Lainey (Dreamcatchers Romantic Suspense Series Book 4) Read online

  That smile—he needed to get out of there before he said something stupid again. He looked back at Payton. “I need to prep for class. You wanna spot her for bit?”

  “Sure.”

  He cleared away his own weights and started warming up for class, letting the burn from the stretch pulse through him. Pain was good. It moved you to do things beyond your comfort zone. Aaron believed in pain. When his muscles were screaming at him was his favorite part of the day. That made it easier. If he didn’t have that pain, he would have to listen to the voice inside his own head, slowly tearing him apart.

  He walked over to the edge of the mats, hiding his grimace in the towel he used to wipe down his face. When he opened his eyes again, the grimace returned full force. Josh had walked—no, sauntered—into the gym. The MMA fighter looked like a blond porcupine, but he was one of the better fighters Aaron had ever been in the ring with, even if he was far from Aaron’s favorite person. Of course, Aaron had still made him tap, but it had taken him longer than it did with the others.

  Aaron nodded his head in acknowledgment as Josh passed him, and then continued to watch as Josh walked right over to where Lainey and Payton were still working out. He gave in and followed, wiping down the machines as he went. Yep, that looked legit. When he got close, Lainey waved him over.

  “Hey, who’s he?”

  Aaron dropped the towel. “Josh? He’s a fighter who trains with me sometimes.”

  “Oh. I’ve never seen him in the juice bar before. Does he come here a lot?”

  “Usually he goes to the gym in National City.”

  “National City?” There was that damn smile again. Why did she have to be so nice? He could never be mad at her, but he wished she wasn’t so friendly to everyone she met, even the assholes.

  “Yeah.” Aaron turned around and walked away again while he still could without showing his temper. He didn’t like the way that Josh had looked at Lainey when he’d walked in, and he especially didn’t like that she’d asked his name.

  Fuck. She’s not yours, Man. That’s all there is to it.

  Move on. Keep moving and forget about it. That’s all he could do.

  3

  Lainey

  Lainey groaned as she moved to lift herself out of her car. What had she been thinking? Sure, it had been awhile since she’d bothered to exercise, but at this rate she could barely haul herself out of her car, let alone walk into work. Payton had told her the second day would be even worse, and then things would get better. At this rate, Lainey was going to be lucky to survive the first morning before giving in and retreating back to her couch, whimpering with a heating pad turned up to nuclear levels.

  She frowned, remembering Aaron’s hasty retreat the day before, after Josh had arrived. That was out of character for him—true, he could be tense, but he was always nice, and a total gentleman to her. What was it about Josh that had gotten Aaron so riled up? She’d barely talked to either of them. Lainey shrugged, and then groaned when her shoulder muscles protested loudly. Her face heated as she remembered Aaron’s touch there. It had been strictly platonic of course. She’d expect nothing less from Aaron, but still . . . she’d felt a buzz when his fingers made contact with the bare skin at the nape of her neck. She hadn’t felt that when Josh had blatantly looked her over, or even when he’d winked at her while he was lifting free weights.

  Nope. There was no point in speculating. Aaron was her friend, and that was it. If he was interested in anything more, he would have made a move by now. Besides, he could be a moody son of a bitch some days, and Lainey wasn’t sure she wanted to deal with that. People in bad moods tended to make her the same, and that wasn’t something she wanted to be around full time.

  Maybe Aaron’s moods had something to do with Josh after all? The colors swirling around Josh had been just as strange as the man himself had seemed. They danced out in all directions, an unreadable spectrum of mixed and muddled colors all half blending into white, the luminous shades so bright that it was sometimes hard to make out the person behind them.

  He was cocky, that much was clear; a man who probably drove a sports car and wore his jeans a little low with a sideways ball cap. It struck a strange chord, the bad boy that was all good. Lainey wasn’t sure if she was attracted to him, but he was interesting if nothing else. She’d never seen colors like his before, and it was a relief, just for once, to not be able to predict how someone felt about her and what was coming next. Besides, he wasn’t exactly hard to look at. The fact he knew it was just something she’d try to ignore, for now.

