Page 88 of Off-Limits Love
Gage headed toward the door, hearing and ignoring Cole’s mutter of, “Didn’t even get a thank-you.”
Too many hours later, Gage dragged his tired body into his truck and headed for the rentals building. One more stop, and then he could go home—at the early hour of 12:30 a.m.
He made his way to Blackwell Rentals and rolled into his usual spot, seeing a vehicle he didn’t recognize tucked behind the building where only someone really looking would see it.
“Get a room,” he muttered to himself, the streetlights reflecting just enough off the glass to see the steamed windows indicating someone was inside. Or someones.
Remembering his younger years when he and a girlfriend would find a quiet spot before he’d take her home, he decided to let them be until he came back out of the building.
If they were still there, he’d run them off, but the odds were good that his arrival would be enough to spook them away.
He had to grab a few things to be ready for a repair tomorrow and his tool bag was behind the counter. He’d left so fast earlier he’d forgotten to grab it.
He exited the truck and kept a wary eye on the vehicle until he got inside. He relocked the door, grabbed what he needed, but he didn’t hear the sound of an engine starting and groaned aloud.
He did not want to have to go confront some horny teenagers and get yelled at for ruining their magic moment.
He locked up, tossed the tool bag inside his truck and carefully made his way down the side of the building after grabbing his mag light. “Hey. You can’t park there. Take off before I call the cops.”
No one was in the front. More proof he was probably interrupting a rendezvous.
He flashed the light into the back and saw wide eyes staring at him as a woman scrambled to sit up and slide to the far side of the seat away from him. He flashed the light to the seat beside her and frowned when he realized she was alone. “You okay in there?”
The woman nodded and held up a hand to shield her eyes. He lowered the light so as not to blind her but kept it on to get a read on the situation. “Roll the window down.”
She shook her head, and he heard a mufflednoin response. “I just want to talk to you.”
The woman had dark auburn hair, pale skin, and heavy freckles across her nose. All above full pillowy lips he had no business noticing.
He couldn’t tell what color her eyes were, but she wore a black tank top and workout shorts, and had her hair up in a messy bun. And considering the heat of night indicating that hurricane was indeed on the way, she had to be miserable in there with the windows up. “Look, I’m not going to hurt you. But either roll the window down, or I call the cops and you can sort it out with them.”
A frown pinched her features into a scowl and she slowly stretched into the front to the hit the Start button to crack the window a half inch or so.
“Thanks,” he said, forcing himself to gentle his tone. “What are you doing here? Are you homeless?”
A shrug was his answer.
“You either are, or you aren’t. You want to elaborate?”
“My roommate’s jerk of a boyfriend decided I came with the apartment when he stayed the night. She believed him when he said I came onto him and kicked me out instead.”
He stared into her eyes, not seeing or smelling any signs of drugs or alcohol. “Why didn’t you go to a hotel?”
“Have you priced hotels here?”
Yeah, there was no such thing as a cheap hotel in a beach town.
“I just needed to shut my eyes for a minute. I’ll leave,” she said in a low mutter. “Sorry to bother you.”
“You have nowhere else to go? Parents? Friend’s house?”
A slow shake of her head was his answer.
“I…I just moved here. Don’t really know anyone.”
He scraped a hand over his face and fought off his own fatigue and frustration, because as much as he wanted her to leave, he couldn’t be that guy.
His kid sister wasn’t much younger than the woman in front of him, and he’d like to think someone would help her if she ever found herself in this type of mess—not that she ever would with all eight of her older brothers looking after her. But still… “Okay, here’s what you’re going to do. See that starfish painted on the back of the building?” He pointed the flashlight to the spot. “I want you to move your car over there.”
