Zay stepped from the truck and followed Seth. "Are you sure your uncle isn't gonna be pissed about this?"
"Nah, he'll be fine with it. Don't you want to see how very exciting my job is?" he asked with a laugh.
"Oh, I can imagine it's super exciting when people yell at you for towing their ride."
"Yeah, it's epic. Especially if it's a repo."
"You guys do repos?" Zay asked.
"Not often, but yeah on occasion. We also do tows for the police, booted cars, and stuff," Seth told him as he began hooking up the car.
"And why are we towing this one?" he asked.
Seth looked at him. "Owner called, transmission conked out. It's being towed to a repair place." He moved around to where Zay stood. "Wanna help?"
"I don't think that's a good idea."
"Come on, I showed you what to do and I'll double-check it before we lift the car."
"All right, fine. But triple check it, I don't want to be responsible for someone's car rolling down the expressway under its own power."
Seth laughed. "I will. Go for it!"
Zay muttered his way through hooking up the vehicle. When he finished he stepped back and admired his work before he turned to Seth. "How's that? Hey, are you taking pictures?"
Seth laughed. "You are adorable and I couldn't resist." He shoved his phone in his pocket and bent to make certain Zay had hooked up the car correctly. "Looks good, let's get it to the shop." He lifted the car and they got back into the truck.
"How many cars do you usually pick up on a typical shift?"
Seth shrugged. "It can vary. There are nights I'm bored out of my mind and only pick up a car or two and nights where I don't have a second to breathe."
"Do you like doing this?"
"It's a job." Seth shrugged.
Zay looked at him. "So what do you want to do with your life?"
Seth chuckled. "Be rich and not have to worry about a damn thing."
"Okay, I think we all want that. Realistically, what do you want to do?" Zay asked with a small laugh.
"I honestly can't answer that. Once I fell in with Darrel all I saw for my future was being part of his crew and probably ending up in jail at some point." He shrugged.
"Not much of a future," Zay told him.
"Nope, that's why I'm trying to get out."
"Why not just cut ties with them?" Zay asked.
"It isn't that easy, Darrel doesn't want me to leave. I've had enough trouble getting as far from them as I have. He keeps laying the guilt on thick."
"Guilt?"
"Yeah, he'll say things about how we aren't some gang we're family. That we've always been there for each other and I'm betraying the family. Things like that."
"That sucks."
"It is what it is. I have to deal with it if I want to drop him from my life. Darrel isn't that bright, I don't want to end up behind bars because he pulls some dumbass stunt like that convenience store business you were involved in."
"Yeah, that wasn't exactly well planned out." Zay scowled.
"Nope. I think that night was the beginning of a wake-up call. I didn't like that he left you on the side of the road like that. I wanted to come back for you but he told me if I did I'd regret it. No offense, Zay, I like you but at that point ending up dead in a ditch wasn't worth it. I'm glad you made it home safely though."
Zay laughed. "We didn't know one another well back then, it wasn't as if we were dating. I didn't expect you to come back for me. I didn't expect any of them to come back. I called Alyssa and she came and picked me up."
"Ahh, yes the everpresent Alyssa."
"Problem?"
"I get the feeling she doesn't approve of our relationship." Seth frowned.
Zay grinned. "And that bothers you?"
Seth sighed and turned a corner, drove a block, and pulled up in front of a repair shop before he looked at Zay. "She's your best friend of course it bothers me. If she can't accept us how can you?"
"Seth, Lyssie has nothing to do with whether or not I want to be with you. I can decide on my own."
"I know, but it still worries me. There's also the fact she and Josh are tight with West."
"No one is going to come between us. Okay? I'm here, aren't I?" Zay asked him.
Seth smiled and leaned across the space separating them. "You are," he said quietly before he kissed Zay. "And I'm happy that you are. Give me a minute to drop this car and we'll go grab something to eat."
"All right." Zay grinned as Seth slipped from the truck. The door to the shop opened and a big guy covered in tattoos stepped out. Zay arched a brow as Seth greeted him, shaking hands and smiling. They must know one another, maybe he dropped cars off at this shop a lot. The two talked briefly before Seth went to drop the car and unhook it from the truck. Zay dropped his eyes from the man when he looked in Zay's direction. When he looked up again, Seth was talking to the guy, who was frowning and pointing in Zay's direction. Seth was still smiling as he spoke to the man. After a few minutes, he slapped him on the shoulder and walked away. Zay swallowed hard when the man pinned him with a glare.
