Swerve: Boosted Hearts (Volume 1) (9 page)

In-between men, she came to Shay.

As much as she wanted to turn off her phone and pretend her mother hadn’t called, this
was
her mother, and no matter how many times she hurt Shay and let her down, she couldn’t just ignore the woman.

Shay put the phone to her ear. “Hi, Mom.”

“Sugar Angel! It’s so good to hear your voice.”

Her heart squeezed. When Shay was young, she’d craved the sound of her mother’s voice, had prayed every night for a call, a letter, anything. “It’s good to hear yours, as well. It’s been a while.”

Her mother was quiet a second then cleared her throat. “Don’t be like that, Shay Shay. You know I lead a busy life.”

Shay could hear her mother taking a drag of her cigarette. A habit she’d had as long as Shay could remember.

“That’s why I’m calling, actually. I’m planning on paying you a visit. Thought you might put your mom up for a few nights. What do you say, honey?”

She wanted to say
no
. She wanted to hang up the phone and convince herself the conversation never happened. Guilt shot though her again. “When are you coming?”

“Oh, baby, you won’t regret it. We’ll have so much fun!” Another deep drag of her smoke. “I’ll be there tomorrow evening. Cook something nice, and we’ll eat together.”

Shay slumped back onto a chair. “Sounds good.”
Sounds terrible.

“Okay, I gotta go. See you tomorrow, honey.”

Then the phone went dead.

Wonderful. A few nights could mean anything. Once she’d said she was coming for a
few nights
and had stayed two months. She’d also cleaned out Shay’s wallet before she left. Neither of them had ever mentioned it. It was easier to lose the money than confront her mother and listen to the woman’s vitriol. Shay hated it when they fought. The guilt always ate at her during the months of silence in between visits.

Not that it bothered her mother. She’d had years of practice at pretending Shay didn’t exist.

“Mommy, I don’t feel so good.”

“Now you hush. I don’t want to hear any of your complaining. Mommy’s gonna be busy with her new friend for a while.” Gripping Shay’s arm, she dragged her to her room at the end of the hall. “You stay in here ‘til I say you can come out.” She shoved Shay inside. “Not a sound out of you, you hear me?”

Shay’s tummy rumbled. “I think I need my dinner.”

“It won’t hurt you to miss a meal or two, not going by the looks of you. Now remember…not a sound.”

Shay bit her lip, holding back her tears. Mommy didn’t like it when she cried.

Then the door was slammed shut and Shay was all alone…

Shay sucked in a breath, a shudder moving through her.

Don’t go there.

She tried her best not to think about that time in her life, but the memories dogged her harder when her mother called or showed up.

Then another thought occurred to her, one that had her belly sinking like a stone. This new development would pretty much end things with Hugh. He wouldn’t be able to come to her place, and even if she wanted to go to his, she’d have to take a million busses to get there, since he lived so far away.

Dragging herself out of the chair, she got back to work and tried not to think about it—her mom coming or the end of her short affair with Hugh.

* * *

The rest of the day passed without any more drama. She usually worked ‘til two, but Jane had a dentist appointment, so Shay stayed until six and closed up, then headed home. Which meant she’d be pushing it to get the website design she was working on for her client finished in time.

The lights were on at the trailer park when she got there, all colorful and cheerful. The opposite of how she was currently feeling. She waved to Harold, who was sitting outside his army-green double wide when she walked past. He flicked up his fingers in return. Her grandmother had never said, but Shay knew they’d had a secret relationship for years. The pair had been thick as thieves, and of course, there was the fact she’d heard her gran sneak in and out of the trailer at all hours on a regular basis. And on several occasions, Shay had actually gotten up and watched her tap on his door in the middle of the night.

Why they chose to keep it a secret, she had no idea. She’d tried to broach the subject once, and her gran had shut her down instantly, laughing it off and mumbling something about Harold and their weekly poker games…

Oh, God, she hadn’t meant…

Ew!

But then maybe Shay wasn’t so different from her free-spirited grandmother, after all. Her gran had wanted excitement and exhilaration without the commitment. She’d definitely lived life to the fullest. Shay had never met her grandfather—he’d left before Shay had been born—but she knew her gran had loved him like crazy, that when he’d walked out on her, it broke her heart. Maybe her gran had been hurt one time too many, as well, had given up on unconditional love and commitment, as Shay had?

Harold wasn’t her grandmother’s great love, she’d already had that and had lost it—but Gran and Harold had each given the other something they’d both needed. Though it was kind of hard to imagine surly old Harold Harper stirring those kinds of feelings in anyone, let alone Shay’s sweet, fun-loving grandmother.

