Swerve: Boosted Hearts (Volume 1) (20 page)

Before she changed her mind, she shoved open her door and headed to the side entrance, her only way in with the main roller doors closed. It wasn’t locked, so she pushed it wide and stepped inside. Florescent lights lit up the vast floor area and standing in the center of the room was Hugh.

Adam was off to the side a little, and he didn’t look happy. In fact, neither of them looked happy—except for the guy wearing a suit. The owner of the expensive car, she guessed, and some other big man with him. He was side-on to her, but she could see his teeth, he was smiling so wide.

She took several steps closer, the heels of her boots clicking against the concrete floor. Adam’s head lifted at the sound, gaze locking on her, then he closed the space between him and Hugh, his elbow connecting with Hugh’s side. Hugh’s head twisted toward her, as well, his eyes flaring for a split second before his expression went blank.

The guy in the suit was looking at her now, too, giving her a head to toe, then he grinned. “Don’t tell me, you got me a gift?” His gaze moved over her again, landing on her chest and stayed there. “Not my usual taste, but hey, I can work with it.”

The way he continued to stare at her made it obvious she was the “it” he was referring to. She hated him instantly.

“Come here, sweetheart,” he said in an oily voice that made her skin crawl. “Let’s have a good look at you.”

“What the fuck are you doing here?” Hugh barked, so loud his voice echoed around the room.

She jumped then just stood there, heart smacking against the back of her ribs, vocal cords suddenly tight. What the hell was going on? What was this? “I-I wanted to talk to you.”

His face turned cold, hard. An expression she’d never seen on him before. “I’m busy. We meet when I fucking feel like it; what part of that didn’t you understand?”

She stumbled back a step. “What?”

“Are you deaf?”

Humiliation burned her face, her limbs feeling shaky and weak. “No…I…”

“Leave,” he barked. “Now.”

Adam, the creep in the suit, his friend they all stood there staring at her, making the whole scene ten times worse. Anger welled up, her only defense right then, making her breathe harder and, thankfully, holding back the tears threatening to escape. “I-I don’t ever want to see you again; do you understand me? Not ever again.”

He crossed his muscled arms over his chest. “Shit, whatever, babe. You finished?”

She didn’t bother answering and raced from the garage. But she didn’t get far; dizziness washed through her so fast, she thought she might actually faint. She leaned on the wall, sucking down deep breaths.

“Let’s get back to business.”

She heard Hugh’s deep voice echo through the door.

There was a chuckle. The man in the suit maybe. “She seemed a little upset.”

“Fuck ‘em a few times and they get clingy. Was time to cut her loose, anyway,” Hugh said.

“Give me her number. I don’t usually go for women with so much meat on their bones, but I’ll try anything once.”

She didn’t recognize the voice so assumed it was the big guy standing beside the suit.

“You want my sloppy seconds, Don? Be my guest. I’m not a huge fan of desperate and clingy…”

Shay brought her hand up to her mouth to stop the sob burning the back of her throat. She bolted for the Honda, not staying to hear the rest of what Hugh had to say about her, but stumbled to a stop before she got to it.

No way could she use that goddamn car. Pulling the keys from her pocket, she tossed them on the front seat and walked away, dialing for a cab as she went, one she couldn’t afford.

She could call Kayla, but her friend would probably go to the garage and make another scene, and Shay wasn’t ready to talk about what happened, not yet.
She
didn’t know what the hell just happened. And no way could she endure the long ride home on the bus. She was struggling to hold it together as it was. She stood waiting for her ride, mind racing, so hurt by his words, she was in physical pain. This was so much worse than what had happened with Travis.

God, what an idiot.

She’d gone and fallen in love with Hugh.

And as much as she’d tried to convince herself otherwise, she was more like her mother than she wanted to believe. She jumped from one man to the next, just like her mom did, letting them use her then dump her. Humiliate her.

He’d made it perfectly clear she meant absolutely nothing to him. Nothing.

With a few words, he’d destroyed her, had broken her, and she’d let him.

After the cab dropped her home, she went inside and kicked off her boots, climbed into bed and burrowed under the covers. Desperate to shut down her mind. Somehow, she must have fallen asleep, because when she woke it was the middle of the night. She almost expected to feel Hugh lying beside her.

Then she heard it, the rattle of the security chain on her door.

