by Parker, Ali
I blinked. The real answer? Since I felt my heart break apart in my chest when I thought he was dead after that crash. But that’s not what I told him. Instead, I shrugged. “You need someone who can think like her. And I’m a woman. We’re all capable of that level of deception if we want to be. You need me, Mason.”
He grinned and my insides melted.
Chapter 25
Mason
“Are you sure this is a good idea?” Laina asked. She was sitting in the passenger seat of Rick’s Jeep—his daily driver—and had twisted around to look at me in the back seat.
We were slowing cutting through the crowd gathered for the last race before the final showdown of The Streets. This was the biggest turnout so far, and there would only be more and more people coming over the next hour and a half leading up to the start of the race.
I nodded to her. “Everything will be fine.”
“You don’t think we should have come a little later?” she asked, looking out her window at the people outside. “We won’t be able to keep it a secret that you’re here. We’re basically handing over the opportunity for Mark and Sid to concoct their master plan.”
“Master plan?” Rick chuckled. He had one hand resting lightly on the top of the steering wheel as he put the Jeep in park with the other. “You make them sound like movie villains.”
“They might as well be,” Laina said.
Rick shrugged. “Fair. They do have that dynamic duo mastermind thing going on.”
I sighed and unclipped my seat belt. “Sid and Mark already know I’m here. They’re not stupid enough to assume I wouldn’t show.”
“He’s right,” Rick said to Laina.
She blew out an exasperated breath. A loose strand of hair got caught in it and blew upward. She had most of it pulled backward in a ponytail, but a few strands hung in gentle curls around her pretty face. “I don’t like it,” she muttered as she crossed her legs. She was wearing skintight blue jeans, red heels, and a tight red crop top.
“None of us like it,” Rick said. Then he nodded out the windshield and pointed through the crowd. Headlights were shining between the legs of the people as a car approached. “There he is.”
We were there to meet Kline, the guy who was letting me race his Boxster. I could hear the engine revving as he inched through the crowd, and then the headlights died as he killed the ignition.
I opened the back door of the Jeep and got out. As soon as my boots hit the pavement, people were looking over at us. My name was whispered on every pair of lips as I slipped between the crowding bodies and emerged in front of the sleek black Boxster. It looked nicer than I’d expected. I wasn’t much of a Porsche guy, but this one was beautiful. The paint was so smooth and glossy that the car looked wet.
Kline, a tall guy whose dark features and lean body matched the sleek lines of his car, extracted himself from the low riding vehicle one long leg at a time. The way he moved reminded me of a spider coming out of its den. He closed the door and shot me a cocky grin before shaking my hand. “You have no idea how good it was to hear that you were back, man,” he said, clapping me on the shoulder. “It’s been awhile.”
“It has,” I said, releasing his hand. “I owe you for this, Kline. Seriously. I wouldn’t be racing if not for you.”
“Happy to help. Somebody has to put a stop to this shit. If you ask me, it should be the Street King.”
“Agreed,” Rick said as he came up beside me. He and Kline shook hands, and then I introduced him to Laina, who came up on my other side.
“Benji’s sister, right?” Kline asked.
She nodded. “Yes. Nice to meet you.”
“You too. Never would have thought I’d see you down at one of these things. And as the flag girl. Things have changed.”
Laina gave him a sweet smile and leaned into me a bit. “I’m not a kid anymore.”
Kline chuckled. “No. None of us are. Unfortunately.”
I hooked my thumb over my shoulder in the general direction of the registration table. “I’m going to let Harley know I’m here. You guys stay with the car.”
All three of them nodded at me. Rick cleared his throat. “And if anyone asks who’s racing this beast tonight?”
I grinned. “Tell them the truth. Tell them I’m not going anywhere, and I’m here to put Sid Paul and Mark Denning against the ropes.”
“You got it, brother,” Rick said, wringing his hands together.
