Because what she had me feeling wasn’t possible.
“Ah, she’s pretty, all right.” Brock spewing his bullshit broke me out of the spell. “Knew you had to be gettin’ something out of it, and that something is fine as hell.”
Fuck the Ford.
I started to go for him except Darius had me grinding on the brakes when he charged Salem’s direction, his footsteps enraged. He stopped halfway to her, right in the middle of us.
His hands were clenched into fists as his attention darted between me and the girl.
Swore, he had murder written in his expression.
Knew that look well.
He turned that venom on her. “Salem, the fuck are you doing here?”
Well shit.
She told me she didn’t have a man waiting on her, and I had a feeling that things had just gotten messy and fast.
Had the urge to yank him back, stand between them, especially considering she’d come walking down like she’d been properly fucked when, unfortunately, that wasn’t even close to the way things had gone down.
Except Salem rolled her eyes in annoyance as she hit the landing and strode our way. All fierce fire and stormy conviction. “I called you fifteen times and texted you more. My car broke down.”
Darius’ eyes swept back to take in her car.
Brock was standing beside it, dude grinning like the fuckin’ Joker, laughing under his breath as he took in the scene. No doubt, he was eating up the tension.
The way Darius looked back at me like he was envisioning peeling the flesh from my bones.
“Tried calling you this morning,” Darius grated, though he was still glaring at me when he said it.
“My phone died, and I was asleep and safe because some nice guy stopped to help me in the middle of a downpour. That was it.”
“I bet he helped her,” Brock needled.
I spun and pointed at him, the threat whipping from my tongue. “One more, Brock, and I end you.”
He laughed like it was hysterical.
“Was about to lose my mind, Salem,” Darius grated, swiveling his focus to the girl.
“Did my texts from last night come through this morning? The ones where I told you what happened and that I was fine?” Her voice was a challenge.
“Yeah.” He seemed reluctant to admit it.
She crossed her arms over her chest. “So, you knew I was okay?”
He roughed a hand over his head. “Yeah.”
“Then I’m pretty sure this anger is misplaced.”
Coming to the quick decision of where to place it, Darius turned to glare at me.
I pushed a placating hand toward him since the dude looked like he was about to snap. “Hey, man, had taken a ride and got caught in the storm. On my way back, I came upon her car over on Dawson. Shady as shit over there, you know that, and I wasn’t about to leave her by herself.”
Didn’t really need to explain myself because I hadn’t done a thing wrong. His anger wasn’t on me. I’d had no clue Salem was with someone. On top of it, she hadn’t done anything wrong, either. She’d let someone help her. There was no crime in that.
Wasn’t like she was betraying her man by seeking refuge under my roof.
The fact the idea of her having a man coiled my guts in some kind of twisted, pissed off jealousy?
Yeah.
That one was on me.
Except Salem was scoffing and cocking her head in offended disbelief.
Wildcat claws coming out.
Salem was fuckin’ hot in all that ferocity.
“You don’t need to explain to my brother why you stopped to help me, Jud. We didn’t do anything wrong, and he has no right to act like we did.”
She emphasized brother, and shit, was that a breath of relief that punched from my lungs?
Why, yes. Yes, it was.
Darius glared harder.
Fuck.
I scrubbed a palm over my face.
He shifted back to her, voice full of condescension. “I’m sorry if I’m concerned that I roll up to work and my sister comes waltzing out of my boss’ apartment.”
He was back to shooting daggers at me.
Brock howled and rocked his hips. “Friend…just how friendly are you, Jud?”
“One more word.” My finger was back to jabbing in his direction.
Apparently, none of us were going to make it out alive because Salem was tossing her hand in the air, her outrage shifting to me. “And why is my car here?”
Surprise lifted my brows. “Uh…because it’s broken down?”
She lifted that scarred chin, and fuck, I was itching to reach out and touch it again. “I told you I can’t afford that.”
“Didn’t ask you to. I’ll handle it.”
She and Darius scoffed at the same time. Maybe I should have recognized the resemblance from the get-go. “I don’t think so,” they both said.
Lord help me.
I roughed both palms over my face. “I’m just trying to help out over here.”
“Help—”
The second Brock opened his mouth, I picked up a wrench and threw it at him before he could get it out. It hit him square in the chest and dropped him to his knees. Dude started rolling around on the shiny black concrete.
Crying and laughing like the fool he was.
He was lucky he was good.
I turned back to Salem who looked like she was about to freak out right about then. She glanced at her brother. “Do you have time to give me a ride home?”
He gave her a tight nod. “Yup. Just give me a second to take my things to my station.” He lifted the bag he’d dumped to the ground in front of him. “That is, if it’s okay with the boss?”
There was a challenge in that, and hell, I thought I’d learned more about the guy in the last two minutes than I had since he started working here.
I jutted my chin. “No problem.”
“Good.” Salem spat it, then stormed on those heels out the open bay door and toward Darius’ truck.
“Hey,” I called from behind her, unable to do anything but follow.
Girl this gravity that I couldn’t shake.
I needed to completely cut off this bullshit.
But there I was, chasing her out into the bright light of the coming day, the ground damp and the air humid from last night’s storm.
“What the hell?” I demanded when she refused to look back at me. “Salem. Wait.”
I nearly stumbled when she whirled on me like a hurricane. “I’m not a charity case.”
“Didn’t imply that you are.”
She gestured wildly at the front of her car visible through the bay door. “Do you expect to get paid for that?”
I rocked back on my heels and scratched the back of my neck, unsure of what the right answer was supposed to be here. “Uh, no.”
Her head cocked to the side, voice hard. “Charity case. I told you last night that this place was going to be too much, and you hauled my car in, anyway?”
“Everyone needs a little help every once in a while, Salem. Not a thing wrong with that. And if this is about what happened with your brother, he has to know you weren’t doing a walk of shame, that you—”
She flew into my face.
The words died on my tongue as that severity cracked.
A whip.
In a heartbeat, my guts were tangled in those thunderbolt eyes.
She poked me in the chest. “Walk of shame? If I fucked you, it’d be because I wanted to, and I wouldn’t feel an ounce of shame, so you and my brother can both kiss my ass.”