Unfiltered & Unhinged

by Payge Galvin

  Things hadn’t changed much, although the customization on some of the machines here was truly sick. He stayed on his Chief, observing the more interesting ones that flashed by him. He wondered what it was like when Cass was riding in these things. Then he pulled his mind away from those thoughts. He was here to tell Wrex to back off and stay away from his garage.

  At least that’s what he told himself.

  The racers were talking trash, insulting anything that would goad someone into making a mistake. Dev watched as the two riders moved out to the darkened stretch of road adjacent to the strip mall. He kept an eye out for Wrex too, but so far there was no sign of the guy. He’d probably be out at the finish line, making sure the results were clean.

  After a half hour of watching the souped-up street bikes zip by him, Dev put his kickstand down and got off the bike, intending to go hunt for Wrex. Scenes like this bored him to tears; all races like this did was ensure a steady stream of bodies into the emergency room when the inevitable crash happened. It always happened.

  A battered blue truck pulled into the lot, maneuvering around the clots of motorcycles in the middle of the pavement. Dev recognized that truck—it was Cass’s friend Scott’s pickup. He stopped, watching as Cass hopped out of the passenger side. What the hell was she doing here?

  She didn’t look happy, that much Dev could tell even as far away as he was. Scott and Cass split up, searching for something. Cass stomped around, raising dust from the packed earth of the construction site. She ignored anyone who called a greeting to her, and the set of her mouth made Dev sad for whoever she was looking for. Girl looked beyond pissed. He followed.

  When he caught up with Cass, she was yanking on the arm of a young man who looked startlingly like her. “Let’s go, Liam,” she was saying, trying to drag him upright.

  Her brother. Liam didn’t look to be in that great a shape. His movements were uncoordinated and sluggish. His eyes had that half-lidded look of the deeply and truly wasted. Dude was trashed. He could barely form sentences.

  “You said you wouldn’t do this anymore.” Cass yelled into his face, shaking him. “Who brought you here?” She sounded hurt and upset.

  “Need some help?” Dev asked as he came alongside her.

  Her pretty face skipped through emotions in seconds; first, frustrated, then relieved, before settling on irritated. “I’ve got this.”

  “Yeah, I can see that.” Liam listed sideways, nearly toppling them both. Dev stood with his arms folded across his chest. “Seriously, Cass, just let me help.”

  She let loose a sigh that sounded close to tears. “Fine.” She dragged a hand through her hair, bracelets clinking. “Can you help me get him in the truck?” Cass looked around. “I need to get him out of here before Wrex comes.”

  “On it.” Dev didn’t even try to get Liam upright. The guy was going to do more harm than good trying to stumble to the pickup. Instead, Dev grabbed Liam’s arm and hoisted him into a fireman’s carry. He just hoped the guy didn’t decide to puke down his side or something.

  He glanced over at Cass as they hauled ass to the pickup. Scott met them at the truck. She was worrying at her bottom lip, eyes skimming the crowd nervously. She waved at a few people, but didn’t really notice any of them. Dev felt his shoulders knot up. She looked hunted.

  “Wrex is headed back,” Scott told Cass, his eyes darting back to the entrance of the parking lot.

  Liam groaned against Dev’s shoulder, mumbling something unintelligible. Dev wanted to slap the taste out of his mouth for doing this to his sister.

  “Hey man,” Liam drooled. “Take it easy.” At least that’s what Dev thought he said; the words were slurred so much it might have been the formula for everlasting life.

  “Thank you,” Cass said as they approached the truck. Dust danced in the beam of the headlights as she crossed in front of them to open the door. “Set him in here.”

  Dev did so, dumping Liam none too gently into the passenger seat. He slid to the side, all but boneless in his drunken state. Cass and Scott managed to get him upright and strapped into the seatbelt. She moved to crawl over him so she could sit in the middle, but Dev stopped her.

  “I’ll follow you.” He jerked his head towards where he’d parked his bike.

  Cass looked like she was debating what to tell him, when Scott said helpfully, “You’re going to need him to help you get Liam inside. I’m already late.” He stopped her with a hand. “And you should probably ride with him in case we get separated.” Dev made a mental note to buy the guy a fifth of Jack as thanks.

  She nodded, sliding back out of the truck. After pressing a fond kiss to Liam’s forehead, Cass slammed the door shut, and followed Dev to his Indian. He watched as she kicked at the dirt and rocks littering the empty lot.

  “Stupid question, I know but, are you okay?” Dev put his hands in the pockets of his jeans so she wouldn’t see how his hands had clenched into fists.

