Broken Bond by C.J. Primer

17

CALLUM

Miles wasn’t kidding about holding up his end of our bargain. Even though I repeatedly told him the stupid bet over Nessa was off, I get an unexpected call from the garage in Goldenleaf on Monday morning. The owner, Brady, has been kind enough to allow me to store my Corvette there for the past several months in exchange for helping him out with simple mechanic jobs when I’ve got time. He doesn’t hold me to a schedule or

anything, so when I see the incoming call from him on my screen, it catches me off guard- even more so when he tells me to come down because my car’s ready to be picked up.

I catch a ride to the garage with Alec, not disclosing why I’m going. He doesn’t ask, either, because it’s not unusual for me to get a ride to the garage to work for an afternoon, either on my own car or on something for Brady. He pulls up to the garage, idling as I hop out of his truck and toss him a wave over my shoulder. Gravel crunches underneath his tires as he drives away, and I shove my hands into the pockets. of my hoodie, trudging up the driveway and into the garage.

The motion sensor chimes as I cross the threshold and Brady peeks out from behind the open hood of a car in one of the bays, his lips spreading into a wide smile when he sees me.

“I was wondering when you’d show up,” he chuckles, wiping his oil -stained hands on a cloth and trudging toward me. “Thought you’d be here hanging over my shoulder when I dropped that transmission in.”

“If I knew, I would’ve,” I grumble, striding across the garage to meet him halfway.

Brady’s brow furrows. “You mean your friend didn’t tell you?”

I give a little shake of my head, frowning. While Miles told me he’d pay up on the bet, he didn’t say it’d be this soon. I thought I’d still have time to talk him out of it. Now that Nessa and I are a thing, there’s no way this won’t come back to bite me in the ass. 5

Brady whistles, shaking his head. “Damn, boy. Wish I had a friend like that. He had the transmission delivered from Denver on Saturday and paid me extra to get it dropped in ASAP.” 3

My frown deepens. Paying for the install wasn’t part of the deal.

“C’mon,” Brady calls, turning on a heel and waving for me to follow him. “It’s in bay three. I’m sure you’re dying to see it. Wait till you hear the way that engine purrs.”

While I’m uncomfortable about this whole thing, Brady’s right- I can’t wait to get behind the wheel of the Corvette. I’ve been working on it for the better part of a year, and the anticipation of finally getting it running has me itchy, my fingers twitching at my sides as I follow Brady across the garage.

My heart thumps faster when my car comes

into view. It still needs a new paintjob, but it looks like Brady has waxed and polished the body for the big reveal, the original black paint shining under the fluorescents overhead.

“Keys are already inside,” Brady supplies, grinning from ear to ear as he observes my reaction. I trail my fingers along the fender, approaching the drivers’ side and pulling the door open. The interior still needs some work, too, but that can come later- the priority has been to get this baby running again. For me, this is a lot more than a car. It’s freedom. No more asking for rides to get around; I can go wherever I want, whenever I want. My pulse continues to race as I lower myself into the seat, finding the keys already in the ignition. 2

“What are you waiting for?” Brady laughs, patting the hood of the car lovingly. “Fire her up!”

I turn the key, reveling in the roar of the engine coming to life. The car vibrates beneath me, purring smoothly as I hit the gas a few times to rev it up. Brady was right- it sounds

to get it out on the road and

written all over my face, because without prompting, Brady hits the button for the door to the

away and tossing me

the engine again, nodding to Brady in appreciation before shifting the gear into reverse and backing out of

to start down the road, I realize there’s only one thing that could make my first ride in this car better-

yours?!” Nessa asks excitedly as she pulls open the passenger door of the Corvette and slips inside. She runs her hands. over the leather seat beneath her, eager eyes taking in the interior of my

is,” I reply proudly, unable to keep from cracking a smile. “Been working on it for a while and was

sexy,” she comments, throwing her long hair over a shoulder and tossing me a wink.

pulling her lips to mine. I swallow her little gasp of surprise, claiming her mouth in a quick and dirty kiss before pulling back with a grin and resting a hand on the wheel. “Buckle up, sweetness,” I drawl with a lift of

it into place. She’s casually dressed in jeans and a sweater, but damn is she a knockout. Vanessa Diaz is hands down the most beautiful creature I’ve ever laid eyes on. My gaze lingers on her for a moment longer before I

contagious. A wide grin spreads across my lips as I pull away from the curb, the engine roaring beneath us as we take off

wonder if I even had the capacity to truly care for another person 4 outside of my close-knit

die for any of them, no question, but part of the closeness that we have comes from our history together and our

always making wagers with us because when he wins one, he feels that it proves his worth. He doesn’t realize that he doesn’t need to prove anything to us; we value him exactly as he

taller, stronger,

but deep down, the guy always has the best intentions. He puts on a hard front, but he’d give someone the shirt off his back if they needed it. It’s what’ll make him such a good alpha when he steps up to lead our pack. Leading comes naturally to him; he’s been the unofficial leader of our group for as long as

outcome when we set out to do something foolish- which is more often than not. They’re also the glue that

and idealistic with this naïve innocence that completely boggles my fucking mind. It’s like she only sees the good in the world, even when the bad is staring her in the face.

her; utterly enraptured in her presence. She makes me feel like I could be someone else. Someone… better. Someone without a dark past

4

in a way that I’ve never cared for anyone else. I know I’d protect her with everything I have if it came down to it. But what if the person she truly needs protecting from winds up being me? We’ve got a good thing going, but how can it last when we’re so fundamentally different?

the rumble of the engine echoing through the woods around us. I used to wonder how some people could seem so damn happy all the time when life is an endless shitshow, but right now, driving down the open road in my Corvette with my girl by my side, I think I finally get it. This light feeling in my chest must be what happiness feels like. It’s a

to Nessa in the passenger seat and for the first time, I’m reconsidering the mission I’ve been selected for. I still haven’t told her about it, and there’s still the better part of

them high and dry if I decided not to go. All I wanted before was to get away from this place, but the girl beside

on a narrow forest road that

“The chances are low, but never zero.”

on top of mine. I turn it over, lacing my fingers with hers in a gesture that feels so natural that it unnerves me a little bit. Then again, I’ll take any

and Nessa glances down at it, stifling a giggle.” Who’s

fingers from hers and reaching

brows shoot up. “Your

“Yeah.”