Page 24 of Quickies

THE BRAT AND THE THREE MECHANICS

An entitled, pretty omega walks into a garage after hours…

On the other side of the run-down street, a large, bright rectangle shone like the light at the end of a long, dark tunnel. Fucking finally!

I parked my father’s convertible by the curb and eyed my surroundings. The car repair shop looked like a dump, but nobody else was open late on a Saturday. The garage door was raised, revealing an astounding number of gadgets and cranks and whatnot. Muted voices drifted from somewhere inside the dilapidated building.

I pulled the key out of the ignition and jumped over the damaged door and onto the sidewalk.

“Hello?”

No reply. My stomach tightened. If I couldn’t get the car fixed, I was in deep shit. Clenching my hands into fists, I took a few deep breaths. I had to keep it together for a while longer.

I peeked into the open garage. The voices seemed to be coming from an ajar door in the back.

“Hello!” I yelled.

They quieted. Did that mean they’d heard me?

I waited, looking around. The shelves were full of a variety of crap, but it seemed to follow some kind of order and was surprisingly clean. I had no idea what any of the things were. I did recognize a screwdriver—not that I had ever held one in my hand.

“Good evening, sweetheart. Got lost?”

I spun around and stood face to chest with a towering alpha in a stained, tatty tank top. He was built like a bull, with wide shoulders, bulging pecs, and boulders for biceps. I dragged my gaze up.

Oh my.

Thick beard, shaved skull, piercings in his nose and eyebrows. He looked like he’d just gotten out of prison.

“Can I help you with anything, beautiful?” he drawled.

As I gaped at the massive alpha, the raw scent of man filled my lungs. Warmth gathered in my underbelly, and my mouth watered.C’mon, snap out of it. You need this guy.

I put my hand on my waist and cocked my hip. “Hi. I assume you repair cars?”

For some reason, my words made him laugh. His twinkling eyes roamed my body from head to toe.

“We’re closed!” came a deep, distinctly annoyed voice from behind him.

I craned my neck to see the other mechanic who looked even bigger, which shouldn’t have been possible. He had a square jaw and cutting gray eyes and wore a vintage rock band T-shirt over his inhumanly powerful torso. I fluttered my fingers at him, giving him my sweetest smile, but he only scowled darker.Uh-oh.

“It’s eleven on a Saturday. We’re closed.”

Smiling wider, I gestured to the garage door. “That door’s open, the lights are on, and you’re here. Any reason why you can’t do your job?”

The first guy chuckled again. The other one was about to say something when a third man came through the door in the back.

“What do we have here?”

He was shorter than the others but beefy as hell, with a round stomach and thick thighs. His muscular arms were covered in tattoos, and he wore a backward baseball cap. Overall, he looked like he held the cars up with one arm while the other two fiddled with them.

“I’m a customer,” I announced.

“Who’s leaving,” the second alpha said.

“Is he?” The beefy one looked me up and down with a leery smile.

“My door is buckled and scratched,” I said. “I need it fixed by morning.”

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