Nitro Crew Series
Book Two
Winter Travers
Copyright © 2018 Winter Travers
All rights reserved. Without limiting the rights under copyright reserved above, no part of this publication may be reproduction, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form, or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise) utilization of this work without written permission of both the copyright owner and the above publisher of this book.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, brands, media and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. The author acknowledges the trademarked status and trademark owners of various products referenced in this work of fiction, which have been used without permission. The publication/use of these trademarks is not authorized, associated with, or sponsored by the trademark owners.
For questions or comments about this book, please contact the author at [email protected]
Also by Winter Travers
Devil’s Knights Series:
Loving Lo
Finding Cyn
Gravel’s Road
Battling Troy
Gambler’s Longshot
Keeping Meg
Fighting Demon
Unraveling Fayth
Skid Row Kings Series:
DownShift
PowerShift
BangShift
Fallen Lords MC Series
Nickel
Pipe
Maniac
Wrecker
Powerhouse MA Series
Dropkick My Heart
Love on the Mat
Black Belt in Love
Black Belt Knockout
Nitro Crew Series
Burndown
Holeshot
Table of Contents
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
About the Author
Coming Soon
1st Chapter of Loving Lo
1st Chapter of DownShift
Acknowledgements
My boys, family, Nikki Horn, Mayra Statham, Kelly Tucker, my BETAs, and the many people I’m forgetting. Thank you for being part of this amazing journey.
Chapter One
Frankie
“What in the hell are you doing?”
I looked up from my overflowing bowl of cereal. “Eating.”
Luke leaned against the counter and crossed his arms over his chest. “Sounded like a bull in a china shop with the way you were slamming cupboards and stomping around.”
I whipped open the silverware drawer and nabbed a spoon. “I’m really not in the mood for whatever you have to say right now, Luke.”
“Well, how about you don’t waste all of my cereal by dumping it on the counter, and then you get in the mood to listen to me.”
I rolled my eyes and turned to the massive fridge. “Shouldn’t you be in bed with Violet?”
“Was until I heard your damn phone going off in the living room.”
“Should have ignored it.” I turned back to my bowl and bumped into Luke who was emptying half of the cereal I poured back into the container. He then swept the overflow back into the bowl. “You didn’t need to do that,” I growled. I was twenty-seven, and he still tried to act like my dad.
He grabbed the container of cereal and walked over to the open pantry. “I know I didn’t need to do that, Frank, but I did it. Just like you know you don’t need to be an ass to me right now, but you still are.”
I splashed the milk into the bowl and slammed it down on the counter. “What is going to be the fastest way to get rid of you?”
He pointed to the stools under the kitchen island. “Sit your ass down and tell me what in the hell is going on.”
“I quit my job, Luke. There isn’t much else to say.” I grabbed the precariously full bowl and set it in front of the stool at the end. “I just need a little time to figure out what I’m going to do, and then I’ll be out of your hair.” I pulled out the stool, sat down, and looked at my bowl. “Can you ha—” The spoon I grabbed before appeared in front of my face. “Thank you,” I mumbled. I snatched it from Luke’s hand and dug into my cereal, hoping he would leave me alone now.
The stool next to me moved back, and Luke sat down. “Who called you this morning?”
I looked over at him. “God. He wants me to join a nunnery. Nunnville.”
“Nunnery?” He chuckled and shook his head. "You're going to have to do better than that."
“I also agreed to take a vow of silence. Go away.” I turned back to my bowl and bowed my head to shovel in a spoonful.
“Who called you, Frank?”
Luke obviously wasn’t going to buy the story that God had requested my nun services. “Brooks Cummings.”
“And what did he want?” He tried to coax out of me.
I shrugged.
“Frank.”
“I don’t know what he wanted, Luke.” Lord have mercy. I didn’t understand why Luke was so stuck on this. I didn’t plan to be in his and Violet’s hair longer than a couple of weeks. It had been a week since I pulled up to the shop, and it seemed like he was chomping at the bit for me to be gone.
“He’s your damn boss, Frank.”
“I hung up on him.” I threw my hands up in the air, and milk dripped off the spoon in midair. “And, he’s not my boss anymore because I quit.”
“Why?” he demanded.
I grabbed my bowl of cereal and pushed back my stool as I stood. “He’s a dick, Luke. The kind that thinks a woman’s place is in the kitchen and not under the body of a dragster. I tried to work for him. After four months of working tirelessly to get his car dialed in, for him to give all the credit and thanks to Roc was too much. Hell, Jay got a thank you for saving the day when he ran to get a part. All I got after I installed said part, was to clean my tools while Brooks gushed over Roc getting the job done.”
“Roc is the crew chief, Frank. You know in the end, he’s the one who’s in charge so it’s natural for Brooks to talk to him about the car, whether it be good or bad.”
