“Now I’ve been banned from the place when she’s dancing, and she refuses to quit. What am I supposed to do? I try to get in there again and they’re not going to be so forgiving this time.” Nick rubbed the back of his head gingerly; Sean guessed it was probably where one of the bouncers had driven that point home.
Not for the first time, Sean was infinitely glad he only had brothers. Men were so much simpler. Growing up in a family of seven boys ensured they all learned how to take care of themselves, but even then, they stuck up for one another when they could. Because that’s what family did.
But they were guys. Holy hell, he could only imagine what it would have been like if they had a little sister! Sean’s protective instinct kicked in in a big way. At least that’s how he rationalized the next words out of his mouth.
“Want me to head up there, check it out?”
Nick looked at him suspiciously. “You’d do that? Why?”
Sean shrugged. He had no clue. Maybe he was bored. Maybe his life was just too tranquil. Maybe he had some kind of shining knight complex. Whatever. All he knew was he had to do something and he didn’t want to analyze it, because that ominous foreboding was back again, more powerful than ever.
“Because you’re the best mechanic I’ve got and I need your mind on the job.”
Yeah, he’d go with that. It sounded both reasonable and believable, and held some small measure of truth. It was enough that he knew that whatever was driving his actions had nothing to do with common sense.
Apparently Nick wasn’t buying it completely either. Something passed through Nick’s eyes then, something dark and wild. Sean could tell he didn’t trust him; the kid was looking for some angle, some bennie. Sean supposed he’d better give him one or the kid would end up running up there himself and getting himself killed.
It was a shame Nick couldn’t accept the fact that sometimes people helped each other out with no ulterior motive. Something in Sean’s subconscious whispered that the kid was right, but he shushed that inner voice.
“Besides, if your sister’s as good with engines as you say she is, maybe she can help with the overload for a while.” Fuck. His own words numbed him; he couldn’t believe he was actually saying them. If he hadn’t heard his own voice, hadn’t seen the reaction of the kid sitting across from him, he would have thought he had a minor brain bleed and hallucinated the whole thing.
“Christ, you mean that?” Nick asked cautiously, excitement beginning to overshadow the darkness. For just a few moments, Sean saw a hint of the real Nick underneath all the jaded, tough-guy. When Sean didn’t answer right away, he saw it all drain away just as quickly, the hardness returning with a vengeance.
“Yeah, right,” Nick laughed, but his eyes were colder than ever. “You had me there for a minute. Good one, boss.”
“No joke, man. Unless you’re yanking my chain about her.”
“Fuck, no!” Nick said, shaking his head. “That bike of hers? She built it, custom, from the ground up.”
“I don’t believe it.” If that were true, then the girl really was better than anyone he had working for him, present company excluded. Sean’s interest went nuclear.
This time Nick’s smile was genuine. It transformed his entire face. “No shit, boss.”
“Then I want her.” In more ways than one.
Nick’s smile faded a little. “What?” Sean asked, feigning innocence as he took another pull on the longneck. Surely the kid didn’t read minds.
“It’s just... well, it might be hard to convince Nicki that you’re serious. Most guys, they don’t take her seriously because she’s a girl. They’re just interested in ...” His eyes narrowed suspiciously. Man, the kid had eyes like ice.
Sean let his own eyes harden. Gray ice against blue. And Sean was a lot better at it. “Do you seriously think I’d put a woman in my garage to get into her pants?”
“You wouldn’t be the first.” Nick stared hard for another long moment, then dropped his eyes. “No, I don’t think you’d do that.” Nick said, blowing out a breath. “But she’s my sister,” he added, as if that explained everything.
It explained enough. Sean relaxed a little, feeling only a very small twinge of guilt. In their brief encounter earlier, the woman had really gotten under his skin, and it was starting to piss him off. He was saying and doing things that he normally wouldn’t, and the lack of tight control didn’t sit well with him.
“Good mechanics are a lot harder to find than a good lay, kid.”
Nick nodded. That apparently made more sense to him than the possibility that Sean just wanted to help. “True enough. Think you could come by my place tomorrow, around four maybe? She’ll never believe me if I tell her myself.”
“Sure.” Sean checked his watch. “But I’ve got to get my ass over to Angels if you still want me to check in on her. What time is she on?”
“Around midnight tonight, I think. Hey, boss.... Thanks.”
Sean nodded as he finished his beer, wondering once again what the hell he’d gotten himself into even as the tingle of anticipation of seeing her again started spreading through his veins.
Chapter Three