by Parker, Ali
I blinked. “He didn’t qualify for Saturday’s race?”
“No.” Rick shook his head. “He placed twelfth.”
“Fuck.”
“Yep. He’s been brooding about it. I’d watch my step if I were you. Maybe close your bedroom door if you decide to let Laina sleep naked in your bed with you?”
I shrugged. “If he doesn’t want to see, he shouldn’t come into my room.”
Rick laughed. “Now that logic right there is what’s going to fuck your shit up, man.”
I chuckled too. I stopped when it hurt my ribs.
“So what’s going on with you and her? Really.”
I glanced over my shoulder and up the stairs to the still open door. I could see sunlight streaming out of it and could picture Laina still sleeping in my bed. “I don’t know yet,” I said.
“Bullshit. You’re into her.”
“Of course, I’m into her. I wouldn’t be doing this if I wasn’t. She’s the first girl since—” I stopped talking and shook my head. No sense in going there right now.
“Since Evelyn?”
I nodded.
Rick sighed. “Well, you’ve got good taste. I’ll give you that much. She’s a good girl, Mason. Try not to fuck it up, huh?”
“I’ll do my best,” I said.
“Speaking of Laina,” he said under his breath.
I twisted slowly around to look up the stairs. Laina was descending. Her thick mane of hair was curled wildly and tangled from sleeping. Her eyes were still a bit heavy, and her cheeks were flushed. She had on the same black jeans and black button-up she’d been wearing when she showed up last night. Her work uniform, I realized.
It looked good on her.
Then again, everything looked good on her.
She arrived at the bottom of the stairs, and Rick cleared his throat. “There’s more coffee left over in the pot if you’d like some.”
Laina smiled and disappeared into the kitchen. I listened to her prepare her coffee. Her spoon rattled against the mug as she stirred in the sugar.
“Thanks for offering me coffee,” I muttered.
Rick shrugged. “She’s prettier than you.”
Laina came back into the living room and sat beside me on the couch, tucking her legs up under herself to sit cross-legged. How she could sit like that, I had no idea. I’d lose all sensation in my legs if I tried it for even thirty seconds. But she seemed perfectly content and held her coffee in both hands as she sipped from the rim.
“How are you feeling this morning?” she asked me.
“Pretty good,” I said. And I meant it. Sure, I still had a dull headache and an aching body, but it was infinitely better than the intense, burning pain that had riddled my muscles the day before.
She smiled. Holy hell was she ever pretty when she smiled at me like that. “I’m glad. And how are you, Rick? Did you and my brother find a car?”
Rick nodded proudly. “We sure did. We found a nice little Boxster for Mason. He’s not too thrilled about it, but she handles like a dream, and she’s fast as hell. She’ll do the trick. I’m sure of it.”
“That’s great news,” Laina said.
“And what’s better is we learned we might have a lot of people in our corner,” Rick said.
Laina’s eyebrows climbed upward, and she looked back and forth between my brother and I. “How do you mean?”
“Well, the guy who’s lending Mason the car told us he’s been waiting for someone to come around and stick it to Sid and Mark for a long time now. They’ve changed the underground racing scene. It’s not as inclusive as it used to be, and guys have been dropping out because of the shit they played on Saturday night. It’s too dangerous.”
I could feel Laina’s eyes on me as I considered Rick’s words. She sipped her coffee and then asked, “What are you thinking about, Mason?”
I lifted my gaze to meet Rick’s eye. “Maybe it’s time we get out in front of this thing. Maybe playing in the shadows wasn’t the right approach.”
“I’m listening,” Rick said.
I forced myself to sit up straight. “Maybe we should let everyone in on the shit that’s been going down. If Kline is on our side, maybe other people are too. We can take the power away from Mark and Sid by having the sheer numbers behind us. It’ll make us a harder target to hit. Even on the road.”
“I like where your head is at,” Rick said. His smile was sly, devious.
