Third Wheel (Elton Hall Chronicles Book 3)

by Sarah Fischer

“Yeah, I’m excited. Are you racing today?” I was wondering why she didn’t need to be at the race early.

  “No, I had a class project so I wasn’t able to get my car ready in time,” she said and pulled out of the lot.

  “Where do you go?”

  “Same as you and Shane. Elton Hall.”

  “Oh, sorry. I haven’t seen you there.” I quickly thought back, scouring my brain to think of a time I might have seen her, but I came up empty.

  “I mostly go at night. I have to work during the week to pay for tuition.”

  “What are you studying?”

  “Law. I’m going to be a kickass lawyer one day.”

  “I believe it.” And I did. She had that confident and formidable air that screamed lawyer. “Is that why you race? For some extra cash.”

  “At first. But it became my release. I work in a law firm as a secretary. My grandmother knew someone and helped me get the job. I’m there forty hours a week, and then in class four days a week right after it. It’s hard, and sometimes I just need a break from it all. Nothing beats the rush you feel when you race. Now, I race for enough money to race next week and get my fix.”

  “I like that. Shane let me ride his bike today and I felt the same thing. Well, something like it.”

  “It’s even better when you drive.”

  “Oh, I was driving.”

  Emma turned and looked at me, mouth agape and eyes slowly blinking. “He let you drive? Have you been on a bike before?”

  “Well, I’ve ridden with Shane, but it was my first time taking control.”

  “That’s a really big deal.”

  “It was just for, like, an hour or so. It’s not like he gave me the bike,” I told her, confused why she was making a big deal about this.

  “I think the fact that you don’t get it explains just how big of a deal it is. Bikes aren’t like a car. You don’t just let anyone ride. There has to be like a stupid amount of trust for Shane to put his life on the line and let you drive. An inexperienced rider could be really dangerous.”

  “I never thought about it that way,” I said and stared out the window. I guess he did trust me. I was just walking around his apartment with a key. But then again, I trusted him. I’m not even sure why. We haven’t known each other for that long, but something deep in my gut said that Shane was worth it. This thing between us, was worth it.

  I decided not to explain that to Emma. It wouldn’t come out right, especially after I had just mentioned my ex to her. Besides, she may tell Shane before I had the chance to and that seemed wrong.

  We were quiet for the rest of the way and Emma pulled into a makeshift spot near the line of other spectators. Shane was leaning under the hood of his car, his glorious ass high in the air. I smiled. He was the sexiest when he wasn’t trying to show off. But he was the cutest when he did.

  Emma started to walk away, but I quickly followed after her. “Wait, are you planning to go to Homecoming next week? I know it’s a Saturday, so you may be here, but my friend Annabelle and I are going to get ready at my house, and I thought it’d be fun if you came too.”

  She smiled at me and looked down at her feet. “Um, actually, I’ve never been to a dance, so I don’t think it’s for me.”

  “Oh, come on! I didn’t get to go to prom either, and I missed last year’s Homecoming because my boyfriend couldn’t make it back in time. So it’s my first dance too. It’s gonna be a lot of fun, and if it sucks, you can just leave. I’m gonna ask Shane to go with me, so you’ll know us. There are no rules about who you can bring, so pick a date and come.”

  She kicked the dirt with her boots and looked around. “Deal, but I don’t think I’m gonna bring a date. I’d much rather come and dance with everyone else’s.”

  We laughed and exchanged numbers.

  I walked over to Shane and grabbed a handful of ass, surprising him.

  “I hope that’s Christie, because if it’s Max, it might be bad for the other racers to see me offering you sexual favors.”

  “Well, I guess it’s good that it’s me.”

  He slid out from under the hood and looked me over. “You look beautiful. Much better than last week.”

  “I don’t know,” I said as he gave me a kiss on the cheek. “The sweatpants were really comfortable.”

  “You looked good in them too. Did you guys get here all right? Did Emma’s car break down again?”

  “No, we were fine. Just talking about some things.”

  “That can’t be good,” he said, and ran his hands through his hair.

