Free With Vengeance by Brooklyn Ann

well, it looks like this one needs metric
tools anyway.” He pulled his phone out of his pocket. “I’m going to
have it towed to my place and then we’ll be able to figure out
what’s going on.”
    Kat cringed. Tow trucks were expensive. “Can
you take it out of my pay?”
    “Don’t worry about it. I have Triple A.” He
gave her a warm smile and dialed. “We want to get it in the garage
before it rains.”
    As they waited for the tow truck, Kat warmed
further at Klement’s kindness. After all the hard work he’d done at
the studio, doubtless he was anxious to go home and relax. Instead,
he was stuck here with her and her broken-down car. But rather than
being grumpy with her and cussing like Richard had whenever she
needed his help, Klement was handling the situation with competence
and an easy nature that acted like a balm on her panic.
    Still, her anxiety must be showing, because
he patted her shoulder.
    “Relax, it’s going to be okay.”
    His light touch electrified her whole
body.
    “Thanks.” She got her purse out of her car
and took a half a Xanax.
    Klement called Roderick and explained what
had happened. “Can you do me a favor and pick up some groceries
while we’re dealing with it?” He paused a moment and nodded. “Yeah,
that sounds like a great idea. Thanks, man.”
    He hung up and turned to Kat. “Rod’s going to
get some pizza from Angelo’s on his way back. They’re a little
mom-’n’-pop place that’s amazing.”
    Although food was the last thing on her mind,
Kat was eternally grateful for the effort to make everything okay.
“Pizza sounds great. Why does Roderick always get the food?”
    “Because Cliff always forgets something and
Rod likes to drive.” Klement shrugged. “Honestly, this time I meant
to do the shopping.”
    The tow truck pulled in, and he strode off to
talk with the guy. As Kat’s car was loaded onto the bed, he nodded
in satisfaction.
    “Go ahead and climb in.” He pointed at his
giant Suburban. “He’s going to follow us up there.”
    Climb was an apt term. Kat headed over to the
passenger side of the hulking vehicle. She could barely reach the
door handle, and once she got the door open, it still took a big
jump to get up to the seat. Laughing, Klement grabbed her hand and
pulled her up.
    “I didn’t think it was that high up.”
    “Just for a short person.” She grinned. “It’s
not a monster truck or anything. Thank you so much for helping me
with my car.”
    His long fingers curled around the shifter
knob, and the engine fired up with the roar that only came from
Fifties classics. “I told you, it’s no big deal. It’s probably just
a clogged fuel filter. Only four or five bucks. Or it might be that
you need to adjust the air/fuel mixture. Old cars like this don’t
like the elevation up here.”
    As he rattled off his theories, Kat felt
another pulse in her core. She was wet again. Jerking her face to
the window so he wouldn’t see her blush, she realized that,
whatever this was, it had only to do with him. She remained in
stunned silence the rest of the way to his house.
    Klement had the tow-truck guy lower the car
in a spot by his massive garage then opened one of the doors to
reveal a collection of classic vehicles. Kat wasn’t as much into
cars as Kinley, but she still found herself standing there, gaping
in awe as Klem backed a big Fifties-looking car out onto the
driveway. Long and sleek and black, it reminded her of the old
Batmobile. She also caught glimpses of an old Volkswagen, some
muscle car that looked kinda like Kinley’s Plymouth Duster, and a
pickup that looked older than all of them.
    Klement got out of the big black car, and she
helped him push her Subaru into the garage, unable to stop staring
at the enormous toolbox and plethora of shop equipment in the back.
Klement yawned and stretched his arms high in the air. His tee
shirt lifted so she could see a glimpse of his belly and hip-bone
muscles.
    “I’m going to have