Laina put her coffee down on the side table. “Are you guys sure this is a good idea? Do we really want to get more people involved with these two assholes than absolutely necessary?”
“Says the girl who punched Sid in the face,” Rick said.
Laina lifted her chin. “That’s not the point.”
“What is the point then?” I asked.
She bit her bottom lip. “The point is, you could be starting a bigger fight than you need to. What if you’re wrong? What if Sid has more people behind him than you realize?”
“It’s a chance I’m willing to take,” I said. “Besides, we already tried the low-key route. It didn’t work. Rick got his ass kicked, and then, well, you know what happened to me. I’m ready to try a new strategy. One that those bastards won’t see coming.”
Rick lifted his coffee mug in the air. “I’ll toast to that.”
Chapter 22
Laina
The hot stones being rubbed on the bottom of my feet felt heavenly after the last couple of days I’d had. The young woman doing my pedicure smiled up at me. “Is it too hot”?
“No,” I said. “It’s perfect. Thank you.”
Ginny was beside me. Her chair was on full-blown massage mode, and her body was being jostled around as a rolling ball in the back of the chair pressed into her shoulder blades and spine. She groaned and nodded appreciatively. “We need to do this more often.”
“Agreed,” I said.
After the massage and spa portion of the pedicure was done, the estheticians set to work painting our toes. I had chosen a dark purple color with a bit of glitter in it, while Ginny had favored a hot pink. She looked over at me as she turned down the intensity of her chair so her foot wouldn’t be moving while it was painted. “I can’t believe I missed Saturday night. And all that shit went down. It’s insane.”
“Be glad you weren’t there. It sucked.”
“I bet. How’s Mason doing now?”
“Every day is a bit better than the last. He still has a long way to go.” I sighed and rubbed my temples. “He still wants to race on Saturday, and it’s putting me on edge. I don’t see how he's going to be in good enough shape to drive a car, let alone race the way these guys drive.”
Ginny frowned. “You think he’s pushing himself too hard?”
“I know he is. But there's nothing I can do about it. His mind is made up.”
“Then you can just be there. That’s all you can do.”
“I know.”
“And how’s Rick? Is he feeling better?”
I smiled at her.
“What?” Ginny asked defensively.
“Nothing,” I laughed. “He’s better. Much better. Still not a hundred percent but well on his way.”
“Good,” Ginny said softly. Then she put her chin in her hand and leaned closer to me. “So how was your night at his place last night?”
I blushed. “I don’t want to talk about this here.”
“Oh, who cares? Nobody’s paying any attention. You crashed at his place?”
“Yes,” I said.
“And?”
“And what?”
“Did you two hook up?”
I rolled my eyes. “Yes. So what?”
“I’m not accusing you of anything.” Ginny laughed. “Why are you so defensive? I just want to talk about it.”
My cheeks still burned. “I don’t know. I get weird about it, I guess. Maybe because he’s Benji’s best friend. The whole situation is more complicated than I wish it was, that’s all. And I—”
&
nbsp; “You what?”
I chewed the inside of my cheek. “I really like him, Ginny. I mean it. He makes me feel… really good.”
“Oh, God.” Ginny giggled. “Too much information!”
“No! That’s not what I meant. I meant he makes me as a person feel good. Whole. Confident. He does make me feel good in that way too, but that’s not what I was talking about.”
Ginny gave me a knowing smile.
“You knew what I meant the whole time.”
“Of course I did,” she said with a chuckle. “You’re so easy sometimes. I couldn’t resist.”
By the time our polish had cured under the heat lamps, Ginny had picked my brain apart with questions about Mason. I was honest about everything, especially about how worried I was for him and how much I didn’t want him to race on Saturday. I felt better once it was off my chest and out in the open. Ginny had a way of calming my nerves, and she had always been a good listener.
We left the salon in the early afternoon. Ginny hooked her arm through mine. “Do you still have some free time? I could go for some lunch.”
“Sure. I’m in. What were you thinking?”
