Landon’s talent blew me away. The flames were done in varying shades of red, orange, and yellow, with shadings of black and gray. They had texture and depth, and it looked as though fire was literally licking up the side of the car.
“It’s amazing, Landon. This looks professional,” I piped up, walking closer to the car to have a look. I knelt down and ran my fingers along the paint job.
“You really think so?” Landon asked, coming to stand next to me. I straightened up and gave him a wide, genuine smile.
“Definitely! Maxx said you were an artist, I just had no idea you were so good,” I commented. Landon flushed with pride, puffing his chest out.
“Thanks, Aubrey! I’m hoping to go to art school when I graduate. Get into graphic design or something.” Landon glanced at Maxx, who still wore a smile, though it was now decidedly strained.
Landon turned back to me and shrugged. “We’ll see what happens, I guess,” he said, picking up on Maxx’s pointed silence.
I gave Maxx a tiny frown, but he wasn’t looking at me. His eyes were on his brother, his expression sad.
I cleared my throat, feeling the sudden tension. “So what’s left to get this thing road ready?” I asked, slapping my hand on the hood.
Landon’s face brightened. “We just need to swap out the alternator, put in new brake pads, and replace the fuel line.”
I turned to Maxx, who was digging around in the toolbox. “You do the work yourselves?” I asked. Maxx nodded.
“Where did you learn how to do this stuff?” I asked. Landon chewed on his bottom lip before answering.
“Actually from Uncle David. He’s really into cars, and when we first came to live with him, he’d work out here for days. If we wanted to spend any time with him then, we had to learn how to help. It’s a pretty good skill to have in the long run, though. It saves us a fortune in mechanic’s bills,” Landon said, popping the hood of the car and peering down.
“I’ll say. I always wanted to know more about cars. It’s tough being a girl and dealing with mechanics. They see a female and think they can charge double,” I said, staring down into the car. It looked like a mess of metal and dirt to me.
Maxx came up beside me and pointed. “Well, that’s the engine,” he teased. I elbowed him in the gut and he grunted.
“Smart-ass,” I muttered.
“Pull up a chair, Aubrey, and watch. We’ll turn you into a gearhead in no time,” Landon promised, smiling in that way of his that was so much like his brother’s. The two of them together wreaked havoc on my heart.
Landon turned on a small radio, and the boys started working together under the hood of the Mustang. I watched them, amazed at how deftly they maneuvered around the insides of the car.
They laughed and joked, and the atmosphere in the garage was cheerful.
Until a diesel truck pulled into the driveway, the engine gunning in warning.
Landon looked up at the sound and started hastily putting tools away. Maxx’s shoulders tensed, and his jaw stiffened. He started to help Landon clean up, purposefully not looking toward the figure coming our way.
“It’s about damned time you came by,” the voice called out. I looked from Maxx to the man who was approaching. As he got closer I was surprised to see an older version of Maxx and Landon.
Their uncle David was a good-looking man, if a bit on the paunchy side. He looked to be in his midthirties and walked with a confident swagger that reminded me a lot of Maxx.
But it was clear there was no love lost between David and his older nephew. Maxx gave his uncle a look of disgust as he entered the garage. David sneered down at the Mustang, kicking a tire with the toe of his boot.
“I don’t know why you bother with this piece of shit. You’ll never get it running,” he mocked nastily. Landon deflated a bit, and I wanted to smack the hateful smile off David’s face.
Landon continued to clean up, but he seemed to shrink in on himself. “I told you to keep this place neat and tidy; otherwise I’ll have this f**king car towed out of here,” David warned, knocking over a pile of boxes.
“Sorry, Uncle David. I’ll clean it up,” Landon replied hastily.
Maxx held his arm out to stop his brother from rushing over to pick up the boxes. “Landon didn’t make the mess, David. Why don’t you move your fat ass and do it yourself?” he growled.
David’s face turned red, and then his attention shifted in my direction. His dull blue eyes swept up and down my body, his lip curled in a lascivious grin. “Is this pretty piece of pu**y an early birthday gift?” David asked. His blatant interest made me want to take a shower.
“Don’t talk about my girl like that,” Maxx snarled, grabbing my arm and pulling me behind him.
David laughed. “There’s no way you can hang on to a piece of ass like that, Maxxy.” David inclined his head in my direction. “A word of advice, baby, ditch the limp dick and find yourself a real man.” David licked his lips, and I shuddered in revulsion.
Maxx made a choking noise in the back of his throat, and for a brief moment I thought things were going to turn gladiator. David and Maxx stared each other down, neither giving an inch.
I gripped Maxx’s arm, digging my nails into his flesh, trying to stop him from what he seemed about to do. Finally, he looked at me. “We need to leave now before I take a crowbar to his thick skull,” Maxx snarled through clenched teeth.
He turned to his brother, who was picking up the boxes David had knocked over. “We’ve got to go, Landon. I’ll call you in a few days,” Maxx promised, his face regretful.
Landon nodded but didn’t lift his head as we left. Maxx pushed past his uncle, who reached out to grab his arm.
Maxx wrenched out of his grasp. “Keep your f**king hands off me,” Maxx snarled. David lifted his hands in surrender and chuckled a little nervously.
“I hope you left me some cash. Things have been a little tight around here.” David’s words were mild but clearly threatening as his eyes darted back to Landon, who was still cleaning up the mess his uncle had made.
The position Maxx found himself in as a result of his uncle was all too clear. David used Landon to get what he wanted from Maxx. And Maxx loved his brother too much to say no. How easy it had been for me to condemn his life at Compulsion; I hadn’t understood his motivations.
This was his motivation.
Maxx pulled out his wallet and threw two hundred-dollar bills onto the sidewalk before grabbing me by the arm again and pulling me after him.