Page 15 of Old Flame

“I don’t know,” I said reluctantly. Guilt at leaving Momma behind sank in.

He stuck a cigarette between his lips and lit it up, then took a long pull from it before looking back at me. “I’m opening up a bike shop there. Need someone to run it since I’ll be going back and forth between the two. Got this young girl here—hell, she’s too young for me, but she’s legal,” he said. “Anyway, she’s in college and can’t move, not that I’d ask her to. Still trying to decide if I want to deal with her drama and shit, but, damn, that cunt is fucking tight.” He took the cigarette out of his mouth and shook his head. “You don’t know it yet, but the older you get, the looser the cunts get. Makes putting up with college-girl bullshit worth it when they spread their legs for you.”

Yeah, I’d seen the girls Brick had dated over the past year. They were all about my age. One had flirted with me, and I was uncomfortable. The man could be scary, and I didn’t want on his bad side. He noticed, and right in front of her, he informed me I was welcome to tap that ass, that she was real good about pulling her skirt up and offering up her slick pussy. She was pissed and stormed out while he cackled, watching her. I hadn’t seen that one again.

“Can I think about it?” I asked him, not wanting to turn down Miami and the opportunity, but that nagging guilt about Mom was there.

“Yep. It’ll be a while still before I can get it ready to open up. Bought the building and equipment, but there is a shit ton more I gotta get done.”

Good. I had time.

Brick’s gaze shifted to look out the open garage door, and a slow, appreciative smile spread across his face as he took his cigarette out of his mouth. “Can I help you, sweetheart?” he asked in the drawl I’d only heard him use on attractive women.

Grabbing my work cloth, I started to wipe my hands, then glanced back to see who had him turning on the charm. If you could call it that.

The cornflower-blue eyes, however, looking back at me wasn’t what I’d expected. I tossed the cloth down and started toward Salem.

What the fuck was she doing here? Where was my mom?

The tip of her pink tongue came out and licked her lips as she shuffled her feet nervously. She looked like a scared kitten, ready to bolt.

“Salem?” I asked as I reached her. “What are you doing?” I scanned the parking lot for my mom’s car, but saw nothing.

“I, uh, I was wondering if you could give me a ride home, uh, to your mom’s,” she stammered.

I studied her closer. Looking past those incredible eyes and full lips. Which was fucking hard to do. But I managed. She was scared and not of Brick. Her body was trembling, I realized. What the hell had happened? I scanned the parking lot again, trying to find a reason for her to be acting so odd, but it was still empty.

“How did you get here?” My question sounded more like a demand.

When she winced, I felt like a dick. I hadn’t meant to bark at her, but I wasn’t handling the fact that she was all skittish well. Someone or something had caused it. If it was a someone, I wanted a name.

“I, uh, walked,” she said, her voice barely above a whisper.

“Where did you walk from?” I tried to soften my tone this time.

She licked those damn lips again, and I struggled not to stare at them. She’d turned sixteen last week, but that didn’t matter much. Sixteen was still too young.

“School,” she replied.

School? It was six thirty. School had let out over three hours ago. Sure, she’d walked, but it was two miles from here. She could have crawled here in less time.

“Salem, why are you walking here from school at this time? And why are you fucking trembling?” I was getting impatient for answers.

She took in a deep breath and glanced behind me to where Brick stood. Was he making her nervous? Yeah, he looked rough, but most females thought he was attractive. The college girls who came here to see him were hot.

“Um,” she said, then dropped her eyes to stare at the ground. “My uncle came to school today,” she whispered. “My dad’s brother. He, uh, was sitting in the parking lot when I went outside. I saw him get out of his car, and…and I panicked. So”—she swallowed hard—“I ran and hid under the bleachers in thegym until the janitor found me and made me leave before he locked up.”

Okay, why wasn’t my mother worried about her, and what the fuck had her uncle done to her to cause her to hide for that long? I had a lot of questions, but she didn’t seem to want to tell me with Brick here. I’d get details later. I did know Mom had said she had been in an abusive home, but that was all I knew.

“Why isn’t Mom looking for you?” I asked, needing to at least know that.

If she was out, panicking, then I would have to find her.

“She had a teachers meeting after school, and then she was going to Zumba class, then to get groceries. I was supposed to get a ride to her house with Spencer.”

Who the fuck was Spencer? She just had a fucking lineup of guys, it seemed. First the dickhead who had come over for dinner, then she had gone on a date the night of her birthday with a Michael, and now there was a Spencer. And why the fuck hadn’t Spencer gone to look for her?

I turned back to see Brick watching us with interest. God, he was a perv. She was sixteen. Not college-aged. He needed to take his thirty-year-old eyes off her. But then I struggled to do that, too, so could I blame him? Yes. He was fucking old.

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