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I go through Autumn’s car with a fine tooth comb. Everything looks to be in excellent shape and as if she’s taken good care of the maintenance for as long as she’s owned the car. Granted, she could have just gotten it and this is all thanks to the previous owner, but I somehow doubt it. For now, I’ll concentrate on pulling both the starter and alternator to find out which one is the problem. Worse case, I prevent a problem that could’ve been fixed by taking them both out now and checking them over.
As I continue to look over the inside of the car, I find something that shouldn’t be there. Reaching down, I pull out a fucking tracker. I highly doubt Autumn even knows it’s here. The door separating the office and bays is still closed as I try to figure out what the fuck to do about the tracker. I’m not sure if I should bring this straight to Autumn or Venom first so we can figure out what the fuck to do about this. This is a random woman and the club has no reason to help her out. That doesn’t take into account my own feelings. I want to protect this woman with every piece of my soul. There’s nothing I wouldn’t do to protect her.
Placing the tracker in my pocket, I get to work so Autumn can have her car back sooner rather than later. I don’t hear the music we have blaring through the speakers in the shop or the other guys talking amongst themselves while they work on their own vehicles for the day. There isn’t anything for me to do right now except keep my head down and work on the car so my day passes faster. However, the one thing I do manage to listen for is the door between the shop and office to open so I can talk to Venom and then Autumn.
I’ve managed to get both the starter and alternator out before the door to the office opens. Turning my attention there, I find Venom with Autumn at his side. Brick is just behind her and leaning down as he whispers something into her ear. There’s a slight smile on Autumn’s face as she takes in his words. Even from here, I can see her eyes sparkling in mirth and the way her body trembles in response to being so close to Brick. There isn’t a doubt in my mind that he’s working his magic and will try to talk Autumn into our bed before too long.
“Listen up, fuckers,” Venom calls out, his voice drowning out the music as someone turns it down to almost nothing. “This is Autumn. She’s gonna be takin’ over the position of bein’ our office manager. She’ll be taking over all the paperwork and dealin’ with the customers. She’s also asked if she can rearrange the main office so it looks better for the customers who come in. Along with displayin’ some of the work we’ve done with the custom projects. I’ve given her the green light to do whatever she wants as long as I can be out here and not in the fuckin’ office all day long.
“Autumn, the one closest to you is Kevlar. Next to him is Riggs. He’s just recently started after finishin’ his certification. The only one not here today is Hawkeye and you’ll meet him tomorrow. Brick is behind you. He works here on an as needed basis and is fillin’ in for Hawkeye today. The last guy is Ghost who’s workin’ on your car. That’s everyone who works here and who you’ll be interactin’ with on a daily basis. Brick can work with you until he has to go out on a tow call. He’ll show you the responsibilities we didn’t go over and how to answer the tow calls and log them in. He can also show you the inventory system and everythin’ else. We’ve all had our turns workin’ the office and none of us can fuckin’ stand it.”
My heart speeds up as I realize Autumn will be working here. I’ll get to see her on a daily basis and get to know her. It only makes figuring out who put a tracker in her car even more important to figure out what’s going on with her. With a nod of my head, I motion for Venom to make his way over to me.
“What’s up?” he asks when he gets up close to me.
“Found somethin’ in her car. Not sure what you wanna do with this shit,” I tell him, pulling the tracker out of my pocket and showing it to him.
“What the fuck? A tracker?” he questions, looking between the object in my hand and myself for a minute. “I’ve sent a message to Goose to do a thorough background check on her. It seems we might have a problem comin’ our way. We’ll figure it out.”
“Are you still gonna let her work here?” I ask, needing to know he’s not gonna fire her over this shit.
“Of course I am. If she needs help, we’re the ones to give it to her. We both know we can handle anythin’ comin’ our way. I have a feelin’ Autumn has no clue about this tracker and we’ll have to have a conversation with her. As it stands, she’ll be stayin’ at the clubhouse with us. She’s been livin’ in her car for the last four months. That’s not gonna fuckin’ happen any longer. I’ve got Vanessa gettin’ a room ready for her as we speak,” Venom assures me as rage fills me with the thought of knowing this woman has been living in her car for months now. “Get back to work on her car and let me know if you find anythin’ else while you’re workin’ on it. I’ll have one of the Prospects take the tracker and drive it out of town before tossin’ it. Whoever is lookin’ for her will hopefully follow that shit and not come here lookin’ for her until we’re ready for them.”