  Cass gave him a raw laugh, turning around in time to see Scott’s truck pull out of the lot. “Never better! Other than my brother’s death wish, everything is just peachy freakin’ keen.”

  Dev climbed onto his bike and waited for her to do the same. Something was happening where the racers were gathered. A knot of people broke away from the large group, heading in Cass’s direction. She cursed softly and grabbed hold of Dev’s waist. Dev loved the way her arms felt around him, how warm her body was against his.

  “It’s Wrex,” she said, laying her cheek against his back. “I don’t want to see him tonight.”

  Dev wondered if that meant there was ever a night she did want to see him, but he wasn’t going to bring that up now. The Chief roared to life beneath them and he gunned it out of the lot in a cloud of dust. He did get a good look at Wrex’s furious face as they ripped past him, the Indian’s engine drowning out whatever it was he yelled after them.

  And then it was just him and Cass on the open road.

  ‡

  He pulled into the parking lot in front of her apartment complex, still filled with questions. Cass hadn’t said much when they’d met Scott at Liam’s apartment building; she’d been focused on getting her brother put to bed. His roommate was there, so he’d promised to check in on Liam while he slept it off. Dev had offered her a ride back to her place.

  “You want a beer or something?” she asked as she got off the bike.

  “Sure.” He wasn’t ready to leave her by herself just yet. She looked like she was about to tear herself to ribbons with how keyed up she was. He wanted to make sure she was going to be okay.

  Cass led him upstairs to her apartment and invited him inside with a wave. He stepped inside, his eyes taking in the small living room that abutted the kitchen, the dining room that had been turned into an office. “Make yourself comfortable,” she said, ducking into the kitchen.

  Dev leaned against the pass-through so he could watch her. “Mind if I ask what was going on back there?”

  Cass frowned, opening the refrigerator. “We’ve got Bud Light, Dr. Pepper, and some orange juice. Oh, and water.”

  Dev took the time to admire her ass as she leaned over to look in the back of the fridge. “I’ll take a Dr. Pepper,” he answered absently, instead focusing on the adorable heart shape her ass made in those shorts.

  He nearly sighed in disappointment when she stood up straight. “You want a glass?”

  “Nah.” He took the can she passed him and cracked it open. “So you ever gonna answer my question?”

  Cass walked out of the kitchen and sat on the edge of the sofa. “A friend called me. Told me Liam was drinking at The Crow Bar tonight.” She propped her elbows on her knees and cupped her face in her hands as she talked. Dev joined her on the sofa. “When I managed to get out there, he’d already left with Wrex.”

  “I feel like I’m coming into this party a little late. Why is Liam even hanging with Wrex anymore?” Dev took another swig of soda and resisted the urge to touch her hair.

&nb
sp; “Because Liam is deeply and abidingly stupid,” she snapped, her voice angry. Cass jumped to her feet, beginning to pace around the room. “He gets drunk, and he bets with money he doesn’t have. Wrex knows this! Everybody knows it!”

  “So Wrex got him drunk and then took him to the sideshow tonight hoping to get him to bet. The only question that matters is, did he?” Dev was pretty confident that Liam had placed at least one bet tonight.

  She shrugged, dark hair bouncing around her shoulders. Dev wanted to wipe that frown off her face with slow kisses, wanted to make her forget her troubles with his lips and tongue. But now wasn’t the time for that, so he sat and listened.

  “This is how he got into Wrex’s debt in the first place.” Cass huffed out a sigh. “I used to go to the sideshows every once in a while. That’s how I met Wrex—you know, hanging out there. It was fun, just a place I could go to blow off steam. I did a few little races—for fun, not money.” She stopped, obviously thinking about those days. Then she shook her head. “But Liam, he’s different. He’d get wasted and start betting: bad, good, it didn’t matter. Wrex spotted him a couple of times, let him think he’d won big.”

  “I know how it works,” Dev said, already knowing how this story ended.

  “Well, then you know that you never keep winning. Liam kept thinking if he just won one big race, he’d get out from under. It never happened.”

  “So he came to you for help.” He put his can on the coffee table.

  Cass laughed. “Like I had a pot to piss in.” Her eyes strayed to her bedroom door, then away. “But he knew I was a good rider. So I went to Wrex and offered to race for him as a way to pay off Liam’s debt.”

  “And your brother didn’t care that you were risking your life?” Dev couldn’t believe what he was hearing.

  Cass stared at him, shocked. “What are you talking about?”

