In plain sight, p.1
In Plain Sight, page 1
IN PLAIN SIGHT
LEGACY MECHANICS
BOOK 3
WILLOW DIXON
This book is sold subject to the condition that it shall not, by way of trade or otherwise, be lent, re-sold, duplicated, hired out, or otherwise circulated without the publisher’s prior written consent in any form of binding or cover other than that in which it is published and without similar condition including this condition being imposed on the subsequent purchaser.
Editor: Maureen Sytsma
Proofreader: Holly Malgieri
Cover Artist: Lori Jackson
Photographer: Michelle Lancaster
This is a work of fiction. All characters and events portrayed in this novel are fictitious and are products of the author’s imagination and any resemblance to actual events, or locales or persons, living or dead are entirely coincidental.
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Copyright Willow Dixon © 2024
CONTENTS
Author Note
1. Zander
2. Luka
3. Zander
4. Luka
5. Zander
6. Luka
7. Luka
8. Zander
9. Zander
10. Luka
11. Luka
12. Zander
13. Luka
14. Zander
15. Luka
16. Luka
17. Zander
18. Zander
19. Luka
20. Zander
21. Luka
22. Zander
23. Luka
24. Luka
25. Zander
Epilogue
Books By Willow Dixon
About Me
AUTHOR NOTE
Please note that this book contains subject matter some readers may be sensitive to, including:
Religious trauma
Homophobia (not on page)
Neglectful and emotionally manipulative/abusive parents
1
ZANDER
Crash.
I jumped as something metal smashed into the concrete floor of the garage and scratched a long mark across the paperwork I was filling out.
“Of fucking course,” a resigned voice behind me said.
Luka stood next to his workstation, staring up at the ceiling like he was asking for some divine guidance—or for the floor to open up and swallow him whole. It was hard to tell. At his feet was a case of drill bits.
“What happened?” Devon came racing out of the office. “Is anyone hurt?”
“Everything’s fine.” Luka shot Dev a tight smile, his cheeks flushing pink. “Just dropped something.”
“Oh, okay.” Dev looked between us. “I’ll get back to what I was doing. Maybe we’ll actually get out of here on time tonight.”
“That would be awesome,” Luka said in a tired voice as he bent to pick up the fallen case.
Dev studied Luka for a moment, then slipped back into the office without saying a word.
I’d met Devon almost eight years ago when we worked at the same garage. Two years later, Dev and his older brother Nate opened their own shop, and they asked me to come on as their first hire.
I loved working here, and I really loved that it was a small, family-run business. Dev and Nate treated us like equals and pretty much left us to our own devices as long as we were professional and got our work done. They also cared about us, and the crew had formed a tight-knit family.
Well, most of the crew had.
The guys who worked the day shifts were tight and had become close friends. My situation was a bit different since I worked evening and weekend shifts.
I’d mostly worked with Jimmy, who’d also been one of the garage’s original hires, until he put in his notice three months ago. Now Luka and I worked together, and I’d spent too much time lately trying to ignore how my body reacted to him and keeping my distance while I got over my inconvenient attraction to the new guy. So far, it hadn’t worked.
The door to the back office closed, and I snuck a glance at Luka. Something was off with him.
He’d only been working at Legacy Mechanics for three weeks, and I didn’t know him all that well—or at all—but I could tell he’d been off all shift.
His usual bubbly personality was subdued, and his smiles were tight and forced. He still joked around and acted the same as usual, but it was clear he was going through the motions tonight.
“Are you okay?” I asked when Luka plunked the metal case on the table of his workstation with a loud sigh.
“Yeah.” He shot me a wry smile. “Just questioning all of my life choices.”
“I do that on the regular,” Asa, another of our coworkers, said as he came out of the back room in his street clothes. “Did you break something?” he asked in his usual blunt way as he headed to his workstation.
Luka shifted his gaze to Asa. “Nah, just dropped it.” He pointed to the toolbox. “Aren’t you supposed to be gone?”
“I was.” Asa slung his backpack off his shoulders and unzipped it. “Forgot something.” He rooted around in the small drawer built into the table and shoved something into his bag. “Catch ya on the flip side.” He shot us a peace sign as he swung his bag over his shoulders and strode back toward the break room.
“Later,” Luka said.
“Bye,” I said as Asa disappeared through the door.
“I’ll be glad when today is over.” Luka rolled his shoulders, looking even more tired than he had a minute ago. “Sorry if I scared you.”
“It’s fine.” I glanced at my paperwork. I had to start over, but that wasn’t a big deal. It would help pass the time and give me something to focus on that wasn’t my distracting coworker.
