Collision

by Evie Harper

  “Twenty-seven.”

  “So what has you in Portland? I know you’re new; you’re not a girl who would go unnoticed around here for long.”

  “A new job,” I reply.

  “Oh, yeah, and where would that be?”

  “That would be none of your business. I don’t want you turning up, broken-hearted,” I say with a smile, deciding question time is over. I wanted to know more about Slater, but he seems determined to learn about me and I’m not comfortable with opening up to people. Nobody wants to know about me. I’m nothing special.

  I head for the lock and Slater chuckles. His deep, smooth laugh instantly gets my attention and I turn just as it dies down to a smirk and he says, “See you round, Piper.”

  And with those words, I’m out of the stall and quickly walking out of the bathroom, eerily feeling like Cinderella who continues to run away from a man who couldn’t be more different than Prince Charming.

  Staring down at the floor, I bump into a big body at the exit of the bathroom. It’s the man Slater gestured to, and he’s standing at the entry. Guarding it?

  He smirks down at me and moves to the side. I make my way quickly through the crowd to the exit when that same instinct to look back hits me. Don’t turn around, Piper!

  One step, two steps and then I can’t take it anymore. I turn and Slater is there, standing next to his smiling friend, staring at me intently. Again, as if I’m a puzzle he can’t put together. I’m not hard to figure out, a simple woman who stutters in certain situations. A simple woman who was never wanted, always rejected.

  Again I turn and flee into the cold night, promising myself never to return.

  Slater

  The same sensation I’ve felt for the past three weeks races down my spine. I turn and there she is, my beautiful Stutter Girl, standing by the entrance and staring at me. My cock stirs to life just at the sight of her. Fuck, my life, my meaning for life has become this girl. These few hours every night when she’s mine drives every agonizing hour it takes until I see her again.

  Each time I take her it’s fucking incredible, every time better than the last. We’ve never made plans to see each other again, just a need which drives me back to TK’s every night, even during the week, in hopes she turns up. And she has, hopefully driven by the same hunger I have for her. My chest tightens at the thought of her not having the same insatiable urge for me that I have for her.

  Since our second mind-blowing fuck, we’ve sat and talked. I found out she’s from New York, which is where she grew up with her family. Her star sign is Leo. She hates cooked vegetables, but eats them raw. She reads, and listens to music more than she watches TV. Her favorite color is blue, but that’s not something she told me; I know because every night she wears something with blue in it. Earrings, necklace or rings—always some of her clothing will have blue in it.

  I motion to Mack to watch the bathroom door again and he looks at me with an annoyed, whiney expression, pointing to the girl under his arm. I narrow my eyes and he mutters under his breath then nods to me.

  I turn and walk to Piper, both of us already connected through our stares, always looking at each other as if we can’t breathe without the other. I have no idea where these feelings come from. Is it lust? Is it the sex? Is our attraction normal, or is this more? I tell myself it’s just the sex, but that doesn’t tell me why I want to know her, why I keep trying to keep her afterward to talk.

  I take her outstretched hand without a word and we both move into the men’s bathroom.

  A quick glance around tells me no one’s inside. We enter our toilet stall and lock the door. I swing around and instantly have Piper in my arms, biting her lip as I kiss her. She groans at the roughness of the kiss, and damn I love that.

  I let her go and stand back while my eyes take in every part of her. For the first time since I met Piper, I’m pissed off she’s wearing such a short dress.

  I cup the side of her head, and my thumb strokes up and down her cheek. Each day I find myself touching her more, being myself more around her.

  “Something about you. I can’t get you out of my fucking head. See this?” I grab the bulge in my pants. “This is just from seeing you, and that’s not fucking normal.”

  “I know. I feel it, too,” Piper replies softly. “There’s something between us and it’s strong. I don’t know how, when we’ve only known each other for a few weeks. I thought these feelings for you would have gone away by now.” She ends on a whisper, looking away from me.

