“Del?”
Asa’s voice had their smiles disappearing. Sebastian turned to face him, an expression of grim anticipation on his handsome face. “Good morning, Wilder.”
Asa didn’t look at him, but he acknowledged his presence. “And to you, Zorba. Hey, I was wondering, would you like to know why your engine still sounds like a cat in heat?”
Delilah opened her mouth to stop Asa from embarrassing him, but Sebastian’s words silenced her. “You know I would. Isn’t that why I offered to buy the garage in the first place?”
Asa nodded. “Then I suggest you hop in your expensive foreign car and head back to your house. Delilah and I will be right behind you.”
Sebastian hesitated, studying both of them for long, tense moments before he nodded. “I’ll be waiting.”
She watched Sebastian disappear, her eyebrows lowered so far down it was making her head hurt. “What just happened? What did he mean?”
“Give me your keys, Del.”
No. “I need them.”
“Now, Delilah.”
“Really? Now? What am I two-years-old? I can—”
“The boys are watching.”
Delilah looked over his shoulder to see the Major and Angel wearing matching expressions of interest and groaned.
She handed Asa her keys. “What now?”
He was already striding toward the driver’s side of her Mustang. “Get in the car, close the door, and buckle up.”
She was grumbling under her breath as she did what he asked, aware of their audience. “Buckle up. Haven’t seen him for three days and he tells me to—”
“What?” Asa slid into the driver’s seat and started the engine.
“What, exactly, is going on here, Asa? Why did Kosta Ironworks make an offer on Dean’s Garage?”
“Because I asked him to.”
“Just like that?”
He nodded, turning onto the freeway. “He’s an interesting man. Does whatever he needs to do to get what he wants—something I have a feeling you’ve figured out.” Asa shrugged. “He’s wanted me to help him build the KII since he started the project. It’s why he bought the property in the first place. He was riding through town and stopped in to talk bikes with the boys. We started talking engines and the next day he made me an offer.”
It was starting to make sense in her mind. Sebastian recognized Asa’s talent. “You turned him down?”
“At first, yeah, I was busy. I didn’t know who he was. Who his family was. And then…well, then like I told you…it was just fun.”
“You like him.”
Asa’s laugh was tense. “What’s not to like? He’s a good guy, clever as hell and…” He glanced over at her just for a moment, long enough for her to see the storm of emotion roiling in his blue eyes. “He has good taste. You like him too. More than I do, I think. But he’s still in chase mode, so I’m assuming you haven’t spent the last few days together.”
“Chase mode.” She crossed her arms, her mind racing. “No wonder y
ou like each other. You’re more alike than you know. Though I didn’t see any slashes or arrow tattoos, so he might be more of a gentleman when it comes to bragging rights.”
The Mustang sped up. “My tattoos? You’re talking about my tattoos right now? I was eighteen, Del. Guys get stupid tattoos when they’re eighteen. Bad tattoos, black-out drinking and excessive porn collecting. It’s a right of fucking passage. And that isn’t what I wanted to spend the drive talking about.”
“What in the hell did you want to talk about?”
“Ask me why.”