Taking the narrow alleyway between buildings, she followed the path around to the front. But as she turned the corner, she stumbled into a pair of guys leaned against the brick wall, getting high. She was about to pivot and go the long way when The Firehouse’s side door banged open.
Hammer stepped out, followed by two men who looked like they’d gone a couple rounds too many, and Romeo right behind them. Brandi pressed herself against the opposite wall, wincing as the brick dug into her spine.
Hammer barely looked at her as he and Romeo tossed the two guys down the alley like yesterday’s trash. One of the party boys swore; the other bolted when Romeo shouted after them.
That’s when Tool staggered out. He looked like hell.
Brandi’s heart squeezed as she watched him drop his pack of cigarettes. He bent to retrieve them—and dropped his keys. She didn’t hesitate. Walking forward, she scooped them up, then reached out, shoving him gently back against the wall to steady him.
It wasn’t every day the man of your dreams fell into your arms. But here he was—bleary-eyed, unsteady, the weight of his world pressing into her hands. He stared at her like he wasn’t sure she was real.
She held him up anyway.
“You again,” he murmured, voice thick with liquor and longing. “Every time I see you, you’re moving away from me.”
She swallowed hard. “Last time, it was you walking away from me.”
He was wasted. She should walk away. Leave him to the night and his choices. But she couldn’t.Damn fool,she thought.I still like you.
Tool blinked slowly. “I remember… you were with my brother.”
“Killer’s the closest thing to family I’ve got, you idiot.”
That made him smile—that infuriating, panty-melting grin that weaker women would crumble over.
Brandi smirked despite herself. “I’m not with Killer now.”
His gaze darkened. “Why don’t I drive you home?”
She arched a brow. “You’re not driving anywhere.”
Tool chuckled, clearly amused. “You don’t even know where I live.”
“I know where you live.”
She’d found out Tool was staying in the apartment above the shop. She hadn’t meant to learn it, hadn’t gone digging. Wrench had let it slip while replacing the Bug’s windshield wiper motor, and the knowledge had lodged itself in her chest like a stone.
He stopped smiling then—because she wasn’t teasing. Sheknew. And he liked that too much. A better man would thank her and send her away. But Tool wasn’t that man.
He didn’t want space. He wanted her pressed against him, clawing at his shirt, burning for him like he burned for her. He wanted her screams echoing off his walls with no one there to hear but him.
She stared up at him, her heart pounding as his hands gripped her arms and dragged her up onto her toes. The kiss caught her off guard, fierce and consuming. She should have pushed him away.
Instead, she kissed him back.
Harder.
Then someone cleared their throat.
Brandi broke the kiss and turned her head to see Hammer and Romeo standing there, arms crossed like bouncers waiting to intervene.
“It’s about time you took control of him,” Hammer said, chuckling.
“You taking him home, Brandi?” Romeo asked, deadpan.
“She’s taking me home,” he said.
“I am,” Brandi echoed.
