Titus perked up at that, but Magnus frowned. “I can’t,” he said. “I have something I’m focused on.”
“You think I don’t know that you’ve been leaving the mansion at night?” Aegis asked with a raised eyebrow. “How stupid do you think I am? But whatever you’re looking for, you don’t seem to be finding it. So you may as well go out on this job. They requested someone who’s good with cars.”
That was interesting. Magnus felt himself perk up at that. Maybe this job could distract him until he had another chance to meet up with his mate. Maybe there was hope.
The doorbell rang, and Aegis gave them each a stern look. “I’ll take her to the office. You two get out of here. Magnus, I want you to join us in a minute, but make yourself presentable, will you? A quick shower wouldn’t hurt.”
Magnus nodded, heading toward his bedroom while Titus walked toward his.
He was almost in his room when he heard the door open and couldn’t resist peeking out to see who came in.
The scent of sunshiny flowers and engine oil hit him like the wave had on that fateful night. He took a step forward, hearing a familiar feminine voice talking to Aegis at the doorstep.
His mate was here. His mate was here.
What did he do now?
Lindy Dunn felt extremely out of place as she stared up at the huge wooden door in front of her.
As it slowly creaked open, she wondered what she was getting herself into.
Yes, the website for Rent-A-Dragon was new, and yes, their name was questionable, but she didn’t really have any other options when it came to what she needed done.
The man who greeted her at the door looked harried, with mussed blond hair and an impatient look in his green eyes. He wore a strange outfit with some kind of green blazer. As she attempted to look around him, he blocked the way.
“Are you Lindy Dunn?”
“Yes.”
“We weren’t expecting you quite yet,” he said sharply.
“Aegis, where are your manners?” another voice, which belonged to an elegant man in jeans and a yellow tunic, interrupted. “I’m Citrine. Why don’t you come in?”
“Citrine? That’s a unique name,” she blurted out, feeling caught off guard by these extremely tall, oddly pretty men.
Citrine only laughed. “I like this human. She speaks her mind.”
Human?
“Uh, am I in the right place? I’m trying to hire some extra help, and—”
“Right, right,” Citrine said, extending a hand to her as she heard a loud growl emanate from something behind him.
Person or monster?
She took a step back, and Citrine gave her a reassuring smile. “Just one of our employee’s dogs,” he said, stepping back along with Aegis and gesturing for her to come inside. “Come on in and we’ll talk business.”
She stepped in behind him and had to keep back a gasp at the house around her. Sparkling marble, large white columns, elegant antique furniture.
If they could afford this place, did they really need to run a business at all? Maybe their rates were just really high. Would she even be able to afford them? Things had been extremely tight lately, and this would probably take the last of her savings. Her father’s illness had taken the rest.
She followed Citrine and Aegis to an office to the side of the foyer. They opened the door and went in, but just before she did, she had the odd feeling someone was watching her and couldn’t help turning around to look in a completely new direction.
She gasped as she saw a huge, hulking man with tangled red hair and a fearsome, shaggy beard. She put both hands over her mouth and turned back around.
The man’s eyes had burned into her, a light green she could make out even from here, and he was oddly familiar.
But she couldn’t place exactly where she’d seen him.
When she turned back around, he was gone, and she let out a sigh of relief.
Maybe she should ask the other two men about him, but then again, he wasn’t really the weirdest thing about this place. In fact, he seemed more normal, as his wild facial hair made him seem less supernaturally beautiful than the others.
The man in the green blazer took one of the seats behind the desk and threw his long legs haphazardly over the arm of it, glaring at her with vivid, deep-green eyes the color of emeralds.
Citrine brushed his dark, shoulder-length brown hair over one shoulder and sat in the main chair behind the desk more professionally.
He leaned forward, and she realized his eyes were a warm golden color that matched his tunic. His jaw was straight and his nose slightly pointed. He could almost be called feminine if he didn’t have the same hulking, masculine, muscled body as the others she’d seen.
“Um, there was someone in the hall,” she said nervously, unable to help mentioning the red-haired giant.
“Oh?” Citrine asked. “Tall? Dark-red hair?”
She nodded.
“That was Magnus, one of our employees. Think nothing of it.”
She took her chair in front of the desk awkwardly, feeling underdressed in her work overalls. “Okay.”
Citrine leaned forward, golden eyes sparkling. “Tell us more about this job you’re needing done.”
She sighed. “I just… This place already seemed weird, and now that I’m here, it’s weirder, but I’m in a tight spot. See, most general handyman businesses don’t have such a… range.”
“Right,” Citrine said, scrolling through something on his computer. “It says here you’re interested in personal protection, general handiwork, and help with automotive care.”
“Uh, yeah,” she said. “I mean, I need help around my shop, but someone has also been vandalizing it, and…” What was she doing? Did she really think she could hire a bodyguard, a mechanic, and a handyman in one spot?
This was probably a front for human trafficking or something, a way to trap gullible women and—
“I’m sorry,” she said, standing. “I forgot I had something today. I have to go.”
“Have we offended you?” Citrine asked, rising but not making any attempt to stop her. “I can assure you we can meet each of your needs. I admit our company is a little… unique. But I can give you references from another client.”