I left and headed for the registration table. People saw me coming. There was only one other racer ahead of me. All the others had been cut from the herd over the last few races. The first one always had the biggest turnout, but now we were down to the top ten. After today, there would only be six of us left.
Then the real battle would begin.
I cut through the crowd to find Harley sitting at her table. She had her feet up and was picking the black nail polish off her fingers. When she spotted me, she swung her feet down, stood up, and walked around the table to wrap her arms around my shoulders. “I’m so happy to see you,” she said.
I hugged her back. She smelled like cinnamon and apples. “It’s good to see you too, Harley. Thanks for what you did for me on Saturday. For Laina.”
She pulled away but held onto my shoulders. “That girl is going to get herself into trouble if she doesn’t get a grip on that temper of hers. She reminds me of someone else I know.” She winked.
I smirked. “Yeah. I won’t say you’re wrong.”
“Good.” She patted my cheek before walking around the table. “What are you driving?”
“A Boxster.”
She arched an eyebrow at me and held her pen above the registration paper.
“I know,” I said. “It’s not mine. But it’s nice. I’ll win.”
She chuckled. “Always so confident, Mason. I don’t know why it’s such a turn-on, but it is.”
I rubbed the back of my neck. “Have Sid and Mark registered yet?”
She shook her head. “Not yet. I’m surprised. I thought they’d be here early after what happened last weekend. You know how they are with this sort of shit. They eat the drama up like it’s candy. And it was you who got fucked up, so I bet they’re still riding that high.”
“I wouldn’t put it past them,” I agreed.
Harley put her pen down and looked me in the eyes. “You be careful, Mason. Last weekend was not fun. We almost had to pull your corpse out of that fucking car, and if that happens, I’ll kill you myself.”
“Harley,” I said with a chuckle, “can’t you see—”
“The contradiction there? Yes, I can. But I still mean it. Do not get yourself killed over these assholes. You hear me? You’re playing with fire, and you’re going to make real enemies if you keep this up.”
I winked. “That’s the plan.”
She rolled her eyes. “You’re a menace, Mason Thomas. An absolute menace.”
“I thought that was one of my best qualities?”
She smirked and looked me over. Harley made no effort to disguise that she was checking me out. I didn’t expect her to. “Unfortunately, it’s one of many.”
I laughed. “In another life, you and I would have had a thing, Harley.”
“Why not this one?”
I slid my hands into my pockets.
She sighed. “I have the worst timing, don’t I? I should have moved in on you before Evelyn sunk her claws in. That selfish bitch.”
One of my favorite things about Harley was she would say whatever was on her mind no matter who her audience was. She didn’t care about ruffling feathers or offending anyone. If you didn’t like it, that was fine by her. Her mission in life was not to make the people around her comfortable.
“Yeah,” I said. “Things would have been very different.”
Harley came around the table and leaned against the front of it as she crossed her arms beneath her breasts. “That they would have been. It’s hard to find a good man in this shit hole, Mason. Really fucki
ng hard. I know you’re one of the good ones. And so is she.”
“Who?”
“Laina. You dumbass.”
“Oh,” I said, feeling heat creep up my neck.
Harley gave me a sad little smile. “She deserves someone who’ll take care of her. And you deserve the same thing. Where do things stand between the two of you?”
“We haven’t really had that conversation.”
“Well, you should. Before it’s too late. This shit could get crazier, and the two of you may find yourselves wishing you’d said something sooner. Just saying.”
I reached out and put a hand on her shoulder. “Wise words, Harley. And for the record?”
“Mm?” she said, cocking her head to the side.
“You deserve the same thing.”
She smiled. It was a big, genuine smile, and then she laughed. “Don’t be cute with me, Mason. You and I both know that’s a load of bullshit. You don’t know me. Not really. You don’t know what I deserve.”
“Sure I do,” I said, letting my hand fall from her shoulder. “You just don’t give yourself enough credit.”
She clicked her tongue at me and waved me off. “Get the hell out of here, Mason. Before I try to climb you like a tree for whispering sweet nothings to me. You tease.”
