by Nikki Wild
"Better at letting go?" I asked. His words were as heavy as stones. Why wasn’t he pissed off at his dad for giving up on their dream, the only thing they had to help them through the loss of a family member?
Dane was nodding his head again. "It just hurt too bad, Kara. There was nothing I wanted more than to have Jimmy back, but finishing that damn car wasn’t going to make it happen. That car is a tomb. It’s a goddamned gravestone, and nothing more."
I bit my lip and slowly walked around the car, trailing my finger over the waxed and polished curves, running my hand along its smooth, sleek lines. "You turned this car into something it doesn’t have to be. It can be your freedom, Dane. It doesn’t have to make you hurt when you look at it. Think of Jimmy. Celebrate him. Get behind the wheel and kick Reed’s ass tomorrow.”
“Why are you even doing this? You could be a hundred miles down the road right now. Take the Bentley and get the hell out of here. I’ll tell Reed your deal is off.”
I sighed. “Listen, I’m sorry about anything I said before. I’m sorry for trying to run. I was wrong. I was scared, and I was hurting and I was stupid… but I’m not going to let my own fears get in the way of your future, Dane. This car is your new start. Those cars the Reapers just drove away with? Those are your legacy!”
“My new start?”
“Maybe… And maybe it’s more… Maybe it’s our new start.”
He started laughing. Not just his usual sexy chuckles, either. Soon he was cracking up so hard that he had to wipe away a tear. It hurt to see him throw my words back in my face like that, but that isn’t to say that I didn’t deserve it. “What’s so damn funny?”
“You’re the craziest woman I’ve ever met in my life.”
“I’m going to try to take that as a compliment,” I replied, shaking my head as he kept on laughing. Finally, he regained enough composure to talk a little sense.
“Tomorrow I’m racing Reed in this car. If I lose, they get the Bentley and this rolling coffin. Right?”
“Yeah…”
Dane sat down in a chair beside the bed and pointed at the hood. “And don’t you think it’s a little funny that Reed would agree to that? Reed knows I’ve spent some time behind the wheel. Why would a biker want to race against someone who used to do this shit for a living?”
The way he said it made my heart sink.
Dane threw his hands up in the air. “You think you can come in here and change my life with your ambition and your never-say-die attitude, but you didn’t stop to think that maybe there were some things you didn’t know about this little beauty?”
He slapped a hand down against the fender.
“No.” I swallowed hard. “What are you saying?”
“I’m saying that the fucking thing isn’t finished, Kara. Everybody in town knows that. Everyone but you…”
I didn't know what he was talking about. I didn't know much about cars, but I sure as hell knew enough to know that it looked like it had everything it needed. Except…
Dane reached down and pulled a latch under the hood, lifting the slab of metal. Underneath it, there was just a big, yawning space where the engine should've been.
"See," Dane said, his voice full of rolling gravel. "Looks good on the outside, but it isn’t worth shit once you lift the hood. Story of my life."
I was stunned. "You shouldn’t say that sort of thing.”
Dane stood up. "You’d know all about what not to say, wouldn’t you? You were right all along. Why else would you plan on sneaking out on me at the church tonight, unless you were finally ready to admit that you did have better things to do and better people to see?”
His voice was cutting. He was hurting me on purpose, clearly more than happy to spread a little of his pain around.
And I deserved it. I'd spent so much of my time with him reassuring both of us that our relationship would be short-lived… Could I really be angry now that it was this out I then open?
It turns out, the answer was yes. Before I could stop myself, I stormed over to him. His feet were already planted, but he wasn't expecting me to take a swing at him. It was a good one, two. Not some girly slap. Not the hair-pulling, catfight scratching most women resort to. I balled up my fists and slugged him in the jaw before he even realized that he was going to take one to the face.
It stung him. He grabbed my arm, and then grabbed the other one too, just in case. He held me like that, my arms pinned my side as he loomed over me. I wasn't afraid, though.
I was pissed.
"Don't just throw it away," I said, though I felt like I was talking to both he and I at the same time. "I was scared, and things were moving so fast… but what we have… maybe it’s worth fighting for.”
"Why keep pretending?” He shot back. "You're better than this place, but it fits me fine. And you were right, Kara. You’ve never been more right about anything, so it's hardly fair for you to get angry at me just for agreeing with you. This car is just sitting here, twisting the knife in my side. Ma won’t even come into the garage to grab a rake because it’s here, that’s how much it hurts her. You can get in that damn Bentley and be halfway to Florida before the sun rises. You can take the dirt road out back instead of going through town. There’s a junction to Waylon County twenty miles out, and Reed won’t be watching it. The Reapers will be pissed, but I don’t give a damn. He can have this shell of a car and I’m done with him. I’m done with all of this. You need to go."
I was so angry that I was trembling. "I don't want to go anywhere, Dane. Not anymore."
He sighed, and when I looked down at me and saw such a depth of sadness that broke my heart. "But you have to. You don't have a choice. There’s a whole world out there waiting for you. This one is too small."
"Then what's with the ring? Why bother bringing it to the church if you already decided to abandon me?"
