Swerve: Boosted Hearts (Volume 1) (10 page)

The rumors were true.

Al was sick. Really sick.

But even sick, an air of authority radiated from the guy. He still had that arrogant expression on his smug face, and despite his frail appearance, carried himself like the cocksure bastard he was.

“Boys,” he said as he approached. “I can see how excited you are to see me.” Don took position beside his boss, a smirk on his stupid-looking face.

“We weren’t expecting you,” Adam said.

“Of course you were.” Al grinned. “Let’s cut to the chase, shall we? I think we make great business partners, and I’d hate to see that partnership dissolve when there’s a lot more money to be made. Once you’ve paid off your debt, you’ll be getting a cut. A very generous one.”

Hugh crossed his arms. “Not interested.”

The old bastard’s gaze sharpened, locking onto Hugh. Hugh stared back. He wasn’t backing down on this. Being a professional car thief wasn’t something he aspired to be, despite his past and the stupid mistakes he’d made as a kid. Mistakes that had brought him to this very point. He wanted out, but if Al had his way, this is where they’d all stay.

Screw that.

“You’re making the wrong decision,” Al said, expression cold, blank.

“We disagree,” Adam answered.

Al stared at them. “I see.” His fingers curled into fists. “Well, thank you for your time. I have to be going. We’ll talk again soon, though.” Then he turned, got back in his car and left.

Adam watched the car roll out. “I’d say negotiations are about to start.”

They’d learned first-hand the way Al conducted negotiations.

They were fucked.

Kayla stumbled, and Shay reached out to steady her friend before she fell on her butt. Things were getting messy. They’d both had too much to drink. Well, she hadn’t had as much as Kayla, but then, it didn’t take as much for Shay to get tipsy. She’d always been a lightweight when it came to alcohol.

The night had started off great, gone really well until the fourth round of Tequila Sunrises, then things had taken a turn for the worse. She’d had to wrestle the phone out of Kayla’s hand several times. In her intoxicated state, her friend had decided she needed to call James. He apparently
needed
to know how much she loved him…was positive the reason they broke up for the third time was because she hadn’t expressed her feelings for him enough
.

The real reason they kept breaking up was that James was an A-1 jerk. End of story.

Shay opened the door of the taxi and ushered her friend in. “Let’s get you home, honey.”

Kayla crawled inside, collapsing on her belly, butt in the air.

“You have to sit up. Come on.” Shay grabbed her friend under the armpits, stumbling a little when she leaned in to drag Kayla into a sitting position.

Climbing in after her, Shay secured her friends seatbelt before Kayla did another face-plant then glanced at the driver, who was now scowling at them, and gave him Kayla’s address.

“If she pukes in my cab, the fees double.”

“She won’t.”
She better not.
Shay could barely afford the ride as it was.

Kayla reached out and poked Shay in the side of the face to get her attention. “He doesn’t know, Shay. I need to tell him I love him. I
neeeed
to.”

“I know, honey.”

After taking the phone off Kayla for the third time, Shay had stolen the battery out of it while Kayla wasn’t looking. She would thank Shay in the morning. Kayla rested her head on Shay’s shoulder, and a second later, she was passed out. Wonderful.

Shay managed to rouse her long enough to get her into her place. Kayla’s roommate was thankfully home, and the two of them got her into bed. Shay handed over Kayla’s phone and battery with strict instructions not to let her have it until the morning and then headed for home.

The trailer was dark when they pulled up outside. Her mom must be in bed. Something about the intense darkness beyond the windows made Shay freeze…had her weak, alcohol-addled mind filling with a memory she never allowed herself to revisit.

Mom forgot to pay the electricity again. Shay huddled under her blanket on their old couch. She hated the dark, especially when she was home alone. She gripped the flashlight tighter, whimpering when it started to flicker, knowing the batteries were about to run out. This was the second night her mommy had stayed away. Shay’s tummy rumbled, and she hugged herself to stop the ache. A shadow moved outside the window. It was just the trees, she knew it was, but it still scared her. Clutching her teddy tight, she prayed her mommy would hurry up and come home, and that morning would come fast…

“You all right?” the driver asked impatiently.

“Oh…! Yes. I’m fine. Sorry.” She paid him then climbed out, letting the memory fade, locking it away with the rest.

