Crash: Crash & Burn Duet Book 1 (Shaken)

by Grahame Claire

  Ah. Now the surprise ambush made perfect sense. He was afraid Cassano would sue my family along with the city and whoever else the lawyers thought to throw in. Because I came from money. But it wasn’t mine, and it never would be.

  Cassano wouldn't do that either. We were brothers too.

  “I’m sure you’ve done more than necessary to shore up your fortune so it’s untouchable.” I lifted a brow. “Are you finished?”

  “It’s obvious you have no regard for me, but don’t you care about your brother and sister? What they stand to lose? And your mother would be so dis—”

  “Don’t bring her into this,” I said, my voice low and guttural.

  “That’s enough.” Lincoln stepped between us. “Teague risked his life to save that man. If it weren’t for Teague, he’d be dead.”

  My brother had always been the steel wall between my father and me. And I was never more grateful, though I hated he had to fight my battles.

  “Don’t be a fool.” My father made a disgruntled noise. “Teague has always been reckless. If it weren’t for him—”

  “We’ll speak when I get to the office,” Lincoln said in an authoritative tone.

  Dad was none too pleased at being cut off. He flicked his hand at me. “It’s time to grow up. You need to join the family business and take some of the burden off your siblings. And be where I can keep a bridle on you before you destroy anything else.”

  He turned on his heel and disappeared, always the one with the last word.

  “Don’t worry about him. He’ll get over it.” Lincoln placed a hand on my shoulder.

  “He’s had thirty-four years to do that. Sounds like he’s just getting warmed up.” I looked away. My father’s words were like flaming arrows. I’d wondered a thousand times if they would have any effect on me if there was no truth in them. But there was. And they did.

  The hurt he inflicted was far worse that the massive bruise on my chest and stomach.

  “Beau and I are proud of you for doing what you love. It takes guts to stand up to him. More than I’ll ever have,” he muttered.

  “Oh yeah? From where I’m standing, all you do is stand up to him,” I challenged.

  “Hello? Is anybody in this monstrosity of an apartment?”

  We both looked at each other at the sound of the familiar voice.

  “Up here,” we said at the same time.

  Our sister appeared like a vision. I rushed forward, picked her up, and spun her around.

  She squealed and beat on my shoulder. “Put me down, you big oaf.”

  “Good to see you too, little sister.” I grinned and pulled her in for a hug. A bite of pain rushed up my middle.

  “Then why did you wince?” A worried expression clouded her pretty features.

  “It’s nothing.”

  “Is it too much to ask for a hug for your older brother?”

  Beau flew from my arms over to Lincoln. She attacked him with the same ferocity she had me. Slowly, he wrapped her in a hug and held her tight.

  My brother was mostly stoic on the exterior. I supposed he had to be to handle our father. But there was never any doubt how he felt about Beau and me.

  They broke apart, and with them standing side by side, it was easy to see how similar they were despite their five-year age difference. Beau wore a royal blue dress and heels. She certainly didn’t appear to have just stepped off a flight from London. And if Lincoln hadn’t been playing basketball, he’d have on a suit.

  Me?

  I preferred jeans and a Henley.

  “Where’s your stuff?” I asked. “Am I going to need a U-Haul to get it to my place?”

  She lifted her chin. “I only brought two bags. And I’m staying here. At least for the first part of my visit. I need my own bathroom.”

  “I got a new place,” I said, grinning.

  “Two bedrooms? Baths?”

  I scratched the side of my neck. “Umm . . . not exactly.”

  She narrowed her gaze.

  “It’s a loft. You’ll love it,” Lincoln said.

  I blinked at him in surprise. My brother was more of a Fifth Avenue penthouse kind of guy. My place would fit in his basketball court. But there was genuine appreciation on his face and he hadn’t even seen it all cleaned up. He’d gone with me to take a look when I’d found it and helped me move, along with some of the guys from the station, but he’d been called away on some emergency our father had concocted.

