Shane (Mallick Brothers 1)

“Give it to me,” I demanded, having very little patience for kid gloves.

“The starter was shot. The battery needs to be replaced. Spark plugs, brake pads, two hoses, and two bearings.”

“Christ,” I said, closing my eyes and running a hand through my hair. Granted, I was making decent money at Fee’s, but I knew enough about cars to know that the repairs were insane if you had to pay for labor. Parts cost dirt and I had always been lucky in the past to have someone do it all just for that. But that was my old life; this was my new one. I had to pay for labor. “Okay. What is absolutely necessary right now?”

Colton paused. “The starter and the brakes. The battery will go soon, but you probably have at least a week or so before you have to worry about that. The bearings will start getting loud. Until then, not a huge concern. The hoses and plugs can be done whenever.”

“Oh, good. Alright. Go ahead and fix the brakes and starter. When should I be by to pick it up?”

Again, there was another pause I didn’t know to be suspicious of. “Four.”

“Okay. And where is your shop?”

“King’s Repairs down on Madison.”

“Okay. Thanks. I’ll see you then.”

I hung up, changed into a white tee instead of the long-sleeve black tee, and slipped into dry shoes. Around three-thirty, a cab was out front my building and I had what little nest egg I had nestled in my purse as we headed in the direction of Madison.

King’s Repairs was a low, long blue metal building with three open drive-in doors and a small glass-enclosed office to the right side. I paid the cabbie and got out of the car, moving in the direction of the office. “Hey love,” a newly familiar voice called, no less sexy in person than it was over the phone. I turned back toward the open doors and found Colton King.

And, well, Fee was right. There really wasn’t one bad looking man in Navesink Bank.

Colton King was as tall as Shane but leaner, his strong-shouldered, narrow-waisted body looking very good in the grease stained white wifebeater and the blue jumpsuit he had on, the top part tied low around his hips, leaving his arms on display. His hair was dark, but not black like Shane’s and his face was all sharp angles. From far away, I couldn’t make out his eyes, but they looked dark.

“Colton?” I asked, turning and making my way toward him.

“Lea,” he said, inclining his chin at me.

“All done?” I asked, not offended when his eyes dropped for a brief once-over.

“Just about. One of my guys should be bringing it out in a minute.”

“Great,” I said, reaching for my wallet. “What do I owe you?”

When he didn’t answer, I looked back up to find him running a hand down the scruff on his face. “See, that’s the thing…”

I felt my brows draw together. “What’s the thing?”

He exhaled and dropped his hand, shrugging his shoulder. “It’s taken care of.”

“What’s taken care of?”

“The bill.”

“How is the bill taken care of? I just got here.”

“And you got it all fixed, not just the brakes and starter.”

“Alright, you’re going to have to explain this better.”

“See, I got a call this morning from an old buddy…” he started.

And right then, I knew. My mind flashed back to Shane saying he appreciated something as he hung up.

“Oh, for Christ’s sake. Shane did this?”

Colton’s face broke into a big grin, all white teeth and charm. “He said you would be pissed.” He paused, then went on, “If it is any consolation, it was fix your old POS or have him buy you a new ride.”

To that, I rolled my eyes. “Yeah, sure.”

“If you’re Shane’s, he’d want you in a safe ride.”

“I’m not anybody’s anything. Which is why you are going to let me pay for whatever you did to my car.”

“I can’t do that,” he said, shaking his head like he was apologetic, but the light in his dark brown eyes said he wasn’t.

“Sure you can. Shane won’t care.”

“Shane will come over here and flip shit,” he corrected. “I’ve been in enough fights with him to know I don’t want to be in any more. Accept the gift, love. It’s just some car repairs. Doesn’t make you any less independent. Besides, this way, you can drive it over there and give him some shit about doing something like this without asking first,” he added with a devilish little grin.

“You know what, Colton King? I like the way you think.”

Then, as if sensing my agreement of the transaction, my busted-up piece of shit car came pulling out of the door behind him. “Did you guys wash it too?” I asked, smiling a little.

“Vacuumed out the inside too. Figured if Shane was paying, might as well make it a good bill.”