People smirked and cackled.
“When have I ever needed help winning a race? Real drivers win on their own merit, not because someone helped them.”
“You’re seriously gonna stand here in front of your entire territory and side with that bitch pro over your own brother who is loyal to you!” he yelled.
“Kurt. You didn’t do that back there out of loyalty to me. You did that because you’re pissed you were losing to a woman.”
Kurt rushed Jace, like a bull in a china shop. His head dropped down, his shoulders jutted out, and he charged.
Jace barely even moved. In seconds, he swept Kurt’s feet out from beneath him and had him on his back. I pushed to stand between Drew and Trent to get a better view at what was going down. Drew’s hand cupped my elbow like he thought he might have to restrain me.
Jace leaned down, grabbed fistfuls of Kurt’s shirt, and yanked his upper body off the asphalt. “I ever see you raise a hand to a woman again, I’ll blacklist you.”
He sputtered and floundered, trying to get out of Jace’s hold. “She swung first! That ain’t right. A man should be able to defend himself.”
Jace’s upper lip curled. “If you need to defend yourself against a woman, you need to ask yourself why.”
With that, he tossed Kurt back down and crossed his arms. “Get the fuck out of here.”
“I won the pot,” he said, scrambling up. “That money is rightfully mine.”
Jace measured him for a long moment. Everyone waited to see what he would say. I swear the tension in the air was so thick it was hard to breathe.
“Give him the money,” Jace said, gruff, to a guy at the edge of the crowd. I think he’d called him Beneto earlier.
After that, everyone seemed to sense the drama was over. It was as if Jace told them it was finished without saying a word. People started talking again, moving off in groups like nothing even happened.
Jace stayed in place, his body still rigid, as Kurt pocketed the money and got in his Nissan.
Drew and Trent turned their eyes to me.
“That was some fucked-up shit,” Drew drawled.
“You got a nice right hook,” Trent added.
I laughed beneath my breath and exhaled. “That guy had it coming. He tried to run me off the road more than once tonight, and when that didn’t work, he tried to blind me with his high beams.”
Drew’s mouth thinned. “No rules racing,” he murmured. “Some guys think no rules also means no honor.”
“You totally would have won if he hadn’t pulled that punk-ass move,” Trent announced.
“No way in hell.”
The guys turned toward Jace, who was fast approaching. I glanced over at Kurt’s disappearing taillights.
All three guys measured each other, and everyone else seemed to have switched into party mode, so I took the split second of reprieve and shook out my hand.
Ouch.
I didn’t go around punching guys very often, and my poor fingers were feeling it.
“Admit it, Lorhaven,” Drew ribbed. “She’s a damn good driver.”
He shrugged. “She still lost.”
I shook my head. I actually thought he was better than that. “Didn’t peg you for a driver who took a win based on a technicality.”
“There are no technicalities in racing,” he retorted. “You’re either first over the finish line or you’re not.”
Drew didn’t say anything, but deep in his eyes, I saw he agreed.
“All right.” I relented. I wasn’t a sore loser. “You win. Nice driving out there tonight.”
Surprise flickered in his eyes, like he didn’t expect I would accept the code of the street. A slow smile pulled his full mouth upward and reminded me of what it was like to feel it slanting over mine.
“Thank you.” he said. The words sounded rusty coming out of his lips, like using manners wasn’t something he was accustomed to.
Big surprise there.
“So per our bet, I believe there’s something you owe me.”
I rolled my eyes. “I suppose you plan to collect right now?”
Please say yes.
^^^^I think I might be having a psychotic break.
“No time like the present.” His onyx eyes locked on mine. A light shiver worked its way down my spine. “Show me what you got underneath that hood.”
Lorhaven
Drew and Trent appointed themselves Joey’s protectors.
I’d just seen her literally coldcock some guy after racing a car through dark backroads she’d likely never been on before.
I was pretty sure she could take care of herself.
Didn’t stop you from jumping in when Kurt went after her.
I was an asshole. I’d broken a lot of laws, and no one actually liked me. They just liked my status.
However…
Men didn’t hit women. Period.
And they especially didn’t do it on my territory.
Besides, Kurt fucking deserved what he got. I saw the way he rode her the entire race. It was almost like he wasn’t racing for the cash, but just as an excuse to try and hurt her.
She managed it well, better than a lot of the guys I knew. Joey could handle a car; that much was crystal clear. It was also clear tonight wasn’t the first time she’d had to deal with someone like Kurt.
It was like I said, though. There were no technicalities in racing, just wins and losses. I won tonight. A bet was a bet.
I had no idea when I’d see her again, so I was collecting before I let her out of my sight.
Looking at her definitely wasn’t a hardship, and tonight, she’d taught me a lesson. Women who drove like badasses, threw punches without hesitation, and filled out a pair of jeans while they did it were my ultimate type.
Sexy. As. Hell.
I’d started the race with a damn stiffy. It only went down when I saw her car take a nudge from Kurt and spin off to the side.
But no worries. It recovered. My dick was a champ like that. Couldn’t much keep him down for long. The second she’d marched out of her car and literally drew blood from Kurt’s face, I was back to rocking some wood.