She scrambled into a sitting position, then she heard it again. She stumbled out of bed and raced to the window, peaking out behind the curtain. Hugh’s truck was outside.

He came.

She hadn’t been using the chain, not with Hugh coming to her so late every night. Thank God she had tonight. She couldn’t face him. Not now. Never again.

She wrapped her arms around herself. Why would he do that? Why would he come here after what he’d said, the way he’d treated her?

“Shay, please. Let me in. Let me explain.”

His voice was muffled, but she heard every word. She walked out to the living room and stared at the door. It rattled again.

“Please…princess. Open up, baby.”

She slumped to the floor, hugging herself tighter. Why was he doing this? What did he hope to achieve by coming here? The first hot tear streaked down her face a second later.

He was breathing heavily, so much so, she could hear him through the small opening the chain allowed. He growled, then there was a bang, as if he’d kicked the door.

“Shay. I can explain. Come on, sweetheart, let me in.”

He was quiet for the longest time, but she knew he was still there, could feel his presence as she always did. Larger than life, like the man himself. A part of her wanted to unbolt that door, open up and let him tell her whatever lies he’d planned just to have him back. The weak part of her, the part of her that let people walk all over her. She ignored it. She was stronger than that. Stronger than her mother.

She deserved better than to be treated like a piece of trash, spoken to as if she was worthless, as if she didn’t have feelings.

“Princess?” he said again.

God, it hurt. So much. She couldn’t take much more.

There was another bang, higher up, his fist.

Then a second later, she heard him walk away. Heard his truck fire up and tear out onto the street.

He was gone. It was all over.

Hugh squeezed the bottle of beer in his hand so tight he was surprised it didn’t shatter.

They were fucked.

A car short on their delivery to Al.

They’d been skating the wire as it was. Adam had found what they needed on the last night. They’d been down to the last goddamn hour before they were due to deliver. And the motherfucker had been stolen right out from under them. That same dark figure had appeared out of nowhere, had cracked the lock and hot-wired the thing before Joe or Adam could reach it.

They’d failed. They hadn’t met the terms of their agreement, which meant Al had added on interest. A year’s worth of it. Four more cars every month for another fucking year. He’d gotten what he wanted.

And Shay had walked in right in the middle of the whole mess.

He’d lost her.

No, he’d fucking destroyed her.

He speared his fingers through his hair, fisting it. He’d had no choice. Al and that asshole Don had seen her. Hugh had seen the interest in the men’s eyes. His only thought had been to get her the hell out of there as quickly as possible. Out of harm’s way.

What was she doing there in the first place? Why the hell had she come to the garage, looking like that—and not just what she’d been wearing—but the look on her face. Open and sweet. Hopeful.

That look was for him.

Shay was his, and Jesus, he’d nearly lost his mind when Al had turned his weaselly fucking eyes on
his
woman.

“
Fuck.
” He fired the bottle in his hand across the room. It shattered when it met the wooden doorframe, exploding all over the floor.

“Can you yell duck next time you start throwing bottles?” Joe stood by the door, expression wary.

“You wouldn’t have to duck if you knocked instead of walking right the fuck on in.” His words came out a goddamn snarl, the anger throbbing through him, making his voice rough as hell.

His brother stared at him. “Can’t ever see that happening.”

“I’m not in the mood for your shit right now.” Shoving his fingers through his hair again, he stood and paced to the other side of the room. “And glad to see you’re still alive. Since you blew off the meet with Al last night, I could only assume you had something more important to do.”

Joe shrugged. “You know me, always in hot demand.”

Hugh scowled. “Seriously? While we were losing everything…you were what? Drinking? Fucking?”

Joe opened his mouth to answer, but Hugh wasn’t in the mood to hear it.

“Do me a favor and take your fucking court jester routine somewhere else.”

The attitude vanished, Joe’s gaze going hard. “Promise, no juggling.”

Jesus Christ
. He was being a dick, but shit, he was angry. So goddamn angry. “Joe…”

“Forget it.” His brother shook his head, crossed his arms. “I can’t believe we’re stuck for another goddamn year, but we can…”

“I don’t give a shit about Al or his fucking cars,” Hugh fired back. That wasn’t the reason he was lashing out, acting like an asshole.

Joe pushed his hands into his pockets, head tilting to the side, studying Hugh. “This is about Shay?”

“What the fuck do you think?”

Joe’s brows lifted. “She’s that important to you?” There was no sarcasm or humor in his voice for once.

