Death by the Finish Line by Alexis Morgan

Author:Alexis Morgan [Morgan, Alexis]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Kensington Books
Published: 2021-09-14T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 16

Two hours later, Abby drove into the parking lot in front of Gil’s repair shop. There were several motorcycles parked out front, which gave her pause. Suddenly one of Gage’s past lectures started playing on a repeating loop in her head. He’d been real clear the Pratts presented no threat to her, but she needed be wary of their clientele. What should she do? Go in or go away? And why hadn’t she brought Zeke along for moral support?

She could text Gil and ask him to meet her outside and give him the pie from the safety of the parking lot. He probably wouldn’t think anything of it if she did. But no, she wouldn’t do that. Even if pragmatic, it was cowardly. Instead, she’d make a quick trip in just to drop off the pie. If he asked why the hurry, she could truthfully say that she was expecting company for dinner. Taking a deep breath, she retrieved the pie from the back seat and started toward the garage.

Before entering the work bay, she pasted what she hoped was a cheerful, not fearful, smile on her face. She could hear two men talking in the dim interior. One voice she recognized as Gil’s, and the second sounded familiar even though she couldn’t quite place it. At least it didn’t sound like an entire bike gang had taken up residence inside.

Feeling better about the situation, she picked up speed before she lost all momentum and drifted to a complete stop. That would be even more embarrassing than shoving the pie at Gil from her car window like she was an ATM for desserts.

Her sudden appearance cut off the ongoing discussion between one word and the next. Gil was perched on a tall stool next to a workbench. He looked surprised to see her, but not unhappy. He grabbed another stool and pulled it close to where he’d been sitting. “Abby, come on in and take a load off! Have you two met?”

She immediately recognized Gil’s other visitor as the bartender from the bar up the street. “We’ve not been officially introduced, but our paths have crossed. I’m Abby McCree, and you work at Beer.”

He cringed a little at her use of the nickname Tripp’s friends had given the place. Glowing in cheerful red neon script, that single word was the only sign on the place. If it had another name, she’d never heard it. Regardless, he rose to his feet and held out his hand. “Actually, I’m the owner, Liam Grainger. It’s nice to put a name to the face, Ms. McCree.”

“Please, call me Abby. Any friend of Gil’s and all that.”

Gil glanced at her hands and asked, “So what brings you here?”

She held out the box containing his pie. “I got the urge to bake and thought I’d share.”

When she took the lid off the box, the combined scents of cinnamon, nutmeg, and baked apples wafted out to perfume the air. Both men leaned in close to draw in deep breaths, their expressions turning both greedy and hungry.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.