We were in the home stretch of the night, and we didn’t have any new appointments or customers scheduled to come in. As long as there wasn’t an emergency or a last-minute walk-in, we should be able to shut down and start our closing routine in about twenty minutes.
I really hoped no one came in. I didn’t mind staying late, and the extra pay was nice, but it had been a long day, and Fridays were my least favorite shifts.
It wasn’t working on a Friday that I didn’t like, it was the way my shifts always fell. Monday through Friday, I worked from two until nine, but on Saturdays, my day started at ten and ended at five.
Having less than twelve hours between when I got home from my Friday shift and when I had to leave for my Saturday morning one made both days feel so much longer, and the earlier start made it hard to get into any sort of weekend routine.
Working six days a week instead of five didn’t bother me, and Nate made sure to give me, and now Luka, one weekend a month off, but some weeks it felt like I lived in the shop. This was one of those weeks.
Luka shot me another tight smile, then bent over the toolbox, the handle still clutched in his hand.
Dragging my focus from him, I pulled a fresh form out of my drawer and bent over it, but my attention wandered back to Luka when he muttered something I couldn’t make out.
He looked tense. His shoulders were drawn in and sitting high, like he was clenching or holding them up closer to his ears instead of being relaxed. His cheeks were still flushed pink, and he was tapping his foot in an erratic pattern, his boot slapping against the concrete floor.
With a loud sigh, he raked his hand through his hair and gently tugged on the strands a few times.
Covertly, I traced my eyes over his body.
Like everyone at the garage, Luka wore coveralls, but I’d seen him in street clothes and knew exactly how long and lean he was under them.
Luka’s body was incredible, but not in an “I go to the gym every day” kind of way, more of a “I used to be a competitive athlete” way. His shoulders were broad and his arms were thick, but his muscles weren’t overly defined. His waist was trim, but had a bit of softness to it, and his legs were thick, especially his thighs, which fit perfectly with his full, round ass.
I tore my eyes from him in a hurry. The last thing I needed was for him to catch me checking him out, and I really shouldn’t be thinking about his ass—or any part of him. Especially not at work.
Shaking my head at my lack of self-control, I bent over the fresh form, my pen in hand, and forced myself to focus on filling it out.
A memory of the first time we’d met flashed in my mind’s eye without my permission. I’d spent most of the day dreading my shift.
Meeting new people was stressful for me, and any sort of disruption to my routines set me on edge. After five years of working with Jimmy, the thought of having a new coworker to get used to was about as appealing as cutting my lawn with a pair of scissors.
Ten minutes before our shift started, Nate brought Luk
With his sparkling blue eyes and butter-blond hair, he had that classic All-American look to him. Add in his plush lips, creamy skin with just a hint of dark blond stubble, straight nose, and slightly full cheeks that gave him a bit of a baby face, and he was beautiful.
The garage I worked at was full of attractive men, but I’d never once felt anything for any of my coworkers.
Not until Luka turned those baby blues on me and gave me a wide smile as he stuck out his hand for me to shake.
I hadn’t been prepared for how my body reacted to him, and I’d managed to mumble a greeting, my face heating uncomfortably as my stomach flip-flopped and what felt like a burst of adrenaline hit me right in the chest. It was like being in a free fall, and unlike anything I’d ever experienced.
It had taken most of my willpower to not snatch my hand from his when I’d shaken it. The zings of electricity that danced between us were so strong it was like being touched with a live wire. His hands were a lot like mine, rough and callused, but his strong grip and warm skin had done things to me they had no business doing.
Thank god Luka hadn’t noticed. He’d just smiled and said he was looking forward to working with me.
A slight tingle moved up my arm, an echo of the strange energy that erupted the moment Luka’s hand had closed around mine. Gripping my pen harder, I forced myself to focus on my paperwork and not on my memories.
I’d spent years hiding my attraction to men, and I wasn’t about to break that now, even if my new coworker was one of the most gorgeous men I’d ever laid eyes on.
I just needed to get through the next thirty or so minutes, then I could go home and spend the next few hours decompressing and getting ready for another full day tomorrow.
2
LUKA
I closed the door to my apartment a little too hard, the dull thud echoing in the dark hallway. I’d forgotten to leave a light on again.
Blindly, I ran my hand over the wall next to the door, searching for the switch. When I finally found it, I flipped it on.
The hallway lit up, the brightness jarring after being in the near dark. I blinked a few times to clear the spots dancing in my vision and dropped my bag on the floor.
Bzzzz bzzzz bzzzz.
Ignoring my phone, I bent to undo the laces of my work boots. When they were off, I left my bag where I’d dropped it and trudged into my apartment, pulling my phone out as I did.