  My gut twists at her words. Gone away. No, I can’t feel this all on my own. I couldn’t handle it if she rejected me. Possessiveness takes hold of my sanity and an urgency builds inside of me to have her now.

  I look back and find the toilet seat. I shut the lid, sit down, unclasp my pants and pull out my rock-hard cock. I fist it tightly and run my hand up and down the shaft.

  Piper licks her lips and comes to stand before me.

  “Pull your dress up and move your panties over.”

  She flashes me a grin and lifts her dress over her gorgeous round ass.

  My eyes grow wide and I hiss through my teeth when I see the reason for her grin. No panties. No G-string. Nothing but her glistening, wet pussy staring me straight in the face.

  “Sit on my cock, now.” My words come out gravelly and rough.

  Piper positions her legs on the outside of my thighs and takes me in her heat, agonizingly slowly.

  She fucks me hard, her nails digging into my shoulders as she rides my cock like it’s never been ridden before. Fucking ecstasy, watching her come apart in front of me, feeling the evidence all over my dick.

  Piper’s head is resting on my shoulder as we both come down from our high. Deep breathing, my dry throat screaming for a drink of water, but all I care about is when we will do this again.

  A few more deep breaths and I whisper into her ear, “Go out with me.”

  Piper’s head shoots up, eyes wide and her mouth parted.

  “Go out with you?” she repeats my question.

  I laugh and say, “Yeah, go on a date with me. I like you, Piper, a lot. And I never like chicks I fuck, but you’re different.” She scrunches her nose at my words and I try to explain. “Fuck that came out wrong. Or actually it came out right, but I’m not good at subtle. I’m honest, Piper, and I’ll always be brutally honest; it’s just who I am. How I’ve grown up, I only know how to speak bluntly. I’ve never been taught or had to be gentle in my life.”

  She nods and I ask, “So is that yes to my date or yes to me being an asshole?”

  Piper smiles and says, “That’s yes to both.”

  I grin then kiss her and for a short time we stay connected, my cock inside of her while we make out until we decide to get dressed. Like all the other previous nights, Piper sits between my legs and rests her back against my chest as we ask each other random, not-too-personal questions. While we talk, she traces and draws on my hands, which is fast becoming something I look forward to.

  She’s been in Portland for over a month now. I know she would have heard of the Portland Street Kings, how brutal, unforgiving and merciless we are. Or maybe she’s heard about the businesses we defend from other gangs trying to threaten the owners to pay them for protection. We don’t take handouts; we work for our money or win it. We don’t take what’s not ours and don’t accept when others try to do it in our town.

  We’ve marked our territory with tags. That way, if any future gangs try anything, they can see who they will be dealing with if they choose to do stupid shit anyway. Anyone who dares come on our turf to sell hard drugs, kill, or steal, we will deal with them. If that means going outside our turf to handle the problem, we will do that. The police are non-existent in Portland—hell, in Louisville. They check things out, but you never see them again and they are just as easy to pay off as any criminal.

  Most people refer to us as crazy, killers, and monsters. But those who know us, those who we’ve saved, they know different. We
protect what’s ours and that includes the people and families living in our turf. If you’re good to us, we will be good to you and when you ask for help, we will do what we can. Sometimes those moments can make me feel even minutely like the man I try to show the world I am. But then when I’m playing ball with the kids in the street, I remember they’re playing with a murderer and I know I’m nowhere near being the man I thought I would grow up to be.

  “Slater?” Piper’s voice pulls me from my dark thoughts and I gaze down at her, still tracing my hand. What happens if she doesn’t want a man who’s a murderer and a savior? My chest grows tight at the thought, and I decide to forget about that for now. First, just show her who I am, as a person, then deal with the blood stained on my hands.

  I refocus my attention on Piper and ask, “Do you like pizza? I know a pizza place around here that will make your mouth water.”

  Piper nods, and I can tell she’s smiling because I see her cheeks rising.

  “Tomorrow night, meet here at six p.m.?” I ask.