  “It’s fine if you choose him over me,” I said petulantly, though I didn’t mean a word of it. “But at least come with me to the hospital to see an injured fireman. It would make his day.”

  Chapter Eleven

  Pepper

  “Sadie!”

  It was supper time. I was two minutes late. And that girl was barking her head off.

  “You know she likes it when you reprimand her,” Miss Adeline said matter-of-factly.

  It was true. Completely and totally true.

  The closer I got to her kennel, the faster she stomped her feet.

  “All right, you,” I grumbled, though I didn’t mind at all.

  I scooped dog food into her bowl, and she danced in anticipation of me setting it down.

  “I invited Mr. October over again for dinner.”

  Sadie had stopped barking, so I heard Miss Adeline loud and clear . . . and nearly dropped the bowl in my hands.

  Once I set it down and closed the kennel, I faced her. “Why would you do that?”

  “You could use a friend. And he has the bonus of being a nice one to look at.” She gave me a pointed look and continued to unstack bowls on the counter so I could fill them.

  “I already have all the friends I need.”

  “Who? Do you have a secret companion I haven’t met?”

  “You,” I said without looking up.

  “You’re going to need someone else someday. And you keep everyone at a football field distance instead of arm’s length.”

  “I don’t need anyone else.” My stubborn streak reared its ugly head. “I have the dogs. And you.” And I refused to think about when she would be gone from my life.

  She smirked. “And Mr. October soon.”

  “Don’t meddle, woman.” I pointed at her before setting a bowl in Muffy’s kennel.

  “I already am.”

  I narrowed my gaze on her. “When exactly did you invite him?”

  She busied herself with sliding the next bowl to me to fill. “Today.”

  “How?”

  “I called him. That texting thing is for the birds.” Miss Adeline was up with the times, but there were some things she refused to do. Texting was one of them. “People need to remember how to communicate. With their voices.”

  She wasn’t wrong, but I wasn’t in the mood for a lecture. Especially when she’d dropped a bomb that Teague was coming over for dinner.

  Wait. She didn’t actually say he was coming. She said she’d invited him. Something about that eased the tension inside me.

  “What did he say?” I asked carefully as I fed Otis.

  “Wouldn’t you like to know?” That old woman had invented the word mischievous.

  “Yes. So I know if I need to fix more food.”

  She put a hand on my arm. “He’s coming.”

  Great. I’d planned on having cereal for supper. It had been a long day, and I didn’t feel like spending even an hour in the kitchen.

  “Hope he likes Lucky Charms,” I muttered.

  “He said he’d bring dinner. So if you don’t want to be friends with a man who can cook, I will be.” She winked.

  I groaned. The funny thing was, Miss Adeline didn’t have any friends either. Sure, she knew lots of people and could charm anyone. But she wasn’t exactly a social butterfly other than when she had to be for the rescue.

  “It’s different for me,” she said as if reading my mind. “You’ve got a lot of life left and only having an old woman around isn’t enough.”

  I set down the
bowl I’d just picked up. “It’s so much more than I deserve.”

  A sheen came over her eyes, but she nudged another bowl in my direction. “Don’t go getting all sappy on me, girl.” She grabbed a water pitcher. “Besides, if you get close with him, I benefit too. Maybe he’ll bring more firemen over.”

  “Woman!” The word may have been a complaint, but deep down I loved her spunk.

  “What? He might.” She distributed the water bowls. “If you won’t think of yourself, think of me.”

  She knew how to motivate me. Knew beyond a doubt I’d do anything for her. Did I draw the line at a parade of hot firemen? Gah. She had me thinking of them as gorgeous exteriors to look at now. The very reason I’d vehemently opposed the calendar.

  “Are you going to ask your new best bud to bring over some of his friends?” I asked, not bothering to hide my sarcasm.

  “Not yet. We’re not close enough for that. But I’m going for an invite to the station. That way I can pick who I want to come over.” Her expression was as serious as though she’d delivered a scientific fact.

  “You always have a strategy.”

