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Elena: Omw to garage. Be there soon.
The message made him frown. He looked at Vinyl.
“What?” his friend questioned.
“I thought we were supposed to pick her up at the shop tonight?” Pax slid his phone across the table. The only benefit of them having to work overtime this last week had been that they were just a few blocks from Medina’s in case Elena needed them. One of them was always available to make sure she didn’t have to walk the distance alone—especially with the picketers that had been plaguing them lately. “Elena’s on her way here. Now.”
“She’s walking?” Tanner asked, already moving towards the door.
“I hope not.” Vinyl was only a step behind. “It’s been getting dark before the streetlights come on lately.”
“I’ll take the truck while you two walk, text me if you see her before I do.” Pax dug his keys out of his pocket as the three of them hurried outside.
“Hold up,” Tanner said, grabbing his elbow before he could sprint to his pickup. “There she is.”
Elena was walking across the small backlot carrying two bags of food.
“What are you doing here?” Pax asked at the same time as Vinyl.
“We’re supposed to pick you up in half an hour,” his friend reminded her with a frown. Vinyl’s eyes dropped to the bags she was loaded down with. “What’s all that for? There’ll be more than enough food at the barbeque.”
“This is for the guys that are working late,” she replied, handing them over to Tanner. “I know they’re trying to catch up, but they still need to eat. Especially Tripp, he skipped lunch.”
“Tripp’s gay,” Pax blurted out before he could help himself. He knew her mentioning the other man wasn’t done to make him jealous, but it still managed to do it. He had a feeling he was going to be a possessive fucker—at least until they handled whatever seemed to be bothering her lately. Once they’d managed to lock her down, he’d calm down a little when it came to other men.Maybe.
“Tripp’s bi,” Vinyl shared, opening the door for Tanner to carry the food in.
“Really?” Elena grinned.
Or maybe not.
“Enough about Tripp,” Pax snapped, his hand going to her back to steer her in the opposite direction of the shop. “We’ll be waiting for you two in the truck.”
“Do you have a problem with Tripp?” she asked, turning to look up at him in concern.
“No,” he replied with a shake of his head. “Tripp’s a good guy.”
“Then what—?”
“Why didn’t you call us to pick you up?” he interrupted before she could finish. Pax helped her into the front seat of his lifted truck as he waited for her answer.
“Ummm.” Elena looked back towards the garage. “Since I had the food, I figured it would just make sense to walk it over.”
“We could have come back by to drop it off,” Pax argued, wondering at the flash of guilt he saw on her face before it disappeared. He was about to mention it when the back doors were opened.
“I didn’t realize how hungry I was until I smelled those tacos,” Vinyl groaned as he climbed in. “Now, food is all I can think about.”
“Same,” Tanner agreed, buckling his seat belt. “You ready for some barbeque, ‘Lena?”
“Yes.” There was no denying her genuine enthusiasm as she smiled. “It’s been forever since I’ve had good barbeque. I love the Medinas but if it’s not served with tortillas, they don’t eat it. I have to make a trip into KC every now and then to get my fix.”
“From now on, you’ll just have to come out to the compound.” Pax lifted their linked hands to drop a kiss on the back of hers. “We’re closer than the city.”
Chapter Twenty-Two
Elena knew she was giving them mixed signals and hated herself for it. One minute she was trying to put a little distance between her and the guys, and a few seconds later she was cuddled up with them at their family barbeque. Literally.
What the hell was she going to do?
