by Vera Hollins
The streetlights lining the parking lot cast dim light on his face. It accentuated the sharp lines of his cheeks and jaw and created enticing shadows, and I couldn’t stop studying him. He looked dangerous—a true playboy who could make any girl fall for him—but his eyes told a story of affection and need. I wanted to taste that affection and need on his lips.
“I’m not just one of many to be used,” I said.
“I know.”
“You can’t fuck me and then leave.”
“I know.”
“You can’t be with me if you’re not serious.”
He placed his hands on the sides of my head. “Satan? Guess what? I know. And since you’re so much of a control freak, I’ll sign it with my blood on your chest that I’m all yours.” He nibbled my lips. “And before you actually take me for my word, that was a joke.”
I cupped his chin and ran my thumb over the small hollow in it. “Too bad. I was actually getting ready to take a knife and cut you myself.”
He stared at me with an unreadable expression. “You have some strange fetishes, Satan, but save them for your voodoo dolls.”
I rolled my eyes. “Again with the voodoo dolls? You really have a weird perception of me. I bet you thought my room would be a witch’s swamp where I performed all sorts of nasty rituals.”
He grinned at me. “Exactly. So, imagine my surprise when I saw it was actually normal. A little dark, yes, but normal. And then there’s that lizard.” He gave me a cocky smile. “Who would’ve thought you had it in you? Mushiness at its finest.”
“Shut up.” I cupped his face, glad that he couldn’t see my red cheeks in the dark.
I tugged at his lower lip with my teeth before I ran my tongue slowly over it, smiling when I felt him shudder. If I moved just a little bit, I would be pressed against his hard-on, and the thought of it was thrilling. I shifted closer to him, feeling his hardness against my softness, and it was like two pieces of a puzzle fitting together perfectly. No fear. No disgust. No pain.
Awash with gratitude, I pressed my lips to his and gave him an almost bruising kiss, unleashing all those suppressed feelings that had burned to come to the surface. His fingers dug into my waist, bringing me even closer to him, and I never wanted this moment to end. I wanted to keep tasting him, keep discovering the different sides to him, and this journey was becoming my favorite roller coaster.
We didn’t stop kissing until much later, both breathless and hot. He started the car and headed back to the restaurant, where I’d left my car. He switched on the car radio and hit a preset for a different station and then another. Just then, I heard something that caught my attention.
“Wait,” I said as I put my hand on his to stop him.
A reporter’s voice filled the car.
“In yet another successful operation, local police were able to locate the leaders of two local street gangs. They were arrested at their respective homes this evening, along with several high-ranking members. The mayor has released a statement . . .”
She continued to talk, and I waited with bated breath for her to mention T, but she didn’t. The sudden pounding of my heart grew deafening in my ears. I looked at Masen. He stared ahead at the road with a steely expression on his face.
“It could’ve been T,” I said.
“It could have.”
“You think they’re going to catch him?”
He shrugged, but his fingers tightened on the wheel.
“I guess your gang fellas are on edge.”
“True. Everyone’s on edge. T is becoming paranoid. We had to cancel so many fights and races these last few weeks. Everyone is just waiting to see how it will all turn out.”
“And what do you think? How will it turn out?”
His brows scrunched together. “I don’t know. I don’t want the gang eliminated, because of money, obviously, but T and his goons are sick bastards. They belong in prison.”
“But if the cops take T down, what does that mean for the gang?”
“It will definitely fall apart. But then some may jump ship and join other gangs.”
“What about you?”
He glanced at me with an indecipherable look. “If I’m not caught? I don’t know. I guess I’ll join another gang.”
Fear combined with anger slammed into my chest. “You’re crazy.”
“No, Satan. I’m poor.”
I gnashed my teeth. “You’re crazy and stupid. There are a lot of other ways to earn money than by associating yourself with guys who already have one foot in jail. Or the grave. You should think about Eli.”
“I am thinking about Eli. I haven’t made a single decision since I was twelve without thinking about him first. I’m doing all of this because of him. And where else would I get that much money? The gang is the only place where I can fight or race and earn a lot.”
“Yeah, but that also means stealing and dealing drugs among other disgusting things.”
He frowned at me. “What are you talking about? I’ve never done that shit, and I never will.”
I was supposed to be relieved, but instead my mind conjured dozens of nasty scenarios. “But what if you have to? What if you have to join another gang and they force you to?” I curled my lips into a bitter smile. “I doubt they’d just let you refuse to like the diva you are.”
“That’s too many ifs, Satan,” he said in what sounded like a casual voice, but I heard the tension beneath it and his hands were clenched around the steering wheel. It frustrated me that he was so stubborn about this.
I got that he needed the money for Eli, but he was headed down this road of no return, and it couldn’t end well.
As silence fell over us, an idea occurred to me. There was one way for Masen to get money for Eli. A lot of money.
But I barely had time to finish that thought.
The lights of another car filled my vision from the side, almost blinding me, and all I could register was a glimpse of a black SUV barreling straight at my side of the car. I screamed . . . right before it T-boned us.
