Page 41 of Resisted
“Positive. Plus, the help is selfish on my part. If Rig is dropping you off, that means I’ll get you sooner rather than later. Knowing Silas, he’d probably refuse to let you work today, as if you’d sustained some sort of emotional trauma.”
Also true.
“Thanks, Lynn, I truly appreciate it.” More than she knew.
I heard a bell ring in the background, signifying the entrance of a customer. “No probably, darling. I’ll see you soon.”
The phone clicked, and the sound on the other side of the line went silent. I pulled my cell away from my ear and stared at it for a moment before tossing it onto the seat next to me. I should call Silas just to let him know, but I really, really didn’t want to deal with him anymore this morning. Plus, if Rig was coming, all would be fine. With my mind made up to not call him, I sat and waited until the engine of Rig’s tow truck could be heard from the distance. Another minute or two after that, the tow truck appeared in the distance.
Rig’s truck pulled in front of my car, and the large man got out, his movements slow as he strolled to my window, making the universal sign with his hand instructing me to roll it down. When the window was down, he leaned in, his arms casually leaning against the doorframe. “So it appears you broke it.”
Fucking Rig. He didn’t ever say a damn word unless it was sarcastic or well thought out. “I didn’t break a damn thing, and you know it, Rig.”
He stared me down. “Welp, little lady, might as well hop up into my truck. I’ll have this piece of shit hooked up in no time.”
I blinked a few times. “I’m pretty sure you aren’t supposed to call a client’s car a piece of shit.”
“Who’s going to tell on me?” He raised a single eyebrow. Man, if you looked past the gruff exterior, Rig really was a handsome man. Hell, even the salt and pepper hair added to his appeal.
I sighed and grabbed my phone before reaching farther down on the floorboard. “Not I, that’s for sure.”
“That’s what I thought.” He stood back and opened my door for me like the gentleman I knew he was but tried to hide.
I got into the cab of the truck, watched as he hitched my car onto it, and within twenty minutes, I was tying my apron with dread as I faced the rapidly filling diner. My shift, though long, went by fast and without a hitch after the whole car episode, and when it was over, I spied Silas’ truck out the window, just as I’d collected the cartons of food.
Damnit.
I was hoping to catch a ride with my coworker, because I absolutely did not want to deal with Silas without Vincent or Boyce as backup. Still, I gathered the food, made slow work of saying my goodbyes, and when I finally pushed open the diner door, there he was, leaning against the side of his truck as he looked over his sunglasses.
“You look like a douche.”
“You didn’t call me,” he replied.
“Shouldn’t you be working?” I answered.
“I took a sabbatical to deal with incompetent females.” He uncrossed his arms before standing up straight and taking the few steps toward me to remove the boxes from my hands.
“I’m hardly incompetent.”
“And I’m hardly a douche.”
I sighed. “Fair enough. You didn’t have to come get me.”
“You’re right—I didn’t have to. I choose to.” He used his free hand to pull open the passenger door. “I wasn’t happy to know you broke down on the side of the road and didn’t call me.”
“On the road,” I corrected.
“What?”
“I broke down on the road, not on the side of the road.” I knew for an absolute certainty the small detail didn’t matter, but I also loved when he was wrong.
“Belladonna.” The name was a half growl, half moan. “You’re going to physically kill me one day, do you know that? Do you know how fucking dangerous it is to break down on the road, in the fucking dark?”
I shrugged. “Well, no cars came by, so I was fine.”
He cursed under his breath. “For fate’s sake, Bella, that’s worse. You could have been abducted by the single car that drove by, and no one would have been around to save you.”
I quirked an eyebrow. “In a shifter town?”