PROLOGUE
“HOW DO YOU plead?”
Tyler Martinez didn’t look at the judge; instead he glanced back at the spectators. Mellie was there, though she should have been home in bed. Her face was drawn and pale. She wore a white scarf that he’d brought home as a gift from his trip to Cannes a few months ago.
He wasn’t sure why he’d noticed that, but he did. When he’d made that trip, he never realized how his life was about to change. Only a few months had gone by, but it felt like a lifetime.
The only constant in life was change.
He wasn’t sure where he’d read that, or why he’d thought of it other than the truth of the statement was staring him in the face. Maybe for some people change was a good thing, but not for Tyler—and certainly not these kinds of changes.
Jason was sitting next to Mellie, anguish etched on his face. Tyler smiled in a useless attempt to reassure his best friend. He wanted Jason to believe that everything would be all right.
Mellie took Jason’s hand and held it. Both Tyler and Jason knew that nothing would be all right again.
Tyler wished there was more he could do, but there wasn’t.
There wasn’t anything more anyone could do.
So this gesture would have to be enough.
“I don’t contest the charges, Your Honor.”
Tyler Martinez listened as the judge sentenced him. He watched his friends as he was led from the courtroom, knowing that when he got out of jail in six months there was a very good chance that Mellie wouldn’t be waiting with Jason.
CHAPTER ONE
GARY JOHNSON’S PHONE number flashed as a missed call on Angelina Tucker’s cellphone and she tried to tamp down her annoyance.
Tucker didn’t date often, but when she did, she practiced a catch-and-release program. Unfortunately, Gary Johnson didn’t want to be released and had been calling for days asking for another date.
She’d tried being polite, then tried to joke and pretend she was one of the guys with her let’s-be-buddies pitch. Neither worked. Gary obviously wasn’t getting her not-so subtle hints. She’d have to try something more direct.
The man was so dense it was going to have to be something big. Something like a swift kick or else a restraining order.
Gary’s number on her caller ID had left a sour taste to what was normally her happy Monday mood. She stomped into the garage, not wanting to think about returning that phone call.
“Hey, Lou,” she called by way of a greeting as she made a beeline for the coffee machine.
“What’s on the schedule today?” Lou asked.
“I’ve got to come up with some brilliant idea for the Paradisi bike.” Tucker was building a name for her custom paint jobs on motorcycles and an occasional car or truck. Thanks to the popularity of shows like American Chopper and Pimp My Ride, her air-brushed murals, pictures and plain old pinstriping had taken more and more of her time away from the basic mechanic work.
She took a long sip of her coffee, knowing she needed caffeine in her system before she could come anywhere close to inspired.
She thought about the black custom bike that sat in her paint room as she appreciated a second sip. “Lou, you and the other guys start in on the appointments, okay? I’m going to head back to my office for an hour or so. I have some invoices to get out.”
The only good thing about paperwork was that she hated it so much her mind frequently wandered and got creative to avoid doing it.
“Is your dad coming in today?” Lou asked.
“I’m sure he’ll show up eventually.” She offered what she hoped was a reassuring smile to Lou, but she couldn’t be sure. She wasn’t good at faking it—never had been. She needed to tell the guys the truth soon.
Soon, but not today.
“’Kay, Tuck,” the older man said.
“Way to go, Tuck,” she muttered to herself as she stomped to her office. She had to tell the guys sometime, but not until her dad was ready. And to date, George Tucker wasn’t ready and she wasn’t going to rush him. Lou knew the score without explanation and had pretty much taken over running the floor of the garage without being asked. And she’d taken over most of the hated paperwork. If her dad really did retire, she’d be doing it forever.
That was not the thought she wanted to start her day with, much less a week with.
She needed to speak to her dad about giving Lou a raise. Just one more thing on her to-do list. A list that no matter how hard she worked never seemed to get any shorter.