by Parker, Ali
“Well, well, well,” a raspy voice drawled from behind me. I turned to see Sid materializing from a crowd that parted for him like he was infected with the plague. His dark eyes looked me up and down, and he smirked. “If it isn’t Mason Thomas back from who the hell knows where. I’ll be damned.”
Mark Denning appeared behind him. They stood shoulder to shoulder, looking at me like they both wanted to take a bite out of me. A big, bloody, deadly bite.
Benji closed his hand over my shoulder.
“You two look like New York’s slimiest duo. Glad to see nothing’s changed,” I said. A couple of brave souls in the crowd chuckled. Not many. But some.
Sid rolled his shoulders and nodded at my car. “I didn’t know it was you in this shit box. If I had, this race would have gone a hell of a lot differently.”
“Maybe.” I shrugged. “Or maybe it would have gone exactly the same, and you’d still be standing here looking like the joke you are. Did you come to ask for a cut of my winnings? Or were you just looking for someone to tell you how shit your driving was?”
The crowd rippled with intrigue as Sid’s eyes darkened. It made me feel all fuzzy inside. Benji’s hand tightened on my shoulder in a warning. Don’t push it.
Chapter 6
Laina
I licked the rain from my lips as I looked back and forth between the two men who were staring each other down. I felt like I was on the brink of seeing something I could never unsee. I wasn’t sure if I should be curious or frightened.
Ginny had her left shoulder pressed tightly against my right. She was shivering a bit from the cold and looked from Mason to me before muttering, “Isn’t that the guy you told me to stay away from?”
I nodded. “Yeah. Sid Paul. He’s not a good guy.”
Sid took a couple of steps forward, moving from the rear end of the Mustang to stop at the driver’s side door. Mason stood at the front of the car with his arms crossed over his chest. He looked like the last person I would want to pick a fight with. But Sid was crazy. Always had been. And he had Mark Denning at his right side, hovering over his shoulder like any respectable villain’s henchman. Had I not known how mean Sid really was, I might have found the whole thing comical.
But I did know how mean he was.
So did Mason.
“I’m a little surprised you managed to peel your drunken ass off the floor to get here tonight, Mason,” Sid said, cocking his head to the side. “I know things have been a bit rough for you since the whole thing with your ex-wife. How’s she doing, by the way, Mark?”
Mark’s lips curled into a wicked smile. “She’s doing just fine.”
Mason didn’t react. He continued to glare at Sid from under his thick blond eyebrows, and rainwater coated his lashes and ran down his jaw.
I swallowed.
Rick cleared his throat. “You know, I think we’re all pretty sick of this same old shit, Sid. Move along.”
Sid’s eyes flicked over to Rick. “How’s your head?”
Rick’s eyes narrowed.
Ginny stiffened beside me. “Wait. Did these guys have something to do with Rick getting shot six months ago?”
I nodded. “Mark’s the one who fired the gun.”
Ginny reached down and grabbed my hand, interlacing her fingers with mine. “Oh.”
I gave her hand a reassuring squeeze. “It’ll be all right. Nothing will happen out in the open like this with so many people around. Sid’s all talk right now.”
It was like his name on my lips made his ears perk up. Sid looked at me, and his hard expression softened. “What are you doing hanging around with these clowns, baby girl?”
Mason looked over his shoulder at me and then turned his attention back to Sid, who took another couple of steps forward. Mason stepped to his left to block Sid from getting closer to me. Sid ignored Mason and ran his tongue along his lower lip. “You’re too good for these fuckers, Laina. Come spend your time with a real champion.”
Mason opened his mouth to defend me. It was unnecessary. I lifted my chin. “Doesn’t a real champion win the race?”
Laughter rippled through the gathered crowd. Even though Mason had his back to me now, I could see his cheek swell with a grin.
Sid narrowed his eyes at me. “You think this bitch placing first in this race makes him a champion? That pretty head of yours must be filled with sawdust.”