The airbag hit my face and chest as we spun to the side, and only vaguely was I aware we were careening off the road and into the woods before we came to an abrupt stop. For a moment, I sat frozen, cataloguing my body’s sensations, and then blinked, stunned. Masen’s groan brought me back to reality, and fear exploded inside me as I turned my head to look at him. In jerky movements, he pushed his airbag to the side and fumbled to undo his seatbelt, managing to do it only after a second attempt. He grabbed my shoulders.
“Melissa! Are you okay?” Sheer terror twisted his face, his gaze darting all over me.
I placed my trembling hands against his upper arms as I inspected his body. There were no visible wounds. “Yeah. My face and chest hurt like bitch because of the airbag, but I’m okay. You?”
“I’m fine. Did you break anything? Can you move your arms and legs?”
I twisted in the seat and moved my limbs just fine, with no pain. “Yes.”
He let out a long sigh. “That’s a relief.”
He snatched off my seatbelt and pulled me into his embrace, his whole body shaking, and I hugged him back. I needed to feel that he was okay. Only now it fully sank in what had just happened to us, and I realized I could’ve lost him. I could’ve lost Masen, too.
I hugged him more tightly and nestled my head against his shoulder as a dozen emotions left a chilling trail through me. No, I couldn’t lose him. Not now when he was starting to mean so much to me. I couldn’t allow that.
He cradled the back of my head with his hands and left a smoldering kiss on my lips, which felt different than all of his previous kisses. It was as if he thought I was going to disappear into thin air. He poured all his desperation and need into me, and it was all-consuming.
“You have no idea how I would’ve felt if anything had happened to you. Just like Eli.” He shuddered. “Fuck, no.”
My heart clenched for him. I pulled away to look at him. “I’m okay. I really am.
” I frowned as I looked around us. The black SUV was gone. “But I don’t think your car is.”
His face hardened. “Shit.”
He got out of the car, and I followed, thanking my lucky stars that the SUV had rammed into the back panel, missing the passenger door by a whisker. The back end of the car was a mass of twisted metal and components. We were all alone in the semidarkness next to the empty road.
There was no doubt that the crash had been intentional, and now that I thought about it . . .
“You don’t want us messing you up. Or your car,” Ryder had said in the school’s parking lot.
That SUV had looked familiar. It was the same car they’d driven then.
“Those fuckers,” Masen said in an undertone, glaring down the road.
“So, it was the guys from the gang. This wasn’t an accident.”
He shook his head, a muscle ticking along his jaw. “It wasn’t an accident. It was Ryder and his guys. They did this to stop me from joining that race tomorrow.”
I gaped at him. “Tomorrow? That race is tomorrow?”
He banged the roof with the side of his fist. “Yes, that fucking race is tomorrow night, and my car is useless. Ryder is asking for it.”
I didn’t like the sound of that. “What do you mean? What are you going to do?”
He thought about this for a short while before he looked at me, his gaze hard. “I’m going to steal his car.”
My jaw dropped all the way down to the ground. “Are you for real? You really do want to get in trouble. How do you even plan to steal it?”
“It’s easy. I know where he lives. So, I’ll pay him a visit tonight.”
All the hairs stood on my neck. “Alone?”
“A guy who can help me start it without its original key owes me a favor, so, no, not alone.”
This stubborn fool. “You’re unbelievable! You’d still race when your life is at stake? Moreover, you’ll steal his car?”
“They won’t scare me off. I need that money.”
“You’re crazy!”
His jaw was set in a rigid line. “You already told me that.”
“But what about the police? Isn’t it dangerous to hold a race with them buzzing around?”
“The race isn’t at the usual place. It’s exclusive, and only a few people know about it.”
“Still, you’re risking a lot, and it’s not worth it.”
He kicked at a shattered piece of taillight on the ground, his face growing taut. “Are you still going on about this? For me, it’s more than worth it. I can’t miss that race. I won’t miss it.”
I stomped over to him. “I get that you need the money, but if you keep going this way, it’s your dad and Eli that are going to need money—to get you out of prison or bury you!”
His gaze was unyielding. “That’s a risk I’ll have to take.”
“You—” I clenched my teeth together and let out a long exhale. “I can give you the money.”
His frown deepened. “What?”
“I thought of it just before they T-boned us. Steven’s trust fund. It was transferred to me after his death, but I don’t want that money.” That money was tainted by Steven’s wanting it to feed his addiction, so it was better if it was used for a good cause. “I want to give it to you so you can pay for Eli’s expenses.”
He let out a humorless chuckle. “You’re out of your mind. There’s no way I’d ever take money from you.”
I huffed. “Now’s not the time to be proud, Barbie. Besides, the money isn’t for you, but for Eli. It will allow you to focus on college and to stand on your own two feet before you support Eli on your own, without turning to something illegal, of course.”
He folded his arms across his chest. “That’s nice and all, but I repeat, I’ll never take your money.”
I curled my hands into fists. “Barbie, don’t argue with me on this. If you won’t take it, then I’ll go to Eli and give it to him myself.”
He closed the distance between us in two quick strides. “You will not do that! We’re not your charity cases!”