She walked back around the table and sat down. She kicked her feet back up. I lingered. “We’re good, you and me. Right?”
She nodded. “Yes. We’re good. Give them hell, will you? And please. Don’t fucking die.”
“Don’t you know who I am?” I asked, stepping away from the table and holding my hands out wide. “I’m the Street King. I’ve got this.”
Harley rolled her eyes, but she was smiling. “Menace.”
When I turned from the table, I faced nearly a dozen young, eager faces. One of them, a kid in an oversized T-shirt and black cargo pants, shuffled forward. He looked nervous as hell and wouldn’t meet my eye. The others at his back looked from me to him. I could feel the excitement in them.
“Yes?” I asked.
The kid finally looked up at me. He couldn’t have been older than nineteen. “Is it true that you’re gunning for Sid Paul?”
Whispers rippled out through the crowd all around us.
They spurred the kid on. “Everyone is saying you’re going to take him and Mark Denning down. That you’re going to win this. Even after everything last weekend. We just wanted to know if it’s true. Are you racing tonight?”
All eyes were on me. I could feel the heat of their stares. The air was thick with tension and curiosity. What I said now would spread like wildfire through this abandoned lot. The ground beneath our feet was loose gravel and wet dirt. It had rained all day but cleared up about half an hour before we arrived. Puddles spotted the lot that was lit by nothing besides headlights of nearly a hundred cars parked all over the place.
I stared into the kid’s big brown eyes. “Sid Paul and Mark Denning are done here. I’m coming for them, and I don’t give a damn who knows it.”
Game set.
Chapter 26
Laina
“Where the hell is everyone?” I asked as I craned my neck to peer above the heads in the crowd.
Rick had his arms crossed and leaned up against his Jeep, looking like he didn’t have a care in the world. “They’ll be here. Relax.”
“I can’t relax,” I said, pacing back and forth in front of him. I must have crossed this same patch of gravel sixty times as I waited for Mason to come back from registration. I was also waiting on Benji and Ginny. They were supposed to come and be his backup. Well, Benji was. Ginny was my backup, I guessed.
“You’re wound up tight like a jack-in-the-box.” Rick chuckled.
I stopped pacing and glared at him. “I don’t know how you’re staying so calm right now.”
He shrugged. “I’ve been in this scene longer than you have. It makes sense. Besides, there’s nothing we can do other than wait. So why get your panties in a knot about it?”
I sighed and resumed my pacing.
Rick rolled his eyes, reached out, and grabbed my upper arm. He gently pulled me to the Jeep, where he put my back against it. “Take three deep breaths. Good. Smells good, doesn’t it? Like exhaust and oil and gas. This is the calm before the storm. The best part. Like Christmas morning for a kid. Quit ruining it, will you?”
“I can’t help it. I’m stressed.”
Rick rubbed his temples. “Well, you’re making me stressed too. So knock it off.”
I pushed off the Jeep and was about to resume my pacing when a familiar female voice called my name through the crowd. I looked up to see Ginny coming toward us. She had my brother in tow.
“Praise the Lord,” Rick said as he greeted Benji. I knew that was directed at me. He finally had a reprieve from being my babysitter.
I hugged Ginny. “Sorry we’re late,” she said. “We got caught in a line trying to get here. There are so many cars still trying to get through, it’s insane.”
“Word about Mason has gotten out,” Rick said knowingly.
Benji nodded. “I suspect so. It’s the only thing that explains this big of a turnout. These are the sort of numbers that show at the final race. But for one of the qualifiers? It’s unheard of.”
I looked back and forth between them. “Really?”
Benji nodded. “Yep. I bet half of these folks are only here because they caught wind of Mason’s plan to take the title from Sid. I guess the crash last week is probably a contributing factor as well.”
“Speaking of Mason,” Rick mumbled, looking through the crowd to the registration table on the other side of the lot. “Where is that fucker? He thinks he can just leave us watching his damn car while he gets his jollies flirting with Harley. I’m gonna go get him. You three wait here.”
