Page 7 of The Protégé

The loud noise yanked me back to the present moment. With trembling hands, I pulled over to the curb. I’d hit a parked car.Shit.Now I’d probably owe a lot more from the damages to this luxury car.

Shame on you, Elena.

Trembling inside my car, I glanced around and waited for someone to come screaming at me, but no one did. I could just drive off. No one would know . . .

ButIknew. That act would forever live in the back of my mind, eating me up.

Karma catches up to you. You can’t escape it. Always do the right thing.

Mamá’swords rang in my ears. What if someone hit my car like that?

I inhaled a breath, got out, shut the door, and walked over to the beautiful black car I’d dented.

Shit.

Shit.

Shit.

If I thought my uncle’s debt was too much, I was wrong. The amount of money required to repair the damages to this beautiful car could make me homeless. This car lived in another world—a world I could never enter. A world I didn’t understand.

What had I gotten myself into?

My body quivered as anxiety slithered around me. I stared at the Bugatti La Voiture Noire, admiring the sleek design that demanded attention. It was magnetic, compelling, and legendary. How did I know about this car? I’d accompanied my best friend, Elliot, to the Geneva Car Show last year. He loved fashion, beauty products, and expensive cars. This one-of-a kind car had sold for about nineteen million dollars to some anonymous car freak.

If Batman had a big brother in a car form, this haute couture car would be it. A special edition like this shouldn’t be parked in the busy streets of Providence. It should be in a garage somewhere. It should have bodyguards all around it.

“Doesn’t look good.” An old man with short silver hair approached me. He took off his shades, studied the car, made a face, and shook his head. He wore shorts with frayed edges, a brown safari jacket over a green T-shirt, and sneakers, makinghim appear like he’d just stepped out of an Indiana Jones movie. “Did you do that, dear?”

“Unfortunately, yes.”

He glanced around, then shifted close to me. “There’s no one here. It’s gonna cost you. You should go. I won’t say a word. I swear.” He zipped his lips with his fingers and tucked the invisible key into one pocket on his vest.

His harmless gesture made me smile. “I can’t do that.”

“Why not?” He scrunched up his face, placing the sunglasses back on. “It’s gonna cost an arm and leg.”

“If this were my car, I’d want to know who dented it. Leaving would solve one issue for me, but I’d be thinking about it all night, wondering when the owner would find out and come after me. I wouldn’t be able to sleep.”

The man pursed his lips, nodding slowly as he looked at the damages with me.

Nausea rose, making me feel sick. “I’ll be in debt forever.”

“But it was an accident, right?” he asked.

I nodded. “I should’ve paid more attention to the road.”

“Rough day?” He studied me.

Who was this stranger who brought a little comfort to my horrible day? “The worst.”

He waved a hand. “It happens, dear.”

My body stiffened as I sensed a presence around me.

“Uh-oh,” said the old man. “I’m gonna take off. Good luck.” He walked across the street and disappeared behind parked cars.

I turned and faced a man who sent my nerves skyrocketing to another level. Every time I saw Orion Reimann, my legs wobbled. There was something extremely powerful about him. If there was a man who suited the car, it would be him.

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