❝I need to put me first❞ | Being back home isn't as good as Rose thought it would be, living surrounded by a family she doesn't know is taking a toll on her. As Rose tries to deal with her amnesia while she also comes to terms with trying to find ou...
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The garage smelled like oil, metal, and the faint sweetness of the takeout containers someone had abandoned on a workbench hours ago. I was elbow-deep in an engine bay, torque wrench in hand, chasing a stubborn knock that had been pissing me off all afternoon.
Across the room, Han sat at his station with a stack of papers and a half-eaten bag of snacks, the soft scratch of his pen the only sound besides the occasional clang from under the lifted car.
Reiko, Sean, and Earl were under a Skyline that a customer had brought in earlier, arguing quietly about a brake line. Normal stuff, almost peaceful.
Then the side door opened, and Neela walked in.
She looked wrecked. Eyes red, cheeks wet, shoulders curled in like she was trying to take up less space. Sean was out from under the car so fast he nearly cracked his head on the undercarriage. He went straight to her, hands hovering, voice low. When she leaned into him, he glanced up at me, asking without words.
I met his eyes and gave a single nod. "Make her some tea. Heard it helps with... whatever she's got going on right now." I said, dry as dust. "Don't burn the place down."
Sean didn't need telling twice as he steered Neela toward the back while Reiko and Earl walked out from under the car lift, exchanging the same look Han and I were already sharing.
Shit had gone down.
If Neela was here crying and looking for Sean, then something had happened with Takashi, and we might have a fight on our hands.
Han set his pen down as I wiped my hands on a rag and leaned against the fender of the car I'd been working on. Neither of us said a word; we didn't have to.
The sound of engines outside was the first real warning. Multiple cars, aggressive and coming in hot.
I glanced at Han as the plan we'd spent weeks refining with Mr. Nobody flashed behind my eyes. The staged exit, the fake death, the quiet extraction for him and Elle. Protect the girl. Our girl.
This was it.
"You ready?" I asked, voice low enough that only he could hear.
Han's jaw tightened once, then he nodded. "Yeah."
The cars screeched to a stop right outside, and doors slammed. Takashi cut through the open bay like a blade, looking more emotional than I've ever seen him.
