Skid Row Kings Complete Series

by Winter Travers

  And what the hell do I get out of this?

  Um, anything you want. I looked down at what I had just sent and felt a heart attack coming on. Anything could be, well, anything. “Oh hell.” Within reason. I sent off quickly.

  Deal.

  Fuck. Shit. Fuck. One minute ago, I was worried he wouldn’t want to go, and now that he was going, I was terrified not knowing what he was going to want in return.

  “Everything okay, Lee?” Mitch walked into the shop and tossed a clipboard on his workbench.

  “Uh. Sure. I was just making plans with Kurt.”

  Mitch nodded and crossed his arms over his chest. “What are y’all up to?”

  “I think we’re going to the race tonight.”

  “No shit? How in the hell did you manage that one? Luke has been calling him all week trying to set something up to get together, and Kurt keeps blowing him off.”

  Really? I had no clue about any of that. Kurt told me he hadn’t heard from Luke in weeks. “I just asked him if he wanted to go and he said yes.” There was no way I was going to tell Mitch I told Kurt he could have anything he wanted if he came with. That was a detail I would keep to myself. “Is Scarlett going to be there tonight?”

  “Yeah. Frankie volunteered to watch Levi for us overnight, so we plan on going to the race and then out to the movies after. You and Kurt should come with us.”

  “I’ll have to ask Kurt. I’m surprised that he said yes to the race tonight.”

  “How are you two doing?”

  “Um, what do you mean?” Why was it no matter who I talked to, they had to know something about Kurt, me, or Kurt and me? Thankfully, Violet hadn’t pressed me for too many details so far, but I knew she was chomping at the bit to find out what was up with us.

  “I mean, I’m sick of walking around the elephant in the room. You’re married to my brother, and not one of us knew about it. I say you start with how in the hell that happened, and then from there, I can figure out what my next question will be.”

  “Kurt helped me when I needed it.”

  “Lee, I helped Scar when she needed help, but I didn’t fucking marry her.”

  “Well, marrying me was the only solution to my problem. At least, it was the only solution Kurt and I could come up with.”

  Mitch ran his hand over his head. “You think you might tell me what that problem was that Kurt solved?”

  I hung my head and knew there was no way out of telling Mitch everything. “Both of my parents took off and left Jay and me behind. Their leaving didn’t really affect me since I didn’t live at home anymore, but it really fucked over Jay.”

  “Where in the hell did your parents go, and how the fuck do they leave their fifteen-year-old to fend for themselves?”

  I shrugged and shoved my hands into my pockets. “Drugs will make ya do some fucked up shit, Mitch. It wasn’t the first time they left, but it was the fact that they didn’t come back after a weeklong bender. Jay moved into my house and things were going fine until word got out that Mom and Dad left and then the school came knocking wondering who was taking care of Jay.”

  “That’s fucking bullshit. You were probably giving that kid more than your shit parents ever did.”

  I laughed and shook my head. “I have never heard a truer statement.”

  “So, you and Kurt got married to get CPS off of your back?”

  Ding, ding, ding. I guess it was pretty obvious why Kurt and I got hitched after I told the story of how shitty my parents were. “Yeah. It was supposed to be just for show, but then Kurt and I started to spend time together even more, but I ended it before it became anything.”

  “That’s why he hates you. He wanted more, and all you wanted was to get CPS off your back.”

  Well, when put that way, it sounded like I was a heartless bitch. “No.”

  “Then, why in the hell did y’all breakup?”

  “We’re not broken up. At least, not to the state of Illinois, we’re still married. Kurt never got a divorce, and I couldn’t afford one.”

  “You could have asked Luke and me for help. You know we would have helped you no matter what.”

  “I know that now. Back then, I didn’t even know you or Mitch. Kurt, I met at the races, and we would hang out every now and then. He surprised the hell out of me when he suggested that we get married, and I went along with it because I didn’t know what else to do, and I would have done anything to keep Jay with me.”

  “Obviously.”

  “Look, Mitch. This is all fucked up, and I have no idea how to fix any of it. Now, not only does Kurt hate me, he hates you and Luke, too.”

