RTWM: The Girl Honed By Fire And Fear [Book 1]

Chapter 11: Stony Creek

Warning: Suggestive themes ahead.

The engine sputtering had Jack nearly growling in frustration. They needed to get a mechanic for this piece of junk or else it wouldn't last all the way back to the taxi station.

Elevena stifled a laugh, shooting an apologetic smile at her stressed uncle when she failed to contain the snort that followed.

They were supposed to be heading towards Dominic and face the music, but instead, they took a small detour. They rolled into a small town, with a weather-worn sign that read, "Welcome to Stony Creek", in faded lettering.

Jack drove the cab to a small garage. They all filed out of the cab, Seth pushing his sister and his mate behind him. Sara and Elevena exchanged a look of amusement at his protective streak, but the latter's heart still fluttered at the action.

"Hello? Is anyone here?" Her uncle called out.

"We're closed."

"Oh, there you are." Jack commented under his breath as he poked his head around the corner to find a man half-asleep in a desk chair. "Yeah, I know you're closed, but we've experienced some car trouble and I was hoping that—"

"We're still closed. Experience your car trouble when we're open."

Elevena snickered under her breath, silently applauding his comeback, impressed with his wit while still half-asleep.

Her uncle tried to remain patient, but it was clear he was growing more frustrated. He needed his taxi fixed before they had to run away from another threat, which with their luck, was right around the corner.

"Well, I'll work on that next time, but this time, I need you to—"

"Jack Bruno." Sara interrupted his attempts at persuading the mechanic and Jack shook his head at her in warning. "The only thing that will convince Eddie Cortez to reopen for business will be a significant amount of money."

The man blearily rubbed his eyes, blinking. "Wait a minute. Do I know you?"

Elevena angled her body so that the blonde girl was hidden from view, slitting her eyes. She didn't think he was aligned with the bad guys, but she didn't explicitly trust him either.

"No, absolutely not. You don't know them from anywhere." Jack denied immediately and she rolled her eyes at how obvious he was being. He would make a terrible spy. "I'll pay you double your rate."

He chuckled, thinking he was joking. "Why not triple?"

"Done." Jack agreed without an ounce of hesitation.

The mechanic froze as it sunk in that he wasn't kidding and came forward, inspecting the beat-up cab carefully. "What did you do, get into a fight with a rhinoceros?"

He ran his hands over the stripped paint and multiple dents, adding humorously, "Poor rhino."

"Poor rhino, I know!" Jack laughed along with him, trying to match his air of nonchalance. This guy had absolutely no idea.

Sara and Seth joined in laughing until he subtly shook his head at them. Elevena didn't have the heart to explain the intricacies of social interaction to the confused siblings at the moment.

Eddie wrung his hands, finishing his analysis, eyebrows shooting up to his forehead in bewilderment. "I don't even know where to start."

Jack launched into a detailed description of what needed to be done. "Well, where you could start is by replacing the front shocks and the tie rods, patch up the radiator, fix the exhaust, and if you have four tires I'll take those too. You got one hour."