  Piper replies, “A Monday night date?”

  “I honestly don’t think I can go longer than a day without seeing you now,” I reply with a thick voice.

  Piper’s smile widens massively and she asks, “Can we make it seven? I have to work tomorrow, I don’t finish until five and I’m going to need time to go home and get ready.”

  “Seven it is,” I agree, kissing her head.

  Piper stands and turns around to face me, placing a soft kiss on my lips before moving toward the locked door. She opens it and looks back at me with a smile on her lips. “See you tomorrow, Slater,” she says softly and leaves the stall.

  I hear her as she passes Mack. “Thanks, Mackson.”

  “Yeah, bye, Piper. This was the last fucking time, too. You two need to find a damn room.” He ends louder than he started as I’m sure Piper is walking away, giggling as she makes her way through the crowd.

  I laugh at my brother’s words and then hear his heavy boots walk into the bathroom. He stands in front of me and sneers down at me. “I’m not doing this shit anymore. The chick I had for tonight already left because I look like a fucking creeper standing out front of the men’s bathroom all night. You and Piper are fucking ruining my sex life while I have to hear you two go at it.”

  Another laugh erupts from my mouth. “All good, brother. From now on, I’m taking Piper home.”

  Mackson’s eyes widen at my words.

  “We’re going on a date tomorrow night. Gonna take her to Annie’s Pizza then I’ll bring her home, meet everyone. She’s different. I like her, a lot. Fuck, more than a lot.”

  “Does she know who we are?” Mack asks.

  “No, at least I’m almost positive she doesn’t. And I won’t be telling her, not until I think it won’t be an issue or unless someone else tells her and she asks me.”

  “No one’s gonna tell her. Fuck, no one would be game enough to try and put a stop to a King’s pursuit of pussy. Do you think she could handle being one of us? This life is fucked-up, and she doesn’t look like the type of woman who can handle crazy.”

  “I don’t know, but I’m a selfish prick because I want her. I’m willing to have her fall for me and then see if she can take being a part of the Portland Street Kings.”

  Can she be my moral compass when the days are dark and I lose my way?

  Chapter Three

  Real Life.

  Slater

  Grease covers my hands and all the way up to my elbows. I tighten the last bolt while grinding my teeth together when I hear another giggle. I push back and slide out from under my dark blue, 1968 Chevy Camaro, looking around the warehouse and searching for where my sister’s laughs are coming from. I find her behind the reception desk talking to Brett, a guy I’m paying to spy on the Poison Boys. He’s a big guy with tattoos and easily fits in with both gangs, but he’s only in it for the money. Rex thinks Brett is trying to get into his gang, but really I’m paying him a lot of cash to hang around just to get me information. And it’s worked out great because Rex was the one who started using Brett as an in-between to the gangs to get messages across. I’d never send my brothers across the Parkland Borders alone and Rex would never risk his guys either, so he thinks Brett is the prefect person to use, he just doesn’t know Brett’s on my side.

  The Parkland Poison Boys are our biggest and only enemies right now. Their leader, Rex, used to be my best friend, before his father died. Five years ago, everything changed and ever since, we’ve been at war. Rex’s close group used to consist of eight. Now they are down to four: Kodi, Reed, Corey and Rex. Every time they aim for my family or me, I’ve taken out one of their members and I will continue to do so until Rex calls off this war. Which I know is likely to never happen.

  I often think about the day I may have to kill him. It’s going to gut me to kill someone I once called a good friend, someone so lost by grief he can’t even see straight anymore.

  Rex lost it when his father was murdered, and he won’t listen to the how or why. He just wants to keep at it until he kills me for taking out his father, Jae.

  Another giggle from Dell drags my attention back to her and Brett. My arms cross over my greasy white undershirt and I say across the garage, “Brett, get the fuck away from my sister.” My tone is stern but calm.

