Hard to Break

“Careful, Tazen.” I grin at him. “Revenge is coming, and you aren’t safe from it.”

“I look forward to it, baby.”

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

The next few days at work are crazy. Tazen gets the car out and then a new job comes in, so it’s right back to square one. I’m busy helping out where I can, but I so desperately want to work on those cars with him. When the new job comes in, things slow slightly because we have time to move with it, so Tazen calms down. It’s then I get my revenge.

He purchased a whole heap of nuts for the guys, which he puts out during the day for them to nibble on. He’s been doing this since I’ve been there, but today they’re getting a whole new level of snacking. When they’re busy, I go in and swing the cupboard open, pulling out all the nuts. I bring them into the men’s room, lock the door, and drop them all in the toilet, which is in need of a good cleaning. Then I dredge them out and put them in a bowl. I have my phone held out in front of me as I’m doing this, filming the entire thing.

I may or may not do this laughing like a hyena. I shuffle the nuts in the bowl, and they look perfect, like nothing sinister has happened to them. Wiping my smirk off my face, I carry the bowl out to the guys.

“Hey, nuts are up.”

As always, the guys don’t hesitate. They’re in the middle of their lunch breaks, so all of them take a good handful of nuts. Tazen included. I watch with bubbling laughter as they throw them into their mouths, chewing happily. Poor, helpless males.

“How’re your nuts?” I ask, making a choked, laughing sound.

Tazen has just thrown a few into his mouth and is chewing, but at my words he stops. His eyes flick to the guys, who seem oblivious to my little outburst.

“They don’t seem as salty,” Kellan says, chewing. “Did you get the unsalted ones in an attempt to keep us healthy?” He pats his belly.

I burst out laughing, I can’t hold it back. Tazen leans forward and spits the nuts onto the ground. All the guys stare in horror at Tazen’s chewed-up nuts and then their eyes flick to me. With hysterical laughter rising from my throat, I open my phone and pull up the video, turning it towards them. As they realize what I did, they start spitting their nuts out. Some even get up and charge to the bathroom.

I’m laughing so hard my belly hurts.

“That’ll teach all of you for being assholes and pranking me!”

I’m laughing and hiccupping and laughing some more. I double over, wrapping my arms around my belly.

“You’re seriously evil,” Tazen grunts.

“I told you I’d get you back. Now if you don’t start treating me like an equal, my next prank will be much worse. Got it?”

The guys’ reactions range from grunts, to chuckles, to nods. I have come to get to know their names and their roles now. There is Rick, who is Tazen’s second in command, Kellan and Toby who are Tazen’s apprentices, Drasco and Kyle who are his painters and detailers, then Lloyd and Michael who are seriously amazing mechanics that do all the engine work with Tazen. I haven’t had a chance to talk to many of them, because I really only work with Kellan and Toby on the easy jobs. Kellan is coming around, but Toby is an angry dude.

“Well,” I say, doing a graceful bow. “That’s me for the day!”

I turn, still laughing, and get back to work. I realize only after I’m midway through my afternoon jobs, that it’s the first time I’ve truly felt at ease for a long, long time. I never thought that would happen when I lost the garage, but I’m slowly coming to terms with all the changes. They’re more challenging than I could ever have bargained for, and that isn’t a bad thing.

I think I might just like it here.

*   *   *

Yawning, I stretch and take lazy steps as I head into the garage. It’s just about 7 a.m., but no one is here yet, which is strange. It’s Friday and Tazen told me to be in earlier for a job that needed to go out by closing of business today. I pushed my ass out of bed and made it in on time, but no one is here. I figure I can get started anyway, so unlock the front door and step in.

I don’t see it coming, because obviously no one sees a giant paint tin swinging towards their face coming. I open my mouth to scream but it hits me straight in the forehead. I stumble backwards as a sharp pain radiates through my head. I topple to the ground as I lose my balance. I crash down with a cry, trying to steady my fall with my hands but not succeeding.

I land flat on my back.

Agony.

Something warm is gushing down my forehead and I realize it’s blood. Tears burst to my eyelids and I try to push up, but my head is spi

I press my hand to my forehead to stop the blood flow, but do no more because I can’t control the tears.

I don’t know how long I lay like that, clutching my head, but I hear a shouted, “Fuck,” and then Tazen is kneeling over me, his hands on my face.

“Y-y-y-you,” I croak. “Piece of shit.”

“Baby,” he whispers, his voice pained. “I didn’t…”

“Do you think it was fu

“Shit, it wasn’t meant to … it was meant to just spill.”

“Yeah,” I laugh brokenly. “Well clearly it didn’t.”

He leans down, scooping me into his arms. “I’m so sorry, angel.”

“You’re not sorry, you’ve wanted to hurt me like this from the start.”

“No,” he says, striding towards the bathrooms. “No I didn’t.”

He sounds truly pained, and I know he didn’t mean for it to go like this. I can tell just by his reaction, but I’m hurting and I’m embarrassed. I squirm in his arms, but he holds me tighter. “Hold still, you’re covered in blood. Fuck. Where are you hurt?”

“My, ah, head.”

I blink as I feel a bit light-headed. “Tazen,” I whisper. “I’m dizzy.”

“Shit,” he says, kicking the door to the office open. “Do you want me to call an ambulance?”

“I don’t … ah … know.”

“Sit, let me see.”

He places me down on the desk and rushes towards the cabinets to pull out the first-aid kit. He doesn’t speak as he starts wiping my head, and getting the blood away so he can see the gash. I stop feeling dizzy as he works and when I’m cleaned up, he leans in close to inspect the gash. I don’t know what comes over me, but the sudden urge to taste him, to feel him, overwhelms me. I try to push it back as I whisper, “Tazen?”

His eyes dart down to mine. “Yeah, angel?”

“We took it too far.”

He closes his eyes for a moment and nods sharply. “Yeah, baby, we did.”

“I’m sorry.”

His eyes shoot open and he stares at me in shock. “No, don’t you say that. I’ve been a fucking dick to you.”

“And I’ve been a royal pain in the ass.”

His eyes go back to my gash. “I hurt you.”

I reach up before thinking, and place my fingers against his cheek. His eyes find mine and everything just seems to move quickly from there. He leans down and captures my lips with his, and before I know it, we’re kissing. It isn’t a deep kiss, but it’s long and it’s sweet. His lips explore mine with no tongue for a while, then he snakes an arm around my hip and pulls me closer to him, forcing my legs apart so he’s standing between them.

That’s when the kiss gets hot.

In fact, it gets frantic.

Weeks of sexual tension, anger, passion and lust explodes. I capture the back of his head with my hand and tangle my fingers in his hair, kissing him hard and deep. Our tongues dance, our groans fill the small space and passion radiates through my body, making me want so much more from him. I open my legs wider, angling my hips up so I can feel him right there, right on my sex.

“Fuck,” he breathes, pulling his lips from mine. “You’re hurt. We need to stop.”