Page 47 of Till The Sun Dies (Checkmate 2)

“Uh-huh.” I kick my left ankle over the right. “Kane said I could keep it in here, since my garage is full.”

Her eyes come back to mine. Icy blue and so fucking scared. “So you’ll be here a lot?”

Don’t let it hurt you. This is about her, not you.

“I’ll stay in here. I’ll be quiet. You won’t have to see me.”

Nodding, she runs her fingertips along the faded red paint and slowly circles the rundown frame. “What are you gonna do with it when it’s done?”

Give it to you.

“Depends. What do you think I should do with it? I could sell it if you think it’s worth something. I could show it. I could keep it for myself.”

“And sell the Charger?” Her face pales. “You can’t get rid of the Charger, you’ve had it since high school.”

I shrug. “It’s just a car. They come and go. I built one, I can build another.” I nod toward the one between us. “You think it’s done and ready for landfill, or is she worth building up again?”

She stops at the top of the hood and goes in search of the latch. Closing her eyes and searching with her fingertips, she makes a vision – a slightly disheveled, homeless vision – as she nibbles on her bottom lip. Taking pity, I move toward the driver’s side door and lean in, and as soon as I pull the latch, the hood pops open and she grins like she thinks she did it.

I haven’t seen her smile in so long, it distracts me as she lifts the heavy metal and grits her teeth at the mess underneath. “Jesus, Ang.” Her eyes scour the engine I’ve already spent two days studying. “It’ll cost you a fortune to fix.”

“Nah.” I lean against the door and pretend not to watch her. “I get parts at wholesale, and labor is free. Shouldn’t cost much at all. You think it’s worth something?”

“Yeah.” I lose sight of her when she leans into the engine bay, but I see her foot poking out to help her balance. “Did it have a fire once? Because there’s a lot of burned wiring under here.”

I shrug and move along the side of the Buick to catch sight of the platinum blonde hair again.I can’t stay away.“I didn’t ask the car’s history. I figure she had a shitty time, but I took it as is, and here we are.”

Nodding, she hovers toward the opposite side of the car and increases the space between us.This isn’t about you. This is about her healing.

Leaning back, she taps the wheels with her toes. “Gonna need new whitewalls, these are all cracked. I’m surprised you could drive this here.” Her eyes come to mine. “You weren’t scared it might explode with you inside?”

“Nah.” I lean on the car frame and catch her eyes from across the bay. “Nothing much scares me. An exploding car is nothing to me.”

Her eyes shutter. She was here. She might’ve been guarded and wary, but she was here nonetheless.

And now she’s gone.

“You’re lucky, Ang. Being scared is…” She clears her throat. “Scary. And everything scares me.” Her bottom lip quivers. Using the sleeve of her hoodie, she wipes a hand over her face to push loose hair away. “I’m going inside now. Have fun with your car. I probably won’t see you around, I like being in my room.”

“Laine. No. Come back.” Out the door and inside the house before the words leave my mouth, I pick up a wrench and turn away from the doors. “Fuck! Motherfuck!”

Shadows fall over the door at the back of the garage. I don’t need to look up to know who it is. “Fucked that up, dude.”

“I fucked it up! I was trying to help, and I made it worse.”

“Mr. I’m-not-scared-of-anything. Tried to make your balls feel big at her expense?”

“No.” I turn. “No. I was just…” I sigh. “I was trying to let her know she’s safe with me. Because nothing scares me, so I’ll always protect her.”

“But shit does scare you, and any real man can admit that. Brass balls don’t mean shit if we’re too stupid to admit our fears.”

I let out a long breath and scrub my hands over my face. I can’t believe I fucked it up. Pausing with my thumbs in my eyes, I bite off a ‘Fuck!’ when I realize the damage I just did. “What scares you?”

Kane steps into the garage and leans over the hood of the Buick. Like a propulsion no one can fight when near an open hood, he starts tinkering with the engine. “Jess scares me.” He looks up. “Losing Jess fuckin’ paralyzes me. And since Laine’s pain hurts Jess, I’m gonna do everything I can to help them.” He looks to the open garage door to make sure we’re alone. “Because you’re stupid in love with Laine, I figure keeping you around will help her. I trust you to be gentle with her, but you only get so many chances before I send you on your way with a claw hammer jammed up your ass. I know damn well those girls are upstairs in a ball of tears while Laine calms down from her big adventure with the idiot in the garage.” Standing tall, he points a stained black finger in my direction. “That’s strike one. Two more and I try a new plan.”

“Fuck you, Bish. You can’t keep me away.”

His brow lifts. “I know damn well your garage ain’t full. I’m letting you use mine so she can hang with you on her own turf. That’s the most comfortable for her, but when you strike out a third time, I’m towing this piece of shit back to Spence’s, then you can argue with him about getting it back. I’ll put my money on him rotating the hammer. He’s savage, Ang, and he likes to watch people bleed.”

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