Beyond Broken(5)

       
         
       
        

Maddie wouldn't give him the chance. His eyes gazed down at her, even darker in the night. Something about him had always called out to her. And Maddie knew that she couldn't rise to his taunt because he looked like he was itching for a fight, like he would relish it. In a calm tone, she murmured, "I'm sorry. I'm sorry for the trouble I'm causing. I just … I just want to get home. It's been a rough night. I'd be grateful for your help."

Maddie stared up at him, not daring to look away. His eyes flickered with an emotion she couldn't place, but as soon as it appeared it was gone. Caleb turned and resumed walking towards the truck and Maddie silently followed.

She braced herself for a long ride.





TWO





For the hundredth time tonight, Caleb wondered why the fuck he was driving this princess around and they'd only just turned out of the parking lot.

"Where's your car?" he grunted, not looking in her direction.

The woman hesitated, but only for a moment, before pointing left. "It's down that road. Not far though."

He gave no signal that he'd heard her and settled into silence. Caleb briefly wondered if she was one of those woman bothered by silence or if she was able to just sit there quietly without talking.

"Aren't you cold?" she blurted out a few seconds later.

Nope, obviously not.

He gritted his teeth. "No."

"But it has to be in the 50's and you're only wearing a t-shirt."

"That's not cold."

"Well, I would be cold."

Irritation made his jaw tick. Fucking Brian. If not for him, Caleb would still be in the office upstairs trying to sort through the receipts and forms that his uncle had obviously not given much thought to. Not that he enjoyed bookkeeping much more than having to drive this princess around, but he would at least be alone.

Caleb didn't respond to her, hoping she'd take the hint. He still wasn't sure why he decided to tow her car back. It would've been easier to just call another service and let them deal with her. But she'd looked up at him with those damn big brown eyes and the next thing he knew he was walking towards his truck.

It made him resent her all the more.

Out of the corner of his eye, he watched her. She was quite plain, he noticed, remembering her pale skin, slim nose, and light pink lips. There was nothing special about her features by any means. Her hair, however, was something else entirely, he thought begrudgingly. It was a soft brown with gold and red tints that had shimmered under the garage lights. He'd never seen anything like it before. He thought of it spread out on his sheets or fisted in his palm. 

And she had freckles. A light smattering across the bridge of her nose. Innocent … yet alluring.

His fist clenched on the wheel.

Caleb had no business getting involved with a woman like her. Or any woman for that matter. Sexually, he never slept with the same woman twice. Sex had always been complicated for him. He had certain kinks, but he'd never had trouble convincing a woman to try them out. He could be charming when he wanted to be. But most of the time, he just wanted to be alone.

Like now.

"I'm not sure what's wrong with my car," she told him after a brief moment of silence. His hand fisted tightly on the wheel as she chattered on. "It just started sputtering out of nowhere. And then when I pulled off the road, the engine died and it wouldn't start up again. I thought I was out of gas at first, but of course, that couldn't be the case. I'd just filled up about twenty minutes before that happened. Well, not necessarily filled up."

Jesus. If there was a God, like his uncle believed, He obviously wasn't showing Caleb any mercy now. He tried to tune her out, but it was virtually impossible. Her voice wrapped around him in the small confines of the truck.

"There was this group of men, you see. They were at the far end of the gas station and they made me nervous because they kept looking over at me and laughing. So, I tried to hurry and fill up, but my hands were shaking and I couldn't make the nozzle fit, so I funneled in as much as I could to tide me over until I got back home. And then this happens of all-"

Caleb reached forward and flipped on the radio, cutting her off. He cranked up the volume so that if she tried to continue, she'd have to yell. He thought he caught a wounded look on her face because she turned away to look out the passenger window. He ignored the tiny flare of regret and drove on until he spotted a white Volkwagen pulled off the side of the road.

He didn't bother asking if it was hers or not. He drove past and then swung a u-turn before pulling off in front of it. When he cut the truck's engine, the silence in the car was deafening without the sound of blaring music and the woman sat there, her face still turned away. He noticed she was tugging on a hair tie wrapped around her wrist, snapping and twisting it.