  Dev stood up and walked over to her. “What happens if you lay that bike down? If you wreck?” He put a hand up to her cheek, feeling the soft skin beneath his palm. “You think Wrex or any of his boys is going to call an ambulance for you?” He didn’t even want to mention the fact that she was only useful to Wrex for as long as she was able to make money. There were other ways he could hurt her that didn’t involve her racing.

  Cass stared at him, her green eyes wide. “Liam doesn’t think like that,” was all she said.

  He brushed his thumb along her cheekbone. “He’s lucky to have someone like you.”

  She flinched, making him wonder what he’d said that was so horrible. “It’s not…I’m not how you think.”

  He raised one eyebrow, sliding his hand under her chin and urging her head up when she refused to look at him. “I don’t know, Cass. From where I’m standing, a girl who risks her life to pay off her brother’s gambling debts is pretty awesome.”

  She took a step back from him. “I don’t think so.”

  Dev observed her carefully. She looked downright uncomfortable at his praise. He would have thought she’d be preening under it, but no. It really bothered her. “Can’t take a compliment?”

  Cass shook her head. “You don’t know some of the things I’ve done.”

  “And I don’t need to, Cass. I’m commenting on what you’re doing now. For your brother.” He smiled at her. All he wanted her to do was look at him without that shadow in her eyes.

  She moved to the sofa and sat down again. After a few moments, he joined her. “Liam promised me he’d stop going to the sideshows. So when I got the call tonight, I kind of freaked out.”

  “Understandable.”

  “When he gets drunk…well, Wrex took advantage of him before. With the betting. I didn’t want him getting us in any deeper than we are already.” She looked at her hands.

  Dev took one of hers in his. He traced his finger down the line of her palm. He pressed his thumb into the center of it and began to rub circles into the flesh. Her hand spasmed once, then relaxed. “There now.” He continued with the light massage, trying to work out some of her tension. “Makes perfect sense that you’d be freaking.”

  Cass stared at him, as if she didn’t quite believe what she was hearing. “Why are you being so…nice to me?” she asked in a wondering voice.

  “Because you deserve it.” He lowered his head to hers.

  “No, I don’t,” she whispered, before his mouth claimed hers.

  Chapter 6

  She was pulling her clothes out of the dryer when she heard Mags shouting her name from the door of their apartment. The laundry room was in the basement of their building. Cass dumped everything in the basket and hustled back up the stairs.

  “What?” she yelled as she was halfway up the stairs.

  “Oh my God,” Mags yelled back. “You will not believe this!”

  She took the stairs two at a time and arrived at her apartment breathless. Dropping her laundry basket on the floor, Cass flopped next to Mags on the sofa. “So what was so important that I had to get up here so fast?”

  Mags was practically bouncing in her seat. She pointed excitedly at the television. “That!”

  Cass stared. “An ad for Diet Pepsi?” she asked, puzzled.

  “Not that!” Mags made an inarticulate sound of frustration. “Just wait.”

  Reaching into her basket, Cass began the mind-numbing task of folding her clothes. “You could just tell m—” she began, only to be cut off by her roommate’s shriek.

  “There!” Mags jumped to her feet, thrusting her finger at the screen as the logo for American Voice appeared. “Look!”

  Cass watched the intro from the commercial, then stared in shock. “Holy crap,” she breathed. “No freaking way.”

  “It’s Dillon!” Mags looked like she was one step away from cackling. “He’s on the show!” She couldn’t seem to stop pointing at the screen. “American Voice!”

  “Shhhhh!” Cass shushed her, motioning for her to sit back down. She wanted to hear what the host was saying. The camera panned between Dillon and another girl from Rio Verde, Savannah. She and Dillon sang together sometimes at some of the bars around town.

  Seeing them together now caused something to click inside Cass. She realized that Savannah was the girl he’d been trying to forget. And now they were on American Voice together? She grinned. That boy was in so much trouble.

  The host called the two of them America’s Sweethearts. Cass shook her head. She could not believe what she was seeing. The last time she’d seen Dillon had been that night. Cass felt the smile melt from her face. She didn’t want to think about that night.

  “Didn’t you sleep with him?” Mags’s voice interrupted her thoughts.

  Cass nodded. “Yeah.” She ran a hand through her hair. “Can I tell you how weird this is?”

  “No doubt.” Mags smiled broadly. “So was he any good?”

  She shrugged. “He was fun. But his voice is really something special.” And that was true. Cass didn’t fool herself into thinking that what she and Dillon did had any kind of staying power. He was a fling, that was all. But anyone with functioning ears could tell he had a gift.

  Mags raised an eyebrow in disbelief. Cass shook her head