BOOKS IN THE TATTOO AND TIES SERIES…

Justice

Book 4

♡  EXCERPT  ♡

An exhausted Keyes Dixon fought to stifle a yawn. He lifted a hand to his mouth, stopping just short of touching his face with his grime-covered fingers. Instead, he turned his hand over, wiping at an itch on the side of his nose with the back of his wrist while scanning the stacks of used automobile tires lining the back wall of his shop. He had to have something that might work to get this woman back on the road again.

“Pop, I got a pretty good-looking Dueler. Ask if she wants it until I can get her a new set in here in a few hours. If not, Louis can take her home or wherever she needs to go, and she can leave the car.” He shouted toward the front of the building while tugging tires off the top of the stack until he had cleared the rubber down to the possible replacement. Keyes removed the tire from its resting place, studying all sides, looking for any possible punctures as he started to roll the tire forward.

“She wants it and wants to order the others.” His old man’s smoke-roughened voice echoed over the sound of the air compressor, booming off the walls of the small warehouse. Seconds later, he got another shouted instruction. “Boy, get your ass movin’. The parkin’ lot’s fillin’ up.”

Of course it was. Their small tire shop, simply named Tires, sat in an older, rougher neighborhood of South Dallas and stayed busy from sunup to sundown. About three years ago, his old man had a pretty bad motorcycle accident, forcing Keyes to take over the day-to-day management of their family/club-owned tire business. Keyes had never done much more than change tires before then, but it turned out he had a knack for creating a buzz. With just a few small changes to the operation, some targeted advertising, and the help of the internet, he’d quickly developed a good service rating on Google and become known as the tire shop with the best service and lowest prices in the Dallas/Fort Worth area.

His big advertising success didn’t come from social media like everyone kept pushing him to do. Instead, he spent his small budget on supermarket shopping cart ads. The ones that attached a picture and a sales pitch to each buggy. He was strategic in picking the grocery stores. He went with Whole Foods and Central Market—those uppity chains. Within hours of going live, his first targeted customer arrived—the much-coveted white-collar male who liked all those fancy, expensive tires. The shop had also gained a good reputation with the female consumer demographic, which was fine with Keyes.

For Keyes, he saw it as a win/win—real proud of his success. The minute his father found out about the ads, the hospital food tray was sent flying across the small room. All the buzzers hooked up to his old man went nuts as he did everything in his power to get his broken, battered body out of the hospital bed to kick Keyes’s ass for spending their hard-earned money on something so ludicrous.

Luckily, within the first week of those ads running, his old man and their business partners—his motorcycle club—had been forced to eat their harsh, skeptical words. Business had boomed from that moment forward. It had taken almost an entire year for his father to get back on his feet, and that was a little over two years ago. Not much had changed since then. Physically, his father was just the shell of the man he’d once been, but that didn’t stop the regular onslaught of demeaning insults or homophobic slurs, all designed to remind Keyes of his place, regardless of his success with the shop.

Keyes rolled the wheel out, passing the tire off to Louis, his trusty second in charge. He gave clipped instructions to change the tire before he stepped behind the counter to wait on the customer. He pulled his rag from his belt to wipe his hands before palming his cell phone to order the new set. “They’ll run a little less than three hundred dollars for two or five for a set of four. It’s a discount of about a hundred bucks on the four,” he said while using the app the dealer provided.

“And these are good tires? They’ll last awhile, right? I’ve had the ones on there since I bought the Tahoe in 2015.” The uncertainty in her voice forced Keyes to slow down and take a second to ease her doubt. He adjusted his gaze, looking at her instead of the phone screen. She had to be a foot shorter than his six-four, and she wore one of those crisp little well-tailored get-ups that business women wore.

She looked like one of those independent pushy types who lived for the next corporate board meeting. Keyes gave an internal sigh, hoping his observations didn’t slip out by accident. Women were uncomfortable in this environment. He got it, and he’d tried to change the approach his employees used with certain customers. He required everyone who worked there to take a moment to explain the sale, be reasonable and clear, and assure the customer they weren’t being scammed. That was the hardest part for Keyes. He wasn’t much of a talker—in any situation. The fewer words used, the better.

“I sell quite a few of these. They’re a good price and have an eighty-thousand-mile treadwear warranty. By going through us, after the warranty runs out, we’ll patch ’em for free if you have a problem. All you gotta do’s call,” Keyes explained, using his well-rehearsed speech. That was really all he had by way of a sales pitch. He waited as she chewed on her lipstick-covered lip, wondering if he should again mention the discount they were giving her. Luckily, she finally nodded, giving a small, reassuring smile.