  Payton hadn’t missed a single step of the little dance between them yesterday, but when Josh moved behind her to get to a machine, Payton had gone completely still. She was always tense too, for reasons that Lainey still didn’t know, but the abject stillness was new.

  Yes, they both had a gift. Lainey wasn’t alone. Payton had shared that much. The day Payton first mentioned it, Lainey rushed out of work in tears, Payton following close behind. She’d spent her whole life wondering, and now suddenly the answer was standing right in front of her. There were so many questions welling up in her mind that Lainey scarcely knew where to begin.

  That day, Payton told Lainey about her own powers, how she could read people’s minds and their memories, and how she could erase them. But when Lainey pressed for more, Payton clammed up. She had answers, but she wasn’t sharing them. Lainey saw it when she started asking questions, how Payton pulled away, and the apprehensive colors around her. Payton trusted very few people, and it appeared for now that Lainey wasn’t one of them.

  Still, she’d keep trying. Lainey liked Payton, but if she was honest with herself, she wasn’t just talking to Payton because she liked her. There was no way she was letting Payton drift out of her life again when she knew something about what made Lainey the way she was. It wasn’t like her—and she hated the idea that she might be using her new friend—but what choice did she have? If Payton was telling the truth about what she could do, she had to know Lainey’s motivations by now anyway, and yet she was still here.

  Reaching the back door of the juice bar, Lainey pulled it open and slipped inside, as silently as she could manage with her aching calves and quads. She liked Aaron, and on a good day his smile could brighten her entire world. But after the way he’d stormed out of the gym, well, she had no way to know what mood she was going to find him in today. Better to give him a day or two to get over whatever was bugging him before she saw him again.

  She put on her black apron and walked through to the front of the store, breathing a sigh of relief when she found the front of shop empty. He wasn’t there yet, which gave her at least a short time to think over the morning’s prep work. She moved quickly, the bar opening in less than an hour. There was coffee to brew and fruits and veggies to prep. Everything had to be ready to go in the blender, and they didn’t use anything frozen or already prepared. It was a hell of a lot more work, but the taste of the end result spoke for itself. It was why she was usually run off her feet at a tiny juice bar attached to a gym in a “bad” part of town. She grabbed a bin of strawberries and a knife. She went to cut the tip off, her thoughts wandering next door.

  Why did Aaron run out of there so damn fast?

  Lainey’s attention jerked back when the knife the blade sliced into her finger. “Ow!”

  The cut wasn’t very deep, but it stung like nobody’s business. She grabbed the First Aid kit, wincing as she fumbled for a small bandage. Aaron’s colors had gone white hot when Lainey had asked him about Josh. What was it that had made him so damn angry? Had he lost a match? It wasn’t like Aaron to care so much about all that.

  Lainey sucked the finger into her mouth, tasting the sharp tang of blood, before wrapping the wound. The more she thought about it, the more worried she became over Aaron’s reaction. She’d watched him after he’d stormed off to the other side of the gym. Watched his colors darken to even deeper levels the longer Josh stayed. Anger wasn’t anything new whe
n Aaron was around, but she’d never felt it directed anywhere near her before. That was new, and it freaked her out. She couldn’t imagine for a moment that he’d ever hurt her, but when you were as strong as Aaron, anger itself could be plenty dangerous.

  He wasn’t just the owner of the juice bar, after all. He was an MMA fighter, somebody who had trained for years how to defend against attack—hell, how to make people bleed. She’d never seen him in action beyond instructing classes, but in her imagination, the man could kill somebody with a flick of his wrists. A shiver ran through her—though Lainey had to admit it wasn’t just because the thought scared her.

  No. It wasn’t a good idea to become involved with a guy like that, especially when he was also your boss. Josh, on the other hand, might be a bit full of himself, but he was all about the good time. There was nothing dark swirling around him.

