Chapter 20. Learn to Defend Myself

Athena

The past few days have been exhausting. Cars keep flooding into the garage—different models every day. Sleek Ferraris that purr like satisfied cats, vintage Porsches with stories etched into their worn leather seats, custom motorcycles that make my heart ache with memories of Dad tinkering in his old shop.

The business is busier than I’ve ever seen it, and I can barely keep up with the demand.

Leah, my new secretary, has been incredible. We’ve grown close quickly, staying late to organize client files and sharing stories over takeout coffee that’s gone cold hours ago.

She’s having her mating ceremony in a few months to her childhood sweetheart, Marcus, and her excitement is absolutely contagious. Sometimes I catch myself feeling a little envious of her certainty, her joy, her future that doesn’t include scars and broken dreams.

“You should see the flowers Grayson picked out,” she gushes during our lunch break, showing me pictures on her ph