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“Okay, okay. Don’t get your panties in a twist.”
“Anything else? I’d like to get out of here so I don’t have to witness all this.”
I shoo her away. “Go on, then.”
“Thank you.” She hops off the stool, scoops up her paperwork, and disappears to the back exit in the kitchen.
I try not to look over at Navy and Dutch. I even consider getting my ass out of here too, but it’s as though this girl has a chain tied around my ankle, shackling me to her. I can’t move.
Dutch runs a thumb over her lips, then cups her cheek, preparing to move in for a kiss. Not fucking happening. Before I can talk myself out of it, I’m off the stool and yanking Navy from his lap. Both of them look shocked as shit, but when that fades, Dutch jumps to his feet and gets in my face.
I tug Navy behind me and square my shoulders. Dutch has been one of my best friends since I patched in, so it’s not the first time we’ve come to blows, but it’s the first time since I was made VP. I outrank him, and he knows it. If he throws a punch, there’ll be issues, and I plan to use it to my advantage. Not because I need to, but because I fucking can.
“What’s your problem, bro?” He’s inches from me, his heated breath landing on my face since we’re nearly the same height.
“I’m taking this one,” I grit out.
His eyes narrow. “I see the power has gone to your fuckin’ head.”
I smile, knowing it’ll only infuriate him more. “Maybe it has. Either way, she’s mine.”
“Excuse me!” Navy shouts, ripping her arm from my hold but staying behind me. “I’m not doing shit with either of you.”
“Oh yeah, darlin’? You know who I am?” I say over my shoulder, smirking at Dutch.
“I don’t give a fuck who you are.”
“Really?” I turn to face her.
She gets her first look at me, and her reaction is not what I expected. The color drains from her face as her lips part and her eyes widen.
“That’s what I thought.” I’m a cocky asshole, but I’ve got the looks to back that shit up.
“Colin?” My name, my real name, drops from her lips like a bomb.
“How do you know my name?” I demand. Now I’m pulling from earlier memories, back when I was just a pathetic kid working for The Garage and saving every penny to get out of Dad’s house.
Do I know her from high school? No, that’s impossible. I have to be at least ten years older than her. Her lips purse as she waits for me to connect the dots that aren’t in a straight line.
“Of course you don’t remember. Why would you? You had no problem leaving me in that house and never talking to me again like I fucking meant nothing to you.”
It all clicks into place. She’s the only sunshine I ever had in my teens, the only reason I’m still alive today.
“Vivi?”
Before I get confirmation, she’s darting out the door, running as though she isn’t wearing seven-inch heels.
CHAPTERFOUR
NAVY
Ihave the worst luck.Honestly. The very worst. If you look up unlucky in the dictionary, there’s a picture of my face in full color and a list of examples proving my unluckiness.
Getting claimed by my stepbrother at a brothel now tops that list.
I run as fast as I can through the gravel lot, but it’s not easy in these godforsaken heels. The universe gives me a small mercy when I make it to my car without falling flat on my face. That’d really mess up my first shift tomorrow. No one wants to fuck the girl with oozing scabs on her forehead.
Not that it matters; I probably don’t have a job after all this. Colin didn’t want anything to do with me fifteen years ago, so why would he want me around now?