That hurt him more than the punch in. It was a low blow, and now that I was throwing it back in his face, he blinked and took a step back, even rocking on his heels. His grip loosened on my arms, and I shook myself free.
"I knew you’d turn me down, but I needed to know. I needed you to look me in the eyes and tell me it’s over.”
“Why now? Maybe we could have worked things out… I could have come back through after Florida…”
“I’m only good at going fast."
We were arguing for no reason. Yes, this mattered, but so did the race. “Then let’s get this car going fast.”
Dane laughed at me. "You saw it yourself. It's got no engine. What am I supposed to do, push it? Reed might be shit on four wheels, but he’ll run laps while I’m sitting at the starting line."
It didn’t take long to come up with what had to be the worst idea of my entire life.
“Is there a safe place I take your mom?”
He nodded. “She’s got a sister, an hour and a half east.”
“I’m going to take the tow truck and get her there. I don’t think the Reapers will try anything tonight, but I’m not taking any chances with her.”
“I’ll come with you,” he said.
“No way. I’m going to leave you here. You’ve got a hell of a lot of work to do, and I’ll only end up getting in the way.”
“What work?” He frowned, pretending to look around the garage. “There’s no engine here, Kara.”
“Sure there is. There’s a reason I’m taking the tow truck…”
I watched as the words bounced around in his brain for a couple of seconds.
“Will it fit?” I asked.
He shrugged. “Only one way to find out.”
I moved in close, breaking his grip and wrapping my arms around his neck to kiss him goodbye. He was so damn tall I practically had to scale him like a mountain.
“I think it’s time to get to work.”
Chapter 30
I surprised myself by remembering the way back from Dane’s Aunt. She’d gone with me without complaint, and when I told her that I was going to do my best to
look after her son, she left it at that.
I guess she figured that the more details she knew, the more she’d have to worry about.
As I drove through Silver Creek in the direction of his home, I was pleased to discover that I was already starting to get a feel for the streets and layout of this place. Sitting at a red light and scenery, I had to admit I liked it.
It felt like I was coming home.
I was still thinking that when a dark muscle car roared around the corner behind me.
My heart sank.
Most of the time, you can tell how a person is by the way they drive. Do they cut people off? Do they signal before they change lanes? This guy drove right down the middle of the road like he owned it, and by the squeal of tires and plumes of burnt rubber, I knew in my bones that it was Reed.
And I was right. I stared, transfixed by his face in the rearview mirror, desperately trying to throw the stupid tow truck’s sloppy manual transmission back into gear so I could get the hell out of here. The truck lurched beneath me and the engine died, a victim of my haste.
Reed seemed amused by all of this. He was wearing his usual smirk, practically laughing out loud at my struggle.
I fired the engine again, slamming the shifter all the way to the left and up, realizing only too late that I’d shoved the lever a bit too far to the left and hit the reverse gear. The truck bunny hopped backwards hard enough to plow into Reed’s bumper with a squeal of grinding metal that set my teeth on edge.
That wiped the smile off his face.
"You’re really starting to piss me off, woman," Reed yelled at me out of his window, clearly furious. He jumped out of his car and came running up the drivers side of the tow truck. I wasn’t even sure which button would lock the doors, and before I could work it out he'd already yanked it open and dragged me to the ground. I banged my knee painfully, but I came up swinging.
Read was ready for it. Dane hadn't been, and I suppose that meant that Reed was used to getting hit by women.
He grabbed my fist before could I make contact with his face and wrenched my wrist around, pinning my arm behind my back and tripping me so that I fell face down on the gravel. He was incredibly strong, and the adrenaline pouring through my veins was no match for him as he lifted me up bodily and threw me in the backseat of his car.
Reed slammed the door and I scrambled around on the inside, looking for the latch that would let me out.
It wasn't there. The one on the other side of the car was gone too. Even the cushions on the backseat had been stripped.
I watched Reed pull out his phone and punch a number.
"Let our boys know that I'm bringing Dane’s girl with me to the track. I want to make sure he shows up. And get somebody down here to fourth street to pick up his fucking tow truck.”
He didn’t wait for an answer. I had planned on leaping forward and raking my fingernails across Reed’s face when he got back behind the wheel, but he didn't give me the chance. As casually as if he were reaching back to make sure my seat belt buckle was buckled he turned around in his chair, grabbed me by a fistful of my hair, and slammed my head into the window.
Chapter 31
Dane
Hours had passed since Kara had been gone. I’d worked through the night, but she hadn’t called and she hadn’t come home.
I didn't like it. She should've been back by now. I hadn’t wanted her to take Ma to my Aunt Elizabeth’s in the first place, I knew that it would have been pointless to try to talk her out of putting my mother somewhere safe, but that didn’t change the bad feeling I had in my gut. Did I really think that she’d just turn right around and come home?
Maybe she’d dropped Mom off and kept right on driving. Maybe she was already on her way to Orlando.
I shook my head. If that was the case, then there was no way she was going to get there in time. That tow truck didn't have a hope in hell of making it more than two hundred miles without overheating and blowing the old radiator. I’d been meaning to fix it, but it was fine for around-town use and I hadn’t taken the time.