  “You’re wrong, Lee. He doesn’t hate any of us; he’s just trying to figure out who he is. I know from experience, being behind Luke can be daunting. He built this garage from the ground up, giving us all a better life. It’s hard to compete with something like that.”

  “But you guys don’t need to compete. You’re brothers. Luke may have started this garage, but you’re all keeping it going.”

  Mitch pointed the finger at me and a smirk spread across his lips. “Right on, Lee. Now, all you need to do is convince Kurt of that.”

  “Wait.” I held up my hand and shook my head. “Why in the hell do I need to be the one to convince him of that?”

  “Because you’re the only one he’s going to listen to.”

  None of this made sense. Why in the hell did Mitch think Kurt was only going to listen to me? We were getting along, but I knew it was only a reprieve until Kurt was back to one hundred percent. “Did you hit your head today?”

  Mitch laughed and crossed his arms over his chest. “No, Lee. I just know what Kurt is thinking and what he is going through. I felt the same way at one point.”

  “Yeah, but you didn’t completely disown your family, run off to California, and then almost kill yourself in a car accident.”

  “No, I didn’t. But that’s what makes Kurt. He flies off the handle and doesn’t think before he acts. But, once he cools down and takes a chance to think, he knows what he needs to do.”

  “Hell, I don’t even know what he should do. How am I supposed to help him figure it out?”

  Mitch laughed and headed to the overhead door and pressed the button to close it. “Honestly, Lee? I don’t know what the hell you are going to do, but whatever it is, you need to do it before Kurt gets a hair up his ass and decides to leave again.”

  I grabbed my car keys off my toolbox and headed out the back door to where I had parked my car. After I unlocked the doors and slid in behind the wheel, I stuck the key in the ignition and cranked it on. “What in the hell are you going to do, Lee?” I asked out loud.

  If I wasn’t careful, Kurt was going to slip through my fingers again, and I would be back where I started.

  Kurt wasn’t going to leave again. I was going to make sure of that.

  Hopefully.

  ********

  Chapter 16

  Kurt

  “I changed my mind. We don’t need to go to the race tonight.”

  I slipped my feet into the sandals Lee had given me two weeks ago and grabbed her keys off the coffee table. “We’re going.”

  “You do know that Mitch and Luke are going to be there, right?”

  “Yeah. I kind of figured that out.”

  “Are you sure you want to see them?”

  I hobbled over to the door and tossed it open. “I’m a big boy, Lee. I can handle seeing my brothers.”

  “Can you handle seeing your brothers and not punching them? I’m not in the mood for a bloodbath tonight, Kurt.” Leelee grabbed the sweatshirt she had tossed over the back of the couch and pulled it on over her head.

  “I don’t plan on talking to them, Lee. So, I don’t think you have anything to worry about. Now, let’s go. We can grab something to eat after the race if that’s okay with you. I’m meeting Nos at the race so we can go over some things.” Progress on the GTO had been slow, but things were hopefully going to start picking
up in the week to come. The thing I needed to talk to Nos about was the garage I was working in.

  Nos hadn’t told me how state of the art the damn thing was when he offered to let me work there. The garage was amazing. I had an idea, and I wanted to run it past Nos to see if he was down with what I was thinking.

  “You and Nos have been hanging out a lot lately.”

  I shrugged and headed down the sidewalk to the car. “We’ve always been friends. He’s just helping me with some things.”

  “Oh, well that’s cool.” Leelee slid into the driver’s seat and cranked up the car.

  I fell into my seat, still not as graceful as I should be. I knew it was killing Leelee not knowing what was going on with Nos and me, but I didn’t want to say anything until I knew what the hell I was doing. Right now, everything was an idea in my head. I didn’t want to open my mouth until everything was concrete. “The race is over on 5th tonight.”

  “I heard.” Leelee backed out of the driveway and headed over to the race. “That’s the first time they’ve raced over there, right?”