No point hiding it anymore, it was over between him and Shay. “Yes.”

“Okay. So you’ll talk to her, apologize. Maybe she’ll…”

“No offense, little brother, but I’m not taking relationship advice from someone who’s never taken it beyond one night with a woman.”

Joe’s brows lowered. “You make a good point, I guess.”

Hugh planted his hands on his hips, stared at the floor, trying to calm the hell down, then looked back at Joe. “Anyway, it’s too late. You don’t know what she’s come from, what she’s been through, why she doesn’t trust easy. I was winning that trust, thought I only had to keep her a secret for four more weeks. Just four. Now we’re stuck for another
year
. I won’t expose her to that. I won’t risk her being used as a pawn.”

Joe rubbed the back of his neck. “Shit, I’m sorry, bro.” His expression turned dark, hard. “Al set us up. I’m positive of it.” He stared out the window. “Now that fucker has us exactly where he wants us.”

“Yeah.” Hugh shook his head. “And we can’t prove shit.”

Joe turned back to Hugh. “If Shay’s yours, if she feels the same…”

“I’ve lost her.”

He’d told himself it was for the best. She was better off without him. Still, he hadn’t been able to stop himself from going to her after the meeting, goddamn begging her to hear him out. He’d been prepared to tell her everything. In that moment, he hadn’t cared. He’d just wanted her not to hurt. Didn’t want to be the cause of that hurt.

And yeah, he’d wanted her back.

But he couldn’t have her. Not now. Now, they were tied in for another goddamn year.

Joe hung around for a while longer, but Hugh wasn’t in the talking mood, and his brother finally left.

Hugh stared out the window for a long time after, didn’t know what to do with himself. If his father was there right then, Hugh would wrap his hands around the motherfucker’s neck and kill the bastard. Hugh had messed up—had given the old bastard the benefit of the doubt one time too many—and now he’d taken Joe and Adam down with him. He wasn’t doing that to Shay, as well.

She was lost to him…forever. He’d made sure of that.

He turned away, took in his living room, remembered all the stupid shit he’d been imagining ever since Shay had walked in there. Since she’d spent that night with him in his bed. Of them being together.

A life with her.

With a roar, he kicked the coffee table, flipping it, sending it across the floor. He scrubbed his hands over his face, breath puffing in and out of his lungs as if he was on the verge of hyperventilating. He was going out of his mind, felt close to exploding out of his skin. He didn’t want to be in this house on his own. If he couldn’t have her here with him, he wanted to be with Shay in that tiny pink fucking trailer, lying in her bed, her soft body wrapped around him.

He couldn’t have it. Any of it. Would never hold her in his arms again.

With nowhere to go, nothing to stop this restless feeling, the non-stop throb in his chest, he walked to the kitchen, boots crunching on broken glass, and grabbed another beer.

Right then, getting drunk, making himself numb so he didn’t have to think or feel anymore, sounded like a pretty damn good idea. But he’d need something a hell of a lot stronger than beer for that. He put back the beer and grabbed a bottle of Jack Daniels from the cupboard, instead.

He’d screwed up everything, but getting drunk, that was one thing he could do right.

* * *

“Wake the hell up.”

The voice banging away in Hugh’s head wouldn’t shut the fuck up. He didn’t want to wake up. He wanted to stay asleep. Someone shook him, and he kicked out with his foot.

“Piss off.”

“Either wake on your own or I get creative.”

Adam. Hugh recognized his friend’s voice. He also knew what getting creative entailed. And if Adam dumped a bucket of water in his bed, Hugh would have to beat the shit out of the man, and that would take energy he didn’t have. Dragging his eyes open, he forced himself to sit up, swinging his legs around so they hit the floor. He rubbed his hands over his face, head pounding.

“What the fuck do you want?”

“Bender’s over. Three goddamn days is long enough. In case you’ve forgotten, we have a garage to run.”

Hugh didn’t give a shit about the garage. Didn’t give a shit about anything. “I’m sure you and Joe have it covered.”

“Your brother’s been MIA for the last two days. I can’t do this on my own. Get in the goddamn shower, and get your ass to work.”

That got his attention. “Joe hasn’t been at his place?”

Adam shook his head. “He sent a couple texts, so I know he’s not in a ditch somewhere. Probably holed up with his latest piece.”