  “Always.” She shoved me. “Now hurry up. Your company will be here at six thirty.”

  My company?

  But before I had a chance to argue, Tuck flipped over his water bowl. A river ran wild. His neighbors lapped at the cold drink as fast as they could.

  “Thanks for helping me clean up.”

  Tuck joined in, his tail waving wildly as if he were proud to take care of his own mess. The chaos was exactly what I needed to temporarily forget about Teague.

  “I’m starving. And I need to walk the dogs before bed.”

  It was seven forty-five. Almost an hour and a half past the time he was supposed to be here. I wasn’t waiting anymore.

  I plunked down small bowls on the counter more aggressively than I should. Miss Adeline and I had a routine. Yeah, there were bumps in the road, but disappointment like this could be avoided.

  Disappointment?

  How could I be upset when I didn’t want him to come over in the first place? The bran flakes tinkled against the porcelain as I poured. He’d let down Miss Adeline. That was why I was so irritated.

  “I thought we were having Lucky Charms,” she protested as I placed a bowl in front of her.

  “Not tonight.”

  She placed a hand on mine as I reached for the milk. “I’m sorry.”

  “For what? You didn’t do anything. Except stick your nose somewhere you shouldn’t have.” I flipped over my hand and squeezed back. “Are you going to stop meddling?”

  “Nope.”

  That was what I was afraid of.

  Chapter Twelve

  Pepper

  “Where’d you grow up?”

  The question I dreaded most. I’d known Vivian for a while and it had never come up.

  “Because I detect a hint of a drawl I’ve never been able to put my finger on,” she continued before I could answer. “Let me guess. Georgia?”

  I snickered.

  “That’s wrong, dang it. Mississippi?”

  I wondered if we were going to do this until she’d guessed all fifty states.

  I shook my head.

  She let out a huff of frustration and Muffy looked back at her to see what was the matter. If only we could find a certain truck for him to do his business on again.

  Oscar barked at a bird, and I grinned. “You got it right,” I said gleefully to him.

  Vivian elbowed me in the arm. “Miss Adeline has rubbed off on you.”

  I shrugged, though I hoped it was true. If I was anything like her, I’d be happy.

  “Spend enough time with her and it’s bound to happen.” Underneath my dry tone was a fondness reserved only for the woman who’d meant so much in my life.

  I was irritated with her over last night’s debacle but knew good and well she wouldn’t stop meddling. She did call Teague a few choice names, then turned around and told me when he apologized, I should hear him out.

  He didn’t owe me an apology. She was the one who deserved it. They’d cooked up a dinner date—not date, just . . . whatever it was. I’d had nothing to do with it.

  Except some hurt feelings, a little bit of anger, and a healthy dose of disappointment. I had no right to feel any of those things. I hadn’t wanted him to come over anyway.

  Vivian snapped her fingers in front of my face. Oscar promptly sat. It never failed. Dogs made me smile every single day.

  “Hello? Where are you?”

  “On West Fourteenth. Walking the dogs.”

  She scowled. “Smarty pants. Are you thinking about the hot calendar fireman? Miss Adeline told me he cooked you two dinner.”

  That meddlesome old . . .

  “No,” I answered far too quickly.

  She grinned. “Were too. She also told me he helped you walk all the dogs.”

  “You’ve helped me do that too. Does that mean we’re taking this relationship to another level?” I tried and failed to keep the sarcasm to a minimum.

  Vivian was undeterred. “Not sure Daniel would appreciate that too much. Then again . . .”

  It was my turn to elbow her.

  “South Carolina.”

  She tilted her head. “You really don’t want to talk about Mr. October.”

  It was a toss-up which topic I’d like to discuss less. But yes, I definitely didn’t want to even think about him.

  “There’s nothing to talk about.” I waved my hand dismissively.

  Mischief was written all over her face. “Well, now I do. Geography is kind of boring anyway.”

  “How are things going for the fundraiser?”

