Page 1 of Purr For Me
Chapter One
“You’ve got to be kidding.” Lexie glared at her best friend Tom Lorde as she sat on the other side of his desk in the office of Bad Boy Autos. “I can’t believe you’re doing this to me.”
Tom’s returning stare was just as direct. “I’m not doing anything to you. You’re the best restorer of Italian motorcars here, and that’s what this job needs. Besides, Sully is all over this. Do you really think I’d leave you facing this alone? Sully has your back.”
Stay cool, don’t get angry.
The private investigator she wanted to hire to find her husband—soon-to-be ex-husband, if she could find Jason—cost more than she ever imagined, and Bad Boy Autos paid the most. She needed this job. Besides, Tom had promised to help her find her ex.
Time was running out. If she didn’t find him, and soon, she’d lose… She refused to go there. The very idea made the locket hanging against the bare skin of her neck feel as if it burned.
Lexie lowered her voice to an ominous timber. “That’s not what I’m talking about. Kade Colter, Tom.Kade. He’s my ex-husband’s brother. You know, my cokehead husband who cheated on me, abused me, and stole all my money and worse,” she took a deep breath, trying to keeping the pain at bay, “he secretly mortgaged my cabin and now I might lose it.” Tears filled her eyes.
Nine months ago she’d walked out of her marriage when she’d caught her husband, Jason, in bed with a track bunny. He’d already sold their car and spent the money on drugs, but she’d had no idea that he’d taken a mortgage out on her cabin by forging her signature. He’d changed the address for the correspondence and she’d only learned about it when the person who owned the neighboring cabin rang her to ask if he could buy it. He’d seen the mortgagee sale sign. She had less than three weeks to find the money or she’d lose the cabin. She knew looking for Jason was a waste of time. He’d likely have sniffed the money up his nose, but she would have her divorce and she also might bring charges against him.
Guilt and remorse flickered in Tom’s blue eyes before his expression hardened. “I know Jason was a real bastard to you, but Kade always treated you decent, right? They’re so different, I can’t believe they have the same parents. Besides, a few months ago we turned his business away for you. We can’t do it again. Kade could really damage our reputation if he lets everyone know. Never piss off a freelance journalist, especially when he’s also a hotshotNew York Timesauthor. He’s the Rick Castle of the racing car world. He’s rich and he mixes in the right circles to destroy us.”
Sometimes, Tom could be a real hard-ass. There was no point in wasting her breath with her boss, but she didn’t have to pretend to like it. She rose and left the office without another word.
“Lexie! Come back here!”
Ignoring Tom, Lexie headed for the bay she shared with Jake Sullivan, aka, Sully. Since he was working on a vintage Indian motorcycle that week, there was plenty of room for the sports car currently parked in the bay—with Kade bloody Colter, leaning against a seen-better-days 1962 Alfa Romeo Spider. The quintessential sports car was a wreck, but it was a pure diamond in the rough.
She caught a quick breath at the sight of Kade before turning her attention to the lone Alfa. It sat there, looking forlorn with its faded and chipped racing red paint. A few scratches ran down the door on the side facing her. They reminded Lexie of the deep wounds gouged in her heart.
She wanted to hug the car; it was damaged like her, but hell, with some tender loving care, it would blossom. She took a gulp of air and rubbed her chest. All it needed was a bit of love. Just like her.
No. Never again.
Love sucked. Like this battered car, she’d become bitter and broken and thrown away.
“Can this morning get any worse?” she softly said to herself through gritted teeth. As she took in the self-assured, handsome as sin Kade. Sweat dripped down her brow as the thermometer inched up to 92 degrees, her temper rising with the mercury.
What a beauty!
She raked her gaze over Kade. Yep, a real beauty. Damn it.
Kade grinned, all denim and swagger, smelling like a male model. Looking like a male model. Hot. She ground her teeth. Handsome wasn’t even his middle name. It should be his first—Handsome Colter. And how like him to own the one car her hands itched to work on.
She walked nearer, pushing her hair back off her face. All the better to see the car with—yeah, right? Her gaze shifted from the car to Kade’s dark, mesmerizing eyes. He stepped closer, and suddenly the air fled from her lungs. She caught her bottom lip between her teeth to distract him from seeing the pulse pounding hard in the hollow of her throat. Could he see?Dear God, please no.
Why had she married the wrong brother? Her life would have been completely different if she’d met Kade first.
She blamed him for making her think that. She’d made her bed and now she was both lying in it, and drowning. She did blame him for the time it took him to decide to help her find Jason. Nine months! It took the letter from the bank saying she was about to lose her property for him to decide perhaps he should share what he knew of his brother’s whereabouts. Only now it was too late. Neither of them could find him.
Now she blamed him for insisting she work on his car when she wanted to put the past behind her and pay off all the debts Jason had left her drowning in. She knew it wasn’t fair on Kade. Tom was right, he was a decent guy. But she’d asked him to help her find Jason, and he hadn’t been very forthcoming. He’d only agreed to help when he learned she could have Jason’s ass thrown in jail for fraud. Too little, too late. Was he hiding his brother because she could get him in trouble with the police? She couldn’t blame him for wanting to protect his brother. But it didn’t mean she had to like him for it.
“I brought you a present.” He nodded his head at the Alfa. “How d'you like to work on my car?” Kade’s sexy voice added to the headache building behind her eyes.
Placing her hands on her hips, she smiled. Rock and a hard place. Trapped. She could tell him to fuck off, but as her fingers trailed over the chassis, she admitted she wanted this job. Her eyes flashed to Kade. For the joy of restoring the car. Only the car.
A memory of the ATM swallowing her card this morning was all it took to remind her she couldn’t afford to lose this job.
Kade stepped closer, and he smelled delicious.
She should run, leave, but Kade’s brother had taken all her choices—taken everything, in fact. Money, house, and her pride. The other owner of Bad Boy Autos, Marcus Black, only needed one little reason to show her the door, and pissing off Kade was a big reason.
Her eyes narrowed as she took in Kade’s stance, leaning over the hood of the Alfa as if he owned this workshop, with a smug look on that handsome face.