With a nod of my head, I get back to work on Autumn’s car. Venom pulls in another car next to me and gets to work on his own project. A smile covers his face as he finally gets to get his hands dirty while working on cars once again. For the rest of the afternoon, I work on Autumn’s car and get the repairs done. Instead of replacing the bad starter, I replace both the starter and alternator so she doesn’t have any further problems with it. I also go through every inch of her car to make sure there are no other trackers in place before backing it out of my bay and parking it in the lot where customers can pick them up once we’re done working on them.
I take the keys into Autumn and let her know what I did to fix her car. She inputs the information into the computer and adds in her phone number. Yes, I make sure to make a note of it so I can put it in my phone later. Brick does the same thing as he stands at her back and looks over her shoulder. Autumn prints out the invoice with tears in her eyes. Brick reminds her that Venom told her he’ll take payments out of her paycheck so she doesn’t have to worry about the cost. He’s also not going to hold her car hostage until she can pay the bill off in full. We know where she’ll be staying and working so it’s not like she’s going to disappear on us. Plus, she’s put in her phone number and full name. We have everything we need if she does pull a runner and leaves Cedar Bay for some reason.
Chapter Three
Autumn
I CAN’T BELIEVE Brick actually kept his word. He told me he would talk to the owner of the garage about getting me a job, and I now have a job. The only thing he didn’t mention is that I’d be working for a motorcycle club. I’m not sure how I feel about being around a ton of men who belong to such a club. While I’ve never personally interacted with anyone in a club, I have heard plenty of stories of these men taking what they want regardless of what anyone else involved wants. Including women. Nerves fill me as I’m surrounded by two men who not only outweigh me, but are taller than me by over a foot each. I stand no chance of getting away from either one of them if they choose to take something I’m not willing to give them. However, there’s also a sense of peace and safety standing so close to these men. I don’t have a gut feeling that they’re going to hurt me. I’ve learned from my mother to trust my gut when it’s telling me something.
Venom goes over everything I’ll have to do in the office. My daily tasks will include dealing with customers, making calls for any parts that need to be ordered, putting the information into the computer and printing out invoices for the customer and to keep on file for ourselves, and taking inventory. I’ll also be cleaning the office and other tasks on a daily basis. Venom knows I’ve never held a job in my life, but I assured him I’m more than willing to put in the work and I’m a quick learner. Their computer programs are easy to work with and pretty self-explanatory. I simply fill in the information based on what each mechanic brings me when they’re done with a job. They have a form filled out about why each vehicle is being brought in and then the actual work that’s been done to fix the problem with each job.
Their inventory is all in the computer and has counts already in each place. It’s my responsibility to make sure the numbers match what we actually have on hand. Most everything is in a storeroom just down the hall leading to the bathroom and breakroom behind me. Once I get a routine down, I won’t have a hard time making sure all the numbers are correct. I’ll also be able to make sure we have an accurate number on hand based on what the first column of numbers says. I asked Venom if I could label the shelves and he agreed to let me. Anything I can do to make the job easier for myself within reason I’m allowed to do.
I’ll be spending the rest of the day with Brick in order to go over the smaller details of what I’ll be doing. He’ll also show me how to take a tow call and what logging one entails. I’ve never dealt with any of this and I sort of feel overwhelmed if I’m being honest about everything. However, I have a feeling that once I get settled into my role here in the garage, I’ll be more comfortable and the nerves will leave. At least when it comes to dealing with the office stuff. I’m not sure about how I’ll handle the customers and everything else. I’m not exactly the most social person on Earth. I’ve never really had the opportunity to be social and simply interact with others around me. Every single interaction I’ve had in my life so far has been handled by my mother. In most of those situations, I was to remain quiet and only speak when I was asked a direct question.
The only thing I wasn’t comfortable answering was personal questions. Venom took down my name and other information for another man named Goose to do a background check on me. I know it’s a standard part of getting a job. At least it is from what I’ve heard others I was in school with talking about. When they started getting jobs, I’d hear about them waiting on background checks and shit before they actually started working. So, I know that’s standard practice. It wasn’t until the questions started being about where I was living and those kinds of things that I wasn’t uncomfortable. They weren’t happy when they discovered I was living in my car and had been for months. The four months I’ve been in Cedar Bay, I’ve lived in my car.
