Celina (Connelly Cousins #1) (17 page)

“I was hoping you could tell me,” Kyle told her. “I thought she might be crashing with you for a few.”

Amy pulled her gaze away from Jamie and faced Kyle with a puzzled look. “Sorry, hon, I haven’t seen her for at least a week. Figured the two of you were off nesting somewhere.” Jamie’s jaw dropped, but she didn’t seem to notice. Her eyes widened. “Oh my god, you guys had a fight?”

A muscle jumped in Kyle’s jaw, and Amy laid a hand on his arm. “Oh, honey, I am so sorry. But don’t worry, she’ll come around. I’ve known Lina a long time, and I’ve never seen her as into someone as she was into you.”

Kyle winced; Jamie made a strangled sound in the back of his throat. “Thanks, Amy. Let me know if you hear from her, will you? I need to... well, I just need to talk to her, okay?” He jotted down his mobile number on a slip of paper and handed it to her. “Any time, day or night, you let me know, yeah?”

Amy flashed him a dazzling smile. “You got it, sweetie. I’m rooting for you.” Her eyes flashed back to Jamie with distinct interest. “Aren’t you going to introduce me to your friend, Kyle?”

“No.” Without further explanation he pushed Jamie toward the exit, calling back his thanks. Outside the shop, Jamie pierced Kyle with an acid glare. “You came here with Celina?”

Jamie’s disbelief was understandable. Under normal circumstances, Kyle wouldn’t be caught dead anywhere near a book store, and his brother knew it.  That was assuming, of course, Jamie managed to process anything after Amy’s comments. No doubt he was wondering how a sweet, intelligent woman like Lina could ever be “into” a guy like him. It was a valid question, one he’d been asking himself a lot.

“Yeah.”

“Why?”

“Why what?” Kyle asked irritably.

“Why were you at a book shop with Celina?”

Annoyed, Kyle shot him a sideways glance. “Amy is a close friend of Lina’s. A shipment came in, they asked for my help, and I moved some boxes around.”

It was a partial truth, just enough to shut Jamie up. Kyle was not in the mood to offer up any more information than he had to. It was difficult enough that he remembered every single detail of that night; he wasn’t about to give a play-by-play.

Like how Lina seemed to open up around her friend, laughing and smiling and just being herself. How her eyes sparkled under the dangling single-bulb fixtures in the back storage room. Or how he had felt a rush of heat when he caught her staring at his arms and chest while he made short work of the book-filled boxes, moving them to the long wooden tables for easy sorting and cataloguing.

Jamie eyed him suspiciously, but Kyle ignored him and moved on before Jamie asked any more questions. “Right, she’s not with Amy, so let’s try her brother. Head over to the Boulevard, where they’re putting up that new two-story office building,” he commanded, opening the passenger door and sliding his big frame into Jamie’s silver Lexus.

“How do you know so much about Celina, Kyle?” Jamie asked a moment later from the driver’s seat. He put the key in the ignition, but did not start the car. Kyle sighed. He knew he would be answering this question eventually.

“We talked.” Maybe he could keep this simple.

“When?”

Or not
. “Lina came by the shop a couple of times.”

“Why would she do that?”

“She was interested in getting a bike.”

Jamie made that choking sound again. “
Celina? On a motorcycle?”

Kyle took pleasure in the shocked look on his brother’s face, feeling a surge of possessive pride. Lina had given
him
a glimpse of her soul, but not Jamie, and he was beginning to realize that was not a gift she gave easily. He couldn’t hold back his smirk.

“You didn’t know? Thought you would, since you’ve been seeing her for so long and all.”

Eyes flaring, Jamie white-knuckled the steering wheel. “You lie.”

Kyle didn’t respond. If that’s what Jamie wanted to believe, so be it.

It took some time to track down Johnny, but when they did he seemed pleased to see him, clasping his hand in a brotherly gesture. “What’s up, man? You look like shit.”

It was Jamie’s turn to smirk, but Kyle just nodded in agreement. If he looked as bad as he felt, Johnny was being kind. “Got a sec?”

“Sure thing. “ Johnny looked just like every other worker on the site, except he was bigger, better built, and dirtier. He loved the work, and very few people – Kyle among them – were privy to the fact that Johnny actually owned the company.