I shrugged. “Too bad. That’s your type, right? Too stupid to know they should run as far away from you as they can.”
Benji grabbed my upper arm and tugged me to him. “Shut up, Laina.”
I tried to pull away, but my brother held me fast. I glared daggers at Sid, who ran his thumb along his chin and chuckled.
“Someday someone is going to teach you some manners, baby girl. And I sure as hell hope it’s me. I can show you how you should be using that mouth—”
Mason planted both of his hands on Sid’s chest and shoved him roughly back. Sid stumbled into Mark, who propped him back up as Sid angrily fixed his jacket. The crowd scattered away, creating more space around Sid and Mason.
Sid pointed a finger at Mason. “Keep your fucking hands off me.”
Mason moved in close to Sid. He was so close that their noses almost touched. He had a few inches on the slimy dark-haired driver, so he peered down at Sid as he leered at him. “Then keep your fucking mouth shut, Sid. And stay the hell away from Laina. She clearly doesn’t want anything to do with you. Neither do the rest of us, so get the hell out of here. Take your bitch with you,” he nodded his chin at Mark, who was seething where he stood. Mason’s eyes flicked back to Sid. “Or stay. And you and I can settle this thing right here. Right now. Your call.”
There was a good thirty seconds where I was positive a fight was going to break out. Mark looked like he was ready to explode with rage, and the look in Sid’s eye was sheer menace. The standoff was tense. I could taste the tension in the air.
When Sid shrugged his shoulders and fell back a step, I could breathe again. He ran his hand over his head and looked Mason up and down. “Not worth it. We can settle this next weekend. Watch yourself. You may not be as lucky as you were tonight.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?” Rick hissed.
Sid smiled. “See you at The Streets, Mason. I hope you bring your posse.” He directed that last sentence at me as he turned his back and slipped into the crowd.
Mark lingered for a moment to press his knuckles to the side of his head. Rick, who was still beside Mason, growled like a feral animal. I realized Mark was taunting him. His knuckles were placed an inch above his temple- the same place Rick had been shot.
Mark laughed and followed Sid.
The tension in the crowd evaporated, and soon they all dispersed, going their own ways and talking about the excitement of the race. We were left standing near Mason’s car with hammering hearts and goose bumps rising to attention on our wet skin.
Benji finally released my arm.
I ran my fingers through my hair and shook it out as Ginny deflated like a balloon beside me. “That was tense,” she breathed.
“Tell me about it,” I said grimly.
Mason looked over at me. “You all right, Laina?”
“Me?”
He nodded.
I blushed and tried to look like the tough girl in the crowd. The girl who didn’t get her feathers ruffled by a guy like Sid. “Yeah. I’m fine. I can handle a loser like Sid Paul in my sleep.”
Mason smiled, but I wasn’t sure if he bought it or not. His jaw flexed as Rick threw an arm over his shoulder. “I thought fists were going to fly.”
“For a minute, so did I,” Mason said.
“Wouldn’t have been so bad. Might have felt a little good, even. To get some revenge on the prick who shot me.”
“If he swung first, I would have beaten his ass,” Mason said.
Rick chuckled. “I know you would have, brother. I know. And I’d back you up.”
“Me too,” Benji
piped up beside me.
“Same,” I said.
The three men all looked at me and burst into laughter. Well, Rick and Benji roared with laughter, but Mason just smiled at me. I tried to stand up a little straighter as Rick and Benji poked fun at me. “What? You think that just because I’m a girl, I couldn't have helped?”
“Come on, Laina. You don’t have anything to prove,” my brother said with a dramatic eye roll.
I scowled. “I’m not trying to prove anything. I’m just saying I wouldn’t stand idly by.”
“And what would you do, sis?”
I shrugged. “Kick one of them in the balls. I don’t know. Something.”
They shrugged me off as Harley walked over, her high heels clicking with authority on the wet asphalt. She drew up in front of Mason and swept her dark red hair over her shoulder. The smile she gave him would have made most men melt into a puddle of lust at her feet, but Mason simply stared down at her, that trademark glint of mystery in his eye.
