge sketch pad from a shelf under the workbench top. Opening it, she started flipping pages, but after a couple, Kade stopped her.
“Damn, Lexie. I forgot what a kick-ass artist you are.”
He tapped the detailed colored-pencil drawing of an old Ford pickup on the current page. On the drivers-side door, a depiction of a ranch, complete with a blue sky and sun overhead, graced the surface.
“Makes me want to buy a truck just so you can do that to it,” Kade commented.
It was impossible for Lexie to ignore the pride his praise created. “That was for a job Sully had a little while ago. It was a 1960 Ford F-100. The customer wanted it restored as a birthday present for his dad, who was a rancher. He sent me a picture of their family’s ranch and I created the design from it.”
The way Kade’s eyes lit up made Lexie smile. “Do you have any pics of the finished job?”
“Yeah. We take pics of all our jobs. Not only because we like to show them off, but as a proof of the work we do.”
“Can I see them?”
Lexie shrugged. “Sure.”
With a few more mouse clicks, she located the correct folder, pulled up the pics of the truck and moved out of the way.
Kade stepped in front of the computer and
let out a low whistle. “That’s incredible. I can’t believe how much detail you got on it. There’s even a horse and a cow.”
Out of nowhere, sorrow hit Lexie, and she couldn’t breathe for a moment while she fought it off. When the sharp pain in her heart faded to a dull ache, she said, “This was a really fun job because it was so different from most of the stuff I do. We don’t have a lot of requests for country scenes on cars, so it was a nice change of pace.” She swallowed hard. “It was almost a year ago. My first job when I started here, right after Jason stole our money and ran off with that whore. I owe Tom a lot for hiring me, even though Marcus didn’t want him to.”
Kade’s mouth curved in a wry smile. “Let me guess; that’s why you’re putting up with me.”
Guilt flickered across Lexie’s face, but she had to be honest. “Yeah.” Not caring to expound upon her reply, she changed the subject. “Anyway, let me show you the designs I came up with for your car.”
She reached for the mouse, but Kade rested a hand on her forearm.
“I learned Jason’s in Michigan. I have men there looking for him. I promise I’ll find him in time.”
“My P.I.’s there, too.”
“Lexie, I’m not my brother. Please don’t judge me by his actions. We’re nothing alike. I’m not the bad guy.”
Despite the sincerity in his eyes, Lexie couldn’t let her guard down. Kade might not be his brother, but the Colter men still had a reputation where women were concerned. “You say that, but I remember you always had women lined up just itching to get into bed with you.”
“I’m not married. I never disrespect the women I’m with.” His expression grew shuttered. “Besides, just because they wanted me didn’t mean I wanted them. Like I said, Lexie, there’s a lot you don’t know about me. Maybe it’s time you learned what I’m really like.”
Lexie’s eyes widened. “What do you mean?”
Kade’s friendly smile didn’t put her at ease. “I mean, I’d like us to get to know each other a little better. I’m not your enemy.”
Purr For Me: Bad Boy Autos (Drive Me Wild Book 2) Page 3