“Let’s do the four.”

Keyes confirmed her decision with a nod of his own. He finished ordering the tires on his phone before pulling up his customer profile application and extending his hand, giving her his phone. “Give me your info, and I’ll call you when they come in.”

“Do I bring the car back or will you come pick it up?” she asked, taking the phone, her fingers moving over the screen as she entered her data.

“Whichever you want.”

“You guys are really easy to work with. I was intimidated when I came in. A woman in my office uses you and referred me. I was nervous, but you made it better. Thank you.”

The words were everything Keyes wanted to hear. He gave another nod of appreciation when she looked up. He even cracked a smile, something he only reserved for times like these, and her smile grew wider as she stared up at him.

“What’s your name? That way I can ask for you when I come back.”

“They call me Key, but I’m always here. No problem.”

“That’s an unusual name,” she said, grinning up at him.

The moment got awkward, because that was all he had. Keyes shifted his body toward her SUV, extending a hand, afraid he’d have to partake in small talk if she continued to stand there. Luckily, his service man was lowering the jack. “You’re ready.”

“Do I pay you for this?” she asked, handing over his phone before fishing through her purse.

“Nah. We’ll take the tire back when the new ones come in,” Keyes said, pivoting back toward her. He’d already turned away, heading to the next waiting car.

“Do I pay for the other tires now?” she asked, giving a wave of the credit card in her hand.

Damn, she was making this too hard. People always did that. They added layers of complication to very simple tasks. Keyes just shook his head and walked backward to the next vehicle. “Later.”

“So I’m done?”

This time he had to hold in his frustration. Way too many words. Keyes had to force himself to stop at the hood of the next car, a new customer stepping out from behind the wheel. He gave another silent exaggerated nod to the woman, before cocking his head toward her driver’s seat, encouraging her back into her ride.

“Thank you!”

“You’re backin’ shit up,” his old man bellowed from the bench where he parked himself all day, every day. “Get movin’, boy!” Then he tapped out a cigarette and lit it—with his oxygen tank nearby.

Everyone within the potential hazard radius to his old man took a step back. Keyes just shook his head. He had learned to pick his battles. They’d have that fight tonight in the privacy of their home. Right now, they had a line forming on the street. He had work to do.

  =♥=

 Alec Pierce stood at the full-length mirror in his closet, adding diamond-encrusted cufflinks to each of his dress shirt sleeves. Cufflinks he’d never choose to own, let alone wear. The gaudy pieces of jewelry were a generous—her word not his—Christmas gift from his mother. As far as Alec was concerned, they were as ostentatious as she was, but she’d attend the gathering this evening, and without question, she’d eye his cuffs the second he walked through the door to make sure they were there. If not, he’d hear about their absence for the remainder of the evening and quite possibly the rest of his entire life.

“You owe me,” Blaine Crawford, his best friend, said as he came to the doorway of his bedroom, dropping his shoulder against the doorframe.

“I do,” Alec agreed for the second time in the last ten minutes.

“I mean, I’m expecting something big out of this. Like remember Steven? You go out with that friend of his…”

“No. Stop right there,” Alec said, putting an end to that line of thinking before Blaine could even get the thought out.

Alec gave himself a critical once-over before lifting his hands, moving a few gelled strands of hair around until he was pleased with his appearance. He looked young but respectable. The only trendy thing he wore was his styled sandy blond hair. The long on top look so popular today actually accented his face remarkably well. He had strayed from the classic cuts he’d always worn—growing out the top, keeping the sides cut short—much to the dismay of his entire snobby family.

“No more pick-up-the-friend-for-me dates. I’m not doing that for you ever again. And before you regale me with all the reasons I should, let me remind you of New Year’s Eve. I had to buy a new car to rid myself of the smell of your vomit. I was just being gracious while agreeing that I owed you anything.” Alec gave Blaine a very pointed look before shifting his gaze back to the mirror and speaking directly to his latest toy, his Amazon Echo. “Alexa, turn off my bathroom lights.”

“I need you to do this for me. I’m into Steven. He’s worried about his friend and doesn’t want to leave him alone. You’re perfect to spend time with,” Blaine said as if Alec hadn’t just completely shot him down.

“You need to see the writing on the wall. Steven’s into his friend and you need to move on. I keep telling you that. Now, you need to listen to me,” Alec said, taking his wallet and his cell phone off the dresser then grabbing his suit jacket before again speaking to the Echo. “Alexa, I’m leaving.”

He listened for her agreement before using his finger to motion Blaine through the house toward the garage. His friend took several steps backward, giving his best beseeching gaze as the alarm began its forty-five second countdown to arming.