She pulled an envelope from the inside of her jacket and slapped it into his chest. “Your winnings, you brute.”
Mason took the envelope and folded it in half before tucking it into his pocket. I was surprised he didn’t take the time to count it. Then again, counting it in front of Harley would have been more than rude. She was trustworthy, and if you let on that you thought she was trying to slight you, you’d end up in her bad books for life. That was a place nobody wanted to be.
“You’ll want to watch yourself, Mason. Things aren’t the same as when you were racing. Six months is a lot of time in this world. Sid and Mark are dangerous guys. You should steer clear of them.”
Mason arched an eyebrow. “Are you concerned about me, Harley?”
She smirked. “I’m concerned about that handsome face of yours. It would be a shame if someone ruined it. And hear me when I tell you, Sid and Mark will try if they think you’re a threat. Which, let’s be honest, you are. Watch your back. Keep your friends close.”
“I’ll keep you close, Harley,” my brother said, giving her a sheepish smile.
“How sweet of you, Benjamin. Forgive me for passing on the offer. You just worry about yourself. Sid Paul wouldn’t dare fuck with me.”
I wanted to be like her. I wanted to be exactly like her. Tough, formidable, fierce, beautiful. Harley was the whole package wrapped up in one sexy body, and she held her own against the rough men of the underground racing scene.
Harley reached up and ran her hand along Mason’s jaw before patting his cheek. Then she turned and walked off, hips swaying, the eyes of my brother and Rick on her ass as she went.
I caught Ginny checking her out too. It was impossible not to.
Mason patted his pocket where the envelope of cash was stashed. “Drinks are on me, you sorry bastards. Let’s go somewhere dry and celebrate.”
Chapter 7
Mason
Taps was a pub not far from the docks that my old racing team and I used to frequent back in the day. It was in an old rundown apartment that had been converted into an office building, and the pub consumed the entire bottom level. It also had a set of stairs right in the middle of the place leading down into a basement that was riddled with high tables and chairs. The walls were the original brick from nearly a hundred years ago, and although it smelled a bit musky down there, it was a perfect place to sit and have a couple of beers.
It was open late on weekends, so when we showed up, we knew we still had a good few hours left before we’d have to clear out. We went straight downstairs because that’s where the dance floor was, and the girls found us a table while Benji, Rick, and I went to the bar and ordered drinks. I paid the tab and ordered everyone two shots of tequila along with some drinks packed with liquor sure to get us feeling good in no time. It was a celebration, after all.
We wove through the tight crowd of bodies around the dance floor to get to Ginny and Laina, who had picked a booth in a dimly lit corner. They had their heads bowed together and were talking about something serious. At least, I assumed they were. They broke apart as soon as we put the drinks down on the table.
I passed the tequila shots around.
Ginny scrunched up her nose as she lifted it and gave it a good sniff. “Is this tequila?”
“Maybe,” I said.
She shook her head. “I don’t do tequila.”
I locked eyes with Laina, who plucked her shot off the table with confidence. “Come on, Ginny. Two shots won’t kill you. I’ll cut you off before you go too far. Promise.”
Ginny bit her bottom lip and looked back and forth between me and Laina. I shrugged. “I’m not going to force you. It’s your call. I’m sure one of us will handle it if you don’t drink it.”
She frowned down at the golden liquid, looking more than a little torn.
Benji nodded at it. “Just do one. I’ll do the other.”
“Yeah?” she asked, her eyes lighting up.
“Yeah,” Benji said.
Ginny nodded assertively and held up her shot glass. The four of us joined her and soon were tossing back our first shots. Ginny grimaced and dragged her hand across the back of her mouth before reaching for the fruity drink she’d asked me to order for her. It was bright red and topped with a wedge of pineapple. She sucked it back through her straw and visibly relaxed. Some people just weren’t made to handle tequila.