The old airport always had a certain stillness about it after the sun went down. The slightly too long grass around the strips of asphalt, the old abandoned planes sitting like giant relics no one cared about anymore, and weeds poking up between cracks on the roads.
We had four hangars with cars in them.
All of them were metal buildings with wide doors on the front that opened to allow small plane storage. We used them to drive our cars in and out.
One of the four hangars was set up like a garage, and at the back was where Arrow stayed.
I didn’t like that he lived here.
I’d asked, ordered, and demanded he come live with me. I had a townhouse not too far from here, and there was more than enough room for him.
He refused to budge, refused to move in. I knew he liked his space and he liked being here with the objects of his passion.
But there was more to it than that.
He’d never said it out loud, and I never called him out, but I knew there was a part of Arrow that thought living in a garage was what he deserved.
I tried not to think of that often, because, frankly, it cut me like nothing else did.
The guilt I felt when I thought of my brother and the shit I missed was unmatched. Which was probably why when push came to shove, I never forced him out of here.
Besides him thinking he didn’t deserve better than a hangar, this place was his solace. It was a retreat. The fences surrounding the property, the locked gate…
It afforded a sense of safety.
Violently, I shoved away those thoughts. I was already in a tenuous enough state without adding all my demons to the mix.
The Lotus was first through the gate of the airport. Behind me was the yellow Skyline, then the Fastback, and finally Arrow and his Camaro.
When Joey refused to pop the hoo
d right there on the street in front of everyone partying, I suggested we go somewhere a little more private.
She agreed, but so did her bodyguards.
I told them they weren’t invited, yet here they were.
Whatever. My brother liked them.
And I guess they weren’t that bad. I had to respect the fact they were looking out for her.
I stopped in front of Arrow’s hangar, and everyone else pulled up alongside me.
Arrow hit the remote he carried in his car, and the large door drifted open. The front center was empty, and once the door was open far enough, he pulled the black Camaro inside where he parked it every night.
Probably kissed it before he went to bed, too.
I snorted. Loser.
Even though it was dark, there were tall streetlights lining the perimeter of the property. It wasn’t a huge airport, but there was a lot of land.
The lights cast a yellowish tone about. One of the lamps closest to us flickered and made a buzzing sound. The air was balmy and warm; a breeze moved around us. It always seemed a little windier here, and I wondered if it was because of the lack of trees.
Joey was all business once she was out of the car. I heard her pull the latch for the hood, and she moved around like she was going to prop it open right there.
I liked a person who paid their debts.
“Whoa.” I stalled her. “It’s too dark out here. You can pull it in there,” I said, pointing to another hangar. It was a short distance away, on the other side of the one next to Arrow’s.
“What’s wrong with that one?” she asked, motioning toward the closer one.
“It’s already got cars in it. No room.”
“That one over there has some garage space so it would be better,” Arrow said, backing me up.
“Whatever,” Joey said.
“Be right behind you,” Drew called from near his Mustang.
Joey waved and returned to her seat behind the wheel and coasted over to where I’d instructed. Arrow jogged into the open hangar and hit a button so the door would open up.
“There a reason you’re so up her ass, Forrester?” I challenged before he could scurry to follow.
Drew swung around to look at me. Trent pushed his partway opened door back closed. “There a reason you’re trying to get rid of us?”
“Besides the fact I don’t like you?” I drawled.
Arrow cut in. “I thought you guys were friends now.”
Little brothers. Making everything harder since the day they were born.
“I’m thinking this don’t have to do so much with friendship,” Trent said. Damn him and his knowing tone.
“Fuck you, Mask,” I shot out. “Y’all wanna stay and hang out with my brother, go for it. But that hangar over there ain’t big enough for the five of us.”
Trent smirked. Sometimes I really just wanted to punch the guy.
Drew shoved away from his car and strode forward. If it weren’t for his light hair, he would totally blend in with the night. His black jeans, jacket, and T-shirt gave him a cloak of partial invisibility.
“You look like a floating head.” I scoffed, watching him approach.
“Good. Then you won’t see my fists coming when I start throwing them.”
My eyes narrowed. We stepped up to each other, measuring for weaknesses. Behind us, I felt Trent and Arrow watching as if they thought a fight were imminent.
“What’s your deal with Joey?” He spoke low.
“Deal is I get to look under her hood.”
“Which hood you talking about right now?”
My tongue slipped over my front teeth, and I half snarled. “I’m pretty sure she can take care of herself.”
“I’m positive if you fuck with her, you’ll see a side of me you’ve never seen.” Forrester vowed, speaking forcefully and only at a volume I would hear.
“You really think I’m gonna hurt her?” I asked. I wished instantly I could take back the words. Not because of what I said, but the way in which I said it. It was like I practically admitted to wanting more with her than just to fulfill the terms of a race.
So? Maybe I did.
Maybe I wanted to fuck her brains out.
That wasn’t Forrester’s business. Neither was the fact I was appalled at the thought of hurting her.
