Dash had bought the car at an auction in Great Falls. He’d met a collector who’d fallen on hard times and been forced by his bank to liquidate some of his holdings. He’d kept his restored cars, but the partial projects and junkers had been hocked. Dash had scored the Firebird for a steal.
“I’m game,” I said. “That’s a sweet car.”
Or it would be.
First, it would need an overhaul. The old, rusted body parts would need to be cut away and replacements refabricated. It probably needed a new engine and a whole list of other upgrades, but when it was done, I saw it in a fiery red-orange.
The color of Cass’s hair.
Firecracker.
What the actual hell had I been thinking? Going bare?
“I’m a fucking idiot. With Cass. And I should have put it together that she’d been taken with Scarlett, but I didn’t.” That night at The Betsy, had she even told me her name? In my head, she’d been Firecracker. And after the kidnapping, she’d gone immediately from Ashton to Missoula, so I hadn’t seen her.
Smart woman. She’d gotten the fuck out of Dodge.
“At least you remembered her face,” Emmett said. “Pretty sure I hooked up with her friend and I can’t remember her name or her face.”
Dash just shook his head and chuckled. “Let’s never tell my wife that we’re having this conversation. She’d castrate me in my sleep.”
“Come on.” Emmett held out a hand to help me to my feet. Then I followed him and Dash to the back field, where we kept old parts and old cars.
It took us an hour to make space for the Firebird in the shop and get it hauled inside. We did a cursory assessment of the remodel, taking in the wear and tear on the shell and interior. The engine block was cracked and would be trashed. Dash made a list of the repairs while I sketched out the design.
“This is going to be a badass ride.” Emmett took my drawing and held it up.
“Hell yeah.” It would be the car I’d want one day. For the times when I couldn’t ride my bike but wanted to drive in style.
Emmett took his empty beer bottle to the garbage can, tossing it inside. “All right, I’m outta here. I promised Mom I’d swing by and say hi. Hopefully I can beg lunch off her.”
“I’d better get home too.” Dash took his bottle and mine to toss out. “We’re going to take the boys to buy fireworks for the Fourth.”
We were supposed to have a big get-together at their place. Burgers. Beers. Fireworks after dark. A party I’d normally look forward to. As it was, I didn’t feel like being around all the wives and kids.
Maybe I’d skip out this year and head to The Betsy instead.
“I’ll lock up,” I told the guys, shaking their hands and waiting until the rumble of their bikes disappeared down the road.
Then I took another look at the Firebird.
I’d sketched it in black and white, but I couldn’t get that bright, flaming color out of my head.
“Fuck.” I ran a hand over my jaw. My headache was gone, and I was hungry for the first time all day. But I didn’t want to go home. Not only because the fridge was empty, but because I’d be empty there too.
So I locked up the garage, climbed on my bike and went to the place where I didn’t have to think. Where I didn’t have to be anything but fun.
The parking lot at The Betsy was empty. I didn’t dare drive around back because I knew exactly what I’d see. A shining black car with a pair of skintight jeans and lace panties beside a tire. Locks of red hair spread over a glossy hood. And a pair of caramel eyes that had been my undoing.
It was twenty minutes before they officially opened at one, but it wouldn’t be the first time I’d come early, pounded on the door and someone had let me in.
Why did that suddenly feel so pathetic?
Before I realized where I was going, I put The Betsy behind me and drove across town toward Cass’s house. I parked in front of Luke and Scarlett’s place, then crossed the street for her door with my heart in my throat.
Now that last night’s drunken, angry haze had cleared, I knew this feeling. I fucking hated this feeling.
Fear.
Dash and Emmett had been right to warn me. To push me to talk to Cass.
Swallowing hard, I pressed the doorbell and when Cass opened it too soon, I still wasn’t ready to face her. Maybe I’d never be ready.
Her caramel gaze flared. Her face was pale, too pale, but there was a spark there—fury. Her cheekbones seemed too sharp in her face, but she was beautiful, especially with that auburn hair that shone copper under the sun.
Beautiful? How did I get that thought out of my head? Because I needed it gone to do what I was here to do.
“Peephole.” I pointed to the door.
“Huh?”
“You were kidnapped a month ago. Have a shred of self-preservation and check the goddamn peephole before you open the door.”
Her lip curled. “How do you know I didn’t?”
“Because you opened the door with a smile on your face.” That smile wouldn’t have been for me.
“My parents went for a walk. I locked the door behind them. I thought they were back.”
Whatever the reason, she needed to be more careful. This world was a dangerous place. The biggest hazard? Me. The man currently standing on her front porch.
“What are you doing here, Leo?” She crossed her arms over her chest.
Cass was too good for a man like me. For the brand of trouble I’d bring to her life.
What was I doing here? I was here to scare her off. To chase her the fuck out of Clifton Forge for good.
“Can we talk?”
Chapter Three
Cassandra
Leo wanted to talk. I wasn’t sure what surprised me more—him on my doorstep or the fact that he was asking for a conversation. After the coffee shop, I’d been certain he wouldn’t speak to me until I had a paternity test to prove I wasn’t lying.
“Um . . . sure?” It came out like a question because talking was, well . . . questionable. Yelling, no problem. But a civil conversation? I wouldn’t hold my breath.
I looked over Leo’s shoulder. A walk around the neighborhood would be best. We’d be less likely to cuss and scream at one another if there were people outside. But four houses down I spotted my parents. They’d gone on a walk themselves, likely to talk about me.
Thank God, Leo had parked his bike across the street at Luke and Scarlett’s.
Leaving now wasn’t an option. Mom and Dad would see us and there’d be questions. Lots of questions. The ones I’d escaped so far because my parents were taking it easy on me. But if they saw Leo, those questions would be much more pointed and impossible to ignore.
“Uh, come on in.” Shit. I was going to have to hide him in my room.
He nodded and shoved his hands in his jeans pockets, then followed me inside.
The moment I closed the door behind him, my house felt too small and too hot.
He was wearing the same black T-shirt he’d been in at the coffee shop. The same jeans draped down those long legs to a pair of scuffed black boots. Simple. Casual. There were guys at school who wore variations of the same, but the way those clothes looked on him gave off an entirely different edge.