  Lainey finished the rest of her strawberries, rinsed the blueberries, and then chopped oranges. She had four different kinds of coffee brewing and the store was ready to be opened, so she pasted on her best smile and unlocked the door. There was nothing left to do but wait for the inevitable morning rush.

  That morning was particularly busy, with groups of people walking in together. Lainey was fluent in the exotic dialects of hangover, pissy, and incoherent. She could catch their mumbling speech and translate it into an order. Every time they cussed her out, she took it with a smile, because she understood. That was Lainey’s gift.

  It didn’t matter how angry or how rude a customer was, there was always a sensitive creature behind the negativity. Perhaps their soul had been poisoned by their own habits, or a reckless action one night. Maybe they were simply fed up with their life. She saw past that, saw the person hiding behind whatever they pushed out to the world. The colors didn’t make her personal life all that easy, but at least it made her a good saleswoman. Payton had commented more than once that Rita would love to hire Lainey behind the bar, but serving drinks in broad daylight on that side of town was enough for Lainey.

  Midway through the opening rush, Lainey had just set three different orders to mix when she caught movement out of the corner of her eye. Josh. His broad shoulders cut through the crowd as he pushed through, stopping right in front of where she was standing and took a seat at the bar.

  He was too bright again, his colors swirling and blocking out the whole crowd. Lainey turned away from him and tried to focus on getting a drink to actually pour into the cup and not all over the floor.

  “Miss! Miss!” She jerked at the sudden yell from the register and smoothie spilled out onto the tiles.

  “Shit,” she whispered as she bent down to clean it up.

  “Miss!” Josh’s light was intruding into her mind, even down here under the counter. Lainey closed her eyes and forced herself to count to ten. She couldn’t end up dropping crap every time he came near her.

  “I’ll be right with you!”

  “Well, hurry it up. I gotta get to work.” Lainey threw some paper towels over the spill as best she could, then threw a new handful of ingredients into a fresh blender and set it going, leaving it to spin on its own while she returned to the register.

  “What can I get you today?”

  “I ordered a blueberry smoothie almost twenty minutes ago,” the man barked.

  “Sorry about that, I’ll be two seconds.”

  “Well, hurry it up,” the man’s colors glowed with a furious light. Rushing through the prep for the next few orders, Lainey managed to clear the backlog, squinting every time she looked over at Josh. Finally as the shop emptied, it started to dim a little and she felt like she could see clearly again. Huh. Maybe he just didn’t like crowds. She’d never seen something so intense before, but she’d figure him out. She always did.

  Josh was still waiting patiently, staring at her when the last customer finally walked out the door. Lainey picked up a rag and began to wipe down the bar. “Anything I can get you?”

  “I’ll get a strawberry yogurt smoothie, but take your time.”

  He had a smile like a supernova.

  “Sure. I can make it for you now.”

  “Thanks. So, what’s your name?”

  “I’m Lainey.” She grabbed a pack of strawberries from the little fridge under the blenders.

  “Josh.”

  “Yeah. I saw you at the gym yesterday.” She put the ingredients in the blender and turned back to him. “My boss, Aaron, said you were an MMA fighter.”

  “We’ve been in the cage together.”

  “Really?”

  “Yeah.”

  “How long have you been fighting for?”

  “Not long.”

  Okay, so he was a man of few words. “What’s it like, you know, being able to do the kind of things you guys can do?”

  It would be amazing to have that kind of strength, that power.

  Josh sighed and sat back. “There’s two types,” he started, shooting her a quick grin. “There’s the cocky little shits that think they’re Jesus with a coke straw up their noses. These guys think they can kill anything, and do whatever the fuck they want. Usually they’re the same fucks that wave their dicks around, let people know they’re strong, and they knock heads. You know what I mean?”

  Lainey’s eyebrows rose. Okay, that was a little more than she was expecting. She hoped he didn’t mean literally. Josh continued, seemingly not caring that she hadn’t answered.