  “It’s not a big deal. We were talking about Homecoming. It’s next Saturday, so I’m not gonna be able to come to the race. Well, I probably can, but I may be a little late.”

  “Oh yeah.”

  “Yeah, and I was hoping you might be able to talk to Max about racing later in the night because I’d like you to come with me, if that’s okay.”

  “Will this count as dancing all night in a club?” he asked, reciting one of the things off my list.

  “Since I don’t have a fake ID yet, and all the clubs in this area are for people over 21, then, yeah, I say it counts.”

  “I promised you I’d make your list happen, so I guess I gotta go.” He gave me a chaste kiss on the lips and winked as he pulled away.

  “Great, Emma is gonna come too, but like not in a threesome kind of way, just in a tag along kind of way.”

  “That’s a shame,” he said, and I hit his arm.

  “Shut up.” I gave him another hit for good measure and then continued. “I thought she’d bring Frank, but she said she wanted to go solo.”

  “Yeah, I heard things were a little rocky with Frank,” Shane told me as he draped his arm around my shoulder and steered me over to Max’s van.

  “Did he do something? What happened?”

  “Oh, that’s right. You don’t know Emma. She doesn’t really date long term. It’s mostly they hook up for a few weeks and then she moves on. Frank was just her latest victim.”

  “Well, at least she has fun.”

  Shane and Max talked for a bit while I looked around at all the racers. Chuck and Heather seemed to be fighting again, and Newbie Troy was talking smack with a couple other drivers I didn’t know. Then, I heard it. It was the unmistakable sound of a slap. Heather was on the ground and I rushed over to her.

  “Leave her the fuck alone,” I yelled at Chuck as I dropped to the ground to check on Heather’s rapidly swelling eye.

  “Stay out of this, bitch. You don’t know what you’re dealing with.” He raised his hand at me and I closed my eyes, bracing myself for the impact, but it never came.

  I opened my eyes and looked up to see Shane standing over Chuck, who was holding his bleeding nose. “You okay?” he asked, holding his hand out to help me up.

  “Yeah, I’m fine.” I then supported a dazed Heather, helping her to her feet beside me.

  “Good. Chuck, I think you should probably head home for a while,” Shane ordered. “How about we get to racing?” Shane looked around at everyone, then glared at Chuck still on the ground.

  Frank and Max walked over to Chuck with nasty looks, hopefully signaling that he wasn’t welcome.

  He took my hand and hurried me away. “Are you crazy? What the hell were you doing jumping in the middle of that? He could have done something to you too. This isn’t his first time acting out against his girl.”

  “And what, you guys all stand there? Big tough men, you are.” I glared at him, furious at the wimp he’d proven to be. I thought he was better than that. Hell, I wanted him to be better than that.

  Shane grabbed my arm, pulling me close. “Do you know why I was there to block that prick from hitting you? I was coming to help her too. Don’t insult me, thinking I’d be okay with a man treating a woman like that.”

  I exhaled a sigh of relief. “You’re right, I’m sorry.” I rearranged my face so it wasn’t so irate and then looked over at Heather. She was with Emma, crying on her sho
ulder, and the rage came back. “But why does he keep coming back then? You guys let him do this and then race?”

  “Look, it’s not that simple. I don’t make the rules in this world. Max only sees dollar signs, and Chuck bets big, and usually loses even bigger. The world isn’t perfect. What do you want me to do?”

  I looked at the pain in his eyes, and then at my feet. I shouldn’t have assumed that Shane would let something like this slide. He had a good heart. But this asshole needed a lesson. “Go tell Max you’re gonna race him tonight. If he loses, he can’t come back.”

  Shane smiled big and gave me a kiss. “You always surprise me. For a bet like that, he’s gonna want some big cash. Let me see if I can borrow some from a couple guys. I definitely didn’t bring enough.”

  I grabbed my purse and pulled out a wad of a thousand dollars. “I wanted to do some betting, so I went to the bank. Race with that.”

  “That’s very sweet, but I’m not taking your money.” He turned around and started to walk toward Max. I grabbed his arm and stopped him.