Johnny directed them off to a quieter section, pulling out a pack of Camels as he walked. He took a deep drag and closed his eyes for a moment, leaning back against a support girder in the shade of the brick and glass building under construction, but Kyle wasn’t fooled. Johnny was watching him intently behind those deceptively-lidded eyes.

“Thought you quit.”

Johnny smiled mischievously. “I did. Lina would kick my ass if she caught me smoking.”

Had he not felt like crap, Kyle might have laughed. They ran in the same circles and shared a love of bikes, and Johnny was every bit the hell-raiser he was. The thought of him hiding anything from his little sister was funny, and Kyle could easily picture Lina laying into him.

Johnny’s skin was deeply bronzed from all his time in the sun, a stark contrast to his blonde hair. is stance was casual and relaxed, but his green eyes were intense, remarkably like Lina’s.

“Heard from Lina lately?” Kyle asked the question casually enough, but Johnny’s eyes narrowed and hardened as he went from fellow biker to protective big brother in an instant. Like Kyle, Johnny had layers of hard muscle on his frame and the attitude of someone who had no problem putting them to use. Kyle retained eye contact, but in his peripheral vision, saw Jamie take a step back. 
Smart man.

“Should I have?” Outwardly, Johnny remained casual, but it was impossible to miss the underlying message in his friendly tone. The one that said, “Is there a reason I should be ripping your head off right now?”

Jamie shifted his weight from one foot to the other, finally drawing Johnny’s attention. “And you are?”

“My little brother,” Kyle answered for him, effectively signaling the end of that line of questioning. Johnny snorted, dismissing Jamie and turning his attention back to Kyle.

“Lina moved out, Kyle. And I thought you two were done.”

Kyle blew out a breath. So had he. “Don’t suppose you can tell me where she is?”

“She’s my baby sister, man. If she didn’t tell you, can’t see as where I should.”

Frustrated, Kyle ran a hand through his hair, but he understood where Johnny was coming from. If he had a sister like Lina, he wouldn’t be keen on sharing that kind of info, either. “Look, if you hear from her, could you, uh, tell her I was asking?”

Johnny stared hard at him for a minute. Kyle met his gaze head on, answering every one of his unspoken questions. He wasn’t sure how that was going to go down, but Kyle braced himself for another slam to the jaw. Johnny’s would hurt a hell of a lot more than Jamie’s.

Then the corner of Johnny’s mouth twitched. Something in Kyle’s expression must have given him away, because rather than a jackhammer to the face, Johnny said, “Like that, is it?”

“Yeah, it’s like that.”

The twitch became a knowing smirk. “Yeah, sure, I’ve got your back, man.”

Kyle nodded and they clasped hands again. Nothing would have stopped him from going after Lina, but getting Johnny’s approval just made things much easier. “You got my number, yeah?”

“Yeah, man. You’re covered.”

“W
hat’s the deal with you and Celina’s brother?” Jamie asked as they pulled away from the site. Kyle continued to stare straight ahead, ignoring Jamie’s repeated sideways glances. His mind was working out their next move.  If Lina wasn’t at Amy’s and had moved out of Johnny’s, where the hell was she?

“He’s a biker. And we have an understanding,” he answered vaguely. Jamie grimaced but wisely didn’t pursue that line of questioning. Chances were, he wouldn’t like the answer, and Kyle sure as shit didn’t need any more guilt or disappointment heaped on top of what he already carried.

“Where to next?”

“Hog Heaven.”

“Will they be open this time of day?”

“Liam’ll be there. “ Liam was the owner of the biker hangout, a real legend among the rough, hard-core patrons who frequented the place. He had a fearsome reputation, and it was well-deserved. Kyle didn’t have a problem with him, though. Liam knew his machines, and had one of the sweetest collections of vintage Harleys Kyle had ever seen. They saw eye-to-eye on a lot of things, and the mutual respect they had for one another took care of the rest.

“Will he see us?”

“He’ll see me.”

The inside of
Hog Heaven
was dark and retained a unique combination of odors: beer, whiskey, smoke, sweat, and leather. Kyle rolled his neck and shoulders, releasing some of the tension that had him tighter than a brand new clutch. Next to his workshop, this was where he felt most at home. Jamie’s discomfort was apparent, however. Hands in pockets, his eyes flicked over the place as he trailed cautiously behind Kyle, looking as if he’d rather be anywhere else.

They found Liam behind the bar, wiping down the remains of last night’s business. He greeted Kyle with a grunt and a curl of the lip that was as close to a smile as Liam got.

