Chapter 4
I wonder how many people hear my name and think, ‘fuck that asshole.’
— Auden to Maven
AUDEN
We started loading the fishing poles up, and since my brother was acting so fuckin’ weird, I decided to call him on his shit.
“ What is your issue?” I asked him, keeping my voice low so the women next to the truck didn’t hear.
His movements were erratic, and he kept tossing looks over his shoulder at Pepper , who was standing next to Maven with her arms crossed, glaring daggers at Atlas .
“ Nothing .”
Yeah fuckin’ right. I knew my brother better than the entire world. I knew when he had a bug up his ass about someone.
“ What is your issue with Pepper ?” I pushed. “ I feel like I’m missing something.”
“ You aren’t,” Atlas snapped.
“ Atlas ,” I grumbled under my breath. “ I wasn’t born yesterday. I know you better than you know yourself half the time. And I know when I’m seeing something wrong between two people. And let’s just mention now that you were a complete and utter asshole to her all day. I’m sure she would’ve left if she could.”
Atlas paused, his hand over the side of the truck, and clenched his jaw.
He turned to me and said, “ For once, Auden , I don’t want to fuckin’ share, okay?”
I held up my hands and walked away, heading back to the front of the house where I secured the door and checked twice to make sure it was locked before heading back to the vehicle.
When I got there, Atlas and Maven were in the front, so I took the seat in the back next to Pepper and said, “ Guess it’s just us losers in the back.”
Pepper gave me a tight smile and crossed her hands over her lap and looked out the window, dismissing me.
I allowed my gaze to travel to the front passengers, and I watched as Atlas reached over and ran his finger down the length of Maven’s hand.
My belly clenched, and I had to look away myself.
From the beginning of time, Atlas and I had always been attracted to the same women. It never fuckin’ failed. If I found someone, his eyes would find her, too.
We’d had more than our share of fights over the years because of girls, but we’d settled our differences. Pretty much, whomever saw and went after them first, got them. We didn’t play that kind of game with each other. We valued our bond more than we wanted to fight over women.
At least we had until Maven came into the picture.
I didn’t realize how bad it would feel to have a woman I wanted in my bed and in my life so desperately it was hard to breathe sometimes, get spotted first by my brother.
It was fucking awful.
I tightened my hand into a fist, and adopted Pepper’s stance and looked out the window, trying really freakin’ hard to ignore the two people in the front seat.
I managed it just fine, in fact, until Atlas pulled over at a gas station.
Desperate to get the fuck out of this vehicle, I bailed, not stopping to get Maven’s door like I had been taught by my father.
Instead , I hauled ass into the store, walked right up to the beer section, and pulled out a twelve-pack of Ziggenbach .
Stopping next to the powdered donut section, I snatched up two bags and walked up the cashier just in time for Pepper and Maven to make their way inside, Atlas behind them catching the door.
Atlas glared at me, making me feel like an asshole for not getting the ladies’ doors.
I looked away from him and handed the lady my card.
She swiped it just as Maven came up beside me and said, “ Can I talk to you for a minute?”
I gritted my teeth, angry at myself and her.
Me for wanting her so badly, and her for making me want her.
It wasn’t fair, but it was what it was.
“ Sure ,” I grumbled as I walked out to the truck, holding the door for her, albeit reluctantly.
“ I’ll sit in the back with you,” she suggested as she hopped into the seat. “ Will you share those donuts?”
“ I think Atlas will kill me in my sleep if I eat them in his new truck,” I admitted. “ But I’ll share them out here.”
She pointed to the beer, too, and I reluctantly opened the pack and gave her one.
I took one for myself and leaned against the truck with it in one hand. She leaned on the other side of me with her own beer, and together we started to eat the bag of donuts.
“ Do you think, uh…” she hesitated.
I couldn’t stop myself from looking over at her.
She licked her lips, and I wanted to lick them for her.
“ Do I think what?” I asked a little more harshly than I’d intended.
She looked down at her shirt, and started to swipe the powdered sugar crumbs off her shirt before saying, “ Do you think you might want to go out to eat with me tonight?”
