Chapter 50

Chapter 50

Jesse

"How much?" I knew this tone of voice, this expression, but on Phil's face it was twice as ugly. He'd sobered up a bit, but not by much, swaying slightly on his feet. The quote Greg had done up was flung back in his face. "I'm not paying that fucking much."

"That's fine," my boss replied mildly. He clicked his fingers, and I slapped the grimy key ring into his hand. Greg went to hand it over to the owner, but Phil smacked it away.

"You'll fix my fucking car, and you'll do it for a reasonable price."

This was interesting. Men like Phil, they rarely tackled other men head on. Their chances of coming out on top were greatly reduced, but then I worked it out. Greg was a little bloke. Not all fox shifters were, but he was. Wiry, strong as a horse, but to a dickhead like Phil, he thought he was just facing down a man smaller and weaker than him.

"This…" Greg moved like lightning, picking up the now dusty quote and shoving it at Phil's chest, the man's eyes going wide when he stumbled back. "Is a reasonable price. You aren't in the city. We don't have a local supplier for parts. Everything has to be freighted in, from petrol and oil, the brake pads. That costs money." Each point was punctuated by a finger stabbed into Phil's chest. "Because this is a business, not a fucking charity, that cost gets passed onto you, mate."

Greg's tone dripped poison, the fox rising and staring out of his grey-green eyes.

Foxes were considered vermin in Australia, exterminated by every farmer and rural dweller with a rifle, and that made the fox shifter community clannish. I looked behind me as I heard the clatter of tools being dropped as the other blokes I worked with emerged from the depths of the garage, covered in dust, grease, and a bad attitude.

And I knew just how bad it got.

It took me awhile to adjust to this when I first arrived. I'd wanted a change, had to if I was leaving my entire life behind, but it turned out that no matter how far you run, there you are. I got in people's faces the first time I got drunk, and the fellas showed me the error of my ways. It took a few beatings to make it clear to me, that my world had changed. I had no safety net left and now I needed to find a way to adapt to my new normal.

And Phil needed to do the same.

He landed on his arse in the dirt looking confused as to how he got there, but Greg made that clear. His hands were balled into fists, ready to deliver another lesson if needed.

Apparently, Phil got the message.

"I'll see what I can do," he said, snatching the quote up and crumpling it as he got to his feet.

"Do that," Greg said. "Fifty percent deposit up front before any work is done."

We usually offered better terms than that, but an arsehole tax had well and truly been applied. Phil wanted to grumble about that, but as the boys edged closer, he thought better of that too.

"I'll get the money," was all he said as he shuffled away.

"Ten bucks he ends up selling that piece of shit," Greg said, holding out a hand.

"I'll take that bet," a few of the boys said, slapping money down into his hand. There wasn't much to do out here and foxes? They'd bet on who could do the biggest shit if that helped pass the time.

"What I want to know is how he's gonna get the money?" I said and everyone turned then to stare. I'd learned my lesson and kept my mouth shut most of the time, so when I did speak, I got too much attention.

"In this town?" I saw the flash of Greg's fangs as he grinned. "He wouldn't want to think about anything dodgy. The humans that live here'll take your fucking face off for trying to rip them off, and the rest of us…?"

That always confused me. I was human by default, not having enough bear shifter blood to possess a beast. When my brother and I were kids, I could've sworn… But puberty came and went, and I was still just the same dumbfuck kid I was before my voice broke.

So, I went and acted like the biggest dumbfuck I could. No animal to steer me straight, I went wild.

"We'll make short work of any fuck that thinks he can tangle with us, won't we, bear boy?"

I wouldn't be much good to them in a fight. I was stronger, fitter than I'd ever been in my life, but that was still nothing when it came to shifter strength. I nodded anyway as he held my gaze, the other guys all barking and yipping their agreement.

"Now get back to work. There's plenty of cars actual paying customers want fixed. If you don't have enough to do, let me know and I'll sort that out."

I did. I was doing all the services, changing oil, testing batteries, the kind of donkey work that apprentices did, but right now I stared off into the growing shadows, tracing the trail of footsteps Phil had left in the dirt. Greg and the other fox shifters had a right to be cocky, but sometimes that made you blind. Humans might not be able to match their strength, but cruelty?

Nothing and no one was crueller than a human being, especially a desperate one.