Free Dirty For Me (Motor City Royals) by Jackie Ashenden

jobs, knew the kind of anger that seemed to radiate off them. They were mean motherfuckers and they hadn’t gotten that way because jail was an easy way out.
    “He’s gonna need help.” Gideon paused and looked at both of them. “And I’m gonna have to tell Rachel.”
    No one knew exactly what had happened between Levi and Rachel the night she’d been attacked, but what they did know was that it had changed her. She’d always been a firecracker, but over the years she’d gotten harder, pricklier. Defensive. Not an easy person to be with in many ways and how she was going to take this news was anyone’s guess.
    One thing was clear to all of them though—Rachel blamed herself for Levi’s jail time. And she was pissed about it.
    “That’s gonna be hell,” Zee muttered.
    “Yeah, I know. But she’ll have to find out at some point and probably the earlier the better.”
    “True.” He gave Gideon a look. “I suppose now is a shitty time to hand in my notice?”
    Zoe blinked. “What the hell, Zee?”
    Gideon just stared back, the beginning of a smile curling his mouth. “I’ve been wondering when this was coming.”
    Zee scowled. Jesus, don’t say all his worrying about Gideon’s reaction was all for nothing? “What do you mean you’ve ‘been wondering’?”
    “Well, you’ve gotten that gym up and running, and you told me you’ve been talking with the outreach center. I know your heart isn’t in the garage. Shit, it never really was.”
    That was true. Though he liked fixing cars, liked putting pieces together and making them go, or analyzing a mechanical problem and finding a solution, it wasn’t really what he wanted. Fixing cars was one thing, but fixing broken people, broken communities was better.
    It was what Madison would have wanted him to do.
    “You don’t look very unhappy about it,” Zee commented, lacing his fingers together and leaning back in his chair.
    “I’m not. In fact, it’s perfect timing.”
    “What do you mean perfect timing?”
    Zoe was grinning. “I see where you’re going with this.”
    “Uh-huh.” Gideon smiled. “Poor Levi’s gonna need a job. Do you think you could stay until then?”

Chapter 5
    T amara smoothed the white linen napkin over her knees and tried once more to see if she could read the expression on her father’s face.
    He’d descended from his top floor CEO’s office to take her out to dinner right at five P.M. , waving off her protestations that she had to work late. Scott had been very magnanimous despite spending the whole week keeping her under his thumb, granting her the evening off with much bonhomie and obvious sucking up, though of course this was going to come back to bite her. Scott’s eyes had been cold as he’d told her that naturally she could go have dinner with her father and she knew he was viewing this as favoritism.
    She’d tried to have a conversation once with her father about Scott, but he’d waved it off, telling her that she’d always come up against bosses she found difficult and she’d just have to find a way to work with it.
    John Lennox always hated complaints so she’d shut up after that. Because, after all, he wasn’t wrong. Showing him she could handle it was the better way to deal with it anyway.
    She studied him now as they sat in one of Detroit’s newest restaurants and the source of much buzz, but the expression on his slightly hawkish face was impenetrable. He’d long perfected the art of showing only what he wanted other people to see, so why she was even bothering to figure out what this dinner was about she didn’t know. And it was about something, that was for sure.
    Her father always made a big production about everything when he wanted to talk.
    “So, Dad,” Tamara said after the waiter had taken their order and filled up their wineglasses. “Was there something in particular you wanted to see me about?”
    He picked up his wineglass and leaned back in his chair, a smile hovering around