  Brett’s head whips around to see me watching him. His eyes grow wide and his face pales as he walks quickly over to me. I keep my face hard and blank, wanting him to know I’m not his friend.

  “Just talking, Slate. Promise. I know she’s untouchable.”

  Poor guy has no idea how much trouble with a capital T Dell can be. She gets whatever she wants from men. She flutters her eyelashes, smiles, and they are putty in her hands. It’s Dell’s way of keeping them away, by having them think she’s just a stupid young girl. That way, they never bother to look below her beautiful exterior to where they would find a caring, loyal, sweet woman. One who just happens to have a family who will kill for her and have killed for her before. She’s my family, but she has nothing to do with family business unless I need a man distracted. Then Dell gets to play.

  Dell’s head swings to me and she narrows her eyes with a killer death stare. My lips tip up into a smirk. My sister is a firecracker and that stare would usually have most men backtracking, but not me. She learned that stare from me.

  She picks up the workbooks and stomps out of the garage to our two-story, white house just in front of the garage.

  It isn’t easy for Dell, being the sister of the Street Kings, but she understands why we are the way we are and how we became this way. After all, she was there for the whole ride. Having your innocence ripped away from you alters you, not just for those horrifying moments but forever. We all value the power we have being the Kings family. We need it and we crave the fear.

  When you’ve lived in terror and waited for a hero who was never going to come to your rescue, you learn to become your own hero or villain. Those who try to place us beneath them will always be put in their place, no matter the consequences. We will never be the weak ones again.

  Della is twenty-four and loves to go against whatever my brothers and I tell her. Unfortunately for her, we are extremely protective of her. We raised her through Hell, and now we’re trying to give her everything she should have had from a real family. She started college four years ago when we could finally afford it, and this will be her last year. She’s majoring in Business Management and she will help run our family business... well, our legit business. Our mechanic’s garage we’ve owned and run successfully for three years now. We work on about four cars at one time when we’re busy, but right now, we only have two in for service.

  Our legit business is good, but it’s never made enough to keep us afloat. It’s not what paid for Dell to go to college, and it’s not what puts food on the table for five adults. It pays the bills and keeps the boys and me busy.

  As kids, we would go to Rex’s dad’s garage over in Parkla
nd. He would feed us and give us a place to go during the days when we had nothing to do other than walk the streets and risk running into the wrong people. He also taught us how to fix cars. But I soon learned he couldn’t be trusted; he was just another monster on the inside.

  As we got older and ran with the wrong crowds, we found avenues to make money. My brothers and I have sold drugs and alcohol, and we’ve stolen cars and electronics to sell at pawn stores, at their back doors, not over their counters where anyone could see. When I was nineteen, we were introduced to street racing and Speed Wars. My brothers and I watched and learned, and we would take the cars we stole out to the forest and learn to race, learn to win.

  I was the first to race, but I lost the race and all our money. None of us ate for the whole week until we were able to steal more alcohol or clothes to sell on the street or swap for food. I swore I would never do that to my family again and I didn’t. From then on, I raced to win, even if I killed myself.

  We started racing others for their pink slips. Most guys we race are rich assholes who get a new car from daddy for their birthday and want to show off how big they think their cocks are, but they lose every time. They’re missing one thing my brothers and I have: nothing to lose. We risk our lives every day just by leaving our house.

  When we started winning and earning good money, we began to make enemies. They thought they could race a street kid and lose and then walk away laughing at us, not give us what we had won, what we had earned.

  That’s when we went from normal street kids who would defend ourselves in this cruel world to the infamous Portland Street Kings who people now make a point of staying the fuck away from. If you cross us, we have no problem putting a bullet through your head, burying your body out in the middle of nowhere and walking away, and forgetting you ever existed. We don’t fuck around, and people started to learn that about us very quickly.

  What do the Portland Street Kings live for? Family. What else would someone kill for, do illegal activities and risk their freedom for? To protect our family we need respect, money and power, and I’ll go to any lengths to make sure they are fed, clothed and kept safe.