Page 35 of Bear

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

Jupiter

Two days later

It’s late at nightwhen a bike pulls up to the front of the shop. I breathe an angry sigh and close my eyes.

“Fucking biker,” I mumble and grab the bottle of whiskey from the workbench. I screw off the cap and take a sip straight from the lip. I’m going to need to bathe in this shit if my life gets anymore screwed up.

Between the money Ruin gave me and the race two nights ago, I’m halfway to getting what these drug dealers are demanding, but they aren’t going to wait forever. I might need to get naked and film with Bear again just so we have enough. Hell, maybe I’ll call Ruin and have him pair me with Crow just to piss Tennessee off. All I know is, I can’t ever let Bobby Ray know how I got the money because it will break his heart.

Gravel crunches under Tennessee’s boots as he walks around the garage to the back door and I set the bottle down and pick up the wrench, going back to my work. I have my baby over the pit, finetuning the engine.

“You just don’t know when to give up, do you?” I ask.

He doesn’t answer, but his footfalls are heavy as he moves toward me. Tennessee stops at my back. I can feel his warm breath on my neck, but the scent of his aftershave is all wrong, like Old Spice with a stench of body odor, and Bear doesn’t smoke.

“I don’t know what you’re talkin’ about, bitch.” His voice is all accented gravel. Cajun, I think, and it sends icy fear sliding down my spine. “But you’re right. I don’ give up.”

Rough hands grab me from behind, sinking into my hips, but I struggle and pull free. I grip my wrench tighter and swing around, using the inertia to propel my weapon right into the side of his skull. The skin splits. Blood sprays my T-shirt and face. I strike him again and again. He drops to his knees, but I don’t waste time waiting to see if he’ll get up again.

Another bike pulls into the lot. I don’t know why I didn’t hear it before, but this asshole’s shitty pipes had sounded like the devil. I know the sound of Tennessee’s bike, because I heard her purr every day for more than a week. I drop the wrench and run for the door. I didn’t think there would ever come a time when my feet would swallow up the ground just to be closer to him, but here I am, running toward him like he’s the only person who can save me from the mess I just found myself in.

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