I stalked over to the sink and dumped my less-than-half-eaten bowl of cereal down the disposal. Talking about Brooks ruined my appetite and pissed me off. “I think that is bullshit, Luke. You mean to tell me that everyone who brings their car in should assume you do all the work and not Mitch or Raul?”
“That’s not the same thing, Frankie. You know how the racing world operates. No one knows the name of the clutch assistant or engine guy. It’s the driver and his crew chief.”
“To the people sitting in the stands, yeah, that’s all they know. But I think the fucking guy behind the wheel should know who is doing what to his car.” I pointed to the TV that had the Speed channel on playing a drag race from three years ago. “Those cars run because of the people no one knows about. I make those fucking cars run, and if Brooks fucking Cummings doesn’t care to know my name, then I don’t wan
t to be working on his piece of shit car.”
“Uh, good morning.” Violet stood at the edge of the kitchen with Rose cradled in her arms and Ash standing next to her. “I see you finally got her to talk.”
“You swear more than Uncle Kurt,” Ash declared. He shuffled past me and opened the pantry.
“Doubtful,” I muttered. I was tempted to say “fucking doubtful,” but I knew that would get me a glare from Luke.
“You need me to change her?” Luke asked Violet. Luke shoved his stool back and walked to Violet. Rose reached her arms out for her dad, he pulled her from Violet, and the baby snuggled into his chest.
“Your princess is good to go for a couple of hours.” Violet ran her fingers through her hair. “You think we could start potty training her at six months? I don’t think I can handle diapers for two more years.”
“Uh, I think you might want to tack on another year to that.” Ash had turned three and a half before he even finally started to show interest in using the toilet.
Violet groaned and sat down on the stool Luke had vacated. “Somebody caffeinate me, stat.”
“I told you that you shouldn’t have another baby.” Ash grabbed a bowl from the cabinet and reached into the fridge. “My vote wasn’t taken into account.”
“That would be because you were eight, Ash.” Luke bounced Rose on his hip.
“Well, I’m almost eleven now. I think we should discuss me moving to Uncle Mitch’s. He doesn’t have babies to live with, and I think for me to have a more Zen attitude, I need to experience life without a baby.”
My mouth dropped, and Violet slowly raised her head from her hands. “Zen attitude?” She pointed a finger at him. “No more YouTube. I don’t know where else you would get that crap from.”
“I think you need to spend a little more time in the shop with me and less time with your head buried in that tablet,” Luke chimed in.
It was nice to have Luke focus his harping on someone else. “YouTube is a black hole that will suck you in and spit you out on the waaaay wrong side of the internet.”
“Not helping,” Luke mumbled.
“What do you mean the wrong side of the internet? It’s just weird eating videos and guys playing video games that he watches.”
Uh, Violet had obviously never spent much time on YouTube. I couldn’t even count how many times I had innocently searched for something, and then two hours later, I was watching two girls and a cup, or videos comparing the size of animals penises. I looked at Luke who knew exactly what I was talking about.
“You just might want to check out YouTube a bit more,” I advised.
“You’re supposed to be the cool aunt, not the lame one who tells my parents to take my phone away.” Ash grabbed the same cereal I had tried to eat before Luke made me lose my appetite and filled his bowl.
“I’m still the cool aunt. Last I checked, Scarlett and Leelee didn’t get you VIP passes for the race next month.” I leaned against the counter and crossed my arms over my chest. I had pulled a lot of strings to get twelve passes for the whole family. Everyone was allowed on pit row, but you had to stay behind the barriers. With me getting everyone VIP passes, they got to go behind the barriers and get a hell of a lot closer.
“Yeah, for a team you don’t even work for anymore,” Ash snickered.
I scowled and wondered if all almost-eleven-year-olds were as dickish as he was. They probably were.
“She could have gotten her job back had she actually talked to Brooks Cummings this morning instead of hanging up on him.”
“He called,” Violet screeched. “Does he sound as handsome as he looks?”
Luke spun around and scowled at Violet.
She held her hands up and shrugged. “Oh, come on. Like you don’t think he’s good looking.”
“I don’t,” Luke growled. “Just like you shouldn’t since your thirty-seven, married, and have two kids.”
“And it looks like Mom is sleeping on the couch tonight,” Ash snickered.
“Oh, come on, Luke. You can’t be mad at Vi. It’s not like she was drooling over the guy.” I tried to defend Violet.
“She fucking squealed,” he said lowly. “I can’t tell you the last time she squealed for me.”
Ash threw his hands over his ears and made a loud, annoying buzzing sound. Rose tried to imitate her brother but didn’t quite have the fine motor skills it took to put her hands over her ears. She flailed her arms, hit Luke in the face, and squawked.