Even as Adam said it, Hugh could see the concern in his friend’s eyes. Joe had his fun but never at the expense of the business or their deal with Al. Never. “Give me fifteen.”

“Make it ten.”

* * *

Hours later, well after closing, Hugh was head bent, trying to focus on what he was doing under the hood of a Cadillac, when Joe strode in. Thank fuck.

The prick looked perfectly fine.

Straightening, Hugh wiped off his hands, relief riding him hard. “Where’ve you been?”

“Sorting out a few things.”

“Yeah? What things are those?”

Joe stopped several yards away and feet braced, arms crossed, he locked eyes with Hugh. The look on his brother’s face was one he’d never seen before. There was no grin, no smirk. No wicked glint in his eyes right before he nailed Hugh with some smartass, sarcastic comment. He was stone cold. Serious as a heart attack. Not something Joe was very often.

Hugh’s gut tightened, spine like a damn steel pipe. He threw the rag in his hand on the workbench. “What is it?”

Adam strode out of the office right at that moment, gaze darting between Hugh and Joe, and pulled up short. “Shit. What in the hell’s going on?”

Joe ignored Adam, kept his eyes on Hugh and something flickered through them he had no hope of deciphering, but that look, it made his gut clench into a tight knot.
Fuck.

“Mom? Lucy?” he rasped

Joe shook his head. “Jesus. No. It’s nothing like that.”

Hugh crossed his arms to hide the way his goddamn hands shook. This was big, whatever Joe had to say. “Spit it out.”

Joe uncrossed his arms, hands dropping to his sides. “What’s going on is that we’re free of Al. Dad’s debt, you don’t have to worry about it anymore.”

What the fuck?
Hugh felt his fucking knees go weak. “What?”

“It’s over,” Joe choked out.

“How the hell did you pull that off?” Adam rasped.

Joe’s gaze darted away, then slid back. “When we lost the Nissan, the night of our meeting with Al…I followed her.”

Hugh’s brows shot up. “Her?”

“The woman working for Al, the one stealing shit out from under us.”

Adam cursed.

Shit
. “That’s why you weren’t there, at the meeting?” Hugh said gruffly.

Joe’s lips lifted on one side, not quite a smile. “Not the big screw up you thought, huh?”

“Joe…”

His brother shook his head. “Doesn’t matter now, you had no way of knowing what I was doing.” He shrugged. “The only thing that matters now is we’re free. She led me straight to her place. Been watching her the last few days, waiting for something, anything to prove Al was behind it. She had the Nissan stashed not far from her place. I watched her get in it, followed her to Al’s warehouse for the drop off. She’s his niece, on his payroll, boosts cars for him, as well.” He shrugged. “Next day, same thing, only this time there were cops. They were on to her, closing in. Probably watching her on and off for weeks, waiting to get the evidence they needed. I saved her ass before she could give it to them, then I kindly offered her a ride to her uncle’s warehouse, so I could fill him in on her close call.” Joe shrugged again. “Al decided to show some gratitude.”

“That’s not like Al,” Hugh said into the stunned silence.

Joe held his stare. “What can I say; he loves his niece.”

Hugh shoved his hands in his hair. “So what…we owe him nothing? We’re free and clear?” Every muscle in his body was rock solid, as if he was waiting for the punchline, the hit that knocked flat the hope building behind his chest.

Joe nodded, rubbed the back of his neck, looking uncomfortable as fuck. “It’s over, bro. You don’t need to stick out your neck for us anymore. Mom, Lucy, me. We’re good.”

Fuck.

Hugh planted his hands on his hips. “That’s not how it was. I never thought that…”

Joe shook his head, shutting him up. “It’s done. Over. Go get your girl. Tell her whatever the hell you’ve got to tell her to make her forgive you.”

Hugh was still struggling to process what had just happened. They were finally off the hook. He could be with Shay, he could go to her, he could… He sucked in a rough breath. “I hurt her.”

“Make her understand.”

Shay had been through hell with her bitch of a mother, had been walked all over by that fucker she’d been seeing. Hugh would rather walk over broken glass than hurt her again.

What had him repeatedly lifting the Jack bottle to his lips had been the image of Shay, of her face a second before she walked out of the garage. The pain etched into her lovely features.

I’ll only hurt her again.

Hugh rubbed a hand over his dry lips, shook his head. “I’ll mess it up, let her down. Shit, like I let you all down…”

“What the hell are you talking about?” Joe growled.