Her words hit me like a slap across the face, and I jerked back.
Her eyes widened, mouth opening and closing, before saying, “ You don’t have to!”
I took a deep breath, then let it out slowly, hating what I had to admit next.
My gut reaction was to say ‘fuck yeah.’
But again, the pact that I’d made with my brother…
“ I think my brother has a crush on you,” I told her bluntly, not mincing words. “ As flattered as I am that you’re asking me out, I’m not willing to go there with him having feelings for you.”
Her brows rose. “ What ?”
“ My brother. My twin. He has feelings for you,” I told her plainly. “ That’s a boundary I’m not willing to cross.”
We’d tried that once in high school and Atlas hadn’t talked to me for a freakin’ week. It’d been one of the worst weeks of my life.
“ Oh ,” she paused. “ Well , I hate to tell you this since you seem so overly confident about it, but I don’t think it’s me that Atlas comes to see all the time. I think it’s Pepper .”
I was so shocked at her words that my mouth fell open in surprise. “ What ?”
“ When he comes in to buy stuff, he doesn’t give me a second look. It’s all the back and forth banter with him and Pepper ,” she answered. “ He got Pepper’s door, and not mine. He bought her food at the gas station, and not me. He spent an hour in the house with her, and not me. He made her sandwich, not mine.”
Where I’d thought that had been anger, it’d been interest?
I opened my mouth and then closed it, just like she’d done not too long ago.
“ I …” I paused. “ I’ll have to talk to him before I say yes. Again , I’m not really willing to chance this.”
Her lips turned up into a small smile, then she placed the beer bottle to her lips and took a light swig before reaching for a donut.
“ That’s fine,” she continued. “ Just let me know.”
When Atlas got back, I was finished with my beer. Instead of finishing hers, though, she handed the half-empty bottle to me and said, “ Potty break.”
The way she looked at me pointedly let me know she expected me to confirm her suspicions.
I waited until she was all the way inside before turning to my brother, who was eyeing my beer.
“ Thirsty ?” he drawled.
I chugged the rest of Maven’s beer before tossing it into the trash.
I finished off the last two donuts then tossed that, too.
It was only as I started to wipe off my shirt that I admitted that I was stalling.
Taking a deep breath, I turned to Atlas who was staring inside at Pepper checking out.
“ You need to tell me what the hell is going on with you and Pepper ,” I said bluntly. “ Because if you don’t have a thing for Maven , I’m going there.”
Auden rubbed the side of his face with his free hand before saying, “ There’s nothing going on with me and Pepper . But I don’t have feelings for Maven , either. Feel free to go there.”
His words surprised me.
I winced. “ You don’t? Like none at all?”
“ None ,” he answered. “ I …” He trailed off, and I thought he might bring up what was truly bothering him, but he didn’t. “ Go for it with her. She’s not who I want.”
He left it at that, and deciding now wasn’t the time to push him about his feelings about Pepper , I chose to change the subject. “ What time do you have to be into work tomorrow?”
Though Atlas had a permanent SWAT team position, I didn’t. I chose to work out in the field, only picking up the SWAT team cap when I was needed.
Though I loved being a SWAT team member, I fuckin’ hated being a subordinate to Scott . In fact, he annoyed me so badly that I would rather go work under my older brother, Quaid , as a patrol officer than deal with Scott’s shit.
“ Seven in the morning.” He narrowed his eyes at me. “ Why ?”
“ I was wondering if you could get me on the way to work,” I explained.
He crossed his arms over his chest and asked, “ Why ?”
I smirked. “ Because I’m going to go out to dinner with Maven . And I’m going to ride with her.”
“ Your truck is at the station,” he said. “ Just like hers.”
I flashed him a smile. “ I know.”
He rolled his eyes. “ I guess that means that I have to take Pepper home.”
He didn’t look near as upset about it as he sounded, though.
“ Yep .”
The moment we got into the truck, Maven took the back seat with me, leaving Pepper to reluctantly take the front with Atlas .
The moment we got to moving, Maven’s head started to droop, and she was doing that bobbing thing where she’d jerk herself awake each time it did.
