He nodded, eyes distant. “Yeah. Right. Good advice.”
His words were hollow. Sebastian was nowhere near ready to listen to me. But I hoped he would soon, because he really was a good guy. Yes, he was dorky. He flirtedbadly, and he made a fool of himselfoften, but he was also funny and loyal and a really damn good friend.
I knew, even once I left Thurston University, that I’d never really leave Sebastian or Iris behind. We’d stay in touch. We’d visit.
Friendship like this was worth holding on to, no matter where our lives took us.
But for now, I was past ready to go home. I clapped him on the arm, told Iris goodbye, and headed for my car.
On the way, I tugged out my phone, anxious to hear Flynn’s voice. I hit Call and waited until his deep voice rumbled, “Hey, babe.”
“Flynn, hi. What are you up to?”
“Just working on finishing up this transmission job so I can keep you in bed all day tomorrow before your family steals you for Thanksgiving. I arranged to get the day off.”
“That sounds amazing,” I said. “But I don’t want you to work too hard. I can always help you while I’m in town.”
“Nah, I’m almost done.”
“Okay,” I said. “In that case, I look forward to spending more time in your bed.”
He gave a deep chuckle that made goose bumps rise over my skin.
“Looking forward to it.”
CHAPTER 29
Flynn
I tossedthe empty bottle of transmission fluid in the trash, washed my hands thoroughly, and then got into the Mercedes-Benz that I’d spent the better part of two days repairing. The car was damn sleek, with dark leather upholstery and all the bells and whistles.
I usually preferred classics like Bailey’s car, but damn, this was a nice piece of machinery.
The engine was so fine-tuned the car idled almost silently. I put my foot on the brake and shifted into Reverse. All good. Then into Drive. Then to Neutral and back to Park. So far, so good. No warning lights. No hitches in the shifting. Maybe this damn transmission was finally good to go.
I got out of the car and went over to the diagnostic machine. One last set of checks that we didn’t have any leaks, and I’d be able to close up.
I checked the time. Yeah. Damn. Bailey would be hitting city limits soon. I wanted to be home and freshly showered by then, even if he could let himself in with his key. It would be a damnshame to put off our reunion by even a minute because I’d taken too long on this damn job.
I grabbed the cart that held the diagnostic computer—and a tablet displaying the surveillance footage from the cameras Axel and Gray had installed around the junkyard. I rolled it toward the car and reached for the cable to connect it when a flicker of movement on the other screen caught my eye.
I glanced over on reflex, not really expecting to see anything. We’d captured quite a few animals on candid camera since setting it up. Axel was determined to catch a cute little kitten that had been slinking around the back corner.
That’s the only reason I looked there first. Axel’s cat colony—those too wild to catch and rehome through his new foster program—lived in that area of the junkyard. The dogs were kept walled off so they wouldn’t bother them.
Sure enough, a shadow moved over there. I leaned in, trying to get a closer look. It was too big to be a kitten.
The shadow shifted, and suddenly, I made out the shape of a man crouched by the fence.
“Oh, fuck no,” I growled as he glanced furtively around, face washed out by the camera’s infrared lighting.
I didn’t need a clear picture to know exactly who that was.
I darted around the car and out the door, breaking into a sprint as I hit the parking lot. The guys had all gone out for a few beers. They’d invited me along, but I’d wanted to finish up my work before the weekend.
Snake must have been watching the place. Watching for an opportunity. Clearly, he didn’t think I’d see anything from the shop.
Without the cameras, I wouldn’t have.
