The Darkest Link (Second Circle Tattoos) Read Online Free PDF Page A

introduced engine management systems.”
    “She’s a beauty,” Jarod said, looking from the car to over where Lia was standing in front of his tin poster of Betty Page on the cover of
Modern Vixen.
    “Yeah,” he answered, because it applied to both.
    Jarod whipped his rag across Reid’s chest, and he was thankful he’d taken the time to pull on a clean polo shirt.
    “Ow, motherfucker. What the hell was that for?”
    “Lucky S.O.B.,” Jarod said, walking away, laughing.
    Reid rubbed his chest.
Asshole.
Jarod was going to end up on call the following weekend in retaliation. Lia had waited, but it was hard to say she’d done it patiently. She’d picked things up, turned them over in her hand, and put them down before moving on to the next. He’d suggested sitting in the waiting room next door, even though he liked looking at her. Instead, she’d simply carried a stool out into the garage but never sat on it.
    “I’m done for now,” he said, grabbing a towel and wiping his hands. “It’s none of the obvious things, so I’m going to have to dig deeper in the morning, see what needs doing. My gut tells me that it’s going to require new parts and we’ll need to special order them, given the age of the engine. Or see if we can find them online.”
    “You can do that?” she asked, looking around the garage.
    “Yeah.”
’Cause I’m a fucking auto wizard.
“There’s no end to my talents.” He couldn’t resist touching the end of her curls.
    “That’s . . . impressive,” she said with a raised eyebrow.
    “I like to think so. Where do you need to be, and by when?” Reid asked.
    Lia looked at the huge clock that hung on the far wall.
    It was already six in the evening. Technically, he should be on his way to Shakey’s to join the guys for an after-work beer, but right now he was quite happy with his current view.
    “I’m speaking at noon, but the expo opens at nine. I have a room booked for tonight, but I’d planned to head home straight after it was over. I guess I should start to make arrangements to get there.”
    It was strange the way the deep feeling of dissatisfaction crept over him. It wasn’t immediate, but in the same way paint changed color as it dried, her words bothered him more as they settled. He wasn’t ready to let her go. He would eventually, of course. But this woman had potential, and he wanted to explore that for a little while longer before they said good-bye. To pretend for a moment that he wasn’t such a screwup, and that he actually stood a chance with the hot-as-hell woman standing before him.
    He shook his head. Now wasn’t the time to think about the past.
    “I have a plan. It’s a ninety-minute drive to Orlando, plus or minus, depending on where you are staying. For both of our sakes, let me go shower. I live upstairs,” he said, motioning upward with his eyes and chin. “Then, I’ll drive you to wherever you need to go, buy you dinner”—he gripped her chin—“and perhaps kiss those pretty red lips of yours.” She smiled at that, which warmed him inside. “And after that I’ll deposit you safely at your hotel.”
    “And what about my car?”
    “I’ll figure out what needs fixing,” he said, reluctantly letting go of her. “I’ll work up a quote, e-mail it to you. You like it, I do the work. You don’t, then I’ll tow it wherever you want the car to go. If you’ve got a mechanic at home you really like, it’s no skin off my nose.” Except it was. He wanted to work on the car desperately. The chance to work on a classic Plymouth was too good an opportunity to miss. Missing out on working on Lia’s car would suck donkey balls, not least because he wanted to see her again once it was fixed.
    “Okay.”
    “Okay? Simple as that?” he asked.
    “As long as you shower, because that’s a deal breaker.”
    “Want to shower with me?” he asked, more out of curiosity than intent. Okay, well maybe there was intent, because fuck, he wanted to know if