She bit her lip. Something about Citrine made her want to trust him. She was just used to being paranoid for so long now. So used to doing things on her own since her dad had died unexpectedly.
“Give us a chance,” Citrine said. “You’re already here, and I promise we aren’t kidnappers. We just happen to have an employee who has a personal interest in cars. He hasn’t had formal training, but he’s really good with them. And if you hadn’t noticed, most of us are a natural fit for personal protection because we’re kind of… large.”
“Yeah, what are you, a family or something?” she asked warily.
“Something like that,” Citrine said, sitting back in his chair and gesturing for her to do the same. “So give us a chance to meet your needs, and if you think we can’t, I promise you’ll be free to leave here without hassle.”
“Okay,” she said. “So how does it work? Do I hire someone different for each thing, or is there really someone who can do all three?”
“There’s someone who can do all three,” a deep, blunt voice answered as the door to the office swung open.
She looked up in surprise to see the man from before, but greatly changed. His clean, handsome jaw was freshly shaved, and a few bleeding cuts proved it had been done too quickly.
His hair was damp, as if he’d just taken a shower, and with it pushed back out of his face, it was clear he was just as handsome as the men around him.
Dammit.
She’d never been good with good-looking guys, always preferring to hang out with the grease monkeys at her dad’s shop, most of whom saw her as one of the guys.
Guys like this made her feel very much a woman.
He walked into the office and put a hand out for her to shake, and th
at feeling of odd familiarity ran over her again.
As she shook his hand, she dared to look up into his jade-green eyes and realized in an instant where she’d seen him.
He’d fixed her flat tire that night she’d broken down without a jack. She felt a flush burning up the back of her neck and hoped it didn’t spread to her cheeks.
She jerked her hand back and sat back down while he continued to stare.
“What are you looking at?” she asked.
He just stood there, towering over her, until Citrine clucked his tongue and got the giant’s attention. “Magnus, sit down. This is Lindy, and she’s going to be your client.”
Lindy sat up abruptly. “What? But—” She looked over at Magnus, who seemed supremely smug. Yup, definitely the douchebag who’d pushed her out of the way to work on her car. As if it weren’t embarrassing enough to be a mechanic stranded without a jack, he hadn’t even let her redeem herself by changing her own tire.
She was so tired of men assuming she didn’t know what she was doing.
Truth was she’d just bought those tires. She hadn’t been expecting a flat.
This man was arrogant, pushy, bossy, not to mention far too handsome, and she didn’t want anything to do with him.
“I’m the only one who works with cars,” he said, grinning. “Looks like you’re stuck with me.”
She was going to protest, but then she looked over at him and felt her eyes distracted, wandering over his body, those huge muscles. She grinned as she thought about the jerks who’d been bothering her, how hard they would shit their pants when they saw what they were up against.
She could resist a good-looking man, and besides, she really should be grateful for what he’d done that night, now that she knew he wasn’t a stalker.
She looked into his eyes, wondering if he recognized her. Given his calm, confident smile, she couldn’t tell. Her eyes were drawn to a bruise at the corner of his lip, as if he’d been punched recently.
It didn’t seem to be bothering him.
“I guess he’ll do,” she said. “What’s the rate?”
“We can discuss that after,” Citrine said.
Slight alarm ran through her. “I don’t have a lot.”
“We’re a new company, just getting started. Just pay us what you think is fair when the job is done, and make sure to give us referrals. Especially to your female friends,” Citrine said.
“Uh…” What the hell did that mean?
“We tend to be hired by women,” Citrine said patiently.
Oh. Duh. She needed to get out of this place and under a car again. These men, especially the redhead with the long, wavy hair and beautiful greenish-blue eyes, were making her too flustered.
She stood abruptly. “Okay. Well then, I guess we’re set.” She nodded at the computer. “You have the address?”
“Yes, I think so,” Citrine said. “Magnus, would you walk her out?”
“No, no,” she said, putting up a hand and backing out before they could stop her. “I’m just fine.” Alone with that giant? Not today, mister. No, she’d see him soon enough, but she’d be at the shop, with people she trusted.
3
The next day, Magnus pulled up to the address of Lindy’s shop, a small, fairly rundown garage with an attached office on the side. Each of the carports had a vehicle in it, and outside, several other vehicles awaited service. Above the large doors hung a sign that read: “Honest Auto Repair.”
Funny name. Was there such a thing as “dishonest” auto repair?
Today Magnus was wearing a new pair of jeans along with a sturdy work shirt that citrine had picked out for him. He was driving the car he’d been speeding along the highway in when he’d first run into Lindy. Not just to hopefully remind her, but also because it was the nicest one in terms of both looks and performance.
If this was his opportunity to impress his mate, he wasn’t going to blow it doing what Liam did and driving up in a beat-up old truck.
He parked on the street and came up to the front door of the place, noting Lindy inside at the front desk through the large glass windows. Inside, there were a few old chairs, presumably for people to wait, and old posters advertising car products lining the walls.
The door opened to the sound of tinkling bells, and Lindy looked up at once, noticing him at the entrance. Today she was wearing a button-up shirt with her name on one pocket, and her hair was in a neat ponytail, minus the cap he’d seen her in before.
