Page 3 of Raven
He gave me an evil grin and shook his head. “I predict your person will walk into your life sooner than you think.” My face grew hot, so he simply stated, “Help me get this hooked up.”
As he pulled away, I gave him the middle finger and turned to walk back into the shop. The bike I was working on needed to be finished before I left tonight, so I got back to work.
His words kept playing over again in my head, and every time I tried to shake his almost psychic prediction, Sydney’s beautiful face popped into my head.
Closing my eyes, I shook my head and said to myself, “Well, I’m fucked.”
Chapter 2
Raven
Six weeks later
For the first time in over a month, I was getting off work on time. Hiring Sydney had been the best thing I’d ever done for the shop. She and the guys got along without issue, she was fast and precise with her work, and she worked almost as many hours as I did. Today was payday, and the last full day after the Rally ended tomorrow.
I wanted to get to the Sin Den and have a drink and smoke before the chaos started. The Rally was one of my favorite weeks of the year, and thanks to Sydney working so hard, we were able to handle whatever came at us over the past week or so.
At lunch, I gave everyone their checks and told them to take off for the weekend when they finished up their current projects. Since last Monday morning, we were swamped with repairs, people wanting their rides customized, and the countless old friends who pulled through to say hi.
We had caught up on all the mechanical issues, and Joel, my head mechanic and life-long friend,teamed up with Sydney to rewire a custom bike for me so I could start on the fabrication of another. When they finished earlier this afternoon, I offered them the same half-day off as everyone else.
Joel jumped at the chance and took off to spend some time with his girlfriend. Sydney, on the other hand, shook her head and got back to installing new taillights on an almost finished customization.
Sydney and I were alone for the first time in a few weeks, and for some reason, I was anxious. Countless times, I’d caught myself glancing at her while I worked. She was focused on what she was doing, and a few times, I’d swear I heard her humming as she worked. Every little thing about her piqued my interest, but I’d yet to make a move on her.
She was an employee, and she didn’t need me or anyone else drooling over her. Even if her coveralls hugged her in all the right spots. As she washed her hands, I turned off the back lights and made sure everything was turned off and secured for the night. A simple rag setting on a powered-up piece of machinery could cause a fire and cost me everything I’d busted my ass for over the last decade.
After double-checking the shop, I walked to Sydney as she hung her coveralls up on a hook and unclipped her brown hair, allowing it to cascade down her back.
“You ready?” I asked, and she gave me a smile.
“I guess,” she replied and turned to walk out of the shop. I followed beside her as she asked, “Big plans for the evening?”
“Nope. I’m going to meet a few of my brothers for a drink at the Sin Den, then I’m going home to catch up on some sleep. Tomorrow is the last club ride of the Rally, and I have to be at the clubhouse early.” I punched the alarm code into the keypad and pulled the door closed behind us.
“Well, have fun,” she remarked casually as she walked across the parking lot to her older truck.
It looked like crap, but it purred like a kitten as she cranked the motor and backed out of the parking space. I watched as she turned down the road, throwing her hand out the window before she disappeared from sight. I sighed to myself and walked to my bike parked near the open gate surrounding the shop.
After closing the gate and locking the giant padlock securing it closed, I turned left and pulled down the road. As I got to thefirst stoplight, I remembered I had cash to deposit into the bank, so I switched lanes and put my blinker on. Once the light turned green, I made my turn and saw the bank’s sign up ahead. Pulling into the lot, I noticed Sydney’s truck turning into the drive-through.
I opted to go inside, and from my place at the counter, I could see her sitting in the cab of her truck through the window as the cashier got her money and put it into the little tray to send out to her.
“Will there be anything else, Mr. Asher?” the teller asked, and I shook my head as I watched Sydney pull away from the window, and someone else pull up.
I left the bank and saw Sydney turn her truck away from town. On a whim, I turned and followed her. Instinct was pushing my need to find out about her, but for the life of me, I didn’t understand why.
Maybe it was the evasive answers when anyone questioned her. She had been vague about what brought her to Rapid City, and when she filled out her paperwork when I hired her, she used an address in Oregon as her home of record. I thought that was strange, but it wasn’t my business.
As I maintained a safe distance behind her, I wondered why she was heading to the bad part of town, if you could call any part of Rapid City bad. Our community had its issues, just like every other, but the thought of a woman being over here alone made me worry.
She turned the blinker on and, a moment later, turned into a shitty trailer park on the edge of town. I didn’t know anything about the place, but from the condition of the trailer homes lining the single road going in and out, they weren’t in the best conditions. Confused why she was here, and fearing the worst, I turned into the park and followed behind her to the very end of the single road. There, I watched as she backed her truckalongside a tiny travel-trailer and got out. She heard the loud pipes of my bike approaching, and she shook her head and crossed her arms as I pulled up and turned the motor off.
“Following me, Raven?” she asked with a ton of sass.
“No, but when I see someone who I know makes enough to live in a better place pulling into this shithole, I’m going to investigate,” I replied, lifting my leg off the bike and approaching her.
“What the hell gives you the right to call my home a shithole?” she asked with a hint of anger in her voice.