She tapped on Edna’s door, and a second later, it opened and Rocky was thrust out, then Edna shuffled back to her armchair in front of the TV.
The Price is Right
was blaring in the background. Edna hated being disturbed during her programs. Shay took out the dog, waited for him to do his business then carried him back inside, putting him on his doggy bed. Then, after filling Rocky’s bowl with fresh water, she grabbed one of the meals she’d made Edna the week before out of the freezer and put it in the microwave to heat while Shay tidied the bench and did the few dishes that were there. After plating up Edna’s dinner, Shay filled a glass with iced tea and served it up on her dinner tray.

Edna didn’t take her eyes off the TV all through this, but she did pat Shay’s hand when she slid the tray close.

Shay left her to it and headed to her own trailer. After a quick shower, she pulled on a pair of yoga pants and her faded Hello Kitty tank, and got her own dinner underway. Usually, she loved to cook, but tonight, her heart wasn’t in it. She threw on some pasta and warmed up half a jar of store-bought sauce. She’d just tipped the noodles in the colander to drain when her phone rang.

She smiled to herself when she saw who it was. “You’ve finally come up for air.”

“Har-har,” Kayla grumbled down the line.

“What’s up?”

Her best friend was quiet a few seconds then sniffed loudly. “It’s over.”

Shay sat on the couch. “Oh, honey. What happened?”

“The usual. He says jump, and I’m supposed to say ‘how high’.” She blew her nose loudly. “Well, screw that. I’m done with James. In fact, I’m done with all men, forever.” She went quiet again. “I’m sorry I’ve been MIA this last week. I’ve been a shitty friend.”

“Don’t be silly. You’re not a shitty friend. You were just temporarily diverted by the promise of frequent, non-self-induced orgasms.” She knew the feeling all too well. “Let’s have dinner. We can tear the jerk to shreds. I’m working tomorrow, but I can do Sunday night?”

Her friend sniffed again, followed with a watery chuckle. “Can we go to my favorite Italian place?”

As bad as she felt for her friend, Shay was glad to have her back. And certainly Kayla deserved better than James. “Where else would we go?”

“Excellent,” she whispered.

They talked for a little longer, until Kayla’s takeout arrived, then after promising to text her over the weekend, Shay ended the call. She was just about to put the phone down when it beeped. A text. She quickly checked it, butterflies kicking up a little dance in her belly. Hugh had grabbed her phone before he’d left and had added his number to her list of contacts, doing the same to his. No, they couldn’t carry on with their affair with her mother coming, but one more night would be nice. She checked who it was, and the butterflies dive-bombed to their deaths in a screaming heap.

Travis:
Call me, Shay. Please?

She didn’t know what else she could say to him. She’d told him every way she knew how to leave her alone, that it was over. Why was he still pursuing this?

Throwing her phone on the couch beside her, she fired up her laptop so she could work on the website while she ate.

She planned to enjoy her last night of peace and quiet, even if she was spending it alone. Her mother would arrive tomorrow, like the tornado she was, doing what she usually did—blowing in then blowing out, leaving wreckage in her wake.

Joe kept watch while Hugh picked the lock on the Mercedes. Adam was waiting at the garage, ready to make quick work of the VIN plates, switching them out with fresh ones. Hell of a way to spend a Saturday night. Yeah, he could think of something else he’d rather be doing, someone else he’d rather be spending it with.

It’d been two nights since he’d seen Shay. Two nights that he’d gone without the taste of her on his tongue, and he was fucking ravenous.

He shut those thoughts down fast and returned his focus to what it should be on, cracking this damn lock…

Joe slammed into him, shoving him down beside the car. Lifting two fingers, his brother motioned to the opposite side of the parking lot. It was badly lit, and the car was parked in the far corner. Joe had spent the last couple weeks scoping it out, making sure their mark would be here in his usual spot. From years of doing this shit, they knew how to find security camera blind spots, made sure they had guard rotation schedules down. But they couldn’t be one hundred percent sure, either. Hugh tugged the hood of his black sweatshirt lower, making sure his face was still completely covered, then lifted his head and peered through the side windows. A security guard stood in front of the building. He was on his phone, looked edgy, scanning the lot while he talked. When he finally disconnected, he pulled out his flashlight and started doing a sweep of the lot.

“Shit,” Joe murmured beside him.

They both hunkered down, which wasn’t easy or comfortable, considering the size of both of them. All they could do now was sit tight and hope like hell the guard going for a midnight stroll didn’t find them, or the owner of the car didn’t come back before they got the hell out of there.

The guard’s boots scraped against the asphalt. He was close. The guy stopped, the beam of the flashlight lit up their corner for several seconds, then it was gone, and he was heading back to the building’s entrance. Too damn close. Beside Hugh, Joe released a shuddery breath…

Hugh’s phone suddenly made a series of loud beeps. A text message.

Fuck.
He had the volume set at its highest, so he could hear it over the noise in the garage, which meant the guard had to have heard it ring out loud and clear. He grabbed for it in his pocket to turn it off. Joe tensed at his side, cursing under his breath.