Course… if she was planning to leave, that didn’t explain why she’d left her purse on the bed in the corner. I didn’t think Kara would want to ditch me without taking that.
No… she wouldn’t run for the hills. It didn’t make sense. Last night at the church, sure. I could see that. The Bentley was ready and she could tell herself that she was letting me down easy.
But after everything that happened?
No, my instincts were telling me that something was wrong.
Kara wasn't going anywhere, at least not by choice.
Before I could roll the thought around in my head, the phone hanging on the wall the garage started ringing. I told myself that must be her. I wiped my hands as best I could on a greasy rag before picking it up.
The car was almost done. Just a few more things to tighten and the car Dad and I had almost finished would finally be brought to life. After welding together a couple motor brackets, the Bentley’s big engine fit like a glove.
Like it was always meant to be in there…
When I picked up the phone, I didn't like the silence on the other end.
"This is Dane," I said, after a moment of listening to them breathe.
"Good," Reed said. "I just wanted to let you know I've got your girl with me. We’re at the track waiting for you."
My grip on the phone tightened enough for me to hear the plastic crackle in my ear. "What the fuck are you doing Reed? This is between you and me. Leave Kara out of this."
He laughed. I hated that laugh. It was so smug and so deceitful all at once. The sound of it had echoed in my dreams for months after Jimmy had died. All I wanted to do right now was ball my hand up into a fist and force that laugh down his throat.
But I held it together. Breaking the phone or cussing him out wasn’t going to get Kara back. "What do you want Reed? Why the hell are you doing this?"
"I just want you to stick to your end of the bargain, Dane. I know the reputation your family has. Every time the going gets tough, one of you ends up kicking the bucket. I didn't want that to happen to you before I could beat your ass on the track. I need that Bentley, if you get my drift. Money’s already changed hands. I’ve sold the parts and there won’t be any fucking refunds."
I understood better than he might have guessed. If Reed was desperate enough to take orders on parts he didn’t even have, things must be a bit tighter for these assholes than I’d anticipated. The guys buying expensive parts like these didn't mess around. And they didn’t come from tiny little towns like Silver Creek, either. If Reed didn't get his hands on the Bentley, he was going to get a visit from the heavies in Detroit or Chicago or New York, and things were going to get messy for him real quick.
Not that I minded… except that Reed’s problems might quickly become my problems too.
"I'm on my way," I told him. "And keep your hands to yourself Reed. You so much as touch her, and I'll put you in the ground."
Reed laughed again, but it wasn't anywhere near as confident as it was a moment ago.
"Just get here,” he sneered. “You’ve got fifteen minutes."
The line went dead and I hung up the phone. The keys were already in the ignition and the fuel tank was full. I cranked the key and the roar of the massive engine filled the garage.
I had fifteen minutes, but I got there in nine.
Chapter 32
Kara
I wasn't unconscious anymore. I don't know how long I was out, but I lay still so that I could hear the end of Reed’s conversation. It sure sounded like Dane was on his way, and for that I was grateful. I didn't want to be stuck with these guys for any longer than I had to be. At least they grabbed me after I got his mother to safety. I didn’t want her to have to see any of what might come next.
"Lachlan, get your ass over here," Reed shouted out the window. He did as he was told, but Reed twitched when it became clear that the other biker was taking his tim
e.
“What?” Lachlan asked.
“Sit here and watch her. I’ve got a few things to check on before our boy arrives. "
I peered through slitted eyes at Lachlan, who didn’t look pleased with being bossed around like that. Still, he and Reed traded place. As soon as their boss was out of earshot I slid up into a sitting position in the backseat.
Through the window I could see that we are at a racetrack. It looked professional enough. There were sponsors’ banners hanging up along the fence, and the asphalt was as smooth and black as night. The bleachers were empty, but there were a lot of them. I'd been imagining that Dane and Reed would have to be tearing down gravel roads to race each other, but clearly that wasn’t going to be the case.
Reed was thirty feet away standing next to a car that looked like it was custom-built for tracks like this.
And I guess it had… It was the car that Jimmy had always driven. From the way Dane talked about it, it didn't sound like that car had ever been beaten.
My heart sunk. It fell even further when Lachlan turned around to look at me, his eyes hidden by dark glasses. "Dane’s got no chance sweetheart."
I didn't know if he was right, but he said it with a certainty that kicked me in the stomach. I shook it off. These guys weren’t in charge of my destiny.
I was.
"You’re probably right,” I said. “Reed knows best, huh?"
Lachlan shrugged, and I picked up right where I’d left off, probing for weakness in the Reapers. If he wouldn't even admit that now, with just me in the car and him so sure Dane was going to lose the race… Well, maybe there was a chance.
"He must be right," I said, batting my eyes and giving him a sexy little shrug that said I'm just a girl, I don't know enough about these things to comment on it. "If he was taking you guys down a bad road, you’d be idiots to follow him. And I’m guessing you aren’t idiots… "
Lachlan’s face darkened. He didn't like where this was going. I needed to be careful. "You’d best watch your mouth, Kara."