When we were together, I’d tried to convince myself that his generosity toward me was a point in his favor. He wasn’tselfish, he could just be forgetful that other people didn’t have it like he did.
But the further I got from him, the clearer it was to me that Gabe didn’t give out of the goodness of his heart. He only spent when he thought there was something to be owned. And he’d certainly convinced himself that he owned me.
At least Dom used her money to give people jobs.
Leaning my elbow against the tool cabinet, I tried to keep my breathing steady as Leo snapped on a pair of black, nitrile gloves. “What’d you have to do to get in the Beast’s good graces?”
“Not much.” Leo shrugged, popping open the hood. “Dom and I go a ways back.”
“Really?” I raised an eyebrow, struggling to imagine where on earth they would have met.
“Went to school together. After my service, I was looking for a job, and she was looking for a mechanic. Worked out well enough.” As Leo laid out a selection of wrenches and bits on the cabinet, she smirked up at me. “You’re awfully curious about Dom…”
“Am not.” I crossed my arms over my chest. “I’m just trying to get to know you. Figure if we’re going to keep living together, I should know more about you…”Assuming Dom isn’t currently burning all of my shit.
“You’re not asking about me, though, are you?” Laughter teased beneath her words.
As she craned her neck up to get a look under the car, my eyes drifted down her neck and past the collar of her shirt.
Without looking away from the car, Leo asked her own question. “Has it always taken awhile for your bruises and wounds to heal?”
I thought I’d noticed her eyes flicking over the scabby wounds on my hands, the brown and yellow skin on my arms.
Looking at them, I shrugged. Of course they had, in fact I’d noticed it my entire life just to be told by doctors that I was clumsy, always running into things and I should be more delicate with my skin.
“Sorta, I’ve not thought about it a lot.” I hoped it sounded natural.
Clearing my throat, I tried to keep my eyes from drifting elsewhere. “Fine. What’s that tattoo about, then?”
“You’re going to have to be more specific, darlin’.” Leo mumbled, reaching up to start unscrewing a bolt in the chassis.
“The sword.” I pointed to my throat, trailing a finger down to mimic its placement on her chest.
“It’s for the motorcycle club I’m in.”
“What’s it called?”
“Valemont Violence.” She wiggled her brows.
The name sent a slight tingle down my spine, but I tried to keep my voice light. “Sounds kind of brutal. What do you get up to with a name like that?”
Flicking her eyes to mine, she smirked. “Let’s just say you don’t want to get on our bad side.”
I frowned as she returned her gaze to her work. I was sure she meant it as a joke, but I couldn’t help suspecting that there was a hint of truth in it — that my saviors weren’t quite as virtuous as they’d have me believe.
Spencer’s tattoo was almost exactly the same and she’d been smuggling bags of cash out of the backroom of an arcade.
But before I could ask more, Leo moved toward the cabinet, placing a hand on the work surface on either side of me, justclose enough to make me blush without ever touching me. “You know, it doesn't seem quite fair that you get to ask all the questions. Have you considered that maybe I’d like to know a little bit more about you, Princess?”
“You know plenty about me already,” I deflected, uncertain I should be telling this shady woman anything more until I knew exactly who she was.
But the information I wanted came with a price, and Leo was determined to see me pay it.
“How’s about this: let’s play a game of twenty questions.”
I raised an eyebrow. “What are we, twelve? Besides you asked a question.”
Leo smirked, head cocked just slightly to meet my gaze. “We’ll take turns. You can ask me anything you want. But when it’s my turn, I’ll be sure to match your energy, so be careful where you go digging. You in?”
