He got an A-plus for persistence and Jillian was tempted to say yes, but…
“Sorry, I have to go.It’s been nice talking to you, Lex.I’m sure you have a team of engineers who’ll figure out all the improvements your bikes need.”She put her helmet on.Painfully aware of his silent presence, she glanced over her shoulder to find him watching with a smile as though he knew something she didn’t.As though she hadn’t just turned his dinner invitation down.Twice.Bet women rarely did that.The Fitzgeralds were loaded.
She waved and pulled away.He didn’t move, and she could still see him in her rearview mirror watching her when she stopped before entering the street.
Jillian was a bit miffed that he hadn’t asked for her name.Just because she’d said no to dinner with him tonight didn’t mean she wouldn’t mind down the line.He hadn’t struck her as a man who gave up so easily.
Oh, just as well.He packed way too much sex appeal for her peace of mind.
Five minutes later, Jillian entered the old neighborhood where she grew up, and memories flashed through her head.She’d always been a tomboy, challenging her brothers and cousins to let her do stuff with them.Street hockey.Bike stunts.She’d watch them with envy, hating that she had to do boring stuff like dance and gymnastics.Now she was grateful her mother had insisted.Being agile helped her master fight moves, jumps, and rolls, which translated to better paying stunts.
Her entire family had lived in a sprawling five-bedroom house in San Juan—her family and Uncle Rowan and his family.Now her father, her younger brother Patrick—Ricky—and his wife Ginger, and their little girl, Sophia, were the only ones left.Cian, her oldest brother, and her cousins were in Anaheim.Her uncle and aunt had moved a couple of blocks away.
An unfamiliar black SUV pulled out of her father’s driveway just as she entered the street running in front of their house.The driver, with a head built like a bullet, leered at her as they drove past.A shiver crawled up Jillian’s spine.New employees?Her father always employed a part-time guy to help drive the rig on long road trips or help Uncle Rowan assemble the equipment.Since he was out of commission, chances were he’d want someone on a permanent basis.
A boy revved the engine of his motorcycle ahead and drew Jillian’s attention.Jillian hid a grin.Watching this would never get old.
As far back as she could remember, kids on the block would try to impress her father with their biking skills.He’d give them pointers and warn them to be careful, but that was it.Finnegan Troupe never employed anyone outside the family to do stunts.Temp handymen and stunt coordinators like Chris, yes, but never stuntmen and stuntwomen.
Jillian parked her bike beside Ricky’s and waved to the biker as he rode past.Using the open garage door, she entered the house.A voice drew her to the living room.Ricky.He was yelling something.
Ricky was the bike expert.He’d taught her everything she knew about bikes—parts, performances, and how to modify them to suit her needs.He was also a hothead.Jillian wondered who he was yelling at now.
“They came to the house, Cian.A bunch of thugs.One touched Sophia’s head.You bet I wanted to punch him.Why didn’t you or Dad tell me things were this bad?”Ricky asked.
Jillian stopped and frowned.What did Ricky mean bythings were bad?
“What do you mean he didn’t want me to worry?”Ricky snapped, then grew quiet.He was the only one she could hear, which meant he was on the phone.“Since I got married?Fucking hell, Cian.I told him Ginger didn’t want a big wedding.Yeah, yeah, that’s beside the point now.I knew we were overextended when the Reno gig fell through, but he told me not to worry.The next thing I knew we had a new rig and the wall was upgraded, but to get in bed with Armenians like Petrosian is suicide.We have to do something.”
So the troupe had been having problems for over a year, and Cian and Dad had never bothered to tell Ricky or her?Did Uncle Rowan know?Cian was their father’s right hand man.He could convince any officials to back up the troupe, organize a gig anywhere at the drop of a hat, and rally up employees.
“How much do we owe?”he asked.“Three-fifty?”
Jillian gasped and slapped her hand over her mouth.Three hundred and fifty grand?They couldn’t possibly pay all that back.What was her father thinking?Chances were he’d borrowed a lot less, but it had accrued interest.
“Just what I overheard through the door,” Ricky said, his voice low and defeated.“They expect full payment in three months or they’ll take over the business and make us pay off the rest working for them.”
My stomach dropped.They were the Fearless Finnegans, not some Armenian lapdogs.
“Okay.I’ll join you guys after Elena comes home.What about Jill?Shouldn’t we contact her?”
Yeah!Jillian inched closer.
“Cian.No.Dude, we have to tell her,” Ricky added.“If she finds out that you left her out of the loop, she’ll go ballistic.”More silence.“Dad said that?I guess I’d forgotten about her mother.Still, if he sees how much she loves being back and the way she’s already drawing in a bigger crowd… Oh, I get it.”
She hated the one-sided conversation.She could only guess what Cian was saying, and it pointed to Dad not wanting her involved.
“No one is like her.I don’t care how or who you plan to replace her with.No one pulls moves the way Jill does.”
Jillian sucked in a breath.If he’d reached out and decked her, the pain would not have been this unbearable.They planned to replace her?
Her first instinct was to storm into the room, snatch the phone from Rick, and yell at Cian, but then she remembered her father was down the hall.He was the one calling the shots.Her fight was with him.
Carefully, Jillian backed up, opened the side door leading to the garage, and slammed it shut.“I’m home.Where is everyone?”she called out.
No, she wasn’t going to fight with her father, but she planned to make him change his mind.
CHAPTER 3