“On three,” Hugh whispered.

There was another scrape against the asphalt; the guard was heading back in their direction.

“Two…three.”

They both shot to their feet and propelled themselves at the chain-link fence, were up and over in a heartbeat. The guard yelled behind them as they took off down the street. Hugh took the first alley they came to and dragged off his sweatshirt, shoving it into a dumpster. Joe did the same, and they jogged through to the next street, slowing their pace to a stroll as soon as they were back in the open.

“You left your motherfucking phone on?” Joe panted beside him.

Shit.
He had. He’d never done that before. But when he’d texted Shay earlier to see if she wanted to hook up later…

Fuck.
He couldn’t believe he hadn’t switched his phone off, that he’d made such a stupid mistake.

They made their way back to Hugh’s truck in silence. He shoved his hand through his hair. Goddammit. No way they could take the Merc now. The guard was probably on the phone to the cops already.

When they reached his truck, Joe shoved him. “What the hell is wrong with you?”

Hugh kept his mouth shut. He was in the wrong, and they both knew it.

His brother planted his hands on his hips and stared at Hugh in disbelief. “It was her, wasn’t it? You were waiting to hear from that redhead!”

When Hugh didn’t answer right away, Joe’s face went from disbelief to stone cold.

“We could have been caught. This could have blown up in our faces because you’ve got a hard-on over some random pussy?”

Hugh clenched his jaw, hard enough his teeth ached, to stop himself from saying something he couldn’t take back. Kept his arms crossed firmly over his chest, so he didn’t reach out and clock the bastard for speaking about her like that. Which was screwed up, since that’s exactly what she was supposed to be. Only she wasn’t. “I made a mistake,” he gritted out.

“Yeah, seems you’re making a few of those lately.” Joe yanked open the door and climbed into the truck, slamming it shut after him.

Shit
.

The drive to the garage was quiet. His brother was pissed. When that happened, he let you know all about it then stewed in silence—but never very long. Joe could never keep his trap shut for long periods of time. Hugh pulled up in front of the garage, and the door slid open. Adam stood there, expecting one of them to be following, driving the Merc, and when they both climbed out, no fucking car, both brows shot up.

Joe strode in, pointing a finger in Hugh’s direction. “Ask this dickhead why we don’t have a car.”

His brother was obviously not in the silent mood anymore.

Adam leaned against the wall. “Shit, what now?”

“He didn’t turn off his fucking phone,” Joe yelled.

Adam frowned. “You were nearly caught?”

Hugh stared his brother down. “There was a guard.”

Adam rubbed his palms against his eyes. “How the hell could you forget?”

“Car Thievery 101: Never leave your goddamn phone on,” Joe barked. “It’s a no-brainer. Though, I can see why you’d forget, since your thinking with the little head these days.”

“No one got caught.” Hugh kept his temper on lockdown, which was not easy right then.

“He was waiting for a call from the redhead,” Joe added, un-fucking-helpfully.

Adam shoved a hand in his dark hair. “Jesus Christ. You’ve got to be kidding me. Tail? You were thinking about a woman while you were boosting a car?”

Hugh clenched and unclenched his fists. “Won’t happen again.”

“You sure about that?” Joe asked.

Hugh’s temper slipped its reins. “I’ve boosted more cars than the pair of you put together, and you’re questioning me? Don’t need this shit. Wasn’t for me, little brother, Al would own your ass, and you’d still be scraping together nickels and dimes to pay off that asshole. Wasn’t for me, we wouldn’t be only eight cars away from getting free of the fucking prick.”
Wasn’t for me, we wouldn’t be in this mess in the first place.

And yeah, it was still up in the air with Al going back on his word, but the rest? The rest was true, and Joe knew it. As for Adam, he helped them because he was a good friend, and because he wanted to. Enjoyed the rush or some shit.
Highly appreciated
but totally fucked up.

The pair of them stared at him tight jawed.

“Nothing to say all of a sudden?” he fired at them. “Yeah, didn’t think so.” Then he walked out, got in his truck and got the hell out of there. He was being an asshole. He knew it. What he’d done was stupid, total amateur hour. But right then, he didn’t give a damn. He was so sick of this shit, fucking exhausted.

When he stopped at a set of streetlights, he pulled out his phone and checked his message.

Shay:
Sorry. Can’t tonight.

His fingers tightened around the phone. Not the answer he was hoping for, not the way he was feeling right then. He fired off a quick answer:
U sure?

Her answer was almost instantaneous:
My mom’s staying with me. First night.

Her mom? Christ.

Hugh:
Tomorrow?

Shay:
Going out with a friend.

Hugh:
After?

He sounded desperate, but that was because he damn well was. A car horn blared loudly behind him. He hadn’t even noticed the lights had changed. Planting his foot, he headed for home. Her return message came through as he was pulling up outside his place.

