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Chapter 1
Lexa
Fighting back a yawn, I walked into the kitchen, my nose following the smell of coffee. I’d heard low murmurs as I’d made my way through the living room, but as soon as the door opened, they stopped abruptly. I instantly went on high alert without the need for caffeine.
Balling my hands into fists to keep my fingers from shaking, I took in who was in the room. Dad was at the kitchen table, which was weird because he was normally out the door by five thirty during the week. He co-owned the auto and bike shop, and they opened at a ridiculous hour to “accommodate the working man,” as he liked to say. From six in the morning to six in the evening, he and his partner took care of the entire county’s automotive needs.
Dad had his chair turned to face Mom, who sat at the table with her hands clenched so tightly around her coffee mug, her knuckles were white. That and her bloodless lips were the only things that told me something was definitely off with her.
Across from her, Uncle Jet and Aunt Flick sat with their own chairs pulled close together. The oldest of my mom’s brothers had one arm around his wife, the other hand holding his coffee mug he’d half lifted to his mouth but seemed to have forgotten all about midway to its destination.
Even without the abrupt way their conversation cut off, I would have known something was up simply because no one was eating. Aunt Flick normally made breakfast for everyone, and if Mom was home, she would help. But there was no lingering smell of fried bacon permeating the air, not even a single leftover biscuit.
Heart pounding, I cautiously walked toward the table even though every instinct in my body was screaming for me to run. Whatever these four had been talking about wasn’t good, and I wasn’t sure I wanted to know. But when Mom’s green eyes caught mine and I saw the flash of fear—oh fuck, fear in Raven Hannigan’s eyes—I knew I couldn’t run from what was about to come.
“What’s wrong?” I demanded, my eyes never once leaving the woman I loved more than life.
As I watched, she forced herself to relax her hands, but it took several seconds for the blood flow to return to her fingers. Pasting on a smile that didn’t even begin to relieve some of my own fear, she shook her blond head. “Nothing is wrong, silly,” she lied.
“Mom,” I began, but Dad stood, his big frame blocking her from my eyes for a moment as he meticulously pushed in his chair before crossing to the coffeepot and taking down my favorite mug.
When I saw Mom’s face again, she was her normal self once more, and that bothered me more than anything else in this warped nightmare I’d just walked into.
Mug full, Dad brought it back to me and kissed the top of my head. “Mom and I are going to be out today. We have a few errands to run that can’t wait. I was hoping you could take care of the office today since we’re both going to be gone and Trigger has no people skills.”
I wanted to yell at him to stop acting and tell me what the hell was going on, but instead, I found myself nodding. Because if I were honest, I was fucking terrified of what they would say if they actually did tell me the truth.
The night before flashed through my mind, making my stomach clench, and I put my coffee on the table without taking a drink. No way was I going to think about the night before. They couldn’t possibly have known what I’d been doing, and with whom. And they never would.
“No problem,” I assured him as I hugged him with both arms. When I felt him tremble, I almost threw up then and there.
Something is very, very wrong.
All the way to the shop, those five words kept repeating like a mantra in my head. When I pulled into the parking lot, driving around to the back where all the employees kept their vehicles, I noticed the shop was already full of customers.
Thankful for the distraction, I ran inside, putting on my best smile as I did. “Good morning,” I said as I hurried through the shop to the counter. “Sorry I’m late. Mom and Dad didn’t let me know they needed me today until the last minute.”
“Lexa dear,” Mrs. Johnston greeted me with a warm smile, first in line. “Good to see you home. How did college life treat you?”
Making sure my hair stayed over the right side of my face, I returned her smile. “It was great. It was nice to get away for a little while.”
“Raven was just telling me a few months ago that you made the dean’s list your first semester at Oregon. She’s so proud of you, she could burst.”
“That’s my mom,” I said with a laugh. Pulling up the right files for her, I quickly checked her out and handed over the keys to her car. “Good to see you, ma’am.”
It took twenty minutes to get everyone waiting out the door. As soon as the shop was clear, I walked out into the garage to check on everyone. When Dad and Trigger took over the shop after Uncle Jack died, they expanded the garage to ten bays and hired more mechanics. Yet they still couldn’t seem to keep up with all the business they had.