  “I want him gone. He’s gonna hit a woman, I’m gonna take something he loves away.” I stood firm, the money in my hand, and my eyes burning a hole through Shane. It felt important for me to be a part of this. I wanted to show Heather I stood up for her. People were willing to fight for her.

  Shane took the money wad out of my hand and kissed me again. “Don’t worry, I’ll be handing this, and a lot more, back to you after I kick his ass.”

  “You’d better. I want to keep betting.”

  Chapter 13

  Shane and Chuck were going to race first while everyone was still hyped up on the drama. I gave Shane a kiss and then a thought hit my mind.

  “Why didn’t you want to race Chuck last week when he called you out?” Shane had rejected the call out and raced Newbie Troy instead. I thought it was to impress me, but now I wasn’t sure. A bad feeling crept through me and I wasn’t used to ignoring those.

  “Chuck tends to race a little dirty. I didn’t want things to get out of hand with you watching me,” he said and then stroked my cheek gently.

  “What do you mean, he races dirty? Are you trying to tell me I just put you in danger?” I asked and shoved him hard.

  “You’re not allowed to cross the centerline and Chuck has done it twice in close races, claiming he lost control of the wheel. Both times he was losing by about a fender. He just gets mad and reacts. One of the drivers ended up in the hospital. Chuck clipped the back of his car.”

  “Why the hell wouldn’t you tell me this?” I hit him again, feeling dread flow through me. I’d majorly screwed up. By trying to protect Heather, I’d just put Shane in a lot of danger. He never even questioned it. I asked him to do something, and he said yes. I was officially the second worst person here tonight. I covered my face with my hands, afraid to even look at him.

  “The other driver was fine, and the guy made it out of the hospital a few days later.” He pulled my hands off my face and kissed my knuckles. “See, my plan is just to be so far ahead of Chuck that this isn’t even an issue.” He smiled and pulled me into a kiss. “It’s cute that you’re worried.”

  I growled and backed away from him a little. “See how cute I am if you end up in the hospital,” I warned. “

  “Will you be wearing a sexy nurse outfit while I heal?”

  “No, I’m going to call your mother.”

  The smile on his face faded instantly. “That’s not funny.”

  “Then don’t lose,” I told him and I walked off so he could get ready for the race.

  ***

  Shane drove up to the starting line and I held my breath. Max reiterated that if Chuck lost, he’d have to find himself a new place to race. If he won, he’d win three thousand in cash and be the number one on the list. Shane and Chuck agreed, and the flashlight was blinked. The guys took off with a roar of thunder and flames.

  My heart pounded as Shane pulled ahead, but he didn’t have the lead he was hoping for. Chuck was mere inches behind him and I felt a rush of sheer terror overwhelm me. I could barely watch the rest of it when Emma took my hand. I squeezed hard as we watched Shane cross the finish line first, but just as he did, Chuck clipped the back of his car. My eyes grew wide and I felt pain. Just pain everywhere. It was almost like I was in the accident too.

  Shane went spinning out of control with a light pole coming dangerously close to him. I screamed, or at least I think I did, as I couldn’t hear anything other than my heart beating rapidly in my ears. I tried to run to the scene, but Emma grabbed me and held me down.

  “Don’t go. The nitrous in his car could cause a fire or an explosion. The guys will get him,” Emma shouted as I fought to get her off me. This only confirmed that I needed to be there.

  I elbowed Emma in the face and she let go of me on instinct to grab her nose. I rushed over to where Shane was, but stopped short. He was climbing out of the car through the passenger side. I let out a sigh of relief that he was all right, and then picked up speed to be by his side when his feet hit the ground.

  Frank was with him when I caught up. He was standing, but nursing a deep cut on his arm. I opened my purse and grabbed some tissues, pressing them against his forearm.

  “Ow, Christie, that hurts,” he hissed, cringing.

  “Then you shouldn’t have crashed!” I replied, wiping at the tears of relief falling down my cheeks.

  “At least I don’t have to go to the hospital,” he told me, smiling up at me.

