Hard to Break

He kisses me.

I haven’t been kissed for a solid five years, but no kiss, no kiss, has ever felt like this. My breath hitches and I gasp against his mouth as he pulls my body closer to his and tilts his head, deepening our kiss. His tongue touches my lips, coaxing mine open. I willingly accept and let him in. Our tongues touch and electricity shoots through my body. I close my eyes and whimper as he takes my breath away.

His hand is still around the back of my neck, massaging gently. The other one is on my leg, squeezing softly as our kiss gets deeper and more intense. His rumbly moan blends with my soft, breathy one and I practically throw myself onto his lap. Our bodies crush together and I kiss him so hard I know my lips will be full and sore after it, but I don’t care.

A throat clears behind us and we wrench apart, turning with panted breaths to see a bartender standing, looking horribly uncomfortable at our public display of affection. “Sorry,” I gasp, shoving away from Tazen and placing my fingers against my lips.

“Ah, the drinks you ordered are ready,” he says, handing our beers to us.

I take one and swallow three big mouthfuls, unable to look into Tazen’s eyes. I can’t believe we just did that. We just kissed and I’m supposed to hate him. This is bad, so bad. My cheeks burn and I keep my eyes directed away from his. A warm hand captures my jaw and he turns my face towards his, opening his mouth to speak. He doesn’t get any words out; because something launches at him and knocks him clean off the chair.

It takes me a moment to realize what’s happening. I turn quickly, confused and stu

What the hell?

“Stop!” I cry.

Two large bouncers appear. One lifts Tazen with one, big beefy hand and another lifts Jace. They hold them apart, but that doesn’t stop the words flying.

“You piece of shit, you lowlife piece of shit,” Jace roars. “How could you be such a heartless prick?”

Tazen snarls, baring his teeth and spits. “Fuck off, Jace.”

“You just kissed her, and she doesn’t know. You co

What are they talking about? I don’t understand.

“Jace,” I say softly. “What’s going on?”

Tazen turns to me and I see it … I see what I saw earlier. Guilt. I blink rapidly, trying to understand.

“Honey,” Jace says, looking to me. “I’m so sorry.”

I swallow. “Jace, what’s happened?”

He looks to Tazen, his eyes hard. “You going to tell her what sort of man you are, or am I?”

Tazen growls. “You fucker, this could have been done in a kinder way.”

“Oh.” Jace laughs bitterly. “You mean after you fucked her and had your fun?”

“Fuck you,” Tazen spits.

“Can someone just tell me what’s going on?” I scream.

Everything goes quiet, and all the people around stop talking to turn and watch.

“He bought the garage, Qui

My knees wobble and my vision blurs. No, he must have it wrong.

“I…” I whisper, but my voice has retreated to the depths of darkness threatening to swallow me up.

“Your dad signed it over to him this morning. He got in contact with him, offered a good price and your dad, thinkin’ he was doing the right thing by you, sold it to him without question.”

No.

No.

God, please, no.

I shake my head, and tears burst free and run down my cheeks.

“Jace,” I rasp. “This isn’t real … tell me it’s not real?”

“I’m so sorry honey.”

My entire body starts to shake as a mass of emotions flood me. Everyone around me becomes a blur as tears explode and my eyes become fuzzy. The sounds of shuffling become louder around me and then I hear his voice, the voice I don’t ever want to hear again.

“I was going to tell you, angel.”

“Don’t call me angel,” I scream, swiping my eyes furiously. When I find him, I pin him with a glare so acidic he flinches. “How dare you! I told you what that garage meant to me, and you swept in, using me along the way, while you wrapped your grubby, disgusting hands around it and snatched it out from beneath me.”

“That isn’t—”

“Don’t!” I yell. “Don’t give me excuses. You’ve wanted it since you walked in that first day. I should have known all this,” I wave at him, “was a big, disgusting act. You were just distracting me so you could take what’s mine.”

“It wasn’t yours,” he barks, losing his cool. “And you couldn’t have saved it, you and I both know that. I did you a favor.”

“A favor?” I laugh so bitterly it hurts. “A fucking favor? How do you suppose you did me a favor? No, you did only yourself a favor. I might not have been able to save that garage, but you owed me at least the chance to try.”

“Listen, Qui

“Don’t,” I cry, launching forward and shoving him so hard he’s forced to take a few steps back. “Don’t try and make yourself look better. You’re a dog, and you know it. Worse, you had the balls to kiss me and make out like you actually wanted it. Real, Tazen?” I shake my head. “You wouldn’t know real if it slapped you in the face.”

“Come on,” Jace says, wrapping an arm around me. “Let’s go.”

With tears staining my cheeks, I let him turn me.

“Angel,” Tazen calls.

I look over my shoulder at him. “This is far from finished.”

Then, I let Jace lead me away.

CHAPTER NINE

“How could you?” I cry, pacing the room.

My dad is sitting on the couch, staring up at me with a check in his hand for a hundred thousand dollars. He looks confused, like he couldn’t possibly imagine why the hell I’m sad over the loss of the garage. I understand in his fried brain, he thinks he did the right thing. That it was a simple solution, but he failed to think about what the place meant to me.

And he knows, even in his state. He knows.

“I told you I’d fix it,” he mutters.

“Fix it?” I whisper. “That was the only thing I had left. It was the only part of her,” my voice breaks, “we had left.”

My dad flinches and I know that was a low blow.

“I…” he stammers. “I was only tryin’ to fix things, Qui

My shoulders slump and I drop my head. I can’t be angry at him, not when he thinks that he has just fixed everything. In a way, he has. Our bills can be paid, our mortgage covered and things will ease up. But we have lost something that we can never get back, and that is making my heart ache in a way I can’t turn off.

“It’s okay, Dad,” I whisper, placing my hand on his shoulder. “We’re going to sort all of this out. Let me put the check in the account.”

He hesitates, staring at the check promising a large amount of money. He wants it, and I know exactly what he wants it for. I can’t risk that happening, if he gets hold of this kind of money he’ll drink it away before we have the chance to do anything. So, in a gentle voice, I say, “Dad, if you did this for us, then you need to let me put that money away.”

He sighs and hands me the check, but his hand is shaking as he lets it go. That wasn’t easy for him. I lean down and kiss his head, then I grab my purse and keys, letting him know I’ll be back later. Then I head out to the bank, cash the check and drive down to the garage. We have one week to clear out before Tazen takes over. That isn’t a lot of time.

I arrive to see people everywhere, not just my guys, but a heap of others. They’re moving out old tools and equipment, and there’s a massive truck bringing in new, shiny things. My blood boils and I throw my car door open, sliding out and storming towards the men who are working. “What the hell are you doing?” I cry.