"Did I cause a problem?" he asked Seth as he climbed back into the truck.
"Nah, Carlise is just a little touchy. He doesn't like strangers."
"He runs a repair shop, strangers come in all the time."
"Eh, he manages the place, he spends most of his time locked in his office and lets his guys handle shit out front." He started the truck. "Burgers or pizza?"
"Pizza," Zay answered with a smile as he tried to ignore Carlise who still stood outside the shop glaring in their direction.
"Awesome, I know a great place."
***
Josh flopped down onto the grass with a groan. "I think I might die."
"You're an athlete and the mile killed you?" West asked as he sat beside him.
Josh propped himself up on his elbows. "Running bases is nothing like the mile."
"Mmm, maybe, still you should be in better shape. Maybe we should get you on a nice routine. I can help."
"Just because you and Marlow broke up and you have nothing better to do, don't try and take over my life."
West laughed. "That has nothing to do with it. Just trying to help out a friend."
"You're trying to kill me, I can see it." Josh stabbed a finger at him.
"You are an idiot." West lay in the grass beside him. "How are things at the house?" he asked as casually as he could.
"You mean how is Zayden?"
"Am I that obvious?" He grimaced.
"You are very transparent." Josh turned his head and grinned at him. "As far as I can tell, he's fine. He and Seth seem to be a solid couple. I know you have issues with Seth, but he does seem to be trying to make something better out of his life."
"I hope you're right and he is. I want to be happy for Zay, but it's hard when I know what Seth is like or at least what he used to be like." He laced his fingers behind his head with a sigh.
Josh sat up and looked down at him. "Is it true Seth isn't gay?"
"Yeah, he's bi. He dated a couple of girls after we split. Then some other guy." He shrugged. "Seth has a short attention span and he doesn't commit. He's always looking for the next big score and I can't help but think he wants to separate himself from Darrel because Kootz is small-time and he always will be. Seth doesn't want little scores just to keep him going, he wants big shit that will net him lots of cash and allow him to sit back and do nothing for the rest of his life. He's looking for a retirement plan, not survival."
"You certain about that."
"As certain as I can be. He talked about retiring and sitting on a pile of cash and how he knew hanging with Darrel was never going to get him that." West sat up. "I don't know if that's still what he's after, but I don't want to see Zay caught up in his schemes if that's what's going on." He sighed and dragged a hand through his hair. "I'm not saying jealousy isn't part of my reasons for being against their relationship, but it isn't all of it. You have to believe me, Josh, Seth is up to something. I wish I knew what it was."
"We have to trust that if shit hits the fan Zay will be smart enough to get out."
"The problem is, Seth may not let him out."
"How could he possibly keep Zay in on his scheme if he doesn't want to be?"
With a deep sigh, West pulled out his phone and opened the gallery. After a minute he held it out to Josh. "That is me breaking into a car. At the time he took that picture I thought nothing of it, he said he was proud of how well I'd learned what he'd taught me. Then he told me I was adorable and he couldn't resist taking a picture. In the end, it was his blackmail. He told me if I went to the cops, if I ever blabbed about anything the gang did, he'd send that picture to the cops and implicate me in the rash of car thefts that had been going on at the time. I sucked it up and kept my mouth shut. It didn't matter how badly I wanted to rat them out I wasn't willing to go down with them. A chicken move, but that's what happened."
"Nope, I can understand not wanting to throw your future away for those assholes."
"Thanks, but a day doesn't go by that I don't regret keeping my mouth shut. Now ..." he stopped and shook his head.
"Now you're worried he'll do the same thing to Zayden," Josh finished for him.
"Yeah."
They fell silent, watching the runners who hadn't finished the mile yet.
"We can't do anything about it, not now. Zay won't believe anything we tell him. He's convinced Seth is trying to go straight," Josh said.
"I know." West stood. "Just be on your guard." He stood and strode away.
Josh sighed. Yeah, on their guard. He wished Zayden would listen to reason, he wasn't looking for deception and he never would. Especially when those warnings came from West. He cared for Seth and by all appearances, Seth cared in return.