Page 41 of Spark

“Please don't!” The teen pleaded, hands clenched. “He would kill me!”

Mia laughed, smacking his hands and giving him a shove. “Oh my God, calm down. Did he really say all that, though?”

Mac finally pulled out of the parking lot. The Challenger was louder than the McLaren. “Yeah!” he confirmed, noddingenthusiastically. “He pulled me aside after the boss called him in for a meeting.”

“Boss?” Mia asked, eyebrow rising.

“Yeah, and you know, he can't say no.”

She nodded, playing along. “Of course. What was the meeting about?”

“Man, who knows? He only tells important stuff to the heads, and I'm a long way from being at their pay grade.”

“Right, right. So, he sent you over?”

“Yeah! I was surprised; he usually doesn't let me do anything. But he said it was special, a secret mission!” Mac wiggled his eyebrows, going just above the speed limit.

“And you found me! Sorry to disappoint.” Mia laughed at being called a “special mission.”

“Not at all! When he told me it was you that I needed to give a ride to, I was so excited!”

“Really, why?”

“Because now I can tell you all about the cars I get to drive!” Mac was so excited, like a kid on Christmas.

“Yeah, for sure.” Mia smiled at him. The turn for the diner was slowly approaching. “Hey, don't pull into the lot. Flory will kill you if she sees you pull up. David, too.”

Mac laughed. “They don't scare me half as much as Aurelio. I'm dropping you off at the door.”

“Does he really scare you?” Her stomach did little flips at the reminder of how little she really knew him.

“Oh,” Mac said, frowning. “No, not really. He would never do anything to hurt me. He's the best!” His eyes lit up like he was talking about a big brother. “He has done so much for me over the last five years. It's kinda crazy.”

“Really?” Mia wanted to know more, needed to know more.

“Oh yeah, I was a starving kid on the streets when he found me.” His face darkened with painful memories. “My mom’s a drug addict; she never cared what happened to me.”

“Oh, Mac,” Mia breathed. “I'm sorry.”

“It's okay.” His easy smile came back. “Aurelio found me, a skinny little twelve-year-old, dumpster diving behind a fast food joint next to the garage he worked at. He bought me like ten burgers that day. I thought I was going to explode.” Mac chuckled. “He told me to come back the next day, and he would have a job for me.”

“Wow, that's amazing.” Mia’s heart filled as she pictured her muscle-bound man helping a little Mac.

“Yeah, and he did. He had me work for him, grabbing tools, cleaning cars, odd jobs around the garage until…” Mac swallowed hard.

“Until?” Mia prompted, silently praying he kept going. She needed to hear all of it. The puzzle that was Aurelio was slowly building in her mind.

“Boss came in unexpectedly one day, I guess,” he sighed, slowing the car as they approached an intersection. “Aurelio told me to hang out in the office and grab a snack, but I had been there for almost six months. I’d seen stuff and wanted to know what was going on.” Mac’s eyes were trained on the road, but Mia could tell he was lost in memories.

“I snuck back out and heard Boss yelling at Aurelio, threatening him. I saw my mom get beaten up by her dealer and boyfriends over the years. Aurelio was the first person to care about me at all, and I lost it. I grabbed a heavy wrench and swung at Boss, but Aurelio caught my arm. He gave me a look;he was so mad I thought it was over for me. Boss grabbed my neck, trying to pull me from Aurelio's grip, ordering one of the guys he brought to 'take care of him.’ Aurelio pulled me behind him, looked Boss in the face, and said, ‘Two years.’ Boss's face got this smile, but it wasn’t a normal smile. No, it was like a smile from a predator. He shook Aurelio's hand before eyeing me as he walked out.” Mac swallowed hard again. The diner was in sight, and Mia was internally begging for anything to slow the car down. She needed to know what happened next.

“Then what happened?” Mia quietly asked, fearful to break the trance Mac seemed to be in. His hands moved on autopilot as he navigated them to the diner’s parking lot; the neon sign above the little building was glaring.

“Nothing. He never said a word about it. Just let my arm go and walked away. He took off and didn't come back till the next day. When he pulled in, he handed me a bag of food and told me to wash the car.” Mac sighed heavily; there was more he knew, but he was done talking about it. “Well, we’re here!” The smile on his lips didn't quite reach his eyes.

“Yeah,” Mia said, frozen in her seat. “Thanks for everything.” She leaned over and wrapped him in a hug. The teen froze, then let himself melt into the hug. She gave him a peck on the cheek. Mac gasped as his face reddened. She winked, undid her buckle, and slid out of the car.

“Mia?” Mac called out the passenger window.

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