Page 35 of Feels Like Home

“I can’t stop someone from blushing at me,” he said. “But I can guarantee you won’t see me batting my eyelashes at anyone but my mate.”

“I was just shocked to see him! Those were rapid blinks, not batting lashes.” Before Jace dug a deeper hole, he jumped out of the truck and closed the door. Then he tapped on the passenger window.

Ian lowered it.

“I’m sorry. In high school, I had a crush on him. I had a knee-jerk reaction to seeing him again.”

Ian rolled up the window.

“I should’ve just stayed a mute,” Jace grumbled while he walked to his car, careful not to look in Reggie’s direction. How in the hell had the tables turned on him? He was supposed to be pissed at Ian, not the other way around.

Jace swung open the driver’s door, only to be met with a putrid stench that made him dry heave. He doubled over and vomited, desperately trying to rid his nose and mouth of the foul odor.

“Goddamn!” Ian pressed the back of his hand against his nose when he appeared behind Jace. “It smells like something died in your car.”

“Oh, god.” Jace gagged again then spit out bile. “The smell is living in my lungs now.”

Ian yanked him around the car, his hand still pressed to his nose. “Did you leave something in there when you got to work this morning?”

Jace sat on the curb on the passenger side of Ian’s truck. He couldn’t stop gagging. “No.”

“I see the problem,” Reggie said from somewhere near Jace’s trunk. “There are three medium-sized fish on your backseat. In this heat, you should’ve refrigerated them right away.”

“It’s not mine,” Jace said low enough that only Ian heard him. “I’m not a fan of any seafood other than shrimp.”

Ian grabbed Jace’s hand and pulled him to his feet, leading him inside the gym. They walked straight to Zeke’s office, and then Ian knocked.

A moment later, Zeke opened the door. He wrinkled his nose. “What is that god-awful smell?”

“Fish baking in the sun.” Ian told Zeke what they’d found. “Tell me you have exterior cameras.”

“I do, but they’re focused on the back parking lot and the front entrance,” Zeke said.

“They don’t cover the parking spaces out front?” Ian asked.

“No, because those aren’t designated for gym use.”

“Thanks,” Ian said. “I’m going to check the other businesses to see if their cameras caught anything.”

The only buildings near the gym were the auto repair shop and the pizza place. The pizza joint had been closed for more than a month after the owner passed away while cooking in the kitchen. The pizza in the unattended oven caused a fire, and the sole employee had been out on deliveries during the incident.

Jace doubted that the security cameras were still functioning, but hopefully they had some luck at the repair shop.

Twenty minutes later, that hoped was dashed. Not only had the head mechanic refused to let Jace and Ian get near the office, but he’d also told them that their cameras only focused on the shop and the parking lot on the side of their building.

The parking lot facing the opposite direction of the gym.

That meant Jace had no idea who’d put the fish in his car. His money was on Owen. It just sucked that he couldn’t prove it.

“I’m honestly not sure even having your car professionally cleaned will get that smell out,” Ian said as they walked back to the gym. “We could try, though.”

“I can’t afford it.” Jace wanted to kill whoever had done such a rotten thing. If it was just a prank by some kids, they had no idea the impact it had on Jace and his family. His car was their only means of transportation. There was no way he could drive around with that stench. It would make him constantly vomit, and the smell would be impossible to get rid of, clinging to him wherever he went.

If it was Owen, he was not only an asshole but the world’s biggest sleazebag. Jace couldn’t come up with a vile enough insult to accurately describe Owen’s despicable character.

“Can you use your mom’s or grandma’s car?”

“They don’t have one,” Jace said. “That’s why I’m always making store runs.”

---