Page 43 of The Devil's Revelation
I want to blame Torque for making me so out of sorts, but I can’t. Torque has nothing to do with this. I need to get myself together and do my job. I’ll deal with Tony later. He might be the biggest misogynist to walk the earth but we’re still co-workers and we need to at least work as a team somewhat. Can’t do that if he’s always got a target on me.
I move over to the tires and get to work on balancing them. Thankfully it’s not a labor-intensive job. I get the first three done but stop when I see the forth one. I frown when I realize it’s looking a little flat. Huh, guess I need to check that before it gets worse. Moving to the machine, I get to work on trying to figure out why it’s low. I quickly spot the problem from a large nail that’s lodged itself in the tire. It doesn’t look too deep, so I can probably patch it.
I take it over to the machine to remove the rim, cursing under my breath when it takes longer than I want. Damn, this thing is on there good. When the rubber finally comes away from the rim, I blow out a sigh of relief. Except when I start to move the rubber away, I freeze when I see a carefully wrapped small, black, flat bag secured inside.
I recover quickly, because I know exactly what this is, and I do not want to be caught with it. Or touch it. I’m glad I have my black rubber gloves on from the oil change still. I carefully move the rim aside and when I see the other packages along the rubber, I start to sweat. Oh my God. This is not good. This is not good at all.
I don’t want to be one caught with a wheel that is clearly hiding drugs. I need to be smart about this. I repair the tire without a sound, and put it back together in record time. When I roll it back to the car, I see Tony standing there waiting for me.Fuck. Fuck. I do not need this right now.
I keep my face blank and put the tire back on the car, quickly securing it. “Something you need?” I ask calmly.
“Problem with the tire?” he asks.
I don’t know what it is about his question, but my senses sharpen. “Small hole,” I answer easily. “Got it fixed and just need to make sure the air stays in.”
He eyes me for a moment, almost like he’s trying to tell if I’m lying. What the hell is going on around here? “Test drive it and get back so you can take the next car,” he says sharply. “You thought I was riding your ass hard the past few weeks, you’re in for a rude awakening, bitch.” Then he stalks away.
I don’t watch him go. Instead I lower the car and pump some air into the tire, glad to see the patch hold.Can’t have drugs flying all over the place now can I?I have to bite back a hysterical laugh at the thought. God, today is going to shit, and I’m getting a very bad feeling.
I look around as I work on tightening the tires. I note Ray and Charlie are both working, but Enzo and Tony are talking quietly by the car in Tony’s bay. Neither of them are looking my way, and maybe they figure I’m too busy, but I realize something pretty quickly. Tony is handing something to Enzo, and it looks suspiciously like the packages in my tire. Enzo puts them casually in his pocket and nods.
When they both start to turn, I look away and move to the other side of the car, finishing the last two tires. Carefully I peek under the car as I move the hose along the car. Tony’s back is to me and I realize pretty damn quickly that he’s got a small package in the palm of his hand and he’s putting it up inside the car. When I glance at Enzo, he’s doing the same.
Holy shit. Oh my God. They’re putting drugs in the cars. I quickly finish up my job and lower the vehicle. What the hell am I going to do? Do I report this to Sergio? Or is he in on it? Are they all in on this? Is that why they don’t want me to touch the vehicles? They don’t want me to know what’s in them and then squeal to someone?
I blow out a breath. I don’t want to set foot into the car, but I have no choice. If I don’t act normally, they’ll know I know, and I have a very bad feeling if they find that out, I’m as good as fucked. Or dead. Or both. I pull off my dirty gloves and throw them in the trash, and quickly stash another pair in my coveralls. I put a cover down on the seat as always, and then I climb into the car where I very quickly put on the gloves. As I pull out, I watch as Tony heads to the bathroom and the other guys head out the doors for a smoke.
I don’t have a lot of time, but I know in my gut there is more in here. I pull out of the lot and do a very quick turn around the block before coming back. Long enough to say I did the test drive so I can get out of here. When I get back and park, I hop out, pull the seat cover off, and freeze when I see a fake compartment under the steering column.
I turn, shut the door, and head in the garage. My mind is racing but I need to be calm. I need to make some decisions and fast. Everything in me is screaming for me to run, and run far. But where the hell am I going to go?
I sign off on the work order, take it inside, and put it in the completed box along with the keys. I grab the next order on my pile before heading toward the metal door. When I walk back into the shop, Tony is frowning at my bay. “What?” I ask him as I walk by.
He turns and eyes me. “You done already?”
I nod. “Took it for a test drive already and just put the paperwork at the front desk,” I answer calmly.
Something like anger and worry goes through his eyes before they quickly clear. “That fast, doesn’t sound like you did the job right. Sergio is going to be pissed. Better take it back out and do a proper test drive.”
“You do realize that you were taking a ten minute shit, right?” I say curtly. “I don’t know how long a test drive is supposed to be, but I definitely think it was long enough. Especially since you went in there while I was leaving.”
He glances at the clock and frowns. I’ve stretched the truth a bit, but thankfully the shop clock is a few minutes fast, so it does indeed look like I’ve been gone for ten minutes. Finally he says, “Well I’m not covering for your ass if the boss gets pissed because you did a shit job.”
“Never asked you to,” I say evenly.
I don’t know how I do it, but I work the rest of the day without breaking down. I push it all to the back of my mind, but now I know what to look for. I keep my eyes and ears open and I realize a pattern that I never clued into before. Every job that comes in for the guys takes a bit longer than normal, and they’re always replacing parts. Even parts that look like they’re brand new with barely any wear on them.
Charlie takes quite a few test drives, and he always takes more than fifteen minutes. When he returns, he always parks in certain spots. Enzo and Ray mostly do just do grunt work and have Charlie do a quick check and test drive on certain vehicles. Most of them are larger vehicles with a hell of a lot more hiding places.
They’re all in on what’s going on here, and considering that Sergio is the one who constantly comes out to check on them, I would bet good money he’s in on it too. Which means I need to make a decision.
When the end of the day comes, I’m exhausted, but I have a plan.
At exactly five, I clock out. Sergio is at the front desk and he eyes me with narrowed eyes. “Where the hell do you think you’re going?” he barks.
I look at him and arch a brow. “It’s five o’clock and you told me no more working late. Do you need me to stay?” I’m proud of how normal I sound. Hopefully, I look it too.
He scowls and looks at his watch. Seeing that I’m right, he snaps, “Get lost.” Then he turns and heads back to his office.
I shrug and head to my car. I climb in, start it up, and pull out, heading towards home. I keep careful watch in all my mirrors along the way, but I don’t see anyone suspicious behind me. Just before my apartment, I quickly turn down a side road and do another round the block to be one hundred percent sure. Then I do the one thing I should have done from the beginning.
I head to the Devil’s Garage.
