Page 75 of Feint

Scrubbing the paint off the brushes, I struggled to hold back my tears. Was it so bad to just ask for things to get back to normal already? To stop flinching whenever I heard footsteps behind me? To stop looking over my shoulder again and again whenever I walked over to my car? Why was it taking so long for me to get over this? But as I cleaned brush after brush and set them on a rag to dry next to me, I knew why. Kordell had been all but completely absent since I’d been back. Hardly any calls or texts. He wasn’t even staying at my place, not even once since that night a few days after I was home. I felt abandoned by my boyfriend.

I looked behind me as I heard Dad call my name.

“Rosalie, got time to do one more vehicle tonight?”

He was walking next to a guy who wore an oversize shirt and baggier pants. He had jet-black hair, purple-rimmed shades, and a large gold chain hanging around his neck. His whole vibe and energy were just chill, so I flashed them a smile.

“Yeah, I’ve got time right now, actually!” I walked over to them.

Dad shook his hand and then walked upstairs and back into his office, closing the door. The music turned on. I knew hewould be here most of the night, lost in paperwork—his least favorite part of owning the shop. And Reece was nowhere in sight, so he must have gone home already.

I turned my attention back to the guy in front of me. “Hey, I’m Rosalie. What kind of vehicle do you have, and what were you thinking about getting done to it?”

He smelled like cheap cologne and weed, which must be why he was so relaxed-looking.

“Sup, baby. I’m Billy Crystal. I brought the SUV sitting over there. Need it to get a nice purple on it. You know the video gameSaints Row? The purple of their emblem, basically. Then, if that turns out, I’ll be comin’ back to get my detailed livery work done.”

His voice had a Southern drawl to it, and I wondered where he had come from because he was dressed like an LA local to the T.

I pulled out my phone to google the video game and got excited when I saw the shade of purple. “Ohhh! We can totally do that tonight!”

This was actually making me excited, something I’d thought I lost when it came to painting. I went about selecting colors to mix and doing a test batch to show Billy. And with his nod of approval, I sent him up to the loft and got to work on prepping and painting his SUV. And for the first time in a long time, I got lost in the strokes of the paint gun. My mind focused on the task at hand completely.

I wondered how the paint job would turn out. I’d mixed custom colors before, but not every trial was a success. And this was one client I did not want to disappoint. I knew a gang member when I saw them come into the custom shop at this point, and Billy Crystal was obviously a street name and not his real name. I raced up the stairs two at a time, nervous at what itwould be like, hanging out in the loft, being just the two of us. He looked up from his phone as I hit the landing, and I waved.

“No point in me standing around down there. It’ll be a little bit before it’s fully cured, so I hope you don’t mind company,” I rambled on as I walked over to the soda machine and grabbed one. Hearing the hiss of the can as I cracked it open, I walked over. “This seat taken?” I asked nervously, pointing at the other end of the couch he was sitting on.

He shook his head and offered me a smile.

I sat down on the worn couch next to Billy, taking a long sip of the cold soda. I sighed as the refreshing sensation trickled down my throat. I leaned back against the couch, just thinking about the car that was currently drying as Billy cleared his throat.

“Damn,girl, how’d you get those marks on your wrist? You a freak in the sheets or somethin’?” He motioned to the bruises on my wrists as he turned and looked at me with a chuckle.

I blushed at his question. I totally hadn’t even thought about trying to keep them covered. I touched one of the bruises. It was sore as I dragged my fingers softly over it. They still looked worse than they felt, but anytime I really sat here and studied them, my mind wandered back to that day.

I looked over at him and forced a smile on my face. “Oh no! These aren’t from anything like that.” A nervous giggle escaped my mouth as his head tilted in my direction.

“Well, shit, everything’s got a story.” He leaned in and examined them up close, and I shifted in my seat uncomfortably.

“Umm… well, it’s kinda a long story. I don’t want to bore you with the details.” I tried to brush it off, but inside, I was silently screaming to talk about it again.

He leaned back on his side of the couch, waving his right hand at me. He pulled out a small baggie with a brownie in it. “We’ve got time. It’s going to take, what… another hour you saidfor the paint to dry? So, go ahead.” He picked a piece of the brownie off and tossed it into his mouth, taking his time to chew it as his eyes looked over at me.

I took a deep breath. Was I really ready to talk about my pent-up feelings I had about that day? And to a stranger, of all people? But his eyes were kind, and he’d said we had time, which was true. No one else was scheduled for today, and my body felt like it would implode if I held this all in for much longer. And maybe it felt a little safer, telling a stranger who didn’t know me or anyone involved.

“I was abducted!” The words tumbled out, my heart beating fast as I spoke.

I paused and glanced over at Billy. That had caught his attention. He froze midway, putting away his brownie into his pocket, to look back up at me.

I kept talking, the words pouring from my mouth. It was like a dam had broken and until it had flooded everything in its path, it wouldn't stop.

“It was almost a couple of weeks ago. I was leaving work after working on a new client’s bike, and he cornered me next to my car. When I tried to fight him, he hit me so hard that it knocked me out.” I closed my eyes, reliving the rough feeling of his callous hands gripping my arms and then slapping me hard across my face. I flinched from the memory. “When I woke up, I was gagged and tied in the back of a van. He drove for so long that I didn’t know where we were, except there was no way we were in LA anymore. And when he took me out of the van and into a small house, I was so scared.”

I sniffed. I could almost feel the cold steel floor beneath me again, by thinking about it. Tears welled up in the corners of my eyes, ready to spill down my cheeks at any moment.

He reached into a back pocket and leaned forward, grabbing my hand with his, pulling my attention to the warmth. I glanced down. He placed a purple bandanna in my palm.

“Take all the time you need, girl,” he said soothingly as I clenched it and brought it up to my face.

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