I reached for her and pulled her toward me, saying, “ Lay your head down.”
She didn’t put up even the slightest fight.
One second, she was upright, and the next she was sprawled in my lap, her face on my thigh.
Atlas’s eyes met mine in the rearview mirror, and he smirked, letting me know he was amused by what had just happened.
Relieved that I didn’t see anger there, I started to lean back myself, deciding that I’d enjoy the hell out of the rest of the forty-minute drive back into Dallas .
Pepper stayed quiet, as did Atlas , allowing me to soak up the feeling of contentment to be exactly where I was.
We rode like that until Atlas pulled up at the station.
With the utmost reluctance, I woke Maven up.
“ Maven ,” I said quietly, running my fingers along the wild whisps of hair that’d escaped her bun. “ We’re here.”
Pepper came off of her lean against the window, her face sleepy and red, also.
She’d gotten sun.
So had the woman who had my attention in a stranglehold.
Maven sat up, her face marked by the seams of my jeans where she’d laid her head for the last hour, and looked around blankly.
“ Ready to go to dinner?” I asked.
Her eyes widened slightly, and the sleep started to clear from her eyes. “ Yeah .”
Before I could help her out, though, she bailed, leaving me to say goodbye to Pepper . “ Thanks for coming with us, doll.”
Pepper smiled, unbuckled her seatbelt, and started to reach for the door when Atlas hit the locks, refusing to allow her out. Pepper whipped her head around and glared at Atlas .
“ Thanks for a great day,” Maven replied sleepily to Atlas as she waited for me to grab my snacks.
I winked at my brother and said, “ You’re getting her back to the bakery?”
“ Yes ,” Atlas eyed Pepper .
“ I …”
I closed the door on Pepper’s disagreement.
Catching Maven’s elbow, I headed in the direction of where she’d parked her car earlier in the day. I’d given up my own parking spot for the occasion—at least the one that I usually used and had been parked in this morning when we’d arrived.
Only , as I got closer, I found the parking space empty.
A frown marred my brow.
“ What’s going on?” I looked around for her car. “ Did you have someone pick it up? Your brother drop by?”
She wiped the sleep away from her eyes, then took a look around as well.
Then her eyes settled on something near the building and held.
Her frown was fierce when she said, “ Is that sign new?”
I looked at the sign that read ‘ Chief Parking Only , Violators Will Be Towed .’
That was most definitely new.
“ Fuck yeah it is,” I fisted my hands, walking up to where the concrete dust, dirt, and metal shavings still lay on the ground where the pole was set. “ Looks like today new.”
I pulled out my phone as I said, “ Come on over to my truck. We’ll sit there while I find out where your car was taken.”
I knew every impound and towing company in the city. But there were only two that the city used on a regular basis, and I happened to be great friends with both owners.
I tried Hail Towing and Recovery first.
Hail was fairly new in town—the last two years new. Previously , it was based in Kilgore , Texas , which was about a two-hour drive from Dallas . However , at a SWAT team function, I’d met a friend of Dante’s , the owner of Hail Auto Recovery , and he’d put me in touch with Dante about a matter that had come up. We’d hit it off, and I’d encouraged him to expand to Dallas .
That was two years ago, and his business was thriving. I’d even helped the board to start fielding all of the DPD’s calls to Hail Auto Recovery because of how professional, responsive, and good he was.
“ Hail ,” Dante answered, sounding not tired in the least.
“ Hey , buddy,” I said. “ It’s Auden .”
“ Auden , hey. How’s it going?” he asked, sounding more approachable now that he knew it was me.
I nearly rolled my eyes.
The man didn’t save numbers into his phone, and it was a surprise to him each time someone called as to who it was on the other end of the line.
“ I have a car I’m looking for,” I said. “ It went missing from the DPD parking lot after the chief decided to put up a no parking sign.”
“ I’m not at the office today, I’m at the Special Olympics field day with my daughter. I’ll call dispatch, though, and have them give you a call,” Dante offered.
“ Thanks , man,” I said as I got to my truck, unlocked it, and opened the door for Maven .
