Three months later
T
he three overhead garage doors at Beaumont Body Shop closed, and the remaining cars parked behind the building drove away. From the kitchen window, Jane Beaumont could see across the parking lot to her brother’s shop. She dumped the water from her glass and set it in the sink. A longing to join Garrett and the men who worked at the shop—wherever they were going—bubbled to the surface, surprising her.
She’d remained hidden in the house during the day since returning home. Brushing her hair behind her shoulder, she thought about her life before Scott as she leaned against the counter. It was difficult to slip back into a life that no longer seemed familiar. She wasn’t sure how her friends would react to the change in her now that she was no longer the overconfident girl they remembered.
Bluff, her ruffian gray cat she’d brought with her, rubbed against her ankles and meowed. She scooped the cat into her arms. “The boys are gone. We better go make ourselves useful, so we don’t overstay our welcome with Uncle Garrett.”
Her phone rang. She shifted Bluff to her other side and pulled the cell out of her back pocket.
Please don’t let it be him. Please don’t let it be him.
Jane was relieved to see the call was from Sabrina Wilcox, her best friend. She let it go to voicemail. Answering the call would mean she’d have to explain why she’d lied every time they talked on the phone. If she answered, Sabrina would figure out she was back in town, and she wasn’t ready to talk about it yet. Not until it was safe.
Still carrying the cat, she walked into her bedroom, picked up her purse, then headed out the backdoor. Bluff meowed, wanting down. “Maybe next week I’ll let you explore. You’re not ready for the outdoors yet.”
Used to being allowed to roam outside, Bluff sounded her displeasure. Jane hurried the rest of the distance, slipping through the front door of the garage. She locked it behind her and set Bluff on the floor. Her heart raced, and she leaned against the door. Hating herself for worrying, she tried to act normal, completely aware of how crazy it was that she was doing this to please a cat.
“Fine, go explore.” Bluff scampered off, then looked back at her and meowed before darting through the doorway into the shop. She squared her shoulders. It wasn’t fair to keep Bluff inside with her, but she promised the cat she’d keep her safe.
The aroma of grease, metal, and paint lingered in the air. A familiar smell she grew up with, since her dad once owned the garage her brother, Garrett, now ran. She’d spent hours in here playing, bothering her father, and being a brat. She flipped on the hallway light and headed toward the office.
Garrett had no need for a daytime secretary. Most of the jobs that came through the garage were billed through the customer’s insurance company or paid in full upon completion. The honor system on which her dad built the business worked well.
One hundred percent satisfaction guaranteed, and the boys from Beaumont Body Shop—her brother, Lance McCray, Tony Weston, and Kage Archer—were the best on the West Coast. Their awards, plastered all over the shop, were proof.
She unhooked the coveralls from the lockers lining the hallway. Doing laundry wasn’t part of her job description, but since she was here, she might as well do it.
Kage’s compartment had been left open, and she stopped. If she opened the other lockers, she’d find girly calendars, pictures of their polished cars, and half-eaten moldy sandwiches.
Not Kage. He had only one thing taped to the inside of his door. An old photo, curled at the edges, of a stretch of blacktop with a line going down the middle. She’d noticed it the other night, but no matter how many times she thought about it, she couldn’t figure out its significance. She walked away and headed to the office.
Two steps into the cluttered space, she tossed the coveralls onto the chair and stopped. Her skin tingled. Something was wrong.
Why is the light on?
Garrett always shut everything off before he left. Without another thought, she dropped the bundle of clothes, whirled around, and ran. Before she made more than a few feet, someone grabbed her.
“No!” She fought, hitting a solid body. “I’m not going back! Please, don’t make me go back!”
A male grunt propelled her into a panic. She reached behind her, blindly trying to pull hair. She kicked her feet, connecting with shins. Lifted higher, she slammed her head backward, unable to dislodge the strong arms circling her waist.
Her purse! She squirmed, trying to get her hand to her side. Her fingers curled around the cool metal of the pistol lying at the bottom between her hairbrush and makeup.
An arm came up and tightened across her chest, pinning her arms to her side. “Jane,” he grunted. “Look at me.”