She pointed down the sidewalk. “A couple blocks down and to the left is a new café. They have a pretty interesting menu, and I’ve been meaning to give it a try. Thoughts?”
“Let’s do it,” I said.
She grinned, and we crossed the street. We passed storefronts with beautiful window displays and paused to look at a few pretty pieces of jewelry, a pair of shoes, and some nice dresses. But we kept our goal in mind and continued on our way to the restaurant.
We were almost there and crossing the mouth of an alley when a familiar male voice called my name. I turned toward it and instantly wished I hadn’t as a man with gold teeth pulled the hood of his sweater down and eyed me up and down. Sid.
He had a bit of a purple bruise on his jaw, and I felt a swell of pride. I’d done that.
“Where are you pretty ladies off to this fine afternoon?”
“Leave us alone,” I said. I had no time for niceties with this dick. He had shown me his seedy underbelly, and I wanted to avoid him like the plague.
“Come now, Laina. I’m just being nice and saying hello.”
“You don’t know the definition of nice,” I spat.
Sid beamed. “See? You do know me well. Better than you think. I’d say we were almost meant to be, but you know,” he sniffed and ran his thumb along the pale bruise on his jaw, “you’re sort of a bitch.”
He moved toward us, and Ginny gripped my arm. We retreated back a couple steps out of instinct, and then I regained my composure and held my ground. I wouldn't let a snake like Sid Paul think he could intimidate me, especially not right now when we were in the middle of a busy New York City sidewalk. Fuck him for even trying.
He came nose to nose with me. We were a good five or so feet into the alley off the main part of the road. “You’ve got balls, dollface. I’ll give you that.”
“Get out of our way,” I said.
Sid threw his head back and laughed. “That fire in you is such a fucking turn-on. One minute, I hate the sight of you, and the next, I’m raring to go. How is that possible?”
“Move,” I growled.
Sid bent forward. He was so close to me, I could smell his foul breath. “What are you going to do about it, princess? Are you going to make me? You going to hit me again? Maybe kick me in the balls?”
“I’ll scream,” Ginny said.
Sid’s eyes flicked to her. “Oh, you will, will you? Go ahead. Let’s hear that scream of yours.”
Ginny whimpered and pressed herself tighter up against me.
“I thought so,” Sid said, licking his lips. He turned back to me. “No more games. I came to deliver a message for you to pass along to Mason.”
I narrowed my eyes at him, and his grin broadened. His back teeth were dark with rot. “Well, go on then. What is it?” I barked.
“Tell him he’d better not show his face at the race on Saturday. If he does, we’ll make what happened to him this past weekend look like a cake walk. Mark my words, Laina. He’ll regret it.”
“Maybe you’re the one who shouldn’t come on Saturday,” I hissed.
Ginny tugged my arm. “Laina.”
I didn’t care. I wasn’t scared. Not of this clown. I knew he had the insides of a coward. So I stepped forward, closing what little space remained between him and me, and I put my hand flat on his chest and pushed him backward. “Nobody takes you seriously, Sid. Everyone laughs at you behind your back. You talk a big game, sure, but inside, you’re a weak, scared little boy who gets his kicks pushing people around because of a race. A glorified game. It’s pathetic.”
Sid snarled at me. He actually snarled like a rabid dog. Then he grabbed the front of my jacket. “That mouth of yours—”
“Will get me in a lot of trouble one day. I know,” I finished for him. Then I jerked my jacket out of his grip, took Ginny’s hand, and walked right around him. He turned and watched us go.
“You better watch your back, too, little girl,” Sid called after me.
I ignored him and kept walking. We rounded the corner, and then I pulled Ginny into the first building that was open to the public. It was a retail store that sold bath bombs, soaps, and lotions. Ginny’s eyes were wide as she rounded on me. “What the hell is wrong with you?”
“What?”
“You just picked a fight with that guy!”
“I was already on his bad side. I was the one who gave him that shiner.”
“You what?” she asked incredulously.