She headed to the trailer, glad her mother was asleep. She couldn’t deal with another one of her tirades tonight. Her mom was unhappy,
extremely
unhappy, which was common on these visits. When she was like this, she wasn’t satisfied until everyone around her was just as miserable as she was. She accomplished this by being nasty, and, at times, cruel. She put Shay down constantly, whenever the opportunity presented itself.

Another reason to end things with Hugh—she’d be humiliated if her mother spoke to her that way in front of him. The idea of the two of them in the same room was enough to give Shay hives.

Thankfully, she didn’t have to worry about that happening. Hugh said he’d work something out so they could get together after she’d been out, but she hadn’t heard from him all evening. His text message:
Two nights, too long
, though short, was to the point and had triggered some serious happy tingles. Now she felt disappointed. Disappointed, tipsy and because she was thinking of Hugh, aroused.

Dammit.

She unlocked the door as quietly as she could and tiptoed inside. The smell of cigarette smoke hit her first, which annoyed the crap out of her. She’d told her mom she couldn’t smoke inside. But then her mother did what she wanted when she wanted. That’s how it had always been. Loaded with bags, she’d arrived the day before as she’d promised. And after she’d found and opened the cheap wine Shay had bought for cooking, she’d plonked her butt on the couch and proceeded to drink the whole thing until she passed out. So much for their dinner together.

Since her mother had taken the bedroom, Shay flicked on the light and stared at the couch. She’d slept on the foldout for years while she’d lived with her grandmother, before she’d gone to college. Right then, she missed her gran more than she ever had.

Dumping her bag on the counter, she grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge, which was when she spotted a note stuck to the front of the refrigerator door. It was held on by one of the hula girl magnets her gran had bought on her honeymoon to Hawaii. They were faded and cracked. She’d loved them.

Staying with a friend. See you tomorrow.

Mom.

A friend?

She checked the bedroom, and sure enough, it was empty. She’d never heard of a friend, let alone met any of them. Still, it didn’t come as a surprise; her mom had trouble sitting still. She’d probably met some random guy while Shay was at work. Wouldn’t be the first time. She’d be after her next meal ticket. But Shay refused to lay awake all night worrying. She’d spent far too many nights doing that to last her a lifetime.

The sound of a car pulling up outside her trailer was loud in the silence, and she stiffened. God, had her mother come home after all? Did she have someone with her? Shay headed to the door and pulled back the faded floral curtain covering the small window, squinting into the darkness to get a better look. She didn’t recognize car.

But then the door was shoved open, and Hugh’s huge frame unfolded from the driver’s side.

Her heart kicked into gear as she gripped the door handle and pulled it open. She took the first step and gave him a little wave. The urge to run at him and jump into his arms was almost too hard to contain. He was just such a welcome sight after the last couple of days.

“It’s you,” she said stupidly.

He grinned. “Looks like it.” His gaze moved over her, lingering on key areas before lifting to meet her eyes. “You look hot, princess.”

She had on dark jeans, platform heels and a fifties-style baby-doll top with a sweetheart neckline. She’d say it was more a cutesy look than hot, but hey, she’d take it. “What are you doing here?”

His eyebrows lifted, gaze dropping to her lips.

Oh.
She felt her face heat. “I wasn’t expecting you.”

“Said I’d sort something. Came to pick you up…”

She shook her head. “My mom…well, she’s not actually here tonight.” Her heart started doing some serious fluttering. “Not back ‘til tomorrow.”

He grinned. “Perfect.” Shutting the car door, he headed her way, but before he reached her he tossed the keys in his hand toward her.

Her hand lifted automatically, catching them.

“Yours,” he said when he stopped in front of her.

“What?”

“The car. It’s yours.”

She blinked up at him, trying to clear her fuzzy brain.
What?
He couldn’t be serious. She couldn’t afford a car. “What do you mean,
mine
? I don’t have money for a new car.”

“Don’t want your money, princess.” His hands went to her hips, and he gave her a squeeze. “Car’s yours,” he said again, as if he’d given her a frickin’ donut and not a
whole car
. “You gonna let me in?”

She stepped back, and he kept coming, until they moved inside and her back met the kitchen counter.

“Um, Hugh. I can’t accept a car from you.”

He stared down at her. “Why not?”

“Why not?” she sputtered.

“Yeah.”

