Free Break Me In by Shari Slade Page A

not have a home to come back to, but Noah doesn’t need to know that.
    I swallow down the please that’s ready to trip off my tongue. I don’t have to ask him to do something I already know he’s going to do.
    “It’s cute how you think you’re calling the shots.” Noah says.
    He’s taking me out of here as payment for a debt. And for my own good. Supposedly to protect me from Stone. I study the man beside us out of the corner of my eye. He and Noah are two sides of the same coin, large and intimidating, covered in ink and leather.
    But Noah makes me feel safe, even when I’m terrified. And as much as he warns me not to trust him, I can’t help it. He saved me from Officer Wade. He’s protected me with his fists and shielded me with his body. He’s the devil I know.
    I curl my fingers around his belt buckle. “Does it cost you anything to let me pretend I’ve got a little control?”
    He laughs. “That kind of delusion is expensive, but I think I can afford it.”
    We lurch, and then the tires grip the road and we’re off.
    Wrapped around him, flying through the streets on the back of his motorcycle with nothing between me and a fiery death on the pavement but the wind and a promise…I’ve never felt more alive.

Chapter Two

    I ’m surprised when we slow down after only forty-five minutes. For some reason I’d expected the drive to be long, imagined wherever we were going had to be far, far away. As if we were in some demented fairy tale. My black knight on his black horse whisking me off to a darker realm. But we’re just two towns over. Two exits beyond the bypass choking the life out of Jimmy’s Diner.
    A blip on the map. More of the same.
    We pull into a run-down strip mall. A Laundromat props up one end, with a handful of patrons visible through the foggy window. A curl of fabric-softener-scented steam drifts beyond the front door and overpowers the leather and exhaust surrounding me. Next to the Laundromat is a tiny pet store, long closed. All in Pawn seems to be doing well with its neon OPEN sign and sleek music equipment on display. Somebody’s dream deferred or abandoned for God knows what. A rent check, a sick kid… And Patty’s Clip ’n’ Curl props up the other end. Pink paint peels off the brick facade, making me think of makeup left on overnight.
    Stone hops off his bike. “You take Luca, and I’ll go see Patty. Let’s do this quick. I want to head back to the club sooner rather than later. The longer Dev waits, the more fucked-up he gets.”
    Noah doesn’t make a move. “I’m not taking her into Luca’s.”
    “It’s a pawn shop, not a porn studio.”
    “He’s a pig. The last time I collected there, I had to break his nose.”
    “This time shouldn’t be a problem then, but leave her to wait by the bikes if you’re worried.”
    “You got a leash on you? I’ll just tie her to the handle bar while we go do our business.” Noah’s voice drips with sarcasm, but Stone doesn’t seem to care. A mistake on Stone’s part, for sure.
    Stone leans in close to me and rests his hand on my shoulder. I force myself not to jerk away. “You’re not going anywhere, are you, kitten? You know what would happen—”
    And then Noah is moving. He’s a wall of angry muscle, and I hang on to the bike to keep from getting hauled along with him. “Hands. Off. Unless you want to lose them.”
    Stone raises both offending hands palms out and backs away slowly, grinning ear to ear. “Come on, brother. You got yourself a taste this morning. Patty’s real friendly. And real grateful for our protection.”
    “Maybe if you knew her name wasn’t actually Patty, I’d let you take this one. Patty was her grandmother, you dipshit.”
    Stone sneers. “Sorry, we don’t have coffee and chat about extended family.”
    “Attention to detail, brother. Pay enough and it’ll get you laid. Too little and it’ll get you dead. Look around. It’s a Saturday morning. There should be a line of old