I liked secrets. I could keep them all day long.
Which was good, since I had to.
Lies were constantly rolling off my tongue—a form of self-defense that I held close to my chest. Yes sir, I have no problems with working extra hours. Yes ma'am, that's an excellent solution to our problem. No sir, I have no idea how that thief got in. No ma'am, I would never dream of sassing you.
Easy. Sometimes the lies came so naturally, I had to really think to figure out what was the truth.
The truth didn't matter to me. All that mattered was taking care of me and mine.
So, when one of the head mechanics asked me if I had been sending my paychecks off to another party, I didn't have to think about the lie. It came out of me as easily as air.
"No sir, of course not. I've only transferred the money to my own separate account for security."
Cedro exhaled one measured breath as he began to slowly circle me like a predator. I followed his movements as he curled around behind me, counting the beats of his footsteps to keep track of his position. Sweat dribbled down from my hairline, where my bandana could no longer hold all of the moisture, but I didn't dare move to wipe it away. Of course, Cedro was well aware of how hot all of the garages were, and even more aware of how hot he intentionally kept mine.
It wasn't his choice to employ me. People much more important had made that decision, and he had to respect it if he wanted to keep his own job. That didn't keep him from doing everything he could to push me without the higher-ups noticing, though.
If he thought that the pressure he was putting on was enough to make me quit, he had another thing coming. I'd been under pressure since I was born.
"You really think that anyone is going to target a lowly mechanic?" Cedro asked, continuing his circles. Off in the corner of the room, Fio had tucked himself away near the generator, his slim frame fading into the shadows. Light caught on his dark curls, and even as he tried to work silently, he didn't move as stealthily as I could.
Luckily, Cedro had no interest in Fio. Even though Cedro seemed to live on the fear that his intimidation tactics inspired in his lesser mechanics, he was only human. Not all fear was weighed the same. Apparently, mine was more desirable than Fio's. Even as Fio shook like a leaf, stealing glances at us every few seconds, Cedro couldn't seem to care less.
Fine. Give me all your attention. You're not gonna crack me.
"One can never be too careful," I explained simply, my oil-slick hands clasped behind my band. My spine tingled as Cedro's eyes trailed down it. I barely refrained from shivering at the thought of his actual fingers, rough and calloused from work, grazing across my skin.
My throat tingled as I restrained my gag reflex. Not in front of him.
"I have no one to fall back on if I lose all my money, so I need to be extra sure," I added.
Finally, Cedro began to come back around in front of me. I tracked him through my peripheral, watching his movements.
His chin jutted out as he regarded me. "Remind me again of what family you come from, Fernando."
Fio's eyes flickered up from his work, stuttering over me. Had we been alone, I would have smacked him on the backside of the head and reminded him that the only difference between liars and others is their response to simple questions.
"None that you would know, sir," I explained. "Both of my parents are deceased, but they were simple laborers."
"No siblings?"
