Page 5

Chapter Three

Nero

“ Y ou stupid fucking-” I growl as the rusted bolt snaps off. The old motorcycle sitting on the stand creaks as I contemplate throwing it into the middle of the ocean somewhere.

“Another one?” Viper asks as he saunters into the garage. My glare must speak a thousand words because he throws his hands up with a snicker. “If you would quit taking on junker projects, you might not get so frustrated.”

“Maybe if you minded your own fucking business, I might not consider introducing you to my fists,” I gripe back, grabbing the welder, a new bolt, and a torch. Setting the bolt and torch on the toolbox, I turn toward him. “Was there a reason for your visit?”

“Yeah, Shark wanted to see if you had time in your schedule for a pre-purchase inspection for a new bike.”

“He couldn’t ask me himself?” I cross my arms over my chest, my brow raised in suspicion.

“I would say he could, but apparently he is with the dude now, and they are talking about bringing it back to the shop. It would have helped if you had answered your phone, too.” Rolling my eyes, I move toward the second stand that’s empty.

“I will give him a call,” I say just as Viper’s phone rings. He grabs the device and smirks.

“Speak of the devil,” he answers. “Hey, boss.”

“Tell him that I’m available whenever today for him to bring it by.” I stop in my tracks when a leggy, raven-haired female steps into the garage. “Hi,” I breathed out, the words squished tightly in my chest.

She stares back at me for a moment, almost as if she’s just as stunned as I am. Height is her best friend because her toned legs tense even more in the tight jeans she’s wearing. High heels make her taller, but they seem to accentuate everything about her.

“Uh, hi?” she says back, which sounds more like a question than an answer. After a few moments, she shakes her head as if to clear out lingering thoughts. “My check engine light started blinking at me this morning. Regan said Maverick referred her to the shop…”

“Is your car here?” I question as I grab a shop rag to wipe the grease from my fingers.

With a look of lust and something else mixed in there, she watches as I work the grease off my fingers and then palms. Her tongue darts from between her lips for a moment before she inhales sharply when Viper steps up next to me.

Red tinting her cheeks, embarrassed to be caught checking me out.

Don’t worry, darling. The feeling is mutual.

“Uh,” she starts hoarsely then clears her throat. “Yeah, it’s right…” she jabs a thumb over her shoulder and looks anywhere but at me.

“Right, well, why don’t you pull it up to the third bay?

I will grab the scanner to see if we can do a quick diagnostic.

” She nods as I go to open the third bay.

Wheeling away a spare toolbox, I motion her forward.

White smoke billows from her exhaust as she accelerates, and just as she’s getting out of her car, a large tow truck rolls up with a bike on the back.

Shark grins from inside the truck as he rolls the window down.

“Look at this beauty!” He shouts over the engine. After a moment, he sees the woman standing in the bay. His mouth drops open in an ‘O’ before he smirks. “Want me to load her up and give you a minute?”

I feel my own blush creep up my cheeks. Must he be so fucking obvious? I nod, turning back to her.

“I would shake your hand, but I’m covered in grease. I’m Nero,” I introduce, giving her a single nod.

“I’m Irene. I work over at the Ride4Kidz foundation,” she responds, my mind racing to see if I remember her from any of the drops with the kids.

Whatever is on my face must give away that I have no idea who she is.

“I’m the head of social work, so I rarely come out to help as I usually work in the background.

Profiles, contacting families, the basics.

” I nod, furrowing my brows at the description.

She thinks that’s basic shit? If anything, her job might be harder than ours.

We just get the kids out of their situations.

They have to figure out what to do with them once they get back.

“Anything you can think of going wrong? Weird noises, indescribable shaking?” Her brows furrow at my question as she drops her keys into my outstretched hand. “Two-thousand-one Chevy Malibu?” I ask, and she nods with more confusion on her face.

I withhold my chuckle.

I know my cars, and thankfully, hers is a vehicle that is fairly simple to fix.

Sitting in the driver’s seat, I slot the key into the ignition.

It sputters a few times before finally turning over.

Just as she said, the check engine light pops on, flashing on the dashboard with a few other lights. Sighing, I shake my head.

Typical.

I carefully roll it onto the ramps, leaning my body halfway out of the door to ensure the two tires on my side are fully on. Grabbing the scanner, I grab the adapter and plug it in.

“It can take about thirty seconds to a minute if there’s a lot of stuff wrong,” I trail off, watching as code after code pops up. It takes everything in me not to grimace.

“That bad, huh?” She asks, her voice tight but forced to be happy. “I wouldn’t have brought it in if it didn’t blink, but Regan said something about it blinking not being good…”

“Well, none of these lights mean anything good,” I scoff, shaking my head as I fight against myself to say something snarky. I will never understand how people just let that shit go.

With a finalized beep, the scanner pops up twenty-two different messages for issues on the car. “Shit,” I curse as I tap through them all.

P0101 - MASS AIRFLOW SENSOR

P0300 - MULTI-CYLINDER MISFIRE DETECTED

P0420 - CATALYST SYSTEM LOW EFFICIENCY

P0128 - ENGINE COOL. TEMP. BELOW STAT

P0217 - CYLINDER HEAD TEMP OVERHEAT

P0325 - KNOCK SENSOR ABNORM.