Laina, on the other hand, was already picking up her second shot.
I grinned and followed suit.
“To The Streets,” Laina cried happily, and we all echoed her words before throwing back our second shot. Then Benji picked up his third and threw it back too. Ginny watched in rapture and awe as she continued sucking on her straw.
The rest of us, including Laina, had ordered beers. She leaned back in her chair and took her first mouthful, and then scanned the bar with her beautiful blue eyes. Even in the near darkness of the lower level of the bar, I was struck by how electric they were. It was like looking at the ocean on a bright sunny day. They were almost turquoise.
My brother leaned his elbows on the table. “So? Are you going to give us the highlights of the race or what?”
I shrugged. “There’s not much to tell.”
“Bullshit,” Rick said.
“Lay it on us, man,” Benji said. “Don’t spare any details. Soon this place will be too loud to hear a damned word you say.”
I looked back and forth between the two of them and then at Laina. She seemed genuinely interested. She nodded eagerly and rested her chin on her knuckles. “I’d like to hear too.”
Ginny was the only one who was likely to be bored stiff by the play-by-play, but that was the price she paid for running with street racers.
I told them everything from the moment I’d left the line to the moment I’d crossed it at the end. They seemed horrified that Sid had tried to run me off the road. I hadn’t been surprised by it at all. I told them about how I got around him—twice—and about fitting through the narrow lane. Benji could attest to how narrow the entrance actually was, and he shook his head in disbelief at how close I was to crashing into the side of one of the buildings going almost a hundred and thirty miles an hour.
Ginny was still sucking her drink through her straw and had nearly reached the bottom. She probably would have been better off just doing the second tequila shot.
I finished my story, and they bombarded me with questions. I answered some until I grew bored with the conversation, and then I diverted the conversation to other subjects. It always circled back to the race, and when Ginny told Laina she’d looked like a badass when she waved the red flag, I agreed. “It was a nice way to start a race after being out of the game for so long.”
I could feel Benji staring at me. Laina blushed and tucked loose strands of wild, wavy hair behind her ear. It was a mess from the rain and the humidity of the lower level of the bar, but I thought she looked gorgeous. A natural beauty.
“Thank you,” she said. I could barely hear h
er. I think I only knew what she said because I was staring at her full, pink lips. Her red lipstick had worn off with the rain and her beers, revealing a perfect shade of very kissable pink.
Maybe I should cool it on the beers. She was Benji’s sister, after all.
But those leather pants and those tits… damn. She was fine as hell. And she didn’t seem to have any clue how hot she was.
Fuck it.
I left the table and went back up to the bar to order us another round of drinks. I bought some shots that weren’t tequila so Ginny could partake and returned with a tray of liquor. I passed them around and caught Laina smiling at me.
I winked at her.
She scooped up a dark purple shot and smelled it. She seemed to approve because she held onto it as everyone else claimed their drinks. I offered my brother some, but he shook his head. He would stay sober. One of us had to get the Mustang home, and he told me I deserved the celebration. I accepted his offer, and like we were all goofy teenagers, we tossed back two or three shots each, washed them down with a beer, and let our drunken stupors take hold.
The music doubled in loudness, and Laina danced in her seat. Ginny leaned into Rick, who was watching her with amusement as she told him a nearly incoherent story about something that happened to her earlier in the week. She was laying on all her charms, which was amusing to watch since she was a little past drunk.
Rick seemed entertained too, and he watched her with an almost enamored look in his eye.
I knew my brother well. He was at least a little bit curious about her.
I looked back at Laina. Her shoulders were swaying to the beat of the music, and her right foot was tapping on the bar of her stool.
I stood up and offered her my hand. “Want to dance?”
Laina’s turquoise eyes slid from my hand to my face, and she grinned. She slapped her hand into mine, and I guided her from her seat. We left the booth, and Benji caught my eye. I gave him a broad smile, and he shook his head.
He wasn’t stopping me—which he could have if he wanted to. I’d respect that.