“No one said that! It’s just that I’d rather help your stupid, stubborn ass than see you killed! Because I like you, remember?! I like you too much, and I want you away from all those bad people!”
He grew still. Both of us breathed hard as we stared at each other, more and more seconds ticking by.
Slowly, his anger ebbed away, and he looked off into the distance. He cursed and looked back at me.
“Melissa . . .” He ran his thumb over my bottom lip. “I wish I could give up on that race. But I can’t. Okay? If I did, I would regret it.”
The conflict on his face was clear, and I could recognize the weight behind his words. I couldn’t do anything to change his mind.
“Fine. Go do your stupid race.”
He sighed. “Look, I promise I’ll think about my future in the gang. I’ll see if I can do things differently.”
My chest clenched with hope, and I hated it. I shrugged, looking away. “You don’t have to stop on my account.”
“Of course I do. I wouldn’t want to make my girlfriend upset.”
I snapped my eyes up to look at him, my heart climbing into my throat. “Girlfriend?” It came out as a squeak. I cleared my throat. “I never agreed to be your girlfriend.”
He rolled his eyes. “That’s just a formality. Of course you want to be my girlfriend.”
“No, I don’t, you pompous ass! Your ego is way too big for this planet. There’s no way I’d agree to be your girlfriend!”
He chuckled and rubbed his lips against mine, disarming me. “Do you have to make everything difficult? As if we both don’t know we reached the point of no return a while ago.”
He pressed a quick kiss to my lips and took out his phone to call for help. I didn’t even bother arguing because what would I say? He was right. I couldn’t resist him and agreeing to be his girlfriend did feel like a formality at this point.
I was royally screwed.
I’d decided to go to that race with Masen. He also didn’t bother arguing, because we were both two stubborn fools who got their way when they wanted it. So, we took off together in Ryder’s car, a blue Mercedes AMG GT, which Masen had managed to steal with no sweat the night before.
There were a million reasons why this was a terrible idea. Going to this race was the stupidest thing I’d ever done in my life, but if I hadn’t come with him, I would’ve stayed home punching my punching bag until I totaled it, creating countless gruesome scenarios in my mind that would drive me crazy. I’d rather see everything firsthand and get him out of trouble if needed.
“You think Ryder knows you were the one who stole his car?” I asked. My gaze was on the landscape we passed. This race was outside of Enfield, at a track near Soapstone Mountain. It had been unlawfully constructed and therefore was off the authorities’ radar.
“I hope so.”
I raised my eyebrows at him. “He won’t be happy at all.”
“Just like I wasn’t happy last night. He didn’t just mess with my car. You were in danger, too, and that’s not something I’ll let slide.”
Warmth spread through my chest. Would I ever get used to hearing him care about me? Probably not in a million years.
“So, what are you going to do? Total his car? Run over him?”
“Don’t give me any ideas. They sound too tempting.”
I shook my head. “He’s going to kill you when he sees you. I’ll have to use all the kickboxing and Krav Maga skills in this world to defend you.”
I was joking, but the truth was, I was scared shitless. I wore Steven’s knife in my boot just in case, but I really, really hoped I wouldn’t have to use it.
He smirked. “Then I’m lucky to have you as my bodyguard.”
I gave him the stink eye. “Keep talking like that and you’ll need a bodyguard—to protect you from me.”
He chuckled. “Always so violent.”
“I have to be wh
en you’re so obnoxious.”
He gave me the cockiest smirk ever. “But you like me, so . . .” He winked at me, and I couldn’t help but smile.
I let my gaze fall to his sculpted arms and gloved hands, thinking how sexy he was dressed all in black in that leather seat. He looked comfortable driving, as though it was second nature, attuned to the car.
Noticing me looking, he glanced at me. “What?”
“You really should consider legal racing. You’re obviously born for it, so you might as well go pro.”
He didn’t say anything for a long time. His pensive gaze was fixed on the road. “I wish,” he said quietly. Too quietly.
I pinched his cheek, and he glanced at me with a frown.
“Ouch? What was that for?”
“Stop acting like a fool. You could totally make that happen. Just quit messing around and focus on it.”
He snorted. “Even if I was ready to bust my ass to earn just enough money for my family, you think I can leave the gang just like that? You know what happened to Hayden. They jumped him out, and he barely made it through. I’d have to go through the same.”
I folded my arms over my chest and stared ahead at the dark road with my heart beating faster. He was right. He couldn’t quit the gang just like that.
“Hey.” He placed his hand on my thigh, and I looked at it, warm tingles moving over my skin. “With the way you’re frowning, you’re going to get all wrinkly before you’re thirty.”
“Of course I am when you have me worried all the time. You’re worse than a five-year-old.” He grinned at me, and I narrowed my eyes at him. “What now?”
“We bicker like an old married couple.”
My brows dipped into a bigger frown. “No, we don’t. It’s more like I’m the voice of reason, and you’re that stubborn idiot who just doesn’t know how to listen.”
“But you like that stubborn idiot, sooo . . .”
I swatted his hand away from my thigh. “Sooo keep talking, and you’ll need a bodyguard,” I repeated, and he smirked.