She stilled, allowing her eyes to ease open as she recognized his voice.
“It’s me,” the man said.
She tilted her head toward him and looked into the gorgeous face of Kage Archer. His jaw hardened as he glared down at her. “Are you done fighting me?”
She nodded, letting the gun fall from her fingers and extracting her hand from her purse. “Let me down.”
“Explain why you were fighting me.” His hold remained tight, and his broad chest left her no wiggle room.
“You scared me. I thought I was alone.” She jerked, but he wasn’t letting go. “Have you ever heard of letting someone know you’re in the room? You’re worse than Garrett, always sneaking up on people and scaring them half to death. You should make a little noise when you walk.”
He inhaled deeply. “My job is about
not
announcing my arrival.”
Of course. All the guys who worked at the garage were private investigators who used the shop as their headquarters, preferring to detail and paint cars during their downtime.
“Now that we have that squared away, how about letting me go?” she said.
“Why do you come here at night instead of working during the day?”
“That’s none of your business.” She put all her strength into pulling away and felt his arms relax. He held onto her as her feet touched the ground again, letting her gain her balance. “Sheesh. Maybe I like solitude, and not putting up with your overbearing attitude.”
His face softened. “Janie…”
“It’s Jane.”
God, he was sexy. All the men who worked for her brother had reputations of being popular with the ladies. Seen together the four of them could cause an ovarian explosion. But Kage had it all.
Tall, broad shoulders, strong forearms, and a quiet presence, he was her ideal of the perfect man. His hair was the perfect shade of midnight. He kept it too long and looking like he’d crawled out of bed, raked his hands through it, and said
screw it
. It was a good look. A look she couldn’t help watching out the window during the day when he was working, and she couldn’t sleep.
A habit she tried to break, because the last thing she needed in her life was a crush, and certainly not on someone she’d watched while growing up and who had told her in no uncertain terms years ago that he wasn’t interested in her.
Sexually numb the last eighteen months, she hated yet loved the way her stomach fluttered at the sight of him. Her heart raced, not out of fear but excitement, and her nipples constricted in pleasure.
She sat behind the desk, putting distance between herself and Kage. “Aren’t the boys somewhere waiting for you?”
He continued to stare. She opened the drawer, nervous from the way he was looking at her. It was intense, and hot. It confused her. He should have no reason to be suspicious of why she’d come home. Garrett had promised to keep her secret.
Yet Kage looked at her the way any woman would want a man to pay attention. She glanced at him again. He was still staring.
Only four years younger than Kage, she had always reacted this way around him. Despite the fear Scott sparked in her, Kage was the only man she felt safe around or attracted to. She often wondered if he was the reason Scott forbade her to be around her family. Because when Kage was near, she had a hard time hiding her feelings. Even at the start of her relationship with Scott, when she was supposed to be madly in love, she couldn’t help wanting to go home and visit because Kage always showed up to see her.
And yet she felt like they were running in opposite directions. He’d gone away to college when she started high school, and then she’d left to go to college when Garrett and his friends came home and decided to go into business together. After her dad retired, her brother and his partners kept the garage open—though even retired, they could never get Dad out of the garage.
During those years, she’d stayed away, because she was too ashamed of the life she had for herself. She thought she could handle Scott on her own. She thought she could get away. But Scott always caught her.
“Talk to me.” Kage leaned against the desk.
She shuffled through the stack of papers. “There’s nothing to say. I have work to do.”
It’d take a month to explain her life. She’d fallen helplessly in love with Scott four years ago. At first, because she fell for his charm, she ignored the questions about where Scott got his money when he didn’t seem to hold a normal job. His tongue was more silver than the necklace she wore around her neck. Later she kept her questions to herself, for fear of knowing the truth. Denial remained her best friend. Then, a year ago, everything changed. Her dad died of a heart attack. She made it back for the funeral, but Scott arrived the next day. She and Garrett argued. He’d wanted her to stay, but she wouldn’t allow Scott to bring trouble down on her brother.
The funeral was the worst day of her life. She forced herself to walk away from the one place she felt safe. Her chest ached remembering. One man gave her courage to set her plan in action, and she’d never forget.
