Page 13 of Purr For Me
Getting out, he pocketed his keys as he crossed the wet pavement. There was a break in the storms, but they expected the weather to turn nasty again later that afternoon. Sunshine peeked through sullen, gray clouds, turning the air muggy and making the asphalt steam as it heated under the sun’s rays.
Kade entered the office, since all the bay doors were closed, and was greeted by Marcus, who came over to the counter that divided the lobby from the rest of the room.
“Hi, Kade.”
“Marcus,” Kade responded. “I came to see how Lexie’s doing with the car.”
“She’s coming along with it. It’s just taking a while to find all the right parts.” He came around the counter. “I should thank you for giving us the job.”
“I wanted to give Lexie something she’d love working on. I feel bad about the shitty way Jason treated her. She always supported Jason, and he wouldn’t have been as successful without her. She didn’t deserve what he did to her,” Kade said.
“Your brother has a lot to answer for.”
Kade nodded. “I know Jason’s driving cost you your career. It cost Jason his, too. But I won’t apologize for Jason, he has to do that himself.”
Marcus’ jaw tightened. “If anyone can find him before he ends up in the gutter dead.”
Kade’s temper flared, but he didn’t comment on Marcus’ insensitive remark. “Is it okay if I go talk to Lexie? At Marcus’s nod, he left Marcus standing at the counter and walked through the open door to his right that led to the garage. Hard rock music blared, engines revved, and the sounds of many tools filled the huge space.
Along the way, he saw Tom and stopped to talk with him. “Hi. Sweet ride.” He chin-nodded at the neon-blue Mustang.
“Yeah. Needs some fine-tuning.”
“Do you have a few minutes to talk?”
Tom wiped his greasy hands on a rag. “Yeah, sure.”
“You know the Erickson family, right?”
Tom nodded. “Yep. Why?”
“I’m doing an article on them and I’m looking for some insights from other racers.”
“Okay. What do you want to know?”
Kade kept his tone conversational. “As a former competitor, what do you think of them?”
Growing pensive, Tom said, “A few people accused them of cheating, but I saw no proof of that. Marcus, neither. They could be pricks, but they’re talented. They’re also genius mechanics.”
None of this was news to Kade, but he didn’t let on. “What did people say they cheated at?”
“Illegal modifications to their cars, intimidation, that sort of stuff,” Tom replied. “But none of the officials ever found anything whenever they checked out their cars.”
“Intimidation? What kind?”
Tom closed the Mustang’s hood. “Well, I wouldn’t call it intimidation, really. More like screwing with other drivers’ minds before a race. You know, shaking them up. Nothing will make you lose a race quicker than losing your temper. Charlie and Jack are real good at pissing people off.”
“You ever buy any parts or anything through them?” His muscles tightened as he watched Tom closely.
There—he saw the flicker in his eyes.
“No.”
“Why not?”
Tom shrugged. “I heard a few rumors. I like to know my parts haven’t come off the back of a truck or that they’re not made with inferior metal or are illegal copies.”
“Are the rumors true?”