“Because it’s a car.”

“Think we’ve established that.”

She tilted her head back, lifting her hands to his chest. The firm muscle flexed under her palms, and she sighed. The man truly was scrumptious. He grinned. Oh wow…

His brows lifted a little. “So you’ll take it?”

“What?”

He grinned wider. Crap.
Focus!
She shook her head, forcing her brain back to the conversation at hand.

“You can’t just give me a car. That’s…it’s…well, it’s nuts.”

“You need one?”

“That’s…that’s not the point.”

He chuckled. Gave her another squeeze. “It’s not a big deal. It’s our old loaner. We were gonna junk it cause none of us could be bothered fixin’ it. I fixed it today. It’ll run sweet until you’re ready to upgrade.”

It was a nice thing to do, a really nice thing to do, but she couldn’t accept it. That wasn’t what they were about. She flexed her fingers against his pecs and tried to suppress the shiver that moved through her. “It’s really sweet of you, and I appreciate it. I do. But I can’t accept it. It’s just too much.” She ran her hands over his pecs, down to his abs and back up, watching her hands as they moved over him. “God, you’re big.”

He chuckled. “You drunk?”

She shook her head. “Just tipsy.”

“You get horny when you’re tipsy?”

She stared up at him, mouth dropping open. Dear lord, the things he said. “What…? No. I’m not…” She couldn’t make herself say it.

His soft brown eyes transformed, gaze sharpening, a determined expression coming over his face. Then he rubbed his hips against hers, and she nearly moaned out loud when she felt his erection against her belly.

“No?”

Yes!
But horny didn’t quite cover how she was feeling in that moment. Still, she couldn’t
say it
. “No.”

His nostrils flared, and he licked his lower lip before a sexy, extremely dirty grin lifted the corners of his mouth.

Eeek!

Hugh grinned down at Shay. She was a sweet, soft, little armful, and he’d thought about nothing else but the woman currently pressed up against him—lying through her teeth.

She was as hot for him as he was for her.

After last night, nearly getting caught, he knew he shouldn’t be there—letting her get in his head like this was stupid, reckless. He had so much shit raining down on him, he was close to suffocating. But for some messed-up reason, he couldn’t stay away. And the thought of her walking to the bus stop in the middle of the goddamn night, unprotected, had been driving him bat-shit crazy since she told him how she made it to work and back. She could refuse to take the car all she liked, but it was going to happen. By the time he walked out of here, Shay would have agreed, happily, to take the damn thing off his hands.

She licked her lips and blinked up at him several times in a way that made him want to savage that innocent-looking mouth, made him want to push her to her knees and watch those pretty eyes go wide when he slid his hard cock into her mouth.

His thoughts scattered when she took his hand in hers—until she placed the keys back in his palm.

“It’s too much, Hugh.”

Yeah, he liked it when she said his name. A lot. He also noticed she’d changed the subject back to the car, away from the way she was clenching her thighs together. “That the answer you’re gonna stick with?”

Her lips were slightly parted, breath coming faster, sexy little pants forcing her tits against his abs. “Yes.”

“Stubborn,” he muttered.

Her spine straightened, which just pushed her closer. “I am not.”

“Yeah, you are.” He tucked her hair behind her ear. “But I like it, makes changing your mind a fuck of a lot more fun.”

Her jaw tightened.
Cute
as
fuck
.

“I’m not changing my mind.”

Yeah, she was, she just didn’t know it yet. He stepped away, and she watched, eyes wary, throwing off a shit ton of attitude. So much for having to fake it. That was cute, as well, kind of like a pissed-off kitten. He went to the couch in the small living space and sat down. “So you wanna watch some TV?”

The attitude drained away, and she frowned. He wanted to laugh at the confused look on her face. The woman couldn’t maintain even a little bit of anger; it wasn’t in her nature. Yeah, she got pissed when she needed to, but it wasn’t her. Shay Freestone was sweetness—inside and out. She was also turned-way-the-hell-on and denying it.

She crossed her arms over her chest, pushing up all that soft, round flesh. “TV?”

His mouth went dry. “Yeah.” He patted the couch beside him.

“Um…okay. Sure.” She walked to the television, a slight wobble in her step, and bent over to turn it on. That full, round ass was now aimed at him, and the denim coving it hugged those sexy cheeks to perfection.