Total pages in book: 119
Estimated words: 110549 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 553(@200wpm)___ 442(@250wpm)___ 368(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 110549 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 553(@200wpm)___ 442(@250wpm)___ 368(@300wpm)
I smiled at him, and a small smile of his own tilted his lips in return before he returned to what he was working on. After Jessie told me Lincoln’s usual order, he went back over to go help him. After placing our orders, I hopped down from my stool and walked over to where the two men were working. “What’s going on?” I asked them.
“Fucking head gasket,” Lincoln informed me. “It’s cracked.”
“That fucking sucks.” I ran my eyes over the engine, my eyes catching the site of a cut hose. “Hey, guys, have you seen this?” I asked as I pointed to the hose.
Jessie leaned over to look where I was pointing. “Fuck,” he swore. “That’s a power steering hose. Shit is highly flammable.”
Lincoln dropped to the ground, and a moment later, I heard a curse leave his mouth, too. “It’s all over the fucking floor—trail of it that leads outside.” He stood back up and gripped my hips from behind. “Jessie, I think Jay is going to try to sabotage the garage.”
My eyes widened in horror. This was Jessie and Lincoln’s livelihood—their jobs. Jessie’s fucking dream.
Jessie nodded in agreement, his eyes moving to my face. “Don’t,” he warned me when I clenched my jaw. “We’re not walking away from you, West, so don’t even fucking suggest it.”
“You’re not losing either of us, babe,” Lincoln said, agreeing with Jessie. “So, save your breath.”
“But the garage—” I started. Jessie cut me off.
“Is easily replaceable,” he told me. My teeth ground together. He reached up and gently gripped my chin, tilting my head back so I was forced to look directly up into his eyes. “You, however, are not. I will not lose you, West, and I’ll be damned if I allow you to get hurt.”
“We can easily take turns here at the garage,” Lincoln told him. I shook my head, but of course, I was ignored. A low growl sounded from my chest, making Jessie’s lips twitch in amusement. “Switch out every couple of hours.”
“She can’t be alone,” Jessie told him, both of them speaking about me as if I weren’t standing between them.
“Hello!” I snapped. Both men looked down at me with arched eyebrows. “I’m still here, you know.”
Jessie reached up and gently rubbed the pad of his thumb over my cheek, soothing me. “Easy, baby girl.” I deflated almost instantly. Lincoln pressed a kiss to my temple. “The couch in the office pulls out into a bed. It’s not the most comfortable, but it’ll work. West can sleep there, and one of us will be with her unless we’re switching out. I have security cameras, but if Jay is really behind this, he obviously doesn’t give a fuck about security cameras.”
I glowered at Jessie. “I’m not sleeping at the garage.”
“Yes, you are,” Lincoln told me. Jessie didn’t open his mouth, but I knew he agreed with Lincoln.
Two men might prove to be a fucking pain in the ass.
The conversation was brought to a halt when flashing blue lights caught our attention. I stiffened, every single one of my guards going up hard. Jessie and Lincoln quickly flanked my sides. Jessie wrapped an arm around my waist, and Lincoln grabbed my hand in his as two officers stepped into the garage.
Guessed subs were off the table for me. Didn’t matter anyway. At the sight of the officers, my appetite vanished.
“I’m going to have to ask you two gentlemen to step back from Miss Thompson,” Officer Lucky stated. Both men tightened their holds on me, neither of them budging.
“What’s this about, Lucky?” Lincoln asked.
“West is under arrest. I received a tip from an anonymous source that she was sabotaging vehicles in the garage.” I was clenching my teeth together so hard, pain was flaring through my gums. My temper flared. Officer Lucky gestured to the power steering fluid on the ground. “Obviously, my tip was correct.”
“You’re not taking her any-fucking-where,” Jessie growled at Lucky. He gently pushed me further toward Lincoln before he released his hold on me and stood protectively in front of me with his arms crossed over his broad chest, his muscles bulging in his shirt.
“Jessie, don’t make me arrest you, too,” Lucky warned him.
“Jessie, seriously, just let him take me in,” I pleaded, reaching forward to grab his arm. Him getting arrested wasn’t worth all of this.
“No,” Lincoln growled. I turned my head, narrowing my eyes at him. “He’s not fucking taking you anywhere.” He tugged me closer to him, both of his arms now protectively wrapped around me.
“I have security footage you can pull,” Jessie informed Lucky. “In fact, we were in the process of trying to figure out ourselves where the power steering leak came from.”
“We don’t need security—” the other, much younger cop spoke up. Hell, he looked younger than me.
“Shut the fuck up,” Jessie snarled, venom leaking into his voice. “Who the fuck are you, anyway? Let me guess. You’re new to the station, new to town, heard about the troubled teenage girl that supposedly caused hell in this town and decided to hate her, too? Don’t fucking try me, kid.”