  “Well, for those guys, it’s about fighting, challenging everything they can to make themselves feel better about their little dicks. Eventually, they crave blood. They think about it every second of every day, and they hunt down fights so they can get it.”

  Okay, ew.

  Josh continued, oblivious to Lainey’s growing discomfort. Normally she’d be attracting the attention of whomever she was talking to by now. That was why she always tried to stay cheery, but it didn’t seem to matter with Josh. It was refreshing. Sort of.

  “Then there’s the good guys. They’re in it for fun, and for fitness, to better themselves. For them it’s about responsibility, maintaining themselves and learning as much as they can.”

  “Well, which one are you?”

  “What do you think?” he asked with a laugh.

  “You’re the first type,” Lainey smiled. “You’ve just got that look. You think you’re special.”

  “I am special,” he put his arms behind his head and let his muscles bulge out of his sleeves. “Can’t you tell?”

  She laughed outright now. “Oh, you’re special alright, but not in the way you think.”

  “Hey now. I rode the long yellow bus to school,” he laughed along with her. “Besides, I’m not compensating for anything, if you catch my drift.”

  “Sure, sure.” Lainey handed him his drink, still grinning. His arrogance was playful, and she liked it more than she probably should.

  “So, you’re just starting out at the gym?”

  “I’ve gone once.” She grabbed her rag and started moving it around the counter, feigning actual work.

  “Ah. So do you have what it takes?”

  “I’ll get it right. Honestly, it totally sucked, but I’ll get it.”

  “Guess you don’t have an excuse not to go when you work right next to the gym.”

  “I’ll keep that in mind when I next feel like I do today. I haven’t worked out much in a long time, but I’m hoping to change that.”

  Josh leaned forward, tipping his stool, until his hand was nearly resting next to hers on the bar. “You’ll like it. I’m thinking of moving here permanently, so if you ever need anything, just let me know.”

  “I will.”

  He grinned again. “Look me up, and thanks for the drink.” He dropped a few notes on the bar and then stood to leave. When he reached the door, the morning light caught his colors, and Lainey saw deep blue streaks moving through it. They were almost overshadowed by the white-hot glow, but looking at him from behind, they were clear. Just as Josh cleared the door,
he stepped to the side and Aaron passed next to him on his way in. A white-hot spark passed between them when their bodies almost touched, and Lainey had to force herself not to shrink back.

  You’ve known Aaron a long time. He’s fine. He’s cool.

  But the spark had nearly blinded her.

  4

  Aaron

  Aaron frowned as he had to skirt past Josh to enter the juice bar, resisting the urge to check the guy’s shoulder when he saw Lainey watching them. Josh, now facing away from Lainey, leered at him as he left the store and Aaron only just suppressed an eye roll. Stupid little punk.

  Rearranging his face into what he hoped was something more welcoming, his mouth snapped back to frowning when Lainey turned and darted into the back of the store.

  “Hey, uh, Lainey?” He walked back to the massive cooler where she was standing, and looked in through the door. She startled slightly at the sound of his voice and his frown deepened further. Shit. He hadn’t ever wanted to make her afraid of him.

  “What’s up?” She folded her arms around her chest.

  “I, uh, just wanted to apologize. I didn’t mean to storm out like that yesterday.”

  She was quiet for a moment, fidgeting with a pack of blueberries she’d grabbed off the shelf. “It’s alright.”

  But it wasn’t. Her fingers were gripping the box harder than she needed to. He needed to back off, that was if he could make his feet move away from her. “You sure?”

  “Yeah,” she laughed, thank God. “No worries.”

  He finally smiled, the stress lifting from him a little. “Okay, good. You, uh, wanna take a break or . . .”

  Lainey grabbed another box of blueberries and a bin of kale for good measure. “I need to get more prep done. The rush this morning was huge, I need to catch up.

  “Alright.”

  She stepped around him and stopped in front of the work bench, still covered in produce trimmings and spills. “Like I said, big rush.”