What the hell was wrong with him? Jesus, he’d messed up, let her get in the way…again. He had to deliver a Porsche Tuesday. A car he now didn’t have.
He turned back, fists clenched, pissed, frustrated, and more turned on than he could ever remember being in his life.
But she was already gone.
Chapter Four
Darcey pulled up outside Colton Auto Repairs and started in, chewing her lip.
This had to be the worst idea in history, but what the hell else could she do? Because of her, Joe had missed out on the Porsche yesterday. She’d messed up, again. In trying to help him, she’d actually made things twice as bad as they already were. If he missed his delivery date, Al would add another month, at least, as interest.
She couldn’t allow that to happen.
The garage was locked up for the night, but a light was on in the apartment upstairs. Joe was home, but she could guarantee he’d be heading back out soon.
Come on, Darcey, you don’t have the luxury of being a giant chicken.
It was now or never. Her heart kicked behind her ribs, pounding like crazy in her chest.
Shoving her door open, she climbed out. Her hands shook, so she slid them into the pockets of her jacket and strode across the street, shoring up her defenses with every step. She could do this. She had to do this. She had to make this right.
Then she was at the bottom of the stairs to his place.
She climbed them before she could change her mind and knocked.
And wanted to run in the other direction instantly.
A bang came from inside, followed by a thump, then the sound of heavy footfalls heading toward the door.
“Shit,” the word tumbled past her lips on a shaky breath.
She ignored the urge to turn and bolt, and straightened her spine, planting her feet as the door opened. Joe filled the space a second later. And good-freaking-God, he was shirtless…and sweaty, and wearing nothing but a pair of shorts.
He jolted when he laid eyes on her, like she’d fired and landed a cheap shot to one of those seriously broad shoulders.
He narrowed his eyes. “What the fuck?”
She held up her hands, and it was a struggle, but she didn’t let her gaze drop back down to his glistening abs or his sexy pecks dusted in dark hair—hair that led to the happiest of happy trails and dragged your gaze all the way down to the waistband of his shorts. She cleared her throat. She needed to stop ogling and tell him why she was there before he kicked her ass to the curb.
“I know this seems weird, but I don’t have time to explain. Get dressed. You need to come with me.”
His brows went from being hiked high to dropping way low. “Al?”
“No.”
“Talk,” he said in a way that made her nipples tighten.
She held his hard stare. “You want the Porsche, right?”
He straightened. “You know where it is?”
“Yes, but I don’t know how long it’ll be there. We need to go. Now.”
His frown deepened. “I don’t trust you, sweetheart. Not one fucking bit.”
She shrugged, hating the way that stung. She had no right to feel injured. Of course he thought she was untrustworthy. Like he said, she’d screwed up his life. “You don’t really have any other choice.”
Joe cursed under his breath, then disappeared back into his apartment. He appeared a minute later in jeans, boots, and a worn, faded shirt with grease stains on it. He shoved a key fob into his front pocket. “Let’s go.”
They jogged over to her Toyota, and she climbed behind the wheel, gripping the shit out of it as the passenger door opened and he folded that tall frame into her tiny car.
She started it up, trying to keep her breathing under control, and pulled away from the curb.
“Where are we going?” he asked, voice so damn deep she felt it along the soles of her feet.
“Woodland Heights.”
“What the fuck is it doing there?” This time, he growled his words, and it wasn’t her feet that felt it. No sir.
She shifted in her seat. “I followed him after I…saw you last night. He went to some swank house like you’d expect, big yard, pretty wife, two kids… But he parked the car in a locked garage. I waited, but he didn’t go out again, so I went back early and followed him to work. Again, there was no way of getting to it, which leads me to now. The guy headed to Woodland and was met at the door by a woman who was not his wife but was…um…happy to see him. Car’s parked out front now. Unless the guy’s a minute man, we should have time to get there and take it before he comes out and heads home to wifey.”
Joe remained quiet when she finished her explanation. Deafeningly so. But the small space was suddenly charged, electric.
“And why would you do that, Darcey?”
She could see him shift in his seat from the corner of her eye, fully focused on her now. Crap.
“What the hell’s going on here?”
“Does it matter?” Her heart was still pounding from hearing him say her name.
“Yes.”
She tightened her grip on the steering wheel, ignoring the urge to glance over at him. “Sorry, I’m not in the mood to share.”
One of his big hands went to the dashboard, holding on, and his eyes burned into the side of her head. “Is this some kind of setup? Did Al put you up to this?”
“Al has nothing to do with this. It’s just me.”
“Why?” he asked again. “I don’t get it, and like I said, I sure as fuck don’t trust you.”
She forced a careless shrug when she felt anything but. Shit, her belly was in knots. “And like I said, you don’t have much choice.” She gave in to the urge and glanced over at him, and immediately wished she hadn’t. God, he was gorgeous. She wanted him more than she could ever remember wanting another man. “You’re not going to believe whatever I tell you anyway. So why waste my breath?”
“You’re right. I don’t believe a word that comes out of your lying, conniving mouth.”