“Before tonight, I would have said absolutely.” Drew shifted, relaxing a fraction.
“And now?” I prompted.
“After having seen you bolt into action the exact same moment T and I did when that fuckwad Kurt went at her, now I’m more inclined to say maybe not.”
“Was that a ringing endorsement, Forrester?” I grinned.
He snorted. “Yeah, and I’m the tooth fairy.”
“Good talk.” I slapped him on the shoulder. “Beer’s in the fridge. Help yourself.”
He grabbed my arm as I was pulling it back. “I’m serious, Lorhaven. She’s not one of your so-called street rats.
I yanked my arm out of his grip. “Yeah, well, she ain’t a wilting violet. She don’t need you trailing her everywhere she goes.”
He glanced away, then back.
I folded my arms over my chest. “Say it.”
“Gamble asked me to keep an eye on her.” He admitted.
“You mean spy,” I spat, actually feeling pissed on her behalf. “I thought you were friends.”
“We are,” he said, tight. “Which is why I agreed.” He paused, then sighed. “Look, when Ron Gamble asks you to keep an eye on someone and help with the crossover, he has his reasons. This is his daughter, man. He wasn’t asking me as a businessman. He came to me as a father.”
“Why is he so concerned?” I asked.
He shook his head. “I don’t know. Maybe he’s just being a dad.”
But Drew didn’t think that. He thought Gamble had reasons, so he agreed, because truthfully, I knew Drew and Trent cared about Joey.
Have you been hazed? The question Emily asked Joey the day of the interview floated through the back of my head. Right after it came Joey’s PC reply.
Was that it? Did Ron Gamble find out Joey was being hassled?
Seemed like a man like him would just squash that problem then and there. There had to be more to it.
“I’m not going to hurt her,” I stated.
He cut right to the chase. “But you might fuck her.”
I felt my grin slowly spread. “Oh, I’m definitely gonna do that.”
Drew’s eyes narrowed.
“Don’t you worry, Forrester. She’s gonna like it.”
Joey
Drew and Jace were having words.
Funny how he was no longer Lorhaven to me, not at all. He’d slowly, over the course of the past week and a half, become Jace.
The article was a big push in that direction, and it wasn’t because he was so sensitive and sweet in it. Those two words could probably never be used in the same sentence with him anyway.
Sensitive and sweet would never be my thing. I was too jaded for that. Too independent. I wanted strong. I wanted capable. I craved a man who would be confident and resilient enough to handle me, even at my worst.
It was cumbersome to be a “rough and tumble” woman. I still searched for balance. Balance between the woman I was and the one deep inside that wanted something… maybe just a little softer to give all the hard edges in me a break.
Strength was the only thing that could achieve that softness, though. Most would assume the opposite, that in order to give me something soft, they would have to be soft.
Not true.
Authority was the key in allowing someone like me to be vulnerable. So was trust. I could never trust someone with that side of me if they weren’t made of steel. Not many men were made that solid. It wasn’t something that was learned. It was a trait one was born with and honed with life.
I wasn’t sure if Jace was that man.
But I found myself more and more drawn to him, more and more interested to find out.
Watching him even yards away as he and Drew seemed to size one another up, I felt it. He still looked like Lorhaven. Tension and danger emanated off him; so did his asshole persona. Danger permeated the energy always surrounding him, and he was still as smug and sexy as he’d ever been.
But there was more.
I thought I might be the only one to see it. To feel it.
No. He wasn’t Lorhaven to me anymore.
He could only be Jace.
And I wanted more.
The two men broke apart, Drew remained planted where he was, but Jace started toward me and the hangar.
I felt his eyes, Drew’s, and Trent’s.
First, I glanced at Jace. He was shrouded in the darkness, but the familiar way he walked and the way his hips swiveled was entirely visible.
Excitement tingled my nerves, causing my belly to jump.
In an effort to calm myself, I looked to Drew, who still stood in the same position, only now Trent was right beside him. Both men looked at me like they waited for a sign, some kind of gesture to let them know I didn’t want to be alone with Jace.
But I did want to be alone with him.
I waved, a sort of see you later kind of wave, then dropped my hand.
They stared for one more long moment before Arrow called out to them. My stare followed his call; he was inside the hangar beside the black Camaro, with a few bottles of beer in his hands.
Drew and Trent relented and went toward their friend.
More excitement unfurled inside me.
Jace was much closer now. His hands were in the front pockets of his jeans, and his footsteps were heavy against the ground. He was tall, he had a good, strong build, but he wasn’t huge like Trent. He didn’t need it, though, because everything about him screamed strength.
His dark hair looked a lot like it had the last time I saw him (at the shoot), cut very close on the sides, but the top was long and brushed back off his face. The angular planes to his face might have been too much, but the light dusting of scruff over his jaws served to dull the edges.
And make him look even sexier.
He arrived close enough all his features were visible from the light inside the hangar. It didn’t matter how much light there was, though—whether it be the dim lighting from an overhead behind us or the brightest light from a bright sun—his eyes remained the same.
#Swag (GearShark #3) Page 12