“What’s the damage?” Her nail is between her teeth as she struggles not to bite it. “I’m usually far too busy to be worrying about my car, and when I remember about it all, it’s either too late at night or I’m in the middle of running errands.”

Viper appears next to her, slinging his arm over her shoulder.

Something inside of me screams to remove it for him.

Especially when I look at her face to find her even more uncomfortable.

He must take the hint when she drops her shoulders to let it slide off her back, and instead of being embarrassed, he laughs it off.

“I can see that,” I grumble, shaking my head in irritation. If she were my girl, this would never have happened.

Straightening my shoulders, I freeze with my eyes on the scanner.

My girl.

I barely fucking know her, so there’s no goddamn way she will want to shack up with my old ass. Plus, she seems so far out of my realm that making her mine isn’t a possibility I want to consider. So, I shoo the pesky thoughts from my brain and get back to work.

“You have a slew of issues going on, some of which are going to require some significant investigation. Any issues with it blowing smoke?” I know damn well what I saw earlier, but I’m more interested to see if she’s actually paid attention.

With the blush flushing her cheeks, I can guarantee that she has.

“I honestly don’t know. Like I said, I run around a lot.” She waves a hand toward the car. “That’s my only mode of reliable transportation.” Her eyes land everywhere except on me as she sways on her feet.

I can’t help but scoff. “This car is one run away from either catching on fire or breaking down with no chance of revival.” I grab the tablet from the counter and start printing off the codes that were thrown.

“I have a car in the back that I can loan you until I can either fix this one or we can get you situated with a new one.”

“Whoa, I can’t do that,” she snaps as her head flips back and forth vehemently. “I’m not your responsibility, and this MC-”

“Is your family too,” I retort and turn toward her fully. The audacity to say that the MC isn’t for her is like saying that I’m a saint. It’s a lie through and through. We don’t fuck around with our own, and that includes the ladies over at the agencies.

“You have been part of the family for a hell of a lot longer than half the men inside the club,” Viper jumps in, his arms wide. “Whether you want to accept the help or not is fine, but with the way he is about to go off, you might not have a choice in accepting his assistance.”

Like looking into a mirror, my molars mash at the same time hers do. She’s the type of girl who doesn’t like to ask for help. I’m the type of guy who doesn’t like to offer help without need. Right now, she needs it.

Staring into my fucking soul, her gray eyes don’t budge, and I sure as fuck don’t relent.

“Your car has been running on fumes for a while, babe. Nero is the best mechanic in the state. If he says shit ain’t right, then shit ain’t right.

We can get you whatever you need. Plus, you have been putting miles on your car, which should mean that the club buys you a new one since it’s the reason it’s being run down,” Viper does his best to voice reason, yet I can tell that she doesn’t want to hear it.

Something about her demeanor shifts, a pain in her gaze nearly slipping before she locks it back up tightly.

After several moments, Shark walks into the shop and claps his hands together loudly. “What are we staring at each other for? Let’s get this show on the road so I can see if my new beauty is worth it!”

Irene breaks away first, rolling her eyes so far into her head that I think they will get stuck. “Then tell your man to stand down,” she grumbles, waving a hand toward me. “He’s demanding that I leave my car and use one of the ones around here, but my car is perfectly fine.”

That earns a celebratory scoff from me. Turning the screen toward our president, his eyes widen the longer he scrolls.

“Hate to say this, darlin’,” he starts, whistling low when he clocks the vehicle in question. “That thing isn’t worth the risk. Your car isn’t perfectly fine. It’s either gonna die or blow up.” His tone leaves no wiggle room, but she obviously isn’t used to being told what to do.

“I don’t care if it blows up, I can’t afford for it to be fixed to the extent that he’s saying.

Not only that, I can’t afford to buy a new car!

I don’t want a rental, I just wanted to know why my thingy was blinking.

If it were that bad, then I wouldn’t be able to turn the radio up over it.

Everything about this freaking day…” She heaves in a breath, ready to go again for round two, but I stop her.

“Look, I get you don’t want to ask for help. I have been in that boat with you, but I can’t safely let you leave with it.” Her eyes widen and her jaw slackens before the obvious gnashing of her molars hit one another.

“Who the fuck-”

“Alright,” Shark butts in, standing between us as he redirects Irene.

“Nero will work on getting your car figured out, you and Viper will go look at the loaners, okay? You don’t have to worry about buying another car, Irene.

The club has been your home and will forever have your back. Right now, you and Viper go.”

“But-”

“Are made for sitting, which is what you could be doing right now if we actually got moving earlier.” Viper slings his arm over her shoulder again and guides her from the shop.

“You are fucked,” he cackles, slapping my arm harshly. “The tension between you two…” he whistles low in appreciation.

I scowl. “There’s no tension between us. She came to get my professional opinion and then discarded it. That’s the tension that I have.”

“I bet if Viper and I weren’t here, y’all would have clashed in the middle of teeth, tongue, and cock.

” I’m seconds away from punching him in the face and saying fuck-all to the consequences, but a horn blares from outside.

“Shit, that’s probably the seller. We need to get the bike checked before I can consider the purchase. It will be a nice fixer-upper.”

“I fucking doubt that,” I mumble as I close the third bay door and walk to help him.

However, no matter what Shark talks about, my mind trails back to a fiery raven-haired girl who stands to give me grays before I turn forty.