I tucked my hair behind my ears. “I must have left that part out when I told you about Saturday. I sort of lost my temper after the crash and punched Sid in the face and kicked Mark in the dick.”
“You kicked him in the… never mind.” Ginny shook her head “It doesn’t matter. What does matter is that you’re out there making threats to men who will fucking hurt you, Laina. Are you insane?”
“I’m not afraid of him.”
“But I am!” Ginny pressed her hand to her chest.
I frowned. I hadn’t even thought about her fear or the position I’d put her in. It was easy to risk myself, but I hadn’t even considered the risk my attitude posed to her. “Ginny, I’m sorry. I didn’t think about it. I just got so angry so quickly, and I had to make sure he knew I wasn’t going to back down.”
“I get it, Laina. Believe me, I do. But you need to be more careful. You need to call Mason.”
“Why?”
“He needs to know Sid threatened you. And him. Call him, please. I need him to know about this. For your sake. I’ll go sniff some bath bombs and give you privacy.”
I watched Ginny walk off. She stopped at a display of bath bombs and held true to her word. She picked up sample after sample and smelled them. Soon, she was tucking full-sized ones under her arm to buy.
I took my phone out of my purse and clicked Mason’s number. I hesitated to press the call button, but Ginny was right. Mason needed to know.
He answered on the third ring. He sounded a bit groggy. “Hey.”
“Hey,” I said. “Did I wake you up?”
“Nah, I was just—”
“Sleeping?”
He chuckled. “All right. Yeah. You caught me.”
“I’m sorry.”
“Don’t be. What’s up?”
I sighed. “Something happened.”
“Are you okay?” His voice was immediately filled with concern, and he sounded ten times more alert than he had seconds earlier.
“Yes, I’m fine. I’m with Ginny. We were walking over to a café, and Sid sort of cornered us.”
“What?” I could feel his anger through the phone.
“Yeah. He cornered us, and he told me to talk you out of racing. He threatened you. And I might have lipped off to him a bit.”
“Laina,” he said, exasperated. “Quit doing that shit, will you?”
“It’s a reflex.”
He groaned. “I don’t like this.”
“I’m not particularly fond of it either.”
He sighed. The line was quiet for a half a minute.
“Mason?”
“Yeah. Sorry. Fuck. This will all be over soon, but I don’t want to take any risks. Come over and stay with me until this is all behind us. I don’t like the idea of you being alone at your place right now, not with Sid acting like a fucking psychopath.”
“Really?”
“Yeah. Really. Come tonight.”
“I work until midnight tonight. Sometimes my shift runs later if we’re busy. How about tomorrow night? That will give me time to pack my stuff up.”
“Okay. I’ll see you tomorrow then?”
“Okay,” I said, unable to stop myself from smiling from ear to ear. “Tomorrow.”
“Good. I’ll see you then. Oh, and Laina?”
“Yes?”
“Stop trash talking criminals, will you? You’re going to get yourself in trouble.”
Chapter 23
Mason
I sucked in a pinched breath as I bent over to retrieve my jeans and shirt from the bedroom floor. After stripping out of them last night, I’d fallen right into bed. Now Laina was coming over to stay for who knew how long, and my house wasn’t in the best state—neither was I.
The pain wasn’t as bad as it had been. I could move around on my own fine and perform most of my daily tasks. Bending over, turning too quickly, or lifting anything that weighed more than fifteen or so pounds made my ribs scream bloody murder, though, so I’d left some of those tasks and put them off. But now that Laina was on her way, I had the strange urge to try to make everything as perfect as possible.
“Fuck,” I growled under my breath. When had I started to care this much? When had things gone from a fun, casual hook up after the bar that night to this full-blown need to impress?
I shook my head. This was the exact path I’d gone down with Evelyn. And that had left Rick with a bullet in his skull and me, lost and brooding, doomed to circle the bar scene in an attempt to forget how badly she’d hurt me by drowning my sorrows in booze. Mostly tequila and rum.