“Kyle, been a while, mate.”

Out of his peripheral vision, Kyle saw Jamie’s gaze snap away from the framed posters of gorgeous naked women on bikes (many of which were personally autographed), at the sound of Liam’s voice. Kyle was used to it, but those who didn’t know Liam were often surprised by the cockney accent from the huge, scarred man with the shaved head. Liam had piercings in his ears, his eyebrows, and his tongue, and the visible skin on his neck was covered in intricate, spiraling tribal tattoos. In appearance as well as personality, Liam was every bit the bad-ass he was chalked up to be.

Kyle discreetly stepped on Jamie’s foot in silent warning, knowing full well that the owner did
not
like being gawked at. Jamie took the hint and stepped back, averting his gaze.

“Sorry, man. Been busy.”

“Yeah,” smirked Liam. “So I heard.” He placed a glass in front of Kyle and filled it from a bottle he pulled from the top shelf. He didn’t even cast a glance at Jamie, who had wisely chosen to remain in Kyle’s shadow.

“Never thought I’d see the day you’d cave, mate.”

Kyle tossed back the smooth bourbon as if it was water, then placed it back on the bar, bottom up to avoid a refill.
Neither did I.

“But I have to tell you, she is one sweet little piece of ass. Wouldn’t mind getting out of the fast lane myself for a bit o’ that.” Liam watched Kyle’s reaction closely. Without conscious thought, his jaw clenched, the corded muscles in his neck tensed right back up again.

Liam laughed. “Yeah, I thought so. Just yankin’ ya, mate. Had to see it for myself, I did.” Kyle relaxed slightly. He really hadn’t wanted to have to get in Liam’s face. Liam was a friend, and Kyle was still suffering the after-effects of a week-long bender.

“But she was here, with some huge bloke. Mo pointed her out. Couple of the guys said she was asking for you.”

The thought of Lina in this place sent unfamiliar bolts of fear through his gut, but not as much as the thought of Lina being with someone else. It showed on his face, and Liam was quick to pick up on it.

“Guy’s not a friend of yours, I take it?”

Kyle’s jaw clenched so hard he was in danger of snapping a few molars. It sure as hell better not be anyone he knew, but either way, the guy was a dead man. “You never saw him before?”

“No. Ain’t no regular gonna mess with your piece, man.”

From somewhere behind him, Jamie coughed. For the first time, Liam turned narrowed eyes Jamie’s way and looked at him as if Jamie was a cockroach and he was the health inspector.

“Thanks, Liam.” Kyle steered Jamie out of the bar before he ended up underneath the bottom of Liam’s shoe. No wonder they never went anywhere together.

“You’ve been a busy boy, haven’t you, Kyle?” Jamie’s eyes flared. “Everyone seems to think you and Celina are a couple. I must have been stupid to think I could ever trust you with something as important as Celina.”

“She is not a thing, Jamie. I wasn’t watching your poodle, for chrissakes. And if you care about her so much, how could you not know who her best friend is? Or that she had a brother? Do you know
anything
about her, Jamie?”

“I know I should have kept her the hell away from you.”

“Yeah, no argument there.” Kyle couldn’t bring himself to utter another smart-ass response, not when it was the truth. But what was done was done, and nothing was going to change that. For whatever reason, Lina had come into his life, and he was done fighting the inevitable. He was going to make things right, once and for all.

The truth slammed into him like a freaking Mack truck. There was no longer any doubt. Lina was
his
. “Take me home.”

They rode back in tense silence. As Jamie pulled up into the driveway, Kyle jumped out of the car before it came to a complete stop. He slammed the door behind him and did not look back.

“What now?” Jamie put the car in park and got out, following Kyle around like he used to when they were little.

“Now you go home.”

“But what about Celina?”

“Leave it to me.”

Kyle went into his house and came out a minute later with a T-shirt and a small pack that he strapped to the back of his bike.

“You’re going after her, aren’t you?” It wasn’t a question really, more like a statement. Kyle straddled the Harley and glared at him. Jamie wouldn’t be able to see his eyes behind the dark lenses, but it didn’t matter. His determination was broadcast plainly enough throughout his features.

“Right,” Jamie muttered as the Harley roared to life. “Just bring her back in one piece, will you?”

Kyle’s answer was to peel out of his driveway, leaving skid marks only inches from Jamie’s feet.

* * *