  “Yeah. I’ve been wanting to race over there for years and wouldn’t you know when they finally decide to race there, I can barely fucking walk, let alone drive a damn car. Fuckers.” 5th Street was one of the curviest and hardest roads to drive in the city, and everyone was afraid of it. Everyone but me. 5th Street was where I had learned how to drift. If you could drift on 5th, you could drift anywhere.

  “You drift over there all the time.”

  “Yeah, but I’ve never raced there. I’d love to beat all those fuckers over there. Most of them would spin their tires and crash on the fourth curve.”

  “You think so? I hope Mitch doesn’t crash tonight.” Leelee turned onto the main road and headed west out of town.

  “He won’t. He’s cautious. Now, if AZ were racing, I would bet good money that fucker will crash.”

  “I haven’t heard much about AZ lately. Did he finally get sick of getting his ass whipped by the Jensen boys?”

  “That, and I don’t think he had the money to keep racing and wrecking. It’s one thing to do a little damage to your car; it’s another to completely annihilate the damn thing.”

  “I guess you would know how that goes.” Leelee glanced at me, a smirk on her face.

  “Yeah. California was me not knowing the course and driving like an ass.”

  “I’m surprised you’d admit that. Most guys would blame the track or something asinine like the weather.”

  I shrugged and glanced out the window. I wish I could blame the road, but I crashed because I was driving pissed off, trying to prove myself to everyone. “I was driving for the wrong reasons in California.”

  “Money?”

  “No. I was driving for everyone but myself.”

  “Oh.”

  Yeah, oh was right. I had fucked up that night, and now I was paying for it. Crashing my car and almost dying was not the way to prove to Luke and Mitch that I could make it on my own. “You think we’ll be able to get a close parking spot? I’m getting better at walking, but I’m not really up to walking my ass off.”

  “I called Pedro. He said we could park behind his truck.”

  “Huh?” I asked, wondering who in the hell Pedro was. Not that I had a right to know who he was, but I was jealous of the guy all the same.

  “The taco truck.”

  “You got an in with the taco guy?”

  Leelee turned the corner onto 5th, and we instantly hit a crowd of people. She slowly crept down the street, urging the crowd to part with the bumper of her car. “We went to school together, and he hooks me up with tacos.”

  I nodded, but I still was jealous. What in the hell was going on?

  We finally made it to the area where all the food trucks were parked, and Leelee pulled her tank behind the taco trailer.

  “Yo, Lee. I haven’t seen you in a while,” a guy called from the back of the truck as I opened my door and swung my legs out of the car.

  “I was out of town for a bit and just been working my ass off,” Leelee said as she walked over to the guy and gave him a hug. He wrapped his arms tight around her and lifted her off the ground.

  My stomach tightened as I watched him run his hands over her back and she wrapped her arms around his neck. “You want your usual, babe?” he asked as he set her back on the ground.

  “Yeah. Throw in a couple extra. I’m extra hungry tonight.”

  The guy threw his head back laughing and disappeared into the trailer.

  “You need help?” Leelee asked as she turned back to me.

  I was still sitting in the car like an idiot, paralyzed by what I had just seen. “Uh, no. I’m good.” I braced my hands on the door and hoisted my ass out of the car and prayed my arms wouldn’t give out.

  “No need to stop for dinner on the way home. Pedro is hooking us up with dinner.”

  “I heard. How much is it?” I pulled my wallet out of my pocket and grabbed a fifty out.

  “Nothing. Pedro owes me.”

  I was holding the fifty up to Lee, ready to ask her what the hell she meant by Pedro owing her when he jogged down the steps of the trailer with a box overflowing with food.

  “Here you go, babe. If you need anything more, just let me know.” He winked at Lee and headed back into the trailer.

  I was beginning to see what kind of arrangement Leelee and Pedro had, and I didn’t fucking like it.

  “Hungry?” Leelee asked as she held up the box to me.

  “No.” I was fucking starving, but I didn’t want a damn taco from Pedro. “I need to find Nos. You coming with me, or you want me to drop you off with Vi and Scar?”

  “Um, you don’t want to watch the race with me?”

  “I do, but I’m going to watch it with Nos.”

