Page 76 of 12 Months of Mayhem

The bike grew louder, then settled into that familiar idle. I didn’t even need to look—I already knew where he’d parked. Same place as last night, right next to my car on the side of the building.

Ten seconds later, I saw him through the big front window as he walked past the pumps and approached the door.

Tank.

All that leather and denim, the heavy boots, the calm, almost lazy way he walked. Like he wasn’t in a hurry for anyone or anything.

The bell above the door jingled as he walked in, and he ducked his head slightly like the doorway might not be tall enough for him.

I didn’t know how a man could look that good at nearly one in the morning, but he did. Hell, he looked better than most guys I’d seen in the middle of the day.

And the sheer size of him? He made the station feel small. Like the walls shrank to make room for him. I wasn’t short—I never had been—but next to him, I felt like I was still waiting on a growth spurt.

“Hey, mama,” he said. Easy confidence laced through every syllable.

“Hi,” I managed to squeak out and was instantly annoyed with how breathless I sounded. I cleared my throat and tried to regain some dignity.

His eyes did a slow sweep of the store. “All by yourself again?”

I nodded and felt heat crawl up my neck. I was alone. Diamond was still sick, and it was just me and the snacks tonight.

He looked around and then back at me. He leaned casually against the counter. “You mind if I hang out?”

I tried to play it cool, even though my heart was hammering behind my ribs. “Um, whatever you want to do.”

A smirk tugged at his lips. “Not sure you’re ready for what I want to do, mama.”

That did it. A full-body flush spread through me, warm and low and impossible to ignore. I was painfully aware of how long it had been since anyone had looked at me the way he did, let alone said something like that with that voice. Deep and smoky.

I’d had minimal experience with men. At least with the kind who actually showed interest in me. Sure, I got the occasional guy trying to flirt his way to a free donut, but did I want a man who couldn’t even afford a donut? No thanks.

Tank, though? He was the first guy who made me feel something that wasn’t just mild amusement or deep regret. He was dangerous, probably. But the kind of dangerous you didn’t mind inviting in to warm you up a little.

I mean, he had to be into me. Why else would he be here in the middle of the night for the third night in a row? Okay, maybe to murder me, but he didn’t strike me as the type.

I cleared my throat and backed away from the counter. “Uh, I need to take inventory.”

“Want some help?” he offered with that damn smile.

“You know how to count boxes of chips and frozen burritos?” I joked. “It’s a tough job.”

“I’m a fast learner.”

And he was. Surprisingly helpful, too. The tension simmered as we worked our way through the checklist. He handed me items as I marked them off, reached past me more than once, and let his arm brush mine. I tried not to shiver every time he did it. We talked in bits and pieces.

Customers trickled in—mostly tired faces needing gas and caffeine. One drunk guy tried to convince me to give him a slushie for free. Tank just stepped forward and gave him a look. The guy backed off so fast he nearly tripped over the candy rack.

We restocked coolers. He carried the heavy crates. I handled the cash register. We moved together so easily, like we’d been doing it forever. And with his help, everything got done faster than it ever had.

By five, the place was spotless and fully stocked. For once, I didn’t feel like I was dragging through the end of my shift.

We sat behind the counter, side by side, and waited for the sun to creep up.

I glanced at him. “You really don’t sleep much, do you?”

He chuckled. “I sleep. Just not at night.”

“You always been like that?”

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