Page 39 of Waging War
CHAPTERELEVEN
Ben
My heart races when I rap on the worn red door of Moe’s Auto. Hazel’s gone deathly silent beside me, and I’m afraid to even look at her.
I don’t want to know how eager she is to get back to them and away from me.
An older man I don’t recognize swings the door open. The sun glints off his thick black glasses, and he wears oil-stained overalls instead of a patch or a cut. The nameAndylies beneath red stitching that readsMoe’s Auto Shop.
“They’ve been waitin’ on ya,” he says, opening the door for the two of us to follow. “Follow me.”
Andy guides us to the center of the garage, where ironically, a Chevy Camaro resides in a car lift, suspended above the garage floor. I’m reaching for the key to our cuffs when I hear the sound of fluorescent static just before the lights flip on.
Across the large shop room, Cooper’s eyes practically glow with fury when they land on the metal cuffs linking me and Hazel together.
“Is that really necessary?” he asks.
The better half of my brain tells me to let it go, that she isn’t mine and never can be.The other portion—the one that knows her favorite color, has seen her secret smiles, and knows how to ignite her delicious body—is bellowing for me to step in front of her and challenge him, man to man.
“Why don’t you ask her? She’s the one who insists on trying to escape.”
When he storms toward us, she holds up her free hand and places herself between us.
“Relax,” Hazel says evenly.
She’s… defending me?
“Release her,now,” Cooper demands.
His posturing reminds me of those birds who fan their feathers while squawking obnoxiously for a potential mate. Only, his mating tricks fall flat when it comes to this wild woman, and her annoyance strokes my ego.
That is, until I’m receiving the same treatment.
“Unlock it, Ben.”
I whistle an easy tune, staring at Cooper while I dig around in my pocket. He looks like a tool with a bandana hanging around his neck and several chains dangling from the front pocket of his leather jacket.
What does she see in this guy?
My hand trails her arm as I reach for the cuff, and damn if I don’t love those goose bumps puckering her skin because ofmytouch.
Flicking my gaze to Cooper, I smile, taking perverse pleasure in letting him watch the reaction her body has to me.
“I’m not some prize to be won, Ben. Stop being an asshole.”
Snapping back to her, my smile falters. I’ve never felt so protective over a woman in all my life, and here she is, calling me out for it.
Who’s the one posturing?
“You’re right,” I whisper, pulling the cuff free from her hand. I gently rub the area where it rested over her wrist. “I’m sorry.”
The apology startles her, but she’s not given the chance to respond before Cooper is dragging her back across the room.
“Hazel.”
Blood freezes in my veins when she whips her body toward the door that leads out of the garage to the main road.
A shadow remains on Cooper’s face as he keeps a trained eye on me, but directly behind him stands Hazel’s father, looking much better than the last time I saw him.