Maven climbed in, and my eyes automatically went to her ass as she hefted herself into my truck.
“ No problem.” Dante hung up without a goodbye.
Again , his usual.
“ You know all the towing companies in the area?” she asked as she settled into the seat.
I leaned my hip against the frame as I said, “ You wouldn’t believe the number of cars we have to have towed.”
She wouldn’t, either.
With wrecks, illegal parking, and arrests, I used a towing company at least four times a shift.
But before I could tell her any of that, my phone rang again and I answered it.
“ Carter ,” I greeted the unknown person.
“ Hey , Auden , it’s Travis Hail ,” Travis greeted me.
“ Hey , Trav . How’s it going?” I asked, absently reaching for the string that had loosened on the hem of Maven’s cut-off shorts.
Goosebumps broke out on her leg as my knuckles brushed the skin on the outside of her thigh.
“ It’s going good,” he said. “ Dante told me that you were looking for a car. I looked up all the ones we towed from the police department parking lot and found only one. An SUV .”
I blew out a breath. “ Yeah , that’s the one I’m looking for. A red Grand Cherokee ?”
“ That’s it,” he said. “ But since I was the one who did the tow, and I didn’t get a good vibe on the chief of police putting up a fuckin’ sign and then getting pissed when someone was already parked there, I towed it to the woman’s house who it was registered to.”
A grin split my lips. “ Awesome . Yeah , it’s my girl’s car. And long story short, she was parked in the same exact spot I’d been parked in before she’d gotten there. She delivered a bunch of baked goods for the department and left her vehicle there while we went fishing. Chief’s her dad and has a vendetta against her.”
“ Sounds like an asshole move,” Travis said. “ Anyway , I have to get back home. I’m only covering up here because the manager is sick with the stomach bug. Like I said, dropped the car off at her house. I put it in her driveway. Cute place, by the way.”
“ Thanks , brother. I appreciate all your help,” I said.
Travis said, “ Welcome ,” and hung up just like his brother had.
I rolled my eyes, then shoved my phone back into my pocket.
“ Your car was towed to your house,” I said. “ Travis got a shit feeling from your dad when he saw the sign being put in. Decided to tow it to your place and not the impound yard.”
Maven’s shoulders deflated. “ Good . That’s one less thing I have to worry about this weekend.”
I fingered a lock of hair—a big curl—and said, “ Your hair’s falling out of your ponytail.”
She pushed it out of her face, and her cheeks went pink. “ I sleep hard.”
I knew.
She’d fallen asleep in my lap, and her hair had fallen out of her ponytail one corkscrew at a time.
“ I saw,” I teased. “ Now where are you taking me to dinner?”
Her eyes started to twinkle as she said, “ Originally , I was going to take you to my place and make some dinner. But I have to admit, sitting there reeling in four fish really took a lot out of me. The thought of cooking anything makes me want to break out in hives. So I’m open to suggestions.”
The thought of heading to her place sounded fantastic.
“ How about we still do that, and I’ll order pizza?” I suggested.
Her eyes went soft as she said, “ Perfect .”
Fifteen minutes later, we were pulling up into an older part of Dallas where all the original homes started. All the houses were shotgun style, and very cookie cutter. However , everyone in the neighborhood had found a way to make their home unique. And none of them looked trashy or run down.
“ That one is mine,” she pointed to a black house. “ You can pull into the driveway.”
With what was remaining of the light, I took in her front yard. Her small postage stamp yard that was neatly mowed. The flower beds bursting with flowers. The small crab apple tree that looked to be planted in recent years.
“ The landscaping looks great,” I said as I bailed and headed for her side of the truck.
She waited for me, a grin on her face.
I helped her down out of the truck as she said, “ It took me all spring to get it looking this pretty. For three solid months I lost valuable sleep while I was opening the bakery, pulling double duty to make it this way.”
We stopped next to the giant ferns that were lining the way up her steps.
Her black steps.
“ I love the black, too,” I said as we came to a stop in front of her red door.
