My Calling Read Online Free Page A

of the car. Beck’s strong muscles beneath his skin distract me at the irony of my uncle’s favorite car being inked on him. His muscles flex slightly and then his hand is on top of mine, gently moving it away instead of jerking his body like before.
    “Like it?” Beck asks, his voice much softer than normal.
    I nod, snapping out of my trance and wiping at my teary eyes. “Yeah, my uncle used to have one. It was his baby, cherry red, too.”
    “He had good taste.”
    He searches my face and I push a smile through my sadness.
    “Yeah, he did. And Beck, I’m more bad A than you think.”
    A stiff smile crosses over his mouth and he lifts his eyebrow. “Bad A, huh? Yeah, I think in order to be called badass, you have to actually be able to say the word ‘ass.’”
    The door slams shut as he walks through it and my cheeks burn red. I am bad A and I’ll prove it to him.
     
    Beck
     
    My pulse is racing as I escape the close encounter with Saylor. Before today, I would blame my high blood pressure on the fact that Saylor almost recognized me. The last time she saw me was nearly six years ago. I was a scrawny thug with a buzz cut and a brand on my left shoulder with no ink on my body. I’ve undergone a transformation to ensure that Saylor wouldn’t connect the dots should our paths ever cross. Saylor also went through a complete change as well and I never expected it to have an effect on my pulse the way it does.
    I’ve kept my distance over the years. Close enough to keep her safe but far enough away that she could lead her own life, or the life I chose for her without her realizing it. Being in such close proximity twice today, I finally smelled her unique daisy-scented perfume and now, I understand why men flock to her based on that alone.
    Then there was the touching. Back in the day, there was no touching. She was in high school, I was a college dropout. Eddie warned me to steer clear of Saylor in that sense but begged me to watch after her should something happen to him. Ultimately, it did and it was entirely my fault which is why I’ve committed my life to ensuring the same gruesome act of violence that took his life doesn’t happen to his niece. Saylor was the closest he ever had to a daughter.
    But today, there was touching and it wasn’t unwanted. Well, I lie. After the first time her skin made contact with mine, I wanted her to get away from me as fast as possible because I knew it would be something I will never be able to walk away from myself. In the rig, she was touching me professionally, that was it. But in the locker room, the way her fingers gripped around my arm had the hair on the back of my neck standing up and I knew I was in trouble.
    I just didn’t know exactly how much trouble I was in until she called me out on the cherry red 1970 Buick GSX tatted on my bicep. I should’ve known better than to choose something so obvious to commemorate Eddie. Anyone that knew the old mechanic knew his love for that car. I should’ve gone with Japanese letters for his name or some shit like that except I would’ve probably ended up with “I like cats” instead of RIP Eddie.
    Today was just too close for comfort for too many reasons. Moving forward, I have to make an effort to keep my distance from Saylor like I’ve done all these years. Keep her safe while I blend into the background.
    “Yo, Saylor! Wanna grab a drink?”
    Calvin’s annoying voice is like nails on a blackboard. I look over my shoulder to see Saylor nodding. Calvin wastes no time sliding his arm around her shoulders and leading her out of the building. Shit, I guess I’ll have to start the whole distance thing tomorrow because I don’t trust that guy. I turn in the opposite direction, ready to follow them to the local watering hole when I hear my name behind me.
    “Beckerdyte! My office… NOW!”
    Our supervisor’s voice booms down the hallway. Well, fuck, this is really going to throw a monkey wrench in my plan if I get