Page 10 of Dark Seduction

V peers over, a look of confusion mixed with adoration of the beautiful ride warring on his face. “None that I know of,” he replies. “Cars that look that good don’t need fixing, but, fuck she’s pretty.” He slides off his bike and stalks closer to the car, his hands hovering over its clean lines. The brilliant blue paint glitters like a blue lagoon beneath a starry sky.

“Damn good paint job. You should ask who did it, and hire them.”

V laughs and shakes his head. “Guys that paint like that don’t work in shops like ours.” He continues to stare at the mechanical work of art in front of us. “We couldn’t pay them a fraction of what they’re worth. This shop is limping along as it is. The kind of salary we’d have to throw at someone this good?” He scoffs. “It would break us.”

“Have a little hope, man. We’ve had this garage less than a year. Once you figure out your paint problem, it’ll turn around.”

“Fuck, I hope so,” he sighs. “You busy today, prospect?”

I shrug. “You tell me. Judge didn’t give me any marching orders.”

“Good,” V smiles and claps me on the shoulder. “I have a fuel line leak, a seized engine, and two more customers with cars making a funny noise on my to do list today. You can help me.”

V turns and stalks towards the door with me hot on his heels. At first glance, the shop appears empty, and there isn’t a single impact wrench or air compressors mixing with the heavy scent of motor oil and gasoline as we break through the threshold. Yet there’s another scent in the hair. One of jasmine and fresh summer rain. The scent of a particular woman who hasn’t left my mind.

“It can’t be,” I mutter under my breath.

Applause and cheers erupt from deep in the back of the garage, and V frowns. “What the fuck?”

I move toward the sound, V hot on my heels, and there at the back is every single fucker that works here, standing in a half circle with their backs to us, all of them clapping and hooting at something.

As we draw closer, I see her and that’s when I freeze.

It can’t be.

A woman stands before them, an exquisitely painted motorcycle behind her.. I blink once. Twice. Even a third time, and without a doubt I know it’s her. The woman I’ve been obsessing over. Same lean, toned body. Her dark hair is wrapped tightly in a top knot on her head. The profile of her face is the same from last night. I’d never seen her face without the mask, but I’d memorized everything I could see. The pert little tip of her nose. The roundness of her cheeks. A mask kind hides many things, but even the minute details are still there if you look hard enough.

“V?” I call back over my shoulder, my eyes trained on her. I can’t look away. It is her. Isn’t it?

It’s not until I spy her dragon tattoo peeking out from the hemline of her black shirt that I know I’m right. Confirmation that I’m not fucking crazy. It’s really her. She’s here. Did she come looking for us? For me?

She laughs, and casually touches Judge’s arm. A coiling pang of jealous stirring inside my belly at the simple gesture. “V!” I call out again, this time looking back at him. With a wave of his hand, he ignores me. Fucker.

If he doesn’t want to pay attention, fuck it. I sure as hell will. I have to know.

I move closer to the group, maneuvering myself to the front of the crowd, but keeping myself hidden. That’s when I hear her voice. Oh, it’s her. Same smell. Same profile. Same draw. The electricity running through my body is the same. It has to be her. She and Judge disappear into the back room then, and I pivot, nearly jogging over to V’s station. He’s under the car tugging on a wrench beneath it.

“How are you not losing your shit right now?” I bark at V whose attention is not on her, but back on the car on the rack .

“About this car? Trust me. I’m about to take a torch to this fucking harness bolt,” he growls back. “Hand that ten millimeter socket, will ya?”

Grabbing the socket from the open tool box next to me, I chuck it at him. It lands with a light thud against his chest before falling down his front and rolling away under the vehicle next to him.

“Dude, what the hell is your problem? Do you know how many of those fucking things I lose on a daily basis?”

“Fuck the socket. Do you know who’s in Judge’s office right now?”

He peers over and frowns before looking at me like I’ve lost my mind. “There’s no one there.”

“She’s in there,” I demand.

“She who?”

“Her, V. You know who I am talking about.”

He freezes mid tug on the wrench. “Burnt, we‘ve talked about this. That girl is long fucking gone. Stop looking for her. The last place she’d be is in this garage.”

The clack of heels from behind me sends me spinning like a top, nearly losing my balance in the process. The woman and Judge are walking right towards us.

---