Page 4 of Diesel
He ended the call without further explanation, setting the phone on the table with finality.Then he looked at her, softer now.
“You want to stay here tonight?Couch is yours.I already made it up,” Tom offered.
Sophie hesitated for all of a second before nodding.
“Thanks,” she said, voice hoarse.“I don’t ...I don’t want to be alone right now.”
Tom’s eyes softened.“You’re never alone, kid.”
She smiled faintly, then took a sip of the tea.It had cooled, but it still calmed her enough to finally breathe again.
Chapter Two
The next morning dawnedgray and wet.The drizzle had returned, tapping against Tom’s truck windshield as he pulled into the parking spot across from Petal & Stem.
Sophie didn’t move at first.She twisted her fingers in the hem of her coat, knuckles white.The flower shop was wrapped in yellow police tape now, sagging slightly in the rain.
A DO NOT CROSS sign fluttered beneath the awning.The window was still broken.Shattered glass glinted on the sidewalk like scattered jewels.Her stomach sank.It looked even worse in daylight.
Tom climbed out first and rounded the truck to her side.He opened her door and waited without rushing her.She stepped down, boots splashing lightly in a puddle.Her heart twisted at the sight of her ruined display.Half a daisy was crushed under a tire track.
Then she heard the low, unmistakable rumble of a motorcycle engine.Sophie turned her head sharply.A lone bike came down Main Street, its black paint gleaming despite the clouds.
The man riding it was huge.Tall, broad, wearing a dark leather jacket with the Iron Sentinels patch sewn across the back—a coiled snake, a wrench, and a flaming skull.His helmet was matte black, and even when he cut the engine in front of the shop and swung one booted leg over the seat, he didn’t take it off.
Sophie stared.Everything about him was imposing.Gruff.Massive.A walking wall of quiet strength.Definitely not her type.
She liked gentle guys.The kind who read books and smiled with their eyes.This man looked like he could rip a tree out of the ground just because it annoyed him.Tom, however, broke into a grin.
“Well, I’ll be damned.That’s Diesel,” Tom said.
Sophie blinked.“Diesel?”
“Yeah.Was just a prospect when I was still around.Green as hell back then, but smart.Reliable as they come now, though.I’m glad Beast sent him over,” Tom said.
Diesel removed his helmet then, revealing close-cropped black hair, a few days’ worth of stubble, and sharp, dark eyes that landed on Sophie with cool precision.He nodded once at Tom, then looked at her.