“Good to see you came on time. Nothing bugs me more than people who are late,” Lindy said, pushing herself off the desk and away from whatever it was she’d been looking at and walking to a side door. Magnus couldn’t help noticing the jeans she was wearing and the shape of her ass, though he looked away quickly, hoping she didn’t see.
“I’ll show you around, get you acquainted with the guys, see where we can have you start,” she said, appraising him as he went first through the door.
Inside, the smell of motor oil and chemicals permeated the air, and the buzzing sound of hydraulics and power tools resonated through the garage. As Lindy walked through he followed, taking stock of everything and feeling fairly amazed at the sheer amount of equipment in the place, despite the fact that much of it looked very old and likely in need of replacement.
Back at the mansion, he had a decent setup for getting the basics done. But a lot of his work he had to do by hand and through sheer strength, whereas a lot of these tools probably helped humans do things they wouldn’t be able to normally do.
Inside, there were two men, each working on a separate project. As Lindy approached them, Magnus behind her, they stopped what they were doing and looked up from their work.
“Magnus, I’d like to introduce you to my employees, Mike and Tommy,” she said, pointing to each. “There was a third, Bill, but he recently retired. Which is why we need another pair of hands around until I can find a proper replacement. Guys, this is Magnus.”
Mike, a medium-height, stocky guy with extremely short-shaven brown hair waved cordially, then went back to unscrewing bolts on the wheel of the car he was working on. The other guy, Tommy, a taller, skinnier kid who was probably in his twenties but looked like he could be nineteen, just nodded in acknowledgment.
All around them parts were strewn on tables, shelves were packed to capacity, and small pieces and knobs and nuts were hiding in corners where they’d been swept out of the main walking area.
It reminded Magnus of his workshop ages ago.
“C’mon, I’ll show you the rest of the place,” Lindy said, snapping Magnus from his reverie.
She made a turn through an adjoining doorway that led into a back room, this one with a single, large garage door and space for several cars. These looked as if they had more serious work to be done on them, with popped hoods or doors and side panels missing.
“So the website said you’re experienced with cars. Could you elaborate?” she asked, stopping and turning to him, resting back on a shelf. In here, the noise from the main garage was muffled by walls, and it was nice to not have to talk over pneumatic drills.
“I’d say I more or less know everything.”
Lindy barked out a laugh, which she tried to stifle by putting her hand over her mouth.
“No really, just ask me and I’ve probably done it on one of my cars back home.”
At Magnus’s insistence, Lindy just raised an eyebrow. “Are you serious? That’s actually pretty surprising, especially given what I’m supposed to pay you. Which is still kinda vague, frankly. I hardly expected you to be able to do an oil change,” she said, veiled astonishment in her voice.
“Oh, you better believe I do a mean oil change. But I can rebuild an engine, too. Or swap out a transmission. You name it.”
“Well, good to know. I’ll have to see you do it before I fully believe it, but I’m sure the guys will be more than glad to have you around.”
Magnus frankly didn’t care what the other men thought. He cared w
hat his mate thought.
And even in the dingy light from the hanging bulbs, her pretty blue eyes shone like tiny glaciers illuminated by the rising sun.
There was a knock on the door, and Tommy poked his head through.
“Hey, Lindy, could you grab the epoxy for me? It’s up on that shelf,” he asked, pointing upward to the top of a nearby shelf.
Lindy shrugged, annoyed. But when Tommy insisted again, she pulled out a wooden stepladder that had been sitting next to her and stepped up to grab a small can of the supposed material, pulling herself up on the ledge of the shelf to grab it.
It wasn’t until Magnus heard a tiny creak that an alarm bell went off inside his head.
He’d worked with wood enough times to know what it sounded like when it gave.
“This one?” Lindy asked, pointing to the can.
A second creak sounded, and Magnus sprang from where he’d been standing toward Lindy, catching her around the waist as the shelf caved in with a large crack, followed by a cascade of cans and buckets and metal parts flying everywhere.
With no time to completely clear the miniature metal avalanche, Magnus placed himself between the wall and Lindy, shielding her as dozens of objects of varying size and weight beat down on his head and back and arms. Everywhere, a symphony of metallic bangs and clangs pummeled the floor as they hit him, then dropped to the ground.
Ouch.
Worth it.
Once the last can bounced off the ground, awkwardly tardy compared to the rest of the shelf’s contents, he let go of Lindy, regretful he couldn’t hold her closer, but not wanting to come off as a creep. She pushed off him, shock and worry in her blue eyes.
“Are you okay?” she asked, looking him over.
“No, really, I’m fine,” he said, waving her off. With his dragon skin, he wouldn’t have any lasting damage, but some of those objects could have killed a human.
He was just glad he’d sheltered her before disaster struck.
Just then, Tommy rushed up as well.
“Lindy, are you hurt?
“I’m good, thanks to Magnus here,” Lindy said as she looked at the contents strewn about the floor. Her expression turned from astonishment to anger in a second as she took it all in.
Iron (Rent-A-Dragon Book 2) Page 2