One
On the first cold Friday of the new year, Axel Heller stood in Heller’s Paint and Auto Body and glared from his newest employee to the unfinished Escalade sitting all by itself in Bay 2.
The Seattle weather made the concrete in the floors radiate cold. Icy winds and sleet beat against the reinforced walls offering them protection from a harsh winter, but Axel wouldn’t call it warm inside. It didn’t bother him any though. Braced against the cold in a thick cable-knit sweater, jeans, and his comfortable leather boots, he felt nothing but toasty as his rage grew.
Isodo not need this right now.
Mateo and the always-reliable Smitty waited with the new guy, no doubt ready to intervene should Axel’s infamous temper flare out of control.
Lately, it didn’t take much to set him off. His mother’s death still hurt, a fresh wound even after six months. And his family…
He took a deep breath and let it out slowly, saying nothing, just studying the idiot unable tofollow. Simple. Instructions.
It didn’t help that Axel had just ended a call from his father. As usual, it had been filled with nothing but arguments and swearing in guttural German. He could only be happy his father still lived in Germany and rarely made the occasional trip stateside to visit. Otherwise Axel would probably be in jail for patricide.
At the thought, he smiled.
Mateo took a step back and shoved the new guy—Rylan—forward. “Take him. I’m too pretty to die young.”
“Asshole,” Rylan muttered before confronting Axel. “What the hell, man? You wanted us to buff out the Corolla and set the quarter panel for the Kia, so we did. What’s the problem?”
Behind him, Smitty shook his head and stood with his arms crossed over his chest. Axel didn’t have many friends, but he considered Smitty one of them. And he knew Smitty had problems with the new guy, but they’d been hoping to work them out.
Axel took a step closer and looked down at Rylan, who finally had the sense to shut up.Count to five. No, ten. Breathe. Remember, Rylan needs his face in one piece.Probably.“The problem is I told you hours ago we had a change of plans.”
“But I thought the Corolla and Kia would be faster. I mean, we did get them both done today.”
Axel curled his fingers so he wouldn’t be tempted to wrap them around Rylan’s neck. He’d spent the afternoon away, working on taxes with an overpriced accountant, content at least that the shop work would get done. “I trusted you to pass the message to finish the Escalade first because the client paid extra to have it done early. But seeing as Smitty and Mateo helped you with the lower-priority work, I’m guessing you didn’t tell them.”
“Hell no, he didn’t,” Mateo muttered.
“Now we’re going to be behind next week unless your sorry ass is in here tomorrow, on a Saturday, fixing your mistake.”
Rylan flushed. “Oh, ah, well, I can do that.”
But I don’t trust you to do anything on your own.Axel mumbled under his breath about shoving a rock-hard head through a cement wall, idly wondering if his father had secretly sent Rylan to screw with him.
“When he talks in German, the shit’s ready to blow,” Mateo helpfully pointed out.
“Shut up, Mateo,” Rylan snapped. “Look, Heller, I’m fine to work tomorrow. You don’t even have to pay me overtime.” He swallowed at the look Axel shot him. “Or at all. I’ll make up for my mistake.”
But Axel had already made up his mind. “Get out. Everyone go home. I’ll see you Monday.” He knew Rylan had been trying to help, but the guy kept messing up and putting them behind. If Rylan wasn’t so skilled at sanding and refining, as well as having an incredible eye for detail, Axel would have fired him by now. But with Kelly out for another month dealing with some family issues, he had to admit they needed all the help they could get.
Instead of relaxing tomorrow,Axelwould have to come in on his day off and fix the mess. He knew what the Escalade needed, and sadly, it wasn’t as if he had anything better to do with his time.
The crew departed, Rylan still trying to apologize as Mateo tugged him out the door. Smitty paused by the exit, his red Mohawk like a stream of fire. Full of muscle and tattoos, he looked like a bruiser but was one of the calmest, nicest guys Axel knew. “I’ll swing by to help you with the SUV.” Because Smitty knew Axel would fix the issue himself.
Axel grunted.
Smitty grinned and left without another word.
Axel leaned against a workbench and stared at his pride and joy, a paint and auto body shop he’d put together without help from anyone.
He scrubbed his hands over his face, wondering if the whiskers should stay or go. He’d been too busy to care about keeping his cheeks smooth, and with his constant visits to Stuttgart, Germany, helping his aunt and cousins as best he could, he’d been slacking off with the business.
The grief always sitting under the surface welled up, threatening to drown him in it. Taking deep breaths, he forced himself not to think about the past. Instead, he dwelled on the living, and on one particular individual he found fascinating.
The cement floor blended with the whitewashed walls as thoughts of fine-as-hell Rena Jackson intruded. He heard himself sigh and flushed, glad the guys weren’t around to see him acting like a lovesick moron.
