"You suck."
Yes, he certainly had last night - not that it was any business of that friendly neighborhood gum-flapping motherfucker with a metal fetish.
Things fell into their usual rhythm, and the other guys got out of Jim and Eddie's way as they went around, closing the gap from where they'd stopped the day before, sealing things up from the spring rains that were just starting. The house was going to be about fifteen thousand square feet in size, so to get it battened down tight in just one week was a tall order. Still, Jim and Eddie were busting ass, and the roofers were already halfway across the rafters. By the end of the weekend, they weren't going to have to worry about the cold drizzle or the freezing wind anymore, and thank God for it. Yesterday had been a suckfest of wet and nasty, and there were still puddles here and there that splashed up onto his jeans.
Lunchtime came quickly, which was what happened when he worked with Eddie, and while the other guys propped themselves on the edge of the house facing the sun, Jim went back to his truck and ate alone sitting in the cab.
The sandwich was still cold, which always improved the taste, and the Coke was spectacular.
As he sat on his own and chewed, he glanced over to the empty seat next to him...and remembered dark hair spilling over the upholstery and the arch of a female neck in the dash lights and the feel of a soft body beneath his.
He was such a shit, taking advantage of her like that, and yet, after it was all done, she'd smiled up at him as if he'd given her exactly what she'd wanted. Except that couldn't be true. Sex between strangers was just a temporary reprieve from loneliness. How could that be enough for someone like her? Christ, he didn't even know her name. When the deep breathing had passed, she'd kissed him and lingered on his lips; then she'd pulled the top of her dress up and the bottom of it down, and left him.
With a curse, Jim threw open the driver's-side door and took his lunch around to the back bumper It was warmer out in the sun, but more to the point, the air smelled like fresh pine boards, not perfume. As he turned his face to the sky and tried to wipe clean his mind, he lost interest in the sandwich, putting it aside on its Saran Wrap and focusing on the Coke instead.
The dog appeared a moment later, peeking out from behind a stack of felled trees that were due for removal. The thing was the size of a small terrier and had a coat that looked like mottled steel wool. One ear was flopped over and it had some kind of scar on its muzzle.
Jim lowered his Coke bottle as the two of them locked stares.
Damn animal was frightened and using the grizzled stumps as cover because they were far, far larger than he was, but he was also starved: Going by the way that little black nose was sniffing the breeze, clearly the smell of the turkey was calling him.
The dog took a tentative step out. And then another. And another.
It walked with a limp.
Jim reached to the side slowly, putting his hand on the sandwich. Popping off the top of the roll, he pushed aside the languid lettuce and the Styrofoam tomato, and picked up a slice of turkey.
Leaning down, he extended the meat. "Don't taste like much, but it won't kill you. Promise."
The dog circled, closing in with that gimpy front paw, the spring wind lifting its wiry coat and showing sharp ribs. The thing had its head extended as far as the neck would allow, and its back legs were trembling as if they were ready to leap into a retreat at any second. Hunger, however, pushed it to go where it didn't want to be.
Jim stayed still and let the animal inch closer to him.
"Come on, son," Jim said roughly. "You need this."
Up close, the dog looked exhausted, and when it took the turkey it was with a swift snap and a back-away. Jim got another piece ready, and this time the animal came more quickly and didn't move away so fast. The third piece was accepted with a delicate mouth, as if the animal's innate nature were not what its experiences had turned it into.
Jim fed the thing the roll, too. "That's it."
The dog planted its butt in front of Jim, curling into a sit and tilting its head to one side. There were smart eyes on the thing. Smart, old, tired eyes. "I'm not a dog person."
Evidently, the dog didn't understand English. In a leap that was surprisingly graceful, it propelled itself up into Jim's lap.
"What the..." Jim lifted his arms out of the way and stared down. "Jesus, you don't weigh much."
Duh. Probably hadn't eaten in days.
Jim put a tentative hand on its back. Christ. All he felt was bones.
The whistle blown meant lunch was over, so Jim gave the dog one stroke before putting it back on the ground. "Sorry...like I said, not a dog person."
He grabbed his tool belt out of the cab and strapped it back on as he walked away. The look over his shoulder was a bad idea.
Shit, the dog was under the truck, behind the back tire, and those old eyes were on Jim.
"I don't do pets," Jim called out as he went off.
The purring sound of a car approaching rolled across the job site, and when the men who were lined up on the lip of the house looked over, their expressions fell into a collective f**k-me - which meant Jim didn't have to pull another over-the-shoulder to know exactly who it was.
The general contractor/owner/pain in the ass was here again.
Son of a bitch showed up at all different times of the day, like he didn't want to set a schedule the crew could depend on so his spot inspections would be more accurate. And it so didn't take a genius to figure out what he was looking for: lax workers, sloppy construction, mistakes, theft. Made you feel like you were dishonest and lazy even if you weren't, and for a lot of the guys that was an insult they were willing to let pass only because they were always paid on time on Friday.
Jim stepped up his pace as the BMW M6 pulled up right next to him. He didn't look at the car or the driver: He always stayed out of the guy's way, not because he had anything to apologize for in terms of performance, but because he was a grunt, pure and simple: When the general came to inspect the troops, the chain of command mandated that the ass**le was Chuck the foreman's problem, not Jim's.
Thank you, Jesus.
Jim hopped up onto the flooring, and headed back over to where he'd been working. Eddie, ever ready to pitch in, followed and so did Adrian. "Holy...shit."
"Okay...wow."
"Madre de Dios..."
The comments bubbling up from the workers made Jim glance back.
Oh, hell, no...talk about your f**k-me-and-a-halfs: A stunningly beautiful brunette was stepping out of the car with the grace of a flag unfurling in a calm breeze.
Jim squeezed his eyes shut. And saw her in the cab of his truck, stretched out with her perfect br**sts bare to his mouth.
"Now, that is a helluva woman," one of the workers said.
Man, there were times in life when disappearing was a great idea. Not because you were a pu**y, but because you really didn't need the hassle of dealing. This was one of them. And then some.
"Well, shit, Jim..." Adrian dragged a hand through his thick hair. "That's..."
Yeah, he knew. "Got nothing to do with me. Eddie - you ready with that board?"
As Jim went to turn away, the brunette looked up and their eyes met. Her lovely face flickered with recognition, just as her man walked over to her and wrapped his arm around her waist.
Jim took a step back without looking where he was going.
It happened in an instant. Faster than the strike of a match. Quicker than a gasp.
The heel of Jim's boot landed on a piece of two-by-four that was lying across an extension cord and gravity took hold of his body, sweeping him off balance. As he fell, he split the cord from its joining with another, and sent the live end popping free and flipping into one of the puddles.
Jim hit the flooring in a loose sprawl of limbs...which ordinarily would have just left him with some bruises on his ass and his shoulders.
But his bare hand landed in the water.
The electrical shock blared up his arm and slammed directly into his heart. As his spine jacked for the sky and his teeth locked together, his eyes flew wide and his hearing shorted out, the world receding until all he knew was the wild, consuming pain in his body.
The last image he had was of Eddie's long braid swinging wide as the guy lunged forward to help.
Vin didn't see the guy fall. But he heard the hard landing of a big body and then the scramble of boots and the shouted curses as people ran over from all directions. "Stay here," he told Devina as he took out his cell phone.
He punched in 911 as he rushed toward the commotion, but didn't hit send yet. Jumping up onto the floorboards, he jogged over -