  Leelee looked around, and I knew she was torn on who she wanted to watch the race with, but I wasn’t going to hang out with Luke tonight. “Can we stop by and say hi to Violet and Scarlett before we find Nos?”

  I nodded over her shoulder. “Yeah. I saw them back that way.” When we had driven through the crowd, I had spotted Luke and Mitch leaning against Mitch’s Vette. “Nos is over there, too.”

  “Okay. Lead the way. I figure if anyone gets in our way, you can whack them upside the head with your cast.”

  “Really, Lee? If that was your plan, then I should have brought my crutch. That’s a much better weapon.”

  “Duly noted for our next excursion.”

  I slowly made my way through the crowd with Leelee following close behind, bumping into me every time I had to stop for someone crossing our path. “You need to get your brake lights checked.” Leelee laughed when she smashed into me. “You’re going to be wearing our dinner on your back soon.”

  “Well, if these fuckers would just get out of my way, we wouldn’t have a problem.” A guy in a blue shirt who had cut me off glared at me over his shoulder. “Yeah, I’m talking to you, fucker,” I growled under my breath.

  “Kurt,” Leelee gasped. “You agreed on no bloodbaths tonight.”

  “That was before I saw how rude these fucking people are.” Another guy skirted around me and bumped into my shoulder. “Watch where the hell you’re going,” I grunted as I accidently elbowed him in the stomach.

  Leelee half-laughed and scoffed as the guy turned to yell at me but then saw I was a fucking cripple. “Uh, sorry, man,” he mumbled.

  I grunted at him, and Leelee hit me on the back. “He said he was sorry, Kurt.”

  “He wouldn’t have to be sorry if he would have just watched where the hell he was walking. I can’t believe you and the girls walk through this every Friday and don’t deck someone.”

  “The guys tend to get out of our way a bit more than they do for you.”

  I growled low as another fucker bumped into me and I was ready to take a swing at him when Leelee wrapped her arm around my waist and pressed her lips to my ear. “Down, boy,” she whispered. She pressed her body against m
y back, and I couldn’t help but notice the way her breath floated across my neck and the feel of her soft lips against my ear. “You okay?”

  Was I okay? Hell no. I had Leelee pressed up against me, and I was standing in a sea of people unable to do anything about it. “I’m good.”

  She hesitated, her body still pushed against mine and then she pulled away. “Um, I see Vi and Scarlett over here,” she mumbled.

  They were across the road and were both looking at us, along with Luke and Mitch. Of course, they had just seen Leelee pressed up against me. Fucking great. I didn’t know what the hell was going on with Leelee and me, but now they were all wondering the same thing.

  I reached behind me, grabbing Leelee’s hand that wasn’t holding the box of tacos and pulled her across the road behind me.

  “Hey,” Violet said, smiling. “I was wondering when you were going to get here. I was beginning to think that I was going to have to deploy Levi” she threatened with a laugh.

  Leelee held out the box of tacos to everyone and shook her head. “No need to deploy the secret weapon. We were fighting the crowd to get over here. I swear it’s busier than it normally is.”

  “That’s ‘cause we’re on 5th tonight. They’re all waiting for the accidents,” Luke replied, as he grabbed four tacos out of the box and handed one to Violet. “Thank fuck I’m not driving tonight. Give me a Christmas tree and a straight shot any day. Y’all are fucking crazy.” Luke chomped into his taco and finally looked at me. “Well, if it isn’t Mr. Crazy himself.”

  “Hey, Kurt,” Scarlett chirped. “You’re looking really good.”

  “Thanks, Scar.” I couldn’t be mad at Scarlett and Violet. It wasn’t their faults they were dating my brothers, who were asses to me.

  “When are we going to see you back behind the wheel?” Violet asked.

  “At least another four weeks. I go to the doctor next week. I’m hoping they’ll let me out of this early.” I held up my arm and shrugged. I hoped it would happen, but I doubted it would.

  “Come on, sit down.” Violet scooted over on the tailgate of Mitch’s truck and patted the spot next to her for Leelee.