Chapter 1

HOPE

I jerked myself awake with a gasp.  I was having a nightmare, the same one I had at least three nights a week.  In my dream I was reliving the first time my stepdad had sold me to one of his friends in exchange for drug money.  The man hadn’t been gentle, and he liked it that I fought and screamed as he thrust himself into me over and over, tearing me and making me bleed.  It was traumatic and I usually woke myself up screaming the way I screamed when it had first happened to me four years ago.

I lay still, breathing in and out, repeating my mantra to myself.  “I am strong.  I am safe.”  I opened my eyes and focused on the ceiling of the 1999 Toy0ta van that I currently called home.  It wasn’t much but she was fully paid for, cheaper than an apartment and had the advantage of being able to easily move if my past got too close to me.

This was the week that the mechanic shop I worked for was offering half off oil changes, and we were booked solid.  I couldn’t afford to show up exhausted, so I grabbed my canister of pepper spray and slid my feet into slides before throwing one of my clean work hoodies over my head.  Maybe a moonlit walk through the forest would calm me down enough that I could go back to sleep.  I slid the keys to my van into the kangaroo pouch and then walked out to the highway before turning and walking on the shoulder back towards town.  The road was secluded, the only noise being the sound of my sandals crunching on the asphalt.  The full moon gave enough light that I felt safe being out in the open.

I slowed my walk and took deep breaths of the night air.  The towering pines around me reached up towards the twinkling sky.  I leaned back and looked at the planet above my head.  Mars, I think, but I wasn’t sure.  That wasn’t covered in my GED course work.

The quiet was broken by the sound of a car approaching.  I tipped my head to the side.  The engine was working too hard. 

I watched it come up the hill, chugging a little with the effort.  I could tell it was overheating and it was going to stall very soon.  I stepped off the asphalt into the tall grasses, somewhat hidden, and watched with interest as the car passed me and then rolled to a stop on the shoulder.  The hazard lights came on.

It was a new Lexus, a sedan, and quite a nice one.  I stood still, curiously watching the scene unfold.  An older man hopped out of the driver’s seat with a groan and went up to the hood, reaching under it.

“Don’t touch that,” I called out, stepping out of the shadow of the tree I was under.  He started, turning towards me.  I put my hands up and grinned.  “You need to wait a minute.  You’re going to burn your hand.”

The man started and turned to look at me.  I swallowed hard.  He looked like the type that would carry a gun.  Stupid me probably shouldn’t have gotten involved, but it was too late now.

The passenger door opened and an impossibly tall, lean man with wavey hair and a goatee got out of the car.  I could tell from here that he was angry.

“What the hell is going on, Vinnie?” he growled at the older man.  Vinnie gestured to me, and the man turned to look.  I swallowed again, this time in appreciation.  He was nice to look at and he smelled amazing, like patchouli and a forest after a spring rain.

“Sorry, Alpha,” Vinnie said, his New York accent heavy.  “She startled me.  Told me not to open the hood.”

The man didn’t answer Vinnie immediately.  He was looking at me intently, probably wondering why I was in the middle of the forest in the middle of the night.  I could see his nostrils flare and something in his eyes flashed.  I felt curiously attracted to him.

After a long moment, he turned away from me.  “Well, how in the hell are you going to figure out what’s wrong if you don’t open the hood?” the man asked Vinnie in exasperation.  “It’s not like there’s a mechanic out here in the middle of nowhere.”

I couldn’t help it.  I started to giggle, and both the men looked at me like I was nuts.

“What’s so funny?” Sexy Man asked, exasperated.  He seemed to be in a very bad mood.

I shrugged.  “You.  You are wrong.  Vinnie found the only mechanic out here in the middle of the night.”  Both men looked at me like I had two heads.  I stomped my foot. 

“Me, you dumbasses.  I’m a mechanic.”  I stepped forward, ignoring all the little warning bells that were going off in my head and walked around to the front of the car, avoiding coming too close to the man that Vinnie kept calling Alpha.  I felt strangely drawn to him and that kind of freaked me out.  He was rude and arrogant and definitely not my type, even if I was so inclined to hit on a man that was stranded on the side of the road in the middle of the night.  I wrapped the sleeve of my hoodie around my hand and put it under the hood, feeling for the latch release.  Man, it was hot.  He was lucky the engine didn’t blow.

I lifted the lid, ducking as the steam rolled out.  I pulled out my phone and turned on the flashlight, shining it in.  I saw the issue almost immediately.  There was a small slit in the radiator hose. 

“How far are you guys going tonight?” I asked, coming out from under the hood.  The men looked at me, dumbfounded. 

“Um, just over to Charleston,” Vinnie said.  “Alpha has a meeting in the morning.”

I nodded wondering if the sexy man’s name was Alpha.  That was an odd name.  “Well, Charleston is about fifteen miles to the north.  I can do a quick patch job.  It won’t last but it will get you there and you can trade out your car in the morning.”  I could see that the car was a rental. 

Sexy man looked around.  “Where are you going to do the repair?” he asked.  “Do you have a house around here?”

“No, I’m camping,” I said, regretting it as soon as I said it.  Sexy man’s eyes narrowed, and I wondered what he was thinking. 

“I’m camping with my boyfriend,” I hurried to add.  “He’s walking my German Shepherd.  His name is Bear.  He’s a hundred pounds and an ex-military dog.”  I was babbling and I made myself stop.  Sexy man smirked at my awkwardness. 

“How you gonna fix it?” Vinnie asked, curious.  Apparently my made up hundred-pound dog didn’t interest him. 

“Got any chewing gum?” I asked.  Sexy man raised one eyebrow, looking at me, but Vinnie disappeared into the car and rummaged in some luggage in the back, pulling out a pack of Trident and offering it to me.  I popped three pieces in my mouth and awkwardly chewed them while the two men watched.  When it was soft enough, I popped the wad out of my mouth and disappeared back under the hood. 

I took my time, working the soft material into the hole and then smoothing it out.  I pulled my head back out from under the hood. 

“Have any water?” I asked.  Vinnie silently offered me a bottle of water that I poured into the coolant reservoir.  I accepted a second bottle, added it, and then put the cap back on.  Finally, I slammed the hood shut.

“You should be good to go,” I said, wiping my hands on my hoodie.  I handed the two empty bottles back to Vinnie who took them from me, silently. 

“Thank you,” sexy man said.   I nodded.

“It will get you there, but you need to get it fixed before doing too much driving on it,” I warned.  “I’d call the rental company.  They should just trade you out cars.”  I turned off the flashlight on my phone and started walking away.  “Good luck!” I called over my shoulder.

“Wait!” sexy man shouted after me.   I stopped and turned. 

“My boyfriend is waiting for me,” I said, pointedly.  He smiled at me. 

“Can I pay you for your work?” he asked, gesturing to the hood of the car.  I shook my head.

“Naah,” I said.  “Right place, right time.  Didn’t take but five minutes and you provided the chewing gum.”  I turned to leave again.  

“How did you know it’s a rental?” he asked.  I pointed to the license plate. 

“Rental cars have a red registration sticker in this state.”  He was beginning to irritate me.  I began walking away.

“What’s your name?” he shouted after me.  I ignored him, continuing to walk, disappearing into the trees and hurrying away until they were out of sight.