I had five texts. Four were from Dean, my best friend. Three of them had been there when I’d checked my phone after work, but I hadn’t bothered to answer him because I knew exactly what they were about.
The other was from my sister.
Flopping down on my couch, I kicked my feet up on my coffee table and opened the text from my sister first.
Jade: I just walked in on mom and eddie sucking face and I’ll never be okay again
The mental image of our mother kissing her boyfriend made me grimace.
I had nothing against Eddie, and he made Mom happy, but it was weird to see her with someone other than our dad.
Luka: gross
Thank god the odds of me catching Mom and her new beau in any sort of compromising position were slim. Jade didn’t have that luxury since she’d moved back in with our mom after being laid off six months ago.
Luka: maybe you can get him a bell to wear in the house so you know what rooms to avoid
She read my texts before my screen went dark.
Jade: something tells me mom isn’t going to go for that
Jade: are you home?
Luka: yeah just got in
Jade: Do you have plans? I’m meeting up with some of the girls at Prism in a bit. You should come. Danielle’s been asking about you
Luka: I’m going to stay in tonight. I’m bushed
Luka: and stop trying to fix me up with your friends
Jade: I’m just being a good sister and helping my big bro get laid
I grimaced again. My sister and I were close, and she was only two years younger than me, but talking to her about my sex life still gave me the ick. So did the thought of hooking up with any of her friends.
I’d prefer if the people I slept with didn’t gossip with my baby sister about the men they’d been with, thank you very much.
Just to emphasize my point, I sent her the unimpressed emoji, the one with straight lines for its mouth and eyes.
Luka: no, just no to all of that
Jade: prude
Luka: have fun
Jade: you know where we’ll be if you change your mind
Luka: I won’t
Jade: boring
Chuckling, I exited out of our text thread and opened the one with Dean.
Dean: where are you?
Dean: we’re at glenns
Dean: Elle brought some new friends and they’re looking for a good night
Dean: do I need to send out a search party? Where the fuck are you?
The last message had come in while I was driving home. I didn’t have much time before Dean started calling, which was his go-to when he was drinking and I didn’t answer his texts.
And I wasn’t in the mood to talk to Drunk Dean.
Luka: just got home from work
I went to put my phone on the coffee table when it lit up with another text.
Dean: so why are you there and not here if your off?
Luka: I’m gonna just chill tonight
Dean: what? Why?
Dean: did I mention that Elle brought some friends? Hot friends in case you didn’t get that
Elle was Dean’s girlfriend, or at least she was right now. They’d been going out for almost two years, but they were one of those couples who seemed to thrive on drama and were constantly breaking up, only to get back together after a few days or weeks. Then they started the cycle all over again. Lather, rinse, repeat.
They’d been broken up for almost a week when I’d talked to Dean yesterday, looked like they were back at it. For now, at least.
Luka: tempting but I’m gonna pass. I have to work in the morning
Dean: lame
Dean: have fun being an old man
I waited to see if he’d say more, then tossed my phone onto my lap when my screen went dark.
I’d known Dean since I was eighteen, when we worked on the same road crew. He still worked in construction, which was one of the reasons he couldn’t seem to wrap his head around my new schedule.
His days started at dawn and finished before dinner. At my old shop I’d worked mostly early shifts and had been off every day by five. Now I didn’t get off until after nine on weekdays, and I worked Saturdays, which he always had off.
That was one of the hardest parts of adjusting to my new job. The later hours were so far off from everyone else’s schedules that my friends were always out and having fun when I was just getting off work.
They had time to go home, shower, eat, and decompress, whereas I barely had enough time to get my ass in the door and sit down before they were at the bar or club or wherever else they decided to go.
I liked my new job, and I really liked the shop, but the hours sucked, and I was always being left out of plans now.
But that wasn’t always a bad thing. Especially when Dean and Elle were in matchmaking mode, which they constantly were.
I’d learned my lesson about hooking up with someone in my friend circle last year when I had a casual thing with one of Elle’s friends. Things were fine for a while, but she started to catch feelings, and she was less than pleased when I ended things. That had created tension between me and Elle, and also between Elle and Dean, which spilled over into my relationship with Dean.
Even though over six months had passed and Beth was with someone else, things were still strained. We barely spoke when we were out with everyone, and her boyfriend spent most of the time glaring daggers at me and making sure I kept as far away from her as possible.
It had gotten so bad that I dreaded going out if they were going to be there, and I’d been excluded from group plans more than once because the tension made everyone uncomfortable.
I had no clue if they were out with the group now. I assumed they were, but at least I wouldn’t have to find out tonight.
