Page 2 of Purr For Me
When did she really ever have a choice?
“She’ll be amazing when I’ve finished with her.” Her stare dared him to disagree.
“I know,” he said as he pushed off the car. “Good—”
“So, what’s her story?” Lexie interrupted. The pleasantries were over. She wanted him gone. She started looking the car over. The hood was in the same sorry state as the passenger side. “Needs a complete new paint job but let’s see what’s under this battered hood. Keys.” She held her hand out to Kade.
He gave her a smile that brought back a lot of memories she wished could be excised from her brain. “You haven’t changed. Still beautiful when you’re pissed off.”
She looked at Kade. “I know you’re not to blame for your brother’s sins, but I can’t deal with you at the moment. I have more to worry about than upsetting Jason’s brother. So the keys, please.”
“I really don’t know where he is.”
She nodded. “So you’ve said. Keys. Please.”
The warmth in Kade’s eyes faded along with his smile. “Look, I know Jason—”
“You don’t know shit, Kade, and I’m not discussing anything except this car with you,” Lexie said.
Or perhaps not. She eyed Kade, and a risky idea swarmed like buzzing bees in her head. Could Kade lead her to Jason? He’d said he didn’t know where his brother was. Her eyes narrowed as she waited for him to hand her the keys. Was he lying? Was he protecting his brother?
Only her pride stopped her from asking Kade to cover the debts his brother had left her with. This was all her fault for being stupid and gullible, so she would fix it. She eyed him slyly. But it wouldn’t hurt to have a backup plan. If the worst should happen…
Kade slid his Ray-Bans back on and held out a key ring. She took it and went around to the driver’s side. As she slid into the driver’s seat, Lexie spotted Tom standing right behind where she’d just been. His eyes held a steely glint, and he’d crossed his arms over his chest. Their gazes clashed for a moment before she cranked the engine to life.
She smiled at the deep growl that met her ears, but a moment later, the motor coughed, sputtered, and died. Lexie found the release lever and popped the hood. Kade beat her to the punch and had the hood propped open before she’d shut the driver’s door.
“It’s a mess,” Kade said. “Which is why I had it towed here. Bad Boy Autos is the best at this work. Money’s no object.”
Tell that to someone who didn’t know where her next meal was coming from. Her bloody attorney had taken her last two hundred, just so he could tell her that getting any money out of Jason was pretty much a lost cause since he seemed to have fallen off the face of the earth. If only she could afford a P.I.
Her worthless ex took off and left her with debts she could never repay. He’d put the thing she cherished most in this world in jeopardy. She knew she would lose the cabin. She knew deep down inside that even if she found Jason in time, the money would be gone. It had been over nine months since he’d taken out the money, yet she only learned of it a week ago. Fraud was a word that struck like an ice dagger in her heart. He’d fraudulently signed her name on mortgage papers. Hidden his deceit really well by changing the address on the account.
Jason. Just his name made her stomach fill with acid. Handsome, confident, with a sexy-as-sin smile and money to burn, could turn any woman’s head. But unlike what she did with cars—i.e., check under the hood—Lexie was too young, too desperate for love, and too stupid to look below his surface.
She didn’t want to look under another Colter’s hood unless it had four wheels, so Kade could take that come-to-bed smile and try it on a woman stupider than her. But she wasn’t opposed to using him to get her property back.
She glanced back at Tom, who still stood watching her like a snake about to strike. Tom had warned her not to give Marcus cause to fire her. Marcus was not a fan of Lexie’s. It was Tom who’d hired her because they were best friends from their time working together on the racing circuit.
Marcus painted her with the same brush as Jason, because on the track, Jason had caused Marcus to crash, ending his racing career. Marcus still thought she’d been into the drugs scene too and didn’t trust her. Lexie had never touched drugs in her life. Her mother’s battle with addiction showed her where that could lead. When Jason started snorting, she’d stupidly thought she could help him because of her experience with her mother. She was so wrong…
She looked at Tom. She knew Tom was between a rock and a hard place with Marcus and her. Marcus was also Tom’s best friend. Tom had not left Marcus’s side while he lay in hospital fighting to walk again. Tom stuck his neck out for her so she would do her job.
Besides, she needed this job. Needed the money.
She reached up and fondled the locket she wore round her neck and never took off. She didn’t need to open it to see the picture inside—she’d memorized it. A picture of her mother standing beside their cabin at Clear Lake. The cabin was the only thing her mother had left her, and now she might—would—lose it.
She squeezed the locket tighter, wishing she could beat Jason black and blue for fraudulently mortgaging the property.
She eyed Kade and knew she could call on him if she had to. But what would he want for the favor? To not press charges against Jason? She didn’t know if she could promise that, she was so angry at Jason for everything he’d put her through.
She would work with Kade. What was the saying? Keep your friends close, but your enemies closer? It wouldn’t be dangerous at all… Surely she was immune to men, especially if their last name was Colter?
She choked with the unfairness of it all. Rubbing her pounding forehead, she sighed.Suck it up!She only had to interact with the car. Not sex-on-legs Kade Colter.
Closing her eyes for a moment, Lexie called on the iron will that had helped her survive all the hell Jason had put her through. She wouldnotlet Jason win. No, giving up and crumbling wasn’t an option, wasn’t in her DNA.
Pulling in a fortifying breath, Lexie opened her eyes again and started examining the engine with a critical eye that many surgeons would’ve envied.
