Page 27 of Edge

She narrowed her eyes at me. “What did you do?”

I held my hands up in surrender. “I didn’t do anything. I merely told Irene what was going on with your car. She suggested getting a loan for you. She was going to call you herself, but I told her I’d talk to you about it after I gave you the news about your car.” My explanation wasn’t entirely honest. In truth, I was going to pay for her car. Since I knew Evie wouldn’t go for that, I asked Irene if she had any ideas. That prompted Irene to volunteer herself as the middleman. Evie would pay Irene, and Irene would, in turn, pay me.

Evie’s eyes suddenly widened. “Does she know about what happened with Randall?”

“No,” I assured her. “She obviously knows you came from a bad situation, but that’s your story to tell if and when you choose to.”

She nodded in acknowledgment, but remained silent for several minutes. Finally, she said, “I guess I should figure out what I can afford and start looking for a new car.”

“Do you want to go look at some used car lots instead of going to the shooting range?” I asked.

“Yes, if you’re sure you don’t mind.”

“Mind? I work on cars for a living. I’d be offended if you didn’t ask me to go with you,” I teased.

“Thank you,” she said softly. “I really appreciate everything you’re doing for me.”

“It’s not a hardship,” I said honestly. I enjoyed being around her and genuinely wanted to get to know her better. “Are you ready to go now?”

“As ready as I’m going to be.”

Once we were in my truck, she pulled out her phone and started tapping away. “What are you doing?” I asked.

“Trying to figure out my price range,” she said distractedly.

“Keep in mind, Irene’s not going to charge you interest,” I told her.

“She’s not?”

“Of course not,” I laughed. “You have met her, right?” Even though I was the one who wouldn’t be charging her interest, I knew Irene wouldn’t either if she were the one behind the loan. She was out to help people, not make a profit off them.

“She really is a saint. I’ll never be able to repay her for everything she’s done for me.”

“Yes, you will. Getting on your feet and living a happy life is all she wants in return,” I said. “Bonus points if you’re able to do some good for someone else down the line.”

“Is that why Byte does the things he does?”

“I never really thought about it like that, but it probably is. I mean, most of the stuff is club related, but he does more than is expected of him,” I said.

When I pulled into a used car lot a few minutes later, I turned to her and said, “No matter what you’re thinking, try to act neutral while we’re looking. If you act overly excited about a vehicle or seem desperate, they might be less inclined to negotiate on the price.”

“How about I let you do the talking?” she suggested. “As long as it will get me to and from work, I’m good.”

“I think we can do a little better than that,” I said. I was going to make sure she had something reliable and safe, even if I had to work on it myself.

The first place was a bust. The lot was full of vehicles with mechanical problems hidden behind shiny exteriors and immaculately clean interiors.

“And that’s called putting lipstick on a pig,” I said once we were on our way to another dealership.

“I’m glad you came with me. I had no idea and probably would have tried to buy the first one that looked okay to me,” she said.

“That’s what they were counting on.”

We went to dealer after dealer, but we didn’t find anything suitable for her. I watched Evie’s disappointment grow each time we left a car lot with no prospects.

“You okay over there?”

She sighed heavily. “This is beginning to seem like a pointless endeavor.”