Corbin (The Theriot Family 2)

I huffed. No wonder he got along with Beau. They both thought they were so much better than me. What was wrong with having a little fun?

Losing your license?

That wasn’t really going to happen, though, was it? Not with the connections we had.

I hopped on my bike and took off, tearing through the streets of Metairie to the sounds of honks and shouts. I was flipped off so many times I lost count as I headed out of town and into the backwoods where no one gave a fuck how fast I drove.

An hour later, I came home feeling exhilarated, even if I’d thought several times about how awesome it would be to ride behind Beau with my arms wrapped around him. The asshole would probably refuse to take me since he wanted to treat me like a fucking child.

With that thought, the calm I’d achieved evaporated. Fucking Beau. He damn well better have Remington’s car ready.

When the time finally came, I stepped into Beau’s shop, trying to radiate confidence when inside I was a mix of anger, fear, and desire—not a good combination, and one I’d never admit to.

Beau was once again at the counter. Did he ever actually work on the cars? The grease on his hands and the stains on his coveralls said yes, but it satisfied me to imagine him pushing the work off on everyone else. Maybe he wasn’t really as good as Remington thought.

I might wish that, but I knew it wasn’t the case. I was sure Beau had done the work on Remy’s SUV himself, and it was fucking impressive. I didn’t have to know much about engines to know that.

Beau glanced up when I entered, then went back to what he was doing.

I did not like being ignored. “I hope you have my brother’s car ready.”

“Or what?”

I glared at him, hating that I had no good comeback. “You need to show me more respect.”

He looked up at me then, his expression thunderous. “Respect needs to be earned. Your father has my respect. Your older brother has my respect. You haven’t proven yourself yet.”

“And you have? What have you done that—”

“The car is ready.” He tossed me the keys, and I barely managed to catch them before they hit me in the face.

“Head outside, turn right around the side of the building, and you’ll see it.”

“You’re not going to bring it around for me?”

He rolled his eyes. “I’m busy.”

“You have other people working here, so you could—”

“It’s been a long day. I made time in my schedule to get Remington’s car finished. Take it and get out of here.”

“You can’t talk to me like that.”

He looked me up and down, and I hated the way it made my body heat. “And you can’t come into my business and tell me what to do or how to run things. Now, if you don’t want me calling Remington to let him know I refuse to deal with you anymore, you need to leave.”

I stared at him. “Did you really just threaten to tell my brother on me?”

“When kids act up, somebody has to discipline them.”

He looked up at me again, his eyes seeing far too deep into me, and I hated the way I immediately thought of him being the one to discipline me. I hated him for making me feel small and for pointing out how I didn’t control things myself. He was right, but it was hardly my fault. No one else in my family would give me a chance. I was sick and tired of everybody treating me like I was a child. I had a feeling Beau wasn’t bluffing, and if he called Remy, anything I might’ve gained by getting Remy’s car and bringing it to him on time would be lost. Without another word, I turned and walked out.

Four

Beau

“Hey, Beau!” Leland, my youngest employee, came jogging toward me from the building in the back where we kept the special vehicles we were working on.

I didn’t like the way the color had drained from his face. I really didn’t need more trouble today.

“What’s up?”

“You know the car that just came in?” His voice shook, and he looked ready to pass out. This was bad.

“The one Marley sent yesterday morning?” Marley had assured me he had no idea about any note. I wasn’t convinced, but I also wasn’t ready to cut off our association.

“Yeah, that one.”

“What’s wrong with it? Marley said it was in pretty good shape.”

Leland shuffled from one foot to the other. “Well, it is. I mean the engine is and the inside is gorgeous. It’s what’s in the trunk that’s the problem.”

The hair on the back of my neck rose. “What do you mean?”

“There’s a… um… body, and it’s…” He put his hand over his mouth and swallowed hard. “It’s been there a while.”