Shay:
Um…maybe? Logistics might be kinda hard though.

He stared at the screen. Something was hard, all right, painfully so, and it had nothing to do with goddamn logistics.

Hugh:
Two nights too long babe.

Shay:
For me too.

His cock started to ache in his jeans.

Hugh:
I’ll sort something.

The first thing that needed sorting was her lack of wheels. It’d make this thing a hell of a lot easier if she could come to his place, as well, especially with her mother there for however long.

Shay:
K. Night, Hugh.

Hugh:
Night, princess.

He shoved open the truck door and made his way inside. After what happened tonight, he should be losing her number, should be back in his truck, off to some bar to work off the lust thrumming through his veins with some faceless, nameless woman. A woman he could easily forget the next day. A woman who wouldn’t bury herself under his skin and have him making stupid mistakes. But he couldn’t do it. The idea of sleeping with someone else didn’t do a damn thing for him. The only way he was getting off tonight was in his own fist, thinking about Shay. All sweet and curvy and warm, curled up in bed in her cute PJs, in her cute fucking trailer.

Jesus.

* * *

Hugh closed the hood on the Honda, wiped his hands and shoved the rag in his back pocket. It wasn’t much, one of their old loaners. It’d been parked up a few months, but it hadn’t taken much to get it back on the road. A new set of tires and a good service and she was good to go.

Now he just had to get Shay to agree to take it. He didn’t know her that well, but from what he’d seen, and despite what she said about herself, she was independent and self-sufficient. She was working three jobs with her graphic design stuff thrown in the mix, and he doubted she’d just happily take the car from him without a fight. He’d have to get creative to get her to agree.

He locked the car and shoved the keys into his pocket. As much as he wanted to stay tucked away back here behind the garage, he was shit out of luck. He’d been there since 5:00 a.m.,
after tossing and turning all damn night. Joe either hadn’t heard him arrive from his apartment above the garage or was ignoring him, because he hadn’t seen his brother. Either way worked for Hugh. But his reprieve was over. Adam had arrived a short time ago and had opened the front doors.

Hugh headed around the side of the building and in through the front. His friend gave him a chin lift when he walked in then turned back to the car he was working on. Adam didn’t ask about the Honda or why Hugh was working on it. Thank Christ. No way did he want to answer those questions, not after last night. He doubted they’d even know it was missing once he took it. He scanned the room; his brother was nowhere to be seen.

“Where’s Joe?”

Adam shrugged. “No idea. Wasn’t here when I opened up.” His friend rubbed his whiskered jaw, stared at Hugh for several seconds. “Look…” He threw up his hands. “I
may
have overreacted a teeny bit last night. I know you, more than anyone, have busted your balls to get outta this shit. I just don’t want any of us to be sitting behind bars before we finally are.”

They’d been friends since high school. Were boosting cars together when they were teenagers, low on cash—and in Hugh’s case, with a family to feed and mortgage payments to make. The guy didn’t need to be caught up in this. He could have walked away, but the crazy son-of-a-bitch had signed up to help without batting an eyelid. They were like brothers, and he hadn’t hesitated to help his brother out of a bind.

Hugh often wondered how many times Adam regretted that decision, especially after the stupid shit Hugh had pulled last night. “You and me both.” He rubbed the back of his neck. “And you weren’t overreacting.”

Adam grinned. “Tell me you at least got laid after all that.”

Hugh gave him a flat stare.

His friend clapped him on the shoulder and chuckled. “Struck out, huh? And here I was last night with one to spare.”

Shaking his head, Hugh punched Adam in the shoulder. “Dick.”

“It certainly got a workout with the two I had in my bed.”

“Jesus, you’re an asshole.”

“Got some of that action, too.”

“How the hell do you get all these women to trail around after you? Can’t be your winning personality.” Women flocked to the guy. Hugh doubted Adam spent many nights alone. Though, Hugh knew that was the point, what drove him out to the clubs and bars every night in the first place. The guy had his own demons to deal with. Now, thanks to Hugh’s old man and Hugh’s failure to protect his family from the waste of space, Adam had taken on theirs, as well.

“And that, my friend, is why you spent your night alone, while I had a couple honeys in my bed, begging to fulfill all my dirty fantasies.” He shrugged. “It’s a gift.”

“You must be running low by now. How many dirty fantasies can one man have?”

Adam chuckled. “There are infinite possibilities.”

Hugh opened his mouth to answer when a car drove in. Al’s car. “Shit.”

A week had come and gone since Don gave them Al’s ultimatum. It had only been a matter of time before the old bastard decided to pay them a visit. Don jumped out and opened the back door. Al climbed out, looking skinny, pale and kinda frail. Hugh glanced at Adam, seeing the same thought running through his friend’s head.