  “The hell you don’t. What if this needs stitches or you have a concussion?”

  “Well, we have a sort of doctor here who can stitch up my arm, and I was wearing a helmet, so I should be fine. But if you’re concerned, they say that a concussion patient needs to be kept awake for the night. I can think of one or two things we can do during that time.”

  I laughed and kissed him. “Not even close. I said I wouldn’t be your nurse.”

  Frank cleared his throat. “How about we get this cleaned up for the next race, and you guys finish this later? Besides, Ollie should take a look at that cut. It’s pretty gross.”

  “Agreed,” I said and we both helped Shane get up.

  Chuck didn’t even stop. He just kept driving as if he hadn’t caused the accident.

  ***

  Ollie was in medical school and came to race for the same reason as Emma, he was constantly stressed and needed a relief. The racers used him as a doctor, so no one had to explain to an emergency room what happened. If it was mild enough, he took care of it. If not, he usually called a friend at the hospital nearby. Luckily, he wasn’t needed most nights.

  He was a nice guy and stitched Shane’s arm up pretty quickly. After that, we watched the rest of the races from on top of the hood of one of his friend’s cars.

  “So, what’s going to happen to your car?” I asked him after one of the races.

  “One of the guys will tow it to the shop we use and we’ll work on it. I probably won’t be able to race next week, so we can enjoy the dance.”

  “Way to look on the bright side,” I said, giving him a gentle kiss. “Are you sure you feel all right?”

  “If you ask me that again, I’m gonna start lying and tell you I’m dying. I just have some bumps and bruises that will be fine in no time.”

  “I feel guilty. Maybe I shouldn’t have asked you to race.”

  “Someone shoulda done it a long time ago. You were right, that asshole lost the only thing he loved tonight. It feels good that I got to take it away.”

  “It’s damn sexy too.”

  “Oh yeah? We could go over to the field. No one will miss us.”

  “You just got out of a bad car crash and you want sex?”

  “At no point will I ever look at you and not want sex. Just assume that if I’m staring in your direction, I’m picturing you naked. It’s pretty much a guarantee that if I even so much as glance at you, I’m thinking of all the dirty things I’d like to do to you. And if I dare t
o gaze at you from afar, I’m remembering all the things you did to me the last time I had you.”

  “Holy shit.” I grabbed his hand and we climbed off the car. “I guess since you got in a car accident, I’ll be doing all the work.”

  “It’d be a nice change.”

  “Shut up.”

  ***

  Shane and I spent Sunday on the couch watching television. He didn’t want to admit it, but he I knew he was sore all over. He kept covering his groans with laughter and jokes, but he couldn’t hide it from his eyes.

  I made us food, and helped him take a shower without getting his stitches wet. I did everything but what I really wanted to do. He kept insisting he felt fine and we could mess around, he even tried to start something once, but I ended that when I noticed how fast his breathing was coming. Shane finally admitted that it hurt to breathe.

  I tried to stay over Sunday, but Shane insisted he would be fine. “Listen, we both know your mom would freak out if you stayed out another night. Just go home and I’ll get some sleep. If I need you, I’ll call.”

  “But what if something happens while I’m gone?”

  “Like what? I’m just sore. Nothing is going to change, and if it does, I’ll just call Emma. She lives two blocks over and can get here fast.”

  “I’m going to text her to make sure she knows that she’s gonna be on call, since I know you won’t tell her. Then I’ll stop by in the morning before class.”

  “See? You are nursing me back to health. I knew you were full of shit.”

  “Don’t make me call your mother to check on you.”

  “I’ll be fine. Don’t worry so much about it. I will call Emma if I need to and I’ll see you in the morning.” He gave me a kiss and reluctantly walked me to the door.

  “Wait, your key,” I said and extended it to him.

  “Nah, you keep it. I might need you to come in and take care of me again. It’ll help if I end up bedridden after all of this.”

  I rolled my eyes and headed out, nervous I had to explain to Annabelle why I bailed on decorations. That actually might be more dangerous than getting home after ten.