Another shot, this one to the chest. She ignored that, too. “I’m not holding a gun to your head. The choice is yours. Either miss your chance to get the car, or I’ll take you to it, and you can do what you need to. There won’t be any fall out, though, you’ll see.” She chewed the inside of her cheek, trying to keep the rest of what she wanted to say in, but when he said nothing and just kept staring at her, the words she had desperately wanted to say for the longest time tumbled past her lips all on their own. “Maybe then you’ll see I’m sorry for what I did, that I just want to help…that I just…”
“Jesus, stop.” He barked out a harsh laugh. “You’re laying it on a bit thick now, don’t you think? Don’t forget I’ve had a close-up and personal of how you amuse yourself at others’ expense.”
Her face heated at his words. Then the next thing she knew she was in the throes of a full body flush.
“Oh, you haven’t forgotten then? How you led me to the back of that bar, the way you crawled all over me, got me worked up, then ran off?”
She swallowed, trying to get moisture back into her dry mouth. “I…I hadn’t meant it to go that far…”
“No?”
The Porsche came into view up ahead. Thank God. This conversation was getting too damn real for her liking. She pulled over to the side of the road. “You’re in luck. It’s still here.”
“Did you laugh about it afterward?”
She spun to face him. “What?”
His jaw went tight. “After you ran off, leaving me to think I’d hurt you or scared you… Did you go to Uncle Al? Did you have a good laugh about how you’d fucked with me?”
She couldn’t hold his gaze and instead stared out the front window, her stomach churning. “You should go before you miss another chance.”
He stared at her, waiting for her to answer him, then realizing she wasn’t going to, he shoved the door open and climbed out.
Shutting it, he leaned in the open window. “I do
n’t want to see you parked across from my garage again, understand? Just stay the fuck away from me. I’m not interested in your sick, twisted games. You want entertainment, go to the movies.”
That cut deep. Deeper than it should have under the circumstances. Of course he thought she was a psychotic bitch. He knew she’d been tailing him. She couldn’t have screwed this up any more if she’d tried. But leaving and letting him think she’d wanted to hurt him on purpose, that she’d been messing with him for her own amusement—she couldn’t do it. She should. She should drive away and never look back, but Joe Colton was a good man, and as messed up as it was, his opinion mattered to her.
She couldn’t change the way he felt about her, she couldn’t make him believe her, either, but she had to tell him the truth, or at least part of it. Because for some fucked up reason, she couldn’t bear the thought of him thinking badly of her.
He straightened, about to leave.
“Al doesn’t know I’ve been following you.”
He stilled, then slowly bent low again, gaze moving over her features. “I don’t believe you.”
“I know. But it’s the truth.” She let out an unsteady breath. “I have my own reasons for what I did to you and your brother, good reasons, just like you have reasons for being indebted to Al. But that doesn’t mean I wanted to do it, that I enjoyed a single second of it. I caused you to miss your deadline with him, but that’s all I did for him. Anything else, anything since…that’s all me.” She released the parking break. “But don’t worry. I’ll stay away from now on.”
He reached for the door. “Hang on a minute…”
She didn’t wait for what he had to say, didn’t want to hear any more of his harsh words. There were already enough people in her life that thought she was lower than dirt. She planted her foot on the gas and tore off down the street. This way, she could pretend he believed her, that he didn’t hate her. That he understood.
Her eyes slid to the rearview mirror like they had a mind of their own before she could stop them.
Joe was still where she’d left him, hands on his hips, hard gaze locked on her car as she sped away.
~ * ~
After delivering the Porsche Darcey had found the night before, Joe had headed home, gut in knots, doing his best to forget what she’d said, how she’d helped him. Because that’s what she’d done, right? There‘d been no blow back, no visit from Al. No one had been the wiser.
I have my own reasons for what I did to you and your brother, good reasons.
Her words had tormented him most of the night. What reasons? Al was her uncle. Did she really expect Joe to believe Al had something over her, that she’d been forced to fuck them over?
“Shit.” He scrubbed his hands over his short hair. Why was he obsessing over this, over her? She said she’d leave him alone from now on, so he should be ecstatic.
But then why the fuck wasn’t he?
His mind whirled with unanswered questions. The look on her face before she’d driven away, the way she’d sounded when she delivered her final blow…
I caused you to miss your deadline with him, but that’s all I did for him. Anything else, anything since—that’s all me. But don’t worry. I’ll stay away from now on.
When she’d uttered those words, he’d felt them like a strike to the sternum. He couldn’t explain it, the way the sadness in her eyes, that glimpse of fear and helplessness, had gotten to him. But it was too late now. He’d seen it, and he couldn’t let it go, not until he knew what had put it there. Ridiculous. Totally fucked up.
He tugged a clean shirt over his head, shoved on his boots, and headed out the door. He wasn’t in the mood to drink, wasn’t looking for company. As soon as the meet with Don was done, he was going to find Darcey.
He couldn’t rest until she gave him answers to the questions hounding him.
Why she’d kissed him then run the hell away was sitting right up there on his list.
He locked up and headed to his car. He’d asked around, made some subtle inquiries about her at the bar she’d tailed him to the other night. The bouncer said she came in regularly, and one of the waitresses told him about a couple of clubs she went to nearby, and that she kept to herself mostly.
Chasing Ramirez’s niece might not be the best idea he’d ever had. In fact, it was risky and stupid as hell. But he couldn’t let what she said go, not until his curiosity was satisfied. That’s what he was telling himself anyway.
He parked and strode into the bar where he always met Al’s number one. Don was a prick of mass proportions. Having to deal with him once a month was frustrating as hell and a major test of self-control. He’d yet to leave one of their meetings without a thumping headache from suppressing the murderous rage the guy induced just from opening his fool mouth.
The dick was already there, sitting at the bar, when Joe walked in.
Joe took the stool beside him. “Let get this over with.”
Don turned to him. “Well, if it isn’t rubber Joey.”
“Johnny, dipshit. It’s rubber Johnny. If you’re going to try to insult me, at least get it fucking right.”
The guy’s smirk vanished. “Remember who you’re talking to, boy.”
Joe clenched his fists. “How many times did your mom drop you on your head? Seriously?”
Don dragged in a lungful of air, puffing up his chest, his face going red.
Okay, Joe needed to calm shit down before he made things worse for himself. Hugh used to come to these meetings with him and kept him from losing it, from jumping across the table and killing the fucker. Anger management and self-control weren’t two of Joe’s strengths, and he’d never felt that weakness more strongly than when he was in the presence of this asshole. “Cool down before you hyperventilate. Let’s just get this done so we can both be on our way.”
Don reached into his pocket, pulled out this month’s list, then grinned. “We got a fun one on here for you, dickwad.”
Dickwad? Christ. Really?
“Looking forward to it, ass face.” If he wanted to conduct their meetings like they were still in junior high, he could totally roll with that. Joe snatched it out of Don’s hand. “Awesome.”
He took another look and cursed. A fucking Ferrari? Motherfucker.
Don chuckled. “Thought you might like that.”
“This is bullshit. You must have people for this big-ticket stuff.” An idea popped into his head and he decided to go for it. One way of finding out if Darcey was telling him the truth. “What about Al’s niece? She’s a pro at fucking people over.” Joe added a grumble for affect and the numbnuts beside him totally fell for it.
Don laughed again. “Al just uses her when he needs something special done.” He grinned at Joe. “She fucked you and your brother up good, huh?”
“I’m surprised she goes for that. Doesn’t she want a bigger slice of Uncle Al’s pie?”
“She doesn’t get a slice of jack-shit. She does what she’s told because she has no choice or she faces the consequences.”
Joe felt something tighten in his gut, and his self-control was slipping. “And what consequences are those?”
~ * ~
Joe was still fuming after his meeting with Don. The asshole hadn’t shared what Al had over Darcey, and as much as he’d wanted to beat it out of him, he’d had no choice but to lock it down.
He’d left and started searching for her. So far, no luck. She hadn’t been at the bar from the other night. The clubs were next. They were a lot harder, dark, and packed.
Shit, if she was even at a club.
The line to get into the third club on his list was shorter, but the place was still full when he got inside. The lights pulsed, highlighting the moving bodies on the dance floor with every beat. After checking out the bar, he made his way to the main floor, shoving his way through bodies. Fuck, this was impossible. There was a second level edging the main room. He found the stairs and headed up so he could get a better view of the floor.
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Once there, he scanned the room, glancing down to where he’d been.
Lights slashed across writhing bodies, dark figures moving like a living, breathing wave. Then the song changed and, with it, the lights. A bright strobe hit the center of the dance floor, and that’s when he saw her.
His fingers curled around the railing, spine straightening, gut clenching. Darcey was dead center. Alone. Her head was tilted back, eyes closed, dark hair sleek and loose, swaying as she moved to the music. He couldn’t see all of her, but she was wearing a black tank top, and her skin fucking glowed under the lights. She looked so damn pale, but her lips were dark red like cherries.
He wanted to suck them, taste them.
People moved around her and for a few seconds, she was in a small space on her own. Shit, she was wearing a tiny skirt and black fishnets that were torn strategically, giving anyone who looked glimpses of the smooth skin beneath. His dick, the fucking tractor, got hard. There was something about her, something that drew him. He didn’t know what it was, or why it was her—of all people—that he couldn’t stop thinking about, but he couldn't take his eyes off her as she lifted her arms, her hips swinging. In her own world like no one else existed.
She hadn’t lied.
Don had pretty much confirmed what she’d said. She’d fucked them over because she had to, because she’d had no choice. He knew exactly what that felt like. And he also knew there was so much more to her story.
The crowd closed in again, bodies—guys—pressing into her, moving with her. It didn’t make sense—what seeing that did to him, how much he hated it—he just knew he couldn’t stand back and let anyone else put their hands on her. Fuck that.
He took the stairs, shoving his way toward her until he was right there. He couldn’t stop himself from moving in until he was standing right behind her.
Jesus, the woman was stunning, and fuck, the way she moved. Before he knew what he was doing, his hands were on her hips, tugging her back against him. She didn’t whirl on him or push him away, she leaned back, head resting on his chest, ass pressed against his now achingly hard cock, and continued to dance. What the fuck?
Spin (Boosted Hearts Book 2) Page 4