When she’d walked out to her car to leave, Kage had pulled her aside and handed her a slip of paper with his cell phone number on it. No words, no lecture; he just gave her the paper. She’d shoved it in her pocket without thanking him. She still had the paper hidden inside her wallet, wrapped in a receipt from the grocery store where no one would find it.
He’d never know how many times she’d pulled that piece of paper out and thought about calling. She
wanted
to call. God only knew she should have.
“If you’ll excuse me, I have to get back to work.” She squeezed his arm and stepped over to power on the computer before glancing at Kage again. “I’m serious, Kage. I appreciate your concern, but I’m fine.”
“Have you eaten today?”
“Yeah.” She leaned over, hiding behind her hair.
“What?”
“I don’t know.” She rubbed her forehead. “A tuna sandwich at lunch, I think. Why don’t you go find Garrett and ask him if he’s eaten? He didn’t come in the house for lunch. Knowing him, he’s probably out grabbing dinner now. You could join him…maybe he’ll even foot the bill.”
His gaze hardened. “I’m not talking about Garrett. I’m talking about you. I want to make sure you’re taking care of yourself.”
“I’m not hungry. You shouldn’t worry so much. Now, really, Kage, I need to work and I work better in silence.” She softened her voice. “We’ll catch up later and—”
“Janie?” he growled out.
“Jane.” She rolled her eyes. “I’m not sixteen anymore. Nobody has called me that name since—”
His eyes warmed. “For someone who isn’t talking to me, you sure have a lot to say.”
“Fine. Silence starts now.” She pursed her lips.
“Good. It’ll be a nice quiet dinner for both of us,” he said. “Come on.”
She grabbed the mouse and clicked, willing the stupid computer to hurry up and load. “I need to work.”
“Bullshit.” He closed the space between them. “Let’s go. I’m buying you dinner and a drink.”
She pushed her rolling chair away from the desk, backing away from him, but he kept coming. She slapped his hand. “No, you’re not.”
“
Yes
, I am.” He widened his stance and pulled her out of the chair. “What’s happened to you? You’re not the Janie I remember.”
She rolled her eyes, then shook her head when he gave her a satisfied grin at seeing her reaction to his bossiness. But the woman who once laughed, joked, and had a stubborn streak to the point of being infuriating was gone.
“I’m serious, Kage. I have orders to input and bills to pay.” She planted her hands flat on his chest. His muscles hardened against her palms, and she curled her fingers before she caught herself reacting to him again and pushed. He didn’t move, but his gaze heated. Uh-oh.
“Please.” She let go of him, but he snapped his hands around her wrists and pulled her toward the door.
“How about we do that silence thing again, starting now?” He chuckled.
“I’m not going with you.” She dragged her feet. It wasn’t safe to go out in public when Scott could be out there looking for her. But it was apparent that when Kage wanted her to do something, she was going to do it. She gave it one more attempt at the front door. “I can’t go with you. What about Bluff?”
“Who?” He stopped.
“M-my cat. Bluff.” She lifted her shoulder. “She’s in the garage. I can’t leave her in there.”
“You’ve got a cat?” He spoke low, humor in his voice.
“Yeah. Not that it’s any of your business.” She pulled one hand away from him, but he only slid his fingers between the fingers of her other hand and kept her at his side. “She stays in the house with me. She’ll be scared all by herself.”
He kicked the door closed, reached into his front pocket, and pulled out a key. “Well, she’s got a night in the garage to explore. I’m sure she’ll love it.” He locked the door. “It’s about time both of you started living the way you’re meant to live.”
She stalled at his car, a classic Mustang, black, with enough chrome to deplete her bank account. She changed tactics. She swung around and put her hands on his hard stomach.
He looked down. “Get in the fucking car, Jane.”
She pushed him, which didn’t make him move, but felt good nonetheless. Finally, she got in the car. “God, you are such a jerk.”
He leaned over, extended her seat belt, and whispered in her ear. “You’ll eat, you’ll drink, and you’ll enjoy yourself. Watch, you’ll see.”