“Hank finally got the parts we ordered.”
“About damn time, but do you have to leave in the middle of the day?” He wouldn’t be able to talk to customers with Dima here.
“Why not? It’s almost an hour’s drive.” Stu pursed his lips. “Baby Jay is going to miss his big, handsome brother?”
“I’m gonna change the fucking lock, is what I’ll do.Get out of here.”
Stu laughed and walked out into the customer area. Moments later, he called, “Ethan! Haven’t seen you in ages.”
What the hell?
Jay hurried to join them as Stu and Ethan finished hugging.
“I was just leaving,” Stu said. “Great seeing you, man. Oh, I heard the news about you and Anthony. I, too, fancy Italians, although with slightly different parts.”
Jay cleared his throat. “Don’t you need to be somewhere?”
“Yeah yeah. I’m out of here.”
Once it was just the two of them left, Jay took a step toward Ethan. “The hell, E?”
“I’m going crazy. I can’t keep doing nothing. Did Dima come yet?”
“No, he’s late, which means you still have time to get back to work and let me handle this.”
“You need backup.”
Ethan seemed miserable and tired. For him, this whole mess had come out of nowhere, while Jay had been aware of the looming danger for a while now. He sighed and put his hands on Ethan’s shoulders. “Listen, I know what you’re going through, but we can’t afford to make mistakes. If Dima sees you here, it will be harder for me to get anything out of him. Trust me.”
Ethan looked around. “I can hide somewhere in caseyou need me.”
“The man can barely walk, E. I got this. Please go back to work. I promise to talk to you and Anthony the second I’m done with that asshole.”
Ethan reluctantly nodded. “Fine, we’ll talk later. Be careful.”
He left with his shoulders slumped, and Jay went to make himself a strong coffee, knowing he had done the right thing by sending Ethan away.
Shortly after, he stepped outside at the sound of an approaching car. Dima slowly drove closer in his busted black Toyota SUV. Jay signaled him to park inside, then pulled down the garage door to give them privacy. The blue neon light became more prominent with the blocking of the sunlight.
Dima climbed out of the car with a grunt, the bruises on his face more colorful than the day before. He raised his sunglasses, revealing a shiny black eye.
“How are you?” Jay asked, keeping the hostility out of his voice.
“Fine. Better.”
Jay walked past him and ran his fingers over the dents and scratches in the car’s body. He hadn’t known how long it would take him to determine whether another car had hit Dima’s car, but three seconds ended up being enough. Even the most amateur mechanic would have figured out that no car had collided with this one.
“You saw the car that hit you?” Jay asked casually.
“I was passed out by then.”
“It must have been in the parking lot when you got there. Did you notice a car with passengers inside?”
“No. The place seemed safe, and I didn’t expect the brothers to show up.”
“Yeah, they must have followed you on the way there. Coffee?”
“What?”