“Honestly, I haven’t told you, but I think Steven could be the one.”

Alec barked out a laugh while reaching for his key fob by the back door, listening for the roar of his engine when he pushed the button. “We’re far too young for you to always be so lovesick. Every guy you meet’s the one.”

“I keep trying to explain to you, it’s impossible to be lovesick if I’ve never found love,” Blaine said, going through the kitchen door straight to the garage.

Maybe Blaine had a point. His friend qualified more as lust sick than anything else. Instead of again going down that dead-end conversational road, Alec focused on the coolness of his new smart home device. Today, he’d figured out how to connect the garage door with the home alarm system, activating both with a simple “I’m leaving” command to his Echo. Just to add a cherry on the top of his big technological achievement, Alec still had twenty or so seconds before the alarm set. Good. Forty-five seconds had been enough time to get out the door. Probably best to keep it a secret how he’d done several practice runs, repeating his normal routine over and over this morning to get the timing just right.

“Yet somehow you always manage to be,” Alec said distractedly, adding salt to Blaine’s wound. Blaine lifted his middle finger high above the roof of the car as he dropped inside, then gave a disgusted dramatic sigh as he slammed the door, causing Alec to chuckle while climbing behind the wheel.

His phone chirped as he drove down the driveway, alerting him that the home security system had activated and the garage door had closed. Automatically, his front gate opened on his approach, never forcing him to slow as he took the curve out of his driveway onto his neighborhood street.

“I believe it’s the romance of finding love that seems so appealing to me,” Blaine finally explained, continuing this absurd line of discussion.

“Enjoy playing the field. Don’t force it. When it happens, it’ll happen,” Alec said, shifting gears, accelerating as he twisted through the tree-lined roads, heading for the highway.

“I’ll be thirty soon,” Blaine advised solemnly, cutting his pitiful gaze toward Alec. His always vibrant friend looked so forlorn that Alec almost felt guilty when he busted out with a laugh.

“That’s the point. Why tie yourself down? Give yourself some options.”

“What’re you saying?” The sass returned to Blaine’s voice. The friend he knew and loved shifted more fully toward Alec, adding the right amount of incredulousness to Blaine’s normally flamboyant style and making a show of looking at Alec as if he’d lost his mind. “You’re about to tie yourself down. When did you decide to have federal judge aspirations?” Blaine mocked.

Alec had known Blaine for the majority of his life. They’d been in the same all-male boarding school since their elementary days and among the brave few in their school to acknowledge the truth of their sexual orientation. For some reason, even though they had very little in common, they’d paired up while still in grade school, creating a lifelong friendship that made them as close as brothers.

“You’re being a dick now.”

“You’re becoming a douche kiss-ass who bought a house in McKinney fucking Texas. Why would you ever do that?” Blaine’s hands flew in the air in disgust as he righted himself to face forward in the seat. “What happened to my take-life-by-the-balls best friend?”

Dammit. Alec had opened the door, giving Blaine his chance to take a stab. Except his buddy was one hundred percent right, and if something didn’t change, Alec would end up appointed to a federal judge position, no doubt in some Podunk part of the United States, judging mediocre law, all to please his too politically motivated family.

“I’ll figure it out,” Alec said, looking down at the clock on his console.

“Yeah. Sure. Good luck with that. You said that when you explained this ridiculous move to Dallas. Why the hell I ever agreed to follow, I don’t know. Then you were going to figure it out when you took the job in the DA’s office instead of working for Kensington. Seriously, what the hell were you thinking turning Reed Kensington down? You could’ve gotten me into that firm. Now, we live in the desert of all places. In all the planning we did as children, I can’t think of one time we ever said, ‘Hey, I wanna live in a suburb of anywhere in Texas.’ This is ridiculous,” Blaine added flippantly. Then, in all his over-the-top style, he reached over to adjust the radio station, selecting the soft jazz station Blaine loved. Alec, not so much. And in case Alec hadn’t comprehended Blaine’s irritation, he increased the volume, blaring the sounds of Kenny G, to drive his point home.

Maybe he should have gone to this political fundraiser alone, but Blaine knew how to work a crowd. He’d ease the checkbooks out of those tight pockets, forgoing decorum, openly pitting donors against one another to increase the size of their contribution.

How had this become his life?

Havoc by Kindle Alexander is an adult themed LGBT Romance with strong male leads – alpha men to their core. A story of intrique, suspence, and love. If you want to read an emotional, intense, well-crafted story with many twists and turns, the Tattoos and Ties series is for you.