Total pages in book: 145
Estimated words: 142728 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 714(@200wpm)___ 571(@250wpm)___ 476(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 142728 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 714(@200wpm)___ 571(@250wpm)___ 476(@300wpm)
“Oh. Your car.” He pulls out his phone. “Griff says it’s the starter. He can fix it but it’s going to take a day or two to get the part.”
“Damn.” I bite my thumbnail. How the hell am I going to get to work again tomorrow?
“He’s stopping by in a few minutes to drop off a car for you to borrow.”
“What? Don’t I need to fill out some paperwork? Give him my license or something?”
“It’s not like that. He’s not a rental agency. It’s just a car his shop loans out.” He coughs and looks away. “To friends and family.”
“But I’m neither.”
“You’re a friend of my club. Close enough.”
“You really take this club thing seriously.”
He cocks his head, studying me. “It’s everything.”
“But I never see Griff wearing a vest like yours.” I point to one of his Lost Kings MC patches.
His piercing eyes never leave my face. “He’s affiliated… Helps us out when we ask.”
That explanation is as clear as mud.
“Well, I’ll pay him for the car, obviously.”
“Don’t worry about it.” He shoves his hand in his front pocket and pulls out his phone. “They’re here.”
I follow him outside, not sure what to make of how my evening is playing out.
At the curb, two cars are parked—a vintage black muscle car with a unique set of purple and red pinstripes, and an older tan Volvo station wagon. “I didn’t picture Griff driving a Volvo.”
Dex laughs and ducks his head. “The Chevelle is his. I think the Volvo belongs to the shop.”
“Ah, that makes sense.”
Dex uses a few hand signals to whoever’s driving the Volvo. The car glides up the gentle slope of my driveway and stops.
Griff swaggers over the lawn toward us. A tall, broad guy wearing a faded red plaid flannel shirt slams the door of the Volvo.
Dex smiles broadly at the stranger. “What’re you doing here, Vapor?”
“I made the mistake of stopping by—”
“To use my garage,” Griff adds.
Ignoring him, Vapor continues, “And somehow that turned into driving a station wagon.”
I bite the inside of my cheek to stop myself from laughing.
“Emily.” Dex rests his hand between my shoulders and my stomach flutters. “This is my…” He glances at Vapor as if seeking information. “Nephew-in-law?”
Vapor shrugs. “Close enough.” He holds out his hand and I take it for a quick hello shake. “The car’s for you, I take it?”
“Apparently.” With Dex’s hand still resting on my back, I’m incapable of conversation. If I were a cat, I’d purr and rub myself against him.
“How’s my girl?” Dex asks Vapor.
“She’s out with Ella. But she wanted me to say hi and tell you to get your ass over to dinner at our place soon.”
Griff scratches the side of his head and turns toward Vapor. “How come Juliet never invites me over for dinner?”
“Because you’re at our place all the time,” Vapor answers slowly, as if he’s explaining it to a child.
“Oh, here, Emily.” There’s a jingling and Vapor holds out a set of keys with a yellow tag hanging from them.
“It’s nothing fancy but it runs,” Griff explains. “If you have any problems, call the shop. Number’s on the tag.”
“Thank you so much for this.” I take the keys, squeezing them tight in my hand. There’s no viable public transportation out here, and it would take me half the day to walk to work. The car really is a lifesaver.
Griff’s gaze shifts toward Dex, lingering on Dex’s hand still resting on my back. One corner of his mouth kicks into a flirty smile and he meets my eyes. “Not a problem, darlin’.”
“All right.” Dex shoves Griff toward the driveway. “Thanks for stopping by.”
Griff and Vapor exchange matching smirks.
Vapor reaches for Dex, wrapping him in a quick hug and thumping him on the back. “Talk soon, yeah?”
Dex nods and returns the back thump. “Tell Juliet I’ll stop by.”
“You got it.”
Griff and Vapor both say goodbye to me then take off, laughing and shoving each other all the way to the black car.
Then I’m alone again with Dex.
He turns to face me. “Let’s check out the car before I go.”
“They drove it here, so it must work,” I point out. “My aunt actually had a car very similar to that when we moved in.” I jerk my thumb over my shoulder toward the house. “So, I’ve driven one before.”
“All right.”
He’s stopped from saying anything else by pulsing music and a small, yellow convertible screeching to a stop at the curb.
“Dammit,” I mutter.
“This Libby?” Dex frowns at the yellow car.
“Yeah, it’s her friend’s car. The girl’s a menace.”
My sister bolts from the passenger side and barely slams the door shut before her friend races away, honking her horn loud enough to wake a corpse. Great, the neighbors will love that.
“Mackenzie was your ride?” I fold my arms over my chest and aim my big sister stare at Libby.