While sleeping in my car isn’t exactly something I ever envisioned for myself, it’s been my reality. Venom was quick to offer me a place to stay. They apparently bought the old hotel that had been abandoned and turned it into their clubhouse. Most of them have homes now out behind the building and there’s plenty of room for me to have my own space there. I’ll have a full room with a bed, bathroom, and access to all the food I could want. They assured me there were other women staying there and I wouldn’t be left alone in the clubhouse with any men. The ol’ ladies, not sure who they are, would be out back if I needed them. They told me I’d be more likely to see Quinn during the day than anyone else. Quinn is the woman who helped me when I needed it because I was so sick. That helps settle my nerves slightly since I’ll somewhat know a person at this clubhouse.
The thought of having access to food is also something that appeals to me. I’ve gone hungry so much over the last four months and I’m not sure how I’ve managed to not end up in the hospital with the lack of food I’ve actually eaten. It’s broken my heart to get food items that I could store in my car and not worry about going bad because I don’t have a way to keep them cold. If I never see another can of spaghetti o’s in my life, I’ll be happy. Or canned vegetables. I’ve eaten so many of both that I can’t imagine having to eat the shit three meals a day every damn day for the rest of my life. That’s about how it’s been since I got here.
Ghost is done with my car and I know it’s going to take a long time for me to pay for the repairs that were made. I know there’s something else going on since Venom went over and had a conversation right next to my car. Brick was kind to remind me that I didn’t need to pay the full invoice right now though. Part of the money owed will be taken out of my paychecks. I also know Ghost didn’t charge me for labor. There’s no time listed on the invoice he brought me. Instead, the only cost I have are for the parts he replaced on the car I’ll be using until I can no longer do so. Or I get access to my trust funds and can get a different one. One my mother knows nothing about.
“Autumn, are you okay in here by yourself for a few minutes?” Brick asks me, pulling me from my thoughts.
“Yeah. I’ll just write down whatever information I get if a tow call comes in and you can show me how to log it when you get back,” I answer him, keeping my eyes on the computer and not turning to look at him.
Brick and Ghost make me feel things I’ve never felt before when around men. Not only do they each make me feel safe, I can feel their eyes running over my body as if they’re reaching out and caressing my skin with the lightest of touches from their fingers. The desire I see in their eyes makes me feel wanted and sexy for the first time in my life. No one is sneering at me because I’m not a size zero like the people my mother surrounds herself with. These women and men are assholes who hardly eat, constantly workout, and only see the size of a person in front of them. They don’t worry about anything else other than the looks on the outside and nothing inside. That’s not how I plan on living my life or treating others around me.
Both men are extremely good looking in their own ways. Brick is tall as hell and built with more muscles than I’ve ever seen on a man. I wouldn’t say he spends countless hours in the gym to gain those muscles, most of them are through hard work. He’s got dirty blond hair that’s cut close to his head and the greenest eyes I’ve seen in a long time. They’re clear and bright instead of being dull and lifeless like I’m used to. Ghost is the opposite of Brick. He’s got dark hair that’s a little bit longer than what you usually see a man wear. I’m sure he could put it in one of those man buns I’ve read about in my books. His eyes are a deep, chocolate brown but full of life and mirth. He seems to always want to laugh and have fun but has a serious side at the same time. Both men have tattoos I can see peeking out from their shirts. Brick has one going up the side of his neck as well. I can’t imagine the pain he experienced with that one. Hell, anyone with a tattoo has experienced the pain of that.
I’ve always wanted a tattoo but was never allowed to get one. My mother always told me they were disgusting and not done by people such as us. So, as normal, I never went and got a tattoo like I wanted. I couldn’t even get anything other than my ears pierced. Even then it was only one piercing in each ear and that’s it. I was only given small hoops to wear or jeweled studs. None of the earrings I wanted to get and wear were allowed because my mother said they weren’t appropriate for someone like me. Or they would make me look as if I were even fatter than normal. Her words cut deeper than she’ll ever know.
Brick leaves me alone in the office while he disappears. I notice all the guys leaving and realize they’re taking a break. I don’t want to take one since I have nothing to eat anyway. So, I remain at the desk where I’ll check the customers out and go through the computer programs I’ll be working with some more. I don’t want to give these men any reason to fire me or take this job away before I’ve had a chance to prove myself. I’ll be the best office person I can be and prove to everyone that I don’t need to become some kind of trophy wife when I’m clearly not good enough if you ask my mother. Hell, the main person I want to prove it to is myself. I’m done letting life pass me by and doing nothing to live how I want to. I just don’t know how to actually go about living free and doing what I want.
