Page 57 of Truck Off
“What was that?” Chase’s deep, gravelly voice booms from behind us. When I turn around, there’s fire in his eyes and his jaw is tight.
Charlie’s smile returns. He looks at Chase as if he thinks Chase is being funny rather than about to rip him in half. “Hey, Chase. Been a while since I’ve seen you around. Where’ve you been hiding?”
Chase takes a step toward Charlie and gets right up in his face. “What did you say to her?”
Charlie tosses his hands up in surrender. “Nothing that concerns you. This is between Lina and me.”
“If I find out you laid a hand on her, I will personally make sure your hands never work again. Is that clear?”
“Are you threatening a public official?” Charlie chuckles. If Chase’s threat makes him nervous, he’s not showing it.
“Yes.” Chase barks out through gritted teeth. “You stay away from her.”
“Good luck trying to stop me.” Charlie’s grin turns sinister. “Why don’t you ask that older brother of yours how well that worked out for him and Hannah? Last time I checked, she’s my wife.”
With that, Charlie turns around and heads back toward the entrance. He’s gone before I even have a chance to catch my breath.
When I turn back to Chase, his eyes are studying me, but they’re softer now.
“You dated Charlie in school.” It’s not a question, but rather a statement of understanding. But he’s got it all wrong.
“No. He asked me out. Didn’t like it much when I rejected him.”
Chase steps closer to me. He lifts his hands as if he’s going to cup my face, but he stops himself. Instead, he clenches them into fists and presses them into his sides. “What did he do to you?”
“Nothing.” My shoulders sag. This isn’t something I want to get into with him.
“I don’t believe you. He hurt you.” Again, it’s not a question.
“No, Chase. He didn’t hurt me. Now leave it be.”
He studies me. His eyes roam over my features. First my eyes, then nose, mouth, and back again. He gives me a slight shake of his head before he says, “I still don’t believe you. And I can’t leave you be. You may be pissed at me, but that doesn’t change the fact that I care. Tell me what he did. Please.”
I drop my head back and groan at the way he tossed please at the end of his little tirade like that’s somehow going to soften me up. It doesn’t work.
“It’s none of your business,” I whisper.
He crowds my space, leaning in close, same as Charlie did. Only the effect on me is very different. My heart rate speeds up, and my breath catches in my throat. I feel his closeness all the way to my bones and it has me trembling with the need to feel more of him.
“Lina,” he says my name like it’s a promise. “Let me make it my business.”
I hear Jayla let out an adoring sigh. She would find this interaction swoonworthy. I take a cleansing breath and force my face into a neutral expression. Then I gather up all the strange emotions swirling around inside me, stuff them in a box, lock it, and bury it deep in the recesses of my mind.
I hold his gaze and say the only thing I know to keep me sane. “I can’t.”
Chapter 14
It’s just a friendly game of pool
Chase
The look in her eyes causes me physical pain. Not because of her own pain that I see hiding behind her deep blue gaze, but because of the need she’s trying so hard to fight.
Lina wants me, but she doesn’t want to want me.
All because I did something I never should have done. I added to her pain rather than easing it. Pain—no doubt—that Charlie Fisher added to as well. The last person I ever want to be lumped in with is that asshole.
He walks around this town acting like he’s everyone’s savior. Like he’s going to make everyone’s problems go away and make Beaver a better place to live. He may have fooled most in this town, but he’s not fooling me or anyone in my family.