Page 20 of Wolf Cursed
“Starting fresh?” I repeated, biting back a scream.
Couldn’t he see that’s what I’d already done? It wasn’t like I’d had a choice either. But without a car, I was completely and utterly stuck here. At the mercy of guys like Kai and Drake and Oscar.
Not a single friendly face in sight.
My dad might have been a drunk and paranoid, but he didn’t talk to me like he wanted to shove me into a ditch somewhere.
“Whatever, fine,” I said.
“Drake will take care of it and settle up with whatever we get for the scrap,” Oscar said, totally clueless about my looming breakdown.
“I’m on it, boss,” Drake said.
“Good.” Oscar turned to me. “I need to call a customer, but then you and I can go over some training in the front office.” Oscar looked at me for confirmation.
“Okay,” I said, already counting down the hours until I could crawl back into bed.
“I’ll be there in five,” he said and then strode away, already pulling out his phone.
I started to head back to the office to wait, but Drake stopped me.
“Does Kai know you’re sticking around?”
I turned slowly, wary and angry. “I can’t see how it’s any of his business.”
Drake snorted. “Everything that happens in this town is his business. Especially outsiders.”
“You do know this is a free country. People can come and go as they want. Unless you have some law against visitors?”
He chuckled as if I’d said something funny. “Believe me, laws are not our thing around here. We do things our way. And that means keeping the town clean from people who don’t belong.”
My face heated with anger. “Good thing it’s not up to you,” I snapped. “Tell Kai to kiss my ass.”
“Babe,” he said, grinning in a way that felt a little unhinged. “Be careful what you wish for.”
I walked away, forcing myself not to turn around or quicken my steps despite the ripple of fear at showing him my back. Something about Drake felt dangerous. Hell, they all felt dangerous. And I’d seen my fair share over the years too. Between the kind of people Dad brought around and the customers I’d waited on at work, I recognized toxic when I saw it. But these people were something else.
What was with the guys in this town thinking they could order me out of it? I’d be damned if it was going to work.
Oscar spent an hour going over the computers and invoicing system and the scheduling calendar he used to book jobs.
“How are you doing?” he asked at the end of it. “I mean, you know, with everything.”
If the question hadn’t stirred my grief up, I would have laughed at the discomfort he wore as he spoke. Oscar and feelings didn’t mix well.
“I’m good,” I told him.
He studied me as if trying to decide whether I meant it. Finally, he nodded. Then he deemed me ready and left me alone.
The work helped distract me, and by lunchtime, I actually felt like I had it under control. A few calls came in from people asking to schedule maintenance on their motorcycles, and I used the cheat sheet Oscar had given me to slot them the proper time in Oscar’s schedule. He was busy, booked out for more than two months, and most of his other techs were the same. Did everyone in this town ride a motorcycle?
Outside, I saw plenty of cars passing by on their way farther into town, so I knew there were other vehicles. But by the end of the day, I was convinced that either Oscar was the best around or all motorcycles broke down once a week.
A few of the customers asked my name, some even asking me to repeat it or being obviously nosy and asking how I knew Oscar. I didn’t give them more than the professional basics, but I had a feeling a town this small would probably allow them to find out what they wanted to know soon enough.
By closing time, the sun had dipped behind the building, casting the street and sidewalk out front into long shadows. Oscar had sent everyone else home, and the phone had stopped ringing almost an hour ago. When the clock struck six, I walked up and switched the Open sign to Closed.
I was just about to turn the lock when a figure darkened the doorstep on the other side. Unlike the other day, he was dressed in a plain tee that was fitted enough to reveal a lot more of him than I’d seen the first time. Broad shoulders, tanned arms tatted with a sleeve of symbols that I’d missed the other day, and a jawline that I was already seeing in my daydreams.