“This is all your fault,” Luke shouted over Rose and Ash.
I grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge and made my escape to my room while Violet tried to quiet everyone down. This was how meals normally ended with Luke, Violet, and the kids. Though this time, Violet had been the one to stick her foot in her mouth.
Who would have thought she liked Brooks Cummings? Definitely not me. She had my brother, who, from the sound of it, did not appreciate the fact that Violet had taken note of Brooks’ good looks.
Brooks was a good-looking guy. I couldn’t deny it.
But, that was the only nice thing I had to say about him. Not like I knew the guy personally, but the way he had treated me and the fact that he was barely ever around gave me a different view of him.
He was a pompous dick.
Most people said he was getting by on his father’s fame and talent. I agreed with that to a point.
I think he shot to the top so quickly because of who his father was, but he had to have some talent to be able to hang with all the other drivers. Granted, he did get one of the best cars on the track because he had a bombass pit crew, but he still needed to know how to drive, and that was one thing I saw firsthand that he knew well.
“Gah, but he’s such a dick,” I moaned out loud.
And that was why I was here. Living above Luke’s shop just like I was fifteen again.
I slumped against the closed door and slowly slid down ‘til my ass touched the floor and my knees were to my chest. “Oh, how the mighty have fallen,” I mumbled.
I had been on the top of the world, working for one of the most popular race teams in the NHRA, and now, I was unemployed. My phone buzzed in my pocket, and I pulled it out to see Remy had texted me.
What are you doing?
Ugh. I didn’t really want to have the same conversation with Remy that I had been having for the past two weeks. Skydiving.
Say what!?!?!?!
So gullible. I’m doing nothing, Remy. Same thing I’ve been doing for two weeks.
Brooks call you?
How in the hell would he know about Brooks calling me? He did.
And?
He was just as bad as Luke. And I hung up on him.
Frank. You need to talk to him. We need you back here. We’re going into a five week stretch of races, and we all know we can’t do this without you.
My fingers flew across the screen. You may know that, but I really doubt Douchebag Cummings knows that.
Maybe he does know it. That’s why he called you.
Well, he didn’t call me back so it must not have been that important.
The next time he calls, take the stick out of your ass, and answer the damn phone.
I powered off my phone and tossed it next to my shoes. I didn’t need Remy’s bullshit. I didn’t have a stick up my ass. I wasn’t the one who was giving credit to someone who didn’t deserve it. Fucking Jay had gotten more thank yous than I have ever gotten, and he didn’t do a damn thing.
I wasn’t going to talk to Brooks Cummings.
I wasn’t going to grovel for my job back.
I was fine right where I was. It may take me a second, but I was going to get back on my feet.
Brooks Cummings could show up at my door, and I still wouldn’t agree to ever work for him again.
No way, no how.
*
Chapter Two
Brooks
“Where do you think you are going?”
I tossed my gray Cummings Racing d
uffel bag on the bed. “I’ll be back Friday.”
“Uh, that’s not what I just asked you. I asked where you were going, not when you’ll be back.”
Three shirts joined the bag on the bed, and I walked to the closet. “I messed something up. I’m going to fix it.”
“This about the pair of legs who used to work here?”
I leveled a glare on my father. “And you wonder why everyone thinks you’re an asshole.”
“They respect me though, don’t they?”
More like everyone was terrified of him. “The crew is leaving Thursday for Ohio. I’ll be to the track on Friday for qualifying.” I grabbed two pairs of jeans and tossed them on the bed. The shoes I had on would get me through the time I would be gone so I would be able to get by with just a small carry-on. That was about the only thing that was going right for me today.
I had hoped to be on the way to the airport before my dad showed up, but I didn’t have any luck there. Add on Frankie hanging the phone up on me as soon as I said my name, and I was three for one at the moment.
“We’ll get you another car chief, Brooks. I don’t understand why you have to run across three states to chase this one.” Dad sat down on the bed next to my suitcase. “Rick Fines came in today and talked to Roc.”
My lip curled at the mention of Rick Fines. He was a pompous asshole who I had already fired once before. “I’d rather have no car chief than Rick. He’s not an option.”
“I’d like to remind you of whose name is on the car you drive.”
I pointed a finger into my chest. “My name. My name is on that damn car.”
“A name I gave you,” he growled.
That may be true. But I was the one who had crawled up from being known as a daddy’s boy and put in long hours practicing to prove to everyone that I was more than just a name. “I don’t have time to go into this. I’m going to try one last time to get my car chief back.”
He shook his head. “You’re giving these people too much power. You can’t let them call the shots. She threw a damn wrench at you. If I were you, her ass would have been fired, not just suspended.”
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