Until Arden

“Just send her over when she has a few minutes.”

When Janelle leaves, Talon leaves forward. “Still trying to boost that karma?”

“I can’t just be nice?” I guzzle down the rest of my beer, letting the cool brew slide down my throat before I slide the glass to the edge of the table.

“Of course you can, but in my experience, that’s never been your thing. You’re a much better cynic.”

To my surprise, the server I’d been watching earlier slowly approaches our table, twisting the ends of a loose segment of hair. I’m struck again by how goddamn good-looking she is. Her eyes are deep blue with a ring of gold flecks around the pupil, and her cheeks flush to a pale shade of pink. She’s the type of woman I have no business staring at, but I can’t take my eyes off her.

“Janelle said...” She trails off and sighs. “Look, I know Janelle told you about my car, but I don’t want to be a bother, so—”

Like hell I'm letting her walk away just like that.

“What is your car doing?” I barely get the question out before she moves away from the table.

“I don’t know. Acting possessed?” She freezes in place and slowly turns around with a pained expression.

Talon chuckles, which seems to make her even more uneasy. Turning back to me, she squares her shoulders. “The dash lit up like it was celebrating Christmas, and everything started cutting out when I pulled into the lot—brakes, steering, all that fun stuff.”

“How about I take a quick look before you decide to call a priest? My dad’s a mechanic and I’ve been working on cars most of my life. I really don’t mind.”

If Talon makes a smart remark right now, I will kick him in the kneecap.

“Yeah, that’s what Janelle said, but—” Her shoulders fall, and she stares up at the ceiling for a long moment. “I’m not fond of getting favors from strangers.”

Her glare doesn’t break for even a second, but there’s something about it that draws me in rather than pushing me away. Maybe it’s just my penchant for finding trouble.

I slide out of the booth and offer my hand. “Dash.”

“What kinda name is Dash?” Her eyes widen, and she presses her fingertips to her temple. “Sorry.”

Behind me, Talon isn’t even trying to cover his laughter.

“Well, it’s the kind you get saddled with while playing sports in middle school and keep using because you hate your real name.”

Finally, she accepts my hand, still looking dubious. “I’m Arden.”

Her hand is soft in mine, and I barely register the feeling of electricity running up my arm. My heart rate picks up, and I can hear the steady thrum moving through my head. “No worries. Let’s just take a look at this possessed vehicle of yours, because now you’ve sparked my curiosity.”

If only I could honestly say the only thing I’m curious about is the car.

As she leads me toward the front door, an undercurrent of perfume wafts off her, the scent slightly sweet and floral. I watch her for a minute before we step outside, and I realize that maybe I’m not the only one with a haunted past weighing down my steps.

I follow her to the back of the parking lot to a white Saturn SUV and ask her to pop the hood and try to turn over the engine. The hood lock releases, and I slip my fingers through the narrow opening, looking for the lever to release it. I hear a faint click when she turns the key, but the battery is definitely dead. I have a portable jumper in my truck, but if the engine wasn’t getting enough juice while running, unfortunately the battery probably isn’t the main issue.

Arden steps around the side of the car and stares at me, expectantly.

“I’m going to grab something from my truck. Give me a couple of minutes.”

She nods and leans against the fender, dropping her head forward. Her blonde hair falls from her ponytail around her face. I can see the exhaustion in her posture, but I’m beginning to think any news I can give her about the car won’t provide the relief she’s looking for.

I grab the charging unit from under the backseat of my F-250 and sprint back across the parking lot. Once I have it hooked up, I flip the switch, watching the readout on the multimeter for a few seconds before I ask her to turn the key again. The car struggles for a second, then turns over.

Arden’s eyes twinkle as she jumps out of the SUV with a slight grin on her lips, and my gut twists in knots, knowing I’m about to sour her mood again.