Chapter 3 Lia #2
“Fire?” He looks at me with concern.
“Yeah.” I debate how much about the business I should share with him, but figure it can’t hurt to tell him what happened.
He’s an old friend of Leo’s, so I’m sure Leo will tell him all about it, if he hasn’t already.
“Alice, that lady you met outside, her ex-husband tried to burn the place down to get back at her for leaving him.”
“Whoa.” Josh’s eyes widened in concern. “Shit, that sucks. Anyone hurt? What happened to the ex?”
I shake my head. “No. Thank goodness, no one was hurt, and the asshole is now serving out his days in a teeny tiny cell. Orange jumpsuit.” I shudder.
“Why the hell would anyone do something so stupid? Like, I get kids do dumb things, stealing lip gloss or candy from the drugstore, but trying to burn down a building?”
Josh doesn’t seem to have any opinion about that. He walks the length of the space, bending down to look at the dog beds and bowls.
“Do the other businesses have any problems with you running a doggie day care right next door?” he asked. “I can imagine it gets pretty rowdy in here.”
I laugh. “So far, so good. I only have a couple clients, and the building’s been mostly vacant since the fire.
We’ve got a nail salon that’s supposed to move in, but we’ll see, I guess.
” As proud as I am about the plans I’ve got for this place, it feels too personal to share with anyone at this point.
Although, to be fair, I’m closer to Leo than any of them.
He’s the only one who knows all about the interview I have today.
Josh nods. “Did Tim flip his lid? I can’t imagine how he reacted after the fire…”
I shrug. “I’ve never met Tim. Alice’s fiancé owns the building, and I’ve been around for almost a year now and I’ve never met him.” He meets my eyes, and I reach past him, playfully close, to pick up a stack of water bowls. “When was the last time you talked to Tim?”
“You’ve never met him?” Josh echoes. “But you live with Leo? I feel like I’ve missed about a hundred steps.”
He looks confused, concerned, almost. “I talked to Tim, like, what a couple weeks ago. He didn’t mention any of this…not the building, not the fire.”
I walk over to the utility sink and fill the dog bowls with cool water.
“Well, all I know is Tim, I think, got himself into some bad business deals. I don’t know, maybe he was dabbling in some drugs.
Look, I don’t know, and so I don’t think it’s right to speculate.
The bank seized this place last year, and Alice’s fiancé bought it.
They kept Leo’s repair shop as a tenant, repaired the damage with the insurance money, and now they’re looking to rent out the other spaces. ”
Josh looks a little green.
“Hey,” I say, walking up to him. I put a hand on his arm. “Are you all right?”
“Arrow?” The door opens, and Leo’s voice echoes in the nearly empty space. “Holy shit, man!”
Arrow? I look to Josh, who’s grinning at Leo.
“Look at you, little bro. It’s been a minute.” He walks up to Leo, and they give each other a man-hug that’s half back-clap, half grunt. “I was catching up on things with Lia here.”
When Josh says my name, something dark crosses Leo’s face. Something a little possessive, maybe?
The idea that he might be jealous of Josh talking to me gives me an odd thrill.
“Wait,” I interrupt. I give Josh a cheeky look. “Who’s Arrow? What is this, some kind of biker code?”
Now it’s Josh’s turn to look concerned. The sparkle in his eye and the easy grin he wore when Leo came in have all but faded.
“You in an MC now?” Josh nods at Leo.
Leo nods back, but I notice he’s not wearing the vest with his prospect patch on it. “We’ve got a lot to catch up on, man.” He looks at me and points to Josh. “Arrow’s what we called him when we were kids. Aronowicz was a mouthful growing up.”
“It’s a mouthful still,” Josh agrees.
If anything could have made Josh get a little bit hotter in my estimation, a nickname like Arrow would have done it.
“You keepin’ your nose clean?” Josh asks, looking at Leo. “I know it’s none of my business, but you were always the straight brother in the Hawk family.”
“What? You mean with the club?” Leo scrubbed a hand over the back of his neck. “Hell yeah, man. It’s legit. We only ride. None of that TV shit, running guns and crap. It’s all good.”
“Good. You were always the clean-cut one.” Josh grins at Leo.
“But your brother…remember that time he pulled that prank on Mr. Perrod in history class?” Josh turns to me.
“Leo’s brother Tim had a serious reputation for pranks,” he explains.
“Legendary. And it wasn’t silly shit. Like, this dude made plans. ”
Leo looks happy too, like the memories of who his brother used to be when they were kids are good ones. He seems so much lighter, happier, talking about his brother. Memories he likes revisiting—unlike the recent ones, which seem pretty fucked up, if you ask me.
The dogs have started clawing at Leo’s legs for attention. He shakes his head at them but bends down to scratch all three of the faces panting at him for love.
He’s got this intense look on his face, and for some reason, my body goes back to this morning.
To the way he looked at me as I was lying there naked.
Teasing him. Taunting him. As if he didn’t quite know whether to go hard or go soft.
It’s the same kind of expression I see now—as if the joy of reminiscing about his brother is battling his buried rage over what Tim’s done.
“So, what’s the deal with the building, man? Tim didn’t tell me anything about what’s been going on here.” Josh seems anxious to break the sudden tension, too.
“Wait. What?” Leo stands up, leaving the puppies wanting at his feet. The atmosphere in the room suddenly turns volcanic. “You’ve talked to Tim?” His shock turns to anger, and every emotion flickers across Leo’s face. “Are you serious? When did you talk to him? Where the hell is he?”
Josh holds up his hands. “I mean, yeah, man. I talked to him a couple weeks ago. But he didn’t mention anything about the fire or the building being bought.”
Leo looks at me, and his face grows hard.
Oh fuck. All of a sudden, Leo looks like I’ve never seen him before. Angry, stunned. I don’t know what.
“Leo,” I interrupt, trying to smooth this over. “I told Josh about the fire. I was showing him around the place and catching him up on what we’ve been doing here.”
Josh nods. “Lia mentioned you’re trying to rent some of the open stores here. I’m actually in the market for a new office. I was hoping I could check out the space, see what you’re looking to get in rent.”
Leo nods slowly, but it’s clear his mind is still blown by the fact that somebody has heard from Tim.
“Yeah? You’re looking for a space?” He thinks for a minute.
“Why don’t you come by the house tonight for dinner?
We can catch up on old times and talk about the business.
What you do, what you’re looking for in terms of space.
I can have Alice show you the available unit now, but I need to head over to the shop and get it open. You remember where I live?”
Josh nods, but I can’t tell why I’m sensing tension between them.
This feels a little different.
I’m not sure why Leo would invite Josh home instead of getting the full story here and now. That live wire sparks a bit more when Leo pulls his phone from his pocket and motions toward me. “Time, Lia. It’s almost nine.”
I scramble to dig my phone from my purse. Shit, he’s right.
“I gotta hit the road anyway,” Josh says, tugging his sunglasses back over his face and grabbing his coffee tumbler. “I can see the space another time. I’ll see you at your place tonight.”
He and Leo trade numbers. But everything has changed.
What started as a cool, fun reunion between old friends now has Leo’s face a protective mask.
I watch the shifting dynamic play out between Josh and Leo as Josh heads toward the door and yanks on the handle.
“Hey, man,” Leo adds. His eyes narrow as he squints at Josh. “Do me a favor. Why don’t you invite my brother to dinner tonight?”