Rick didn’t wait for us to give him the go-ahead. He just walked off, leaving the us looking at each other and then the Boxster.
Benji nodded at me. “How are you feeling about all this, Laina?”
I shrugged and didn’t look him in the eye.
“Me too,” he said. Then he came over and wrapped his arm around my shoulders. “But we have to quit worrying. He’ll be fine. He always is. This will be over before we know it.”
His words didn’t make me feel better, but I nodded anyway. There was no point in saying I was so anxious, I could bend over and hurl right there. I hadn’t been able to eat all day due to my nerves, so even if I was sick, I’d only be throwing up stomach acid. And maybe a bit of water.
Ginny fell in line with us. “Uh-oh. I see trouble.”
The tight knot of fear in my belly grew even tighter as I spotted Sid Paul cutting through the crowd toward us. Mark Denning was on his heels, and there was a group of four other men coming in hot behind them. Sid shoved people out of his way, not giving a damn if he sent them sprawling on the gravel.
Benji moved in front of Ginny and me, putting himself between us and Sid. Rick’s Jeep was at our backs.
Sid smiled broadly at all of us, his gold teeth winking at the corners of his mouth.
“What do you want, Sid?” Benji barked.
Sid slid his hands into his pockets and rocked back on his heels as his boys fanned out behind him. They looked like gangbangers, cocked and loaded, ready to deal out some dirty business.
I swallowed.
“Where’s Mason?” Sid asked.
Benji didn’t answer, but I watched as his hands curled into fists at his sides.
Sid noticed, too, and he threw his head back and laughed. “I’m not here to play with you, Benjamin. We both know Mason is more my speed. More of a challenge. Now I asked you a fucking question. Where the hell is he?”
Sid was angrier than usual, and that was saying something. I remembered how he’d been when he cornered Ginny and me the other day after the nail salon. He’d scared me then, and this was worse. Way worse.
“Benji,” I said nervously. I didn’t like this. I didn’t like the way his boy
s were eyeing my brother or the way Mark Denning was cracking his knuckles. The whole thing felt wrong.
No. It felt like what Rick had said, a calm before the storm.
All hell was about to break loose.
Benji looked over his shoulder at me. His jaw was tight, and although he didn’t speak, I knew what he was trying to tell me. Stay put. Don’t do anything stupid.
Ginny shuffled up tight to my side. I thought for a moment I could feel her pulse in her grip when she took hold of my hand, but I realized it was my own quickening heartbeat I was feeling. It fluttered at my neck, my wrists, my fingertips.
Benji tipped his chin in a get-the-hell-out-of-here sort of fashion. “Mason’s not around, Sid. You should get back to your car. The race is about to start.”
Sid chuckled and his boys followed suit.
Sheep, I thought bitterly.
Sid took a few swaggering steps forward. “You know, Benjamin. Of all the fools who hung around with Mason, you were always my favorite. You’re good at keeping your hands clean. You know? You’re a problem solver. A practical man. It’s a shame you’ve aligned yourself with scum.”
Benji’s shoulders hunched. It wasn’t by much, but I knew him better than anyone, and I knew he was furious.
“Benji,” I said again. I tried to sound less frightened than I was. I failed.
Sid’s eyes flicked over to me, and his face stretched in an eager grin. “Laina. Am I ever glad to see you.”
“Don’t look at her,” Benji snarled.
Sid didn’t so much as blink. He kept his eyes trained on me, knowing it would dare my brother into action. “You look so fucking fine, baby girl. One day, the two of us are going to take our time getting to know each other, and you’ll realize you’ve been missing out all this time. I’d love to see you on your knees, begging—”
Benji snapped.
He let out a furious yell and charged at Sid. I shouted at him not to, but it was like yelling at a bull charging toward a red flag. The fight was on, and there was nothing I could do to stop it.
