"What?" she finally asked, the tension tightening around them like a noose.
His lips twitched. "It's not going to work, you know. You can fight this as hard as you want to, Sabella, but it's not over."
"It's over."
He shook his head. "I'm heading to the apartment. I have to change clothes. I have to run an errand this evening, but I'll be back later tonight."
"Not here, you won't be."
He gave her a look that almost had her shaking in her boots. Almost.
Sabella crossed her arms over her br**sts and glared back at him, wishing she could ignore the flicker of lust in his gaze.
Finally, the corner of his lips tilted, just enough to cause her nostrils to flare and the challenge to ignite inside her.
"I'll see you this evening," he stated before striding across the kitchen, passing her, and then leaving the house.
Sabella gritted her teeth then followed him.
Rory must have returned her car sometime the night before. Rory's truck was gone and that damned Noah was heading down the small rise to the garage, long legs eating the distance as she locked the door behind her and stomped to her car.
He beat her to the garage. But so had Rory.
Smiling tightly, she strode into the office, closed both doors softly and faced her brother-in-law.
His head had lifted from the papers he had been going over. His blue eyes studied her warily, his broad, roughly hewn face smoothing out in an attempt at a neutral expression.
"You're just not as good at that as your brother was," she told him softly, remembering well how Nathan would look at her with that look of male superiority when he knew she was angry with him.
"Good at what?" He cleared his throat.
Sabella leaned against the door and watched him closely.
"That look," she told him. "The one that dares anyone to question anything you've done. Nathan had it down to a very fine art. You need to practice it a bit more."
Amusement might have flickered on his face. He reached up and scratched his cheek, the short sleeves of his work shirt stretching over his biceps.
"You're mad at me," he finally said.
He glanced to the door leading the apartment.
"He can't help you," she stated softly as she smiled back at him coolly. "Did the two of you really think you could pull over on me anything you wanted to?"
The door to the apartment opened and Noah stepped into the office. He'd changed clothes. Damned fast work he'd made of it too.
"Rory, you'll need to run into Odessa to get those parts," Noah told him, looking at Rory. "This morning."
Rory rose from his chair.
"Don't even consider it," Sabella warned him softly.
Rory grimaced, swallowed. He looked from her to Noah then eased back down in the chair. Good. He'd chosen the right side.
"Who owns this garage?" she asked him then.
Rory scratched his cheek again, cleared his throat, and glanced between her and Noah as if he were the innocent party caught in the middle. Innocent, her ass. The two of them were up to something and she knew it. "We do?"
She narrowed her eyes at him. "Did you sell your part to him?" she asked softly, jerking her head to Noah.
Rory looked at Noah. Noah didn't take his eyes off her. The look should have made her wary, nervous. It would have, long ago and far away, if her husband had looked at her like that.
"No." Rory pursed his lips, watching her carefully now.
Ignoring Noah, she walked across the room, placed her hands flat on the desk, and leaned over it.
"Do you want to buy me out? I can pack up and move back to Georgia and you can have it, without me. Is that what you want?"
Shock, surprise, filled his eyes. "No. Belle. Damn. No." He shook his head fiercely. He looked at Noah and said, furiously, "What the hell did you do to her?"
"Does he own a part of this garage?" she snapped.
Rory blew out a hard breath. "No."
"Then his opinion doesn't matter, does it?"
"Maybe I wouldn't say that." Rory winced. "Come on, Belle, he knows what he's doing."
"And I don't?" She straightened, her chin lifting. "Where was he the past six years? Did he walk in here and bust his ass to fix what went to hell when Nathan left?"
"No. He didn't." Rory's voice firmed, his expression tightening.
"Next time, Rory, the two of you can have at it," she bit out. "Don't make that mistake again. My husband left me half of this business. That means half the decisions are mine. Not a stranger's and sure as hell not some interloper who thinks he can walk in and own everything Nathan possessed. Are we clear on that?"
Rory rubbed the back of his neck. "We're clear." He finally nodded.
Sabella didn't bother to spare Noah a glance. She turned, jerked an overshirt off the nearby hook, and stalked back into the garage, satisfied that at least that obstacle had been taken care of.
Noah stared at the door, crossed his arms over his chest, then turned back to Rory. His brother was sweating. There was a fine film of perspiration on his forehead and, frankly, his blue eyes held a gleam of fear in them.
"Who was that woman?" He nodded to the door.
Rory shook his head. "The same one who walked into this garage almost three years after her husband left her, took one look at it, and started cleaning it up."
Rory jerked to his feet and glared at Noah. "And she's right. Where the hell were you when she was dying inside and nearly losing everything that meant anything to her? You want your dirty work done here, do it yourself." He jerked his keys from the desk and headed for the door. "And stay the hell away from her, if you're smart. The last man who pissed her off like that nearly ended up with a wrench buried in the back of his head when she went after him. I have a feeling she wouldn't deliberately miss where you're concerned. I wouldn't if I were her."
Noah watched as his brother disappeared through the other door. He stared at the door to the garage, then the door Rory had left through. Through the window he watched as Toby James strode across the lot, throwing Rory a frown as he passed.
Noah leaned against the desk behind him as Toby entered the office.
"Still pissing everyone off?" the boy grunted, as though it were a given.