“ It’s not actually black,” she admitted. “ It’s more coffee ground brown. The accents are black, though. With a little white thrown in.”
She pushed through her front door after inputting a code to get in, then reached over and turned off the alarm the moment she got through the door.
Impressed with her security, I took in her surroundings.
“ Wow ,” I breathed. “ You’ve put a lot of work into this.”
She lifted a shoulder in a shrug. “ I can’t take all the credit. The previous owners did all the bare bones work. All I had to do when I came in was get new countertops and paint.”
“ Well , still. I like the colors you chose.” I eyed the countertops, which I could see from the front door. “ Quartz ?”
She tossed a look over her shoulder with a frown. “ You can see that from this far away?”
I chuckled as I moved farther into her house, following her. “ Blessed with bad eyesight. I had corrective surgery a few months ago, actually. For once in my life, I don’t have to wear glasses.”
“ You wore glasses?” she squeaked.
“ Still do sometimes,” I admitted. “ Got everything all fixed up except I didn’t want two different lenses in my eyes, so when I’m reading for any length of time, I still have to put them on.”
She threw her stuff onto her couch right inside the door, then made her way to the fridge where she pulled out the same beer brand from earlier.
Speaking of… “ Shit , I left my beer in my brother’s truck.”
She grinned and said, “ He might need it after having to deal with Pepper . I love the girl, but she’s a handful.”
“ What do you mean?” I asked, heading toward her.
She handed me a beer, then went to the drawer next to the fridge and pulled out a stack of take-out menus, the pizza ones on top.
“ Pepper is like a live electrical wire. She’s just so intense and…” She searched for the word for a few seconds, a cute little wrinkle popping up between her brows. “ Serious . When she leaves the bakery, she goes straight to work overnight at that fancy smancy hotel by the interstate. She doesn’t start working until like six in the evening, so she has like six hours after she leaves the shop to catch a few hours of sleep. She lives at the hotel, by the way.”
“ She does?” I asked.
“ She does,” she agreed as she pulled out a pizza menu and handed it to me. “ This is my favorite place to eat.”
I started scanning the menu as she continued her story about Pepper .
“ Her sister, Sage , lives here. I’m sure you know of her.” At my nod, she continued. “ Pepper moved here to try to reconcile with her, but as of yet, negotiations aren’t going well. She’s spent the last year and a half trying to make strides and hasn’t accomplished anything.”
“ I’ve heard that, too,” I said. “ Atlas saved Sage from the serial killer.”
Maven’s brows rose. “ He did?”
“ Yep ,” I confirmed. “ What do you want? I was thinking about a large pizza, but I hate to break it to you, I’m so hungry myself that I can’t share.”
Her eyes twinkled as she said, “ I want the goat cheese and Canadian bacon one anyhow. Get a medium, and I can take it to work with me Monday for lunch.”
I placed the order, and we went back to talking about Pepper .
“ She’s always just so angry,” she admitted. “ She has this inner fire that stays lit one hundred percent of the time. And it all stems from her sister and her family. Which I know isn’t doing too well.”
“ I hate to admit this, but I can’t really stand Sage .” I winced. “ I feel for her, but I don’t like her as a person. And Atlas always defends her actions, but I don’t agree with him. I think he’s seeing the victim and not the game she’s playing.”
“ What kind of game?” She gestured for us to head to the couch.
I sat and explained, happy when she curled up on the same couch as me.
“ At first, I didn’t quite see it,” I said. “ But now, it’s like she almost competes with us for Atlas’s attention. And not saying that she doesn’t deserve the sympathy, she was kidnapped and hurt after all, but she’s almost making her entire life about it. She tells everyone she knows that she’s been hurt. She’s writing a fucking book for Christ’s sake. And let’s not mention how she always gets her way. She plays the sympathy card, and all of a sudden, everything is given to her. I’ve seen her get so many free meals it’s not even funny.”
If she wasn’t aware of how strongly I felt about Sage , she would be more than aware now.
“ What the hell is that?” I asked as a peach looking rat like thing popped out from the blanket that was next to my hip.
“ That’s Linda .” she explained. “ She’s a Sphynx .”