  She burst out laughing. “I had no idea you’d go to such great lengths to get out of talking about a man.”

  “You and Miss Adeline are quite the tag team,” I grumbled. “Two against one isn’t fair.”

  “Aww. Don’t be like that.”

  We smiled at each other. Vivian wasn’t afraid to say what she thought but was never overpowering. I admired that about her.

  Otis yanked on the leash, catching me off guard. I stumbled forward as he took off at a sprint down the sidewalk.

  “Otis! Stop!” He was a greyhound. I was an out-of-shape woman in my mid-thirties. The math was not in my favor.

  Sadie didn’t feel like joining in, so I had one dog racing in front of me and one standing in place behind me. My arms stretched as far apart as they could.

  “Pepper!” Vivian yelled helplessly.

  And then Otis stopped and sat.

  At the feet . . . of the dog treat guy, who was loading boxes into his van.

  Garrison sold gourmet treats at his shop around the corner and always had something for my pups. He was most likely Otis’s favorite person on the planet and would do anything for the man.

  I panted as if I’d just run a half marathon. Sadie sighed as she caught up, annoyed she’d had to trot. Her tail wagged when she saw Garrison.

  “Please tell me you have something for him,” I pleaded. “I don’t think I could do another sprint all the way to your shop.”

  He reached into his jacket pocket. Otis sat up straighter. “No more sprints for you today.”

  I nearly sagged in relief. Sadie reached out her long leg and pawed at Garrison. That girl. She didn’t have the best manners.

  He didn’t seem to mind. “Otis, you get yours first. Even though you nearly pulled Mom’s arm out of socket.”

  Otis wagged his tail at that. When Garrison offered him a biscuit, he gently took it from his hand.

  “Hello, Oscar,” he continued, offering the dog a treat. Oscar smacked happily.

  Sadie barked, obviously none too happy at being overlooked.

  “Muffy.” Garrison pointed to the sidewalk, and he sat obediently. “Good boy.”

  I was pretty impressed myself. It was a fifty-fifty shot if any of the dogs would do as told. I wasn’t the best trainer.

  Sadie barked ag
ain, louder this time, as if Garrison or half of Manhattan hadn’t heard her before.

  “You are so much trouble, young lady.” But the fondness was in his eyes as he offered her a treat.

  She nearly took his fingers off when she snatched it away. There was no point in apologizing when she’d do the same thing again and again. Sadie was the way she was. And I loved her for it.

  I looked around at the group of dogs.

  I loved all of them. Maybe more than I should.

  “Will you cater the fundraiser?” Vivian blurted. “I don’t know why I didn’t think of it earlier.”

  “Umm . . . sure. The dog treats are edible for humans, but I’m not sure your guests will be into that,” Garrison said.

  I bit my lip so as not to laugh. Miss Adeline was going to love this story.

  Vivian turned bright red. “I meant for the dogs.”

  And then they wore matching shades of crimson on their cheeks.

  “Oh. Ohh. Of course. Let me know the date and consider it done,” he said.

  “Thank you.” It wasn’t enough, but I appreciated all he did for the Grey Paws family.

  “No need. But you’re welcome.” He brightened. “Have this.” He rummaged around in his van until he found the box he was looking for. “It’s a new cookie. No sugar or gluten. Just puppy-healthy ingredients.”

  I tucked the box under my arm. “The dogs will love these.”

  “Let me know what they think. They’re my test market.” He grinned and discreetly snuck Otis another treat.

  “Have you considered getting another dog?” Vivian asked as she watched the two of them intently.

  He looked at Otis apologetically. “I’m not ready yet.” His voice held the quiet pain of loss that I understood all too well. “I-I should be on my way.” He motioned toward the van.

  “I’ll drop by in a few days,” she said.

  “Anytime.”

  It took an effort to get Otis to resume our walk, and when we did, he headed back toward the rescue. Sadie seemed to like the idea, joining him. We all followed at a leisurely pace.

  “We’re going to get them all homes. At the event,” Vivian said with determination.