AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Hey, Sarah. I’ll jump on the other register and start taking orders.” Kizzie smiled at the young woman.
Sarah had just celebrated her year anniversary with the restaurant. She was a great asset and a hard worker. She was a kid who had aged out of the foster system and was trying to make it in life.
“Thank you.” Relief filled Sarah’s face. She reached up and brushed her thick auburn hair behind her ear. She turned back to the next customer. “Do you want your sauce on the wings or on the side?”
Kizzie moved over to the open register and waved for the next customer in line. She gave a wide smile and greeted the couple who came forward.
This was what she needed. A busy afternoon to keep her mind off of how she was going to seduce her best friend.
two
Niko Rusek guided his rental car through the light traffic of Cleveland. It had been a long flight from San Francisco, and his body was tired. He hated to be confined in one spot for long, and to be seated next to someone he didn’t know made it even worse.
Niko wasn’t the type of person who liked to be around other people. He had flown business class since he was on the tall side at six foot three, and with his lengthy legs he needed the extra room. There had been an older gentleman next to him who had tried to make conversation on the flight. Niko had immediately pulled out his headphones, threw his hoodie over his head, and closed his eyes.
He didn’t do small conversations.
“What the fuck are you doing?” Niko growled, watching a vehicle in front of him cut over two lanes.
Car horns sounded as the idiot made their turn. It was a wonder that person hadn’t caused an accident.
Niko ran a hand through his hair and guided his car to a stop. Another fucking light was causing a delay in his trip. He sat back and wished he was on his bike instead. He needed to feel the wind in his hair, the powerful machine between this thighs.
Riding his bike gave him the freedom he always wanted to feel. He’d be out for hours on the weekends, even some nights when he couldn’t sleep. Niko had spent majority of his life around motorcycles. When he was younger, he’d had a fascination with them. His older brother, Will, had gotten a job at a bike shop, and Niko used every excuse he could think of to hang out there.
The owner, George, had been the closest thing to a saint in young Niko’s eyes. Home life hadn’t been the best. His old man had been a drunk, and his mother turned a blind eye to anything his father had done to him or his brother.
But George had seen something in the Rusek brothers. Maybe the old man knew that if he didn’t hire the boys on, they would have ended up in the streets with the wrong crowd. If he hadn’t, he would have been right. Ten years ago, George had decided it was time for him to retire. His body and hands wouldn’t allow him to work the machinery the way it required.
Will and Niko had offered to buy the shop.
George had sold it to them without a second thought.
Will and Niko renovated the shop and gave it a new name—Precision Motors. They took what they had learned from the old man, and with their business sense, they elevated Precision Motors to a higher level. They had clientele a mile long, and their shop was one of the top motorcycles repair shops in all of California.
Niko was proud of what he and his brother had accomplished. They had come from nothing and had made it. Niko could always count on him. Will had left home at eighteen, and the minute Niko had turned seventeen, he’d left and joined him. They would rather have struggled together than to remain in that hellhole of a home they had grown up in. The last Niko heard of his parents was his father had died of a drug overdose and their mother was now on her fifth husband.
He blew out a deep breath and tried not to think of his upbringing. He had done well with himself and had all the money needed, owned a home, cars, and multiple bikes. The only thing missing was someone to share all of that with. He secretly wanted a family of his own. He’d never admitted it to anyone and had buried it deep down inside. He had been focused on building his business and enjoying all the spoils that came with being a successful businessman.
But then a short brown-skinned woman with the biggest personality had blown into his life, and nothing had ever been the same.
Kizzie McCall.
He had to admit, he had never truly befriended many people. The amount of people he would consider a true friend he could count on one hand.
But Kizzie, she was different.
Niko remembered the night he had met her like it had happened yesterday. He and Will had just secured the purchase of Precision Motors and had gone out for celebratory drinks. They hadn’t even come up with a new name for their shop yet. But two young brothers in their twenties purchasing a thriving motorcycle repair shop called for a celebration.
They had gone out to the local watering hole they both enjoyed. Ten minutes inside, and Will had become distracted with a little blonde, leaving Niko at the bar alone.
“It sure is crowded tonight,” Niko murmured. He leaned against the counter, his eyes locked on the television screen. The 49ers were on, and he had money on the game. They were up by fourteen, and he sent up a little prayer that they would keep the lead. One more quarter to go, and if they won, he was due to win a cool thousand dollars.
“No, you don’t have to buy me a drink,” a husky feminine voice announced.
Niko took a sip of his vodka that he had been nursing and ignored her. Something about her voice did pique his interest, but he wasn’t here for women.
“But thank you anyway.”
