“You sure? I mean, I’m sure I can—eh, I dunno, walk to grab something.”
He glanced down at the little one who pouted immediately at the word walk.Pfft, yeah, okay?He shook his head. “Oh yeah, we’re an all-inclusive shop. Got big muffins, coffee, bags of chips, everything a little tot needs to fill a hungry belly. And, you know, make the wait not feel so long.”
The pretty lady grimaced. “How long?”
Nikolai let out a low whistle as he strode out from the back of the truck, shaking his head.
She sighed heavily, head hanging. “Awesome.”
“No school?” The little tike beamed up at her mom.
“No, baby, no school today.”
“And muffins?” The ferocious baby glanced up at Jessie expectantly.
“I’ve got chocolate chip, banana nut, blueberry, and cranberry orange.” He beamed, nodding to the shop as he stepped away slowly. The lady scooped up her young fiend and followed him with a defeated look. Jessie wanted to say something to brighten her face. A weakness for him, something he couldn’t let get the better of him…but he was about to. Jessie knew he was a sucker for a sweet face and sad eyes.
He opened the waiting room doors and held it for the pair that stepped inside.Not that I’m a gentleman.Definitely not with the way he took one last hungry mental snapshot of her backside before following her in.But Ma would have my head if I didn’t hold open the door.‘Mind your manners’, she often used to thwack him with a wooden spoon on the rear before speaking those words.
Hard to be a gentleman when one is the new head of the family business. Bare Bones Cars & Repairs came with more managing than a regular shop. Sure, most of the good money came from real car fixes. They didactuallydo repairs and buy smashed vehicles to chop up for parts. But under the pretty paperwork? That was what his father was really handing over. The keys to the kingdom, so to speak. Titan Bonesaw was retiring from the game, and Jessie Bonesaw was stepping in. Somepeople had opinions about that. Pops prepared him for a lot, but some things can’t be taught.
Elliot would never be able to do this.His older brother was tough. Elliot Bonesaw was reliable and sturdy. Yet, when it came down to it, he didn’t have what it took to run the shop. Jessie was going to show his father that he was the right choice.
Good thing he already got stabbed last summer. That really put him on the map as a hard guy to take down.Not that I’m above taking out kneecaps to prove a point.Jessie wasn’t going anywhere, so if they wanted their goods, weapons, and cars, they needed to pay respect. Something Big Bobby, the freeloader, was about to find out. After work, that is, first he needed to assess the damage on the pretty lady with the ruby eyes’ car.
Chapter Two:
~Nikolai~
It’shardtokeepa low profile when one is a massive, fluffy bugbear. However, Nikolai made it ten times harder by also sleeping with the previous boss’s son.Well, we’re roommates...More than roommates? On again, off again? It’s rough. Point was, Nikolai had been in love with Jessie since they were teenagers. But Jessie wasn’t ready for commitment. Nikolai was patient. He moved in with Jessie the second he moved out of his aunt’s house and thought for sure that was his time.Jessie, we’ve been best friends since we were kids, and I’m in love with you.A lot of words for a man of very few. Every time he tried to speak them, he got tongue tied. Then Jessie dated another girl and Nikolai worried he had the wrong impression.Many years of unrequited pining flushed down the drain.Sure, Nikolai liked girls. Nikolai liked a lot of people! Nikolai liked soft people, ones who he could squeeze and smoosh his face into. But he’d known in his heart Jessie was the one since they were thirteen.
Jessie was on the swing set, staring up at the school while Nikolai applied an icepack to the minotaur’s eye.
“I’m gonna fucking kill Lenny Barcroff, one day, Nik. Just you wait. I’ll get him back for that!” Jessie hissed under his breath.
And who was Lenny Barcroff? Some idiot teenager—much like them—who kept flipping Nikolai’s ears in class. When Nikolai, instead of engaging in foolishness, switched seats, Lennystarted tossing paper airplanes at him. Then it escalated to dumping his lunch on the bugbear. Oh, and that time he dumped a bowl of ice water over him while he was on the toilet. All because Lenny has the misconception that Nikolai was a quiet, shy guy. That, despite his size, he was meek and mild.
Lenny Barcroff found out—over the summer where the school couldn’t find out—that Nikolai was notmeek or mild. Nikolai waspatient.He promised his mother before they were chased out of town to be good. That he’d behave and do what he was told. And he wasn’t about to break that promise.
But Jessie? Jessie was passionate. He went to bat for Nikolai, defended him when everyone else laughed because that’s who the minotaur was. A protective, loud mouthed, abrasive guy…funny, a little bit of a goober, but a genuine guy to have in one’s corner. Something Kierra, his aunt, used to say was important.Every man’s got to have at least one person in their corner, make sure yours is the right one, Nikolai.
It was just pure happenstance that he was also in love with the guy, rooming with him, and every once in a while, snuggled up with him. Jessie thought they were having fun.Taking care of business, you know.But then he’d kiss Nikolai so sweetly that he knew better.He just needs time. He’s got a lot on his plate. And I am patient.
So, Nikolai waited, and pined, and waited some more.Because Jessie is the one, and I don’t need anybody else.
That was, until he looked up from the engine he was inspecting for parts and nearly threw himself into the lower bay out of shock. A tiny face stared at him through the gap between the hood and the frame. Sweet, round cheeks, big eyes full of wonder, staring at him through the space that no longer held a windshield.
“Chimney fu-uuuuuhhhhh-dge.” He drew out the one word, remembering the tiny fiendish girl from the car they towed in earlier.Thing can’t be more than six? Right?
“Hi! You fixin’ car?” The bubbly sprout giggled, cocking her peachy head to the side. Her hair swished from side to side as sheswayed in the seat, humming happily to herself. There were little bumps on her forehead.Soon to be horns?Nikolai rubbed his chest to soothe the thunderous heartbeat behind his ribs.
“Uh, yeah,” Nikolai let out an exasperated sigh. Glancing around, he tried to spot the lady the tike belonged to...Where the fuck is your mom, little terror?
“Vroom, vroom! Beeeeeeeep!” The girl squealed playfully as she pretended to twist the steering wheel. “Mommy never let me drive.”
“Hmm,” he hummed to himself, walking around the hood of the car. “How’d you…get in there?”
The girl shrugged and continued to play with the steering wheel. Sure, he’d taken the doors off as they’d been smashed to oblivion, buthow did she get there?Nikolai had been so preoccupied, in his thoughts and working hard, to see a rogue child.Work? This car is a dumpster fire.The speaker on the insides were too old to be salvaged but the wires were good. He was working on taking down detailed notes of everything that survived the incident. A good report let him and Jessie talk about the payout. Part of the business model was giving customers a fair market price for the parts. It’s not like they needed the money from that enterprise. And giving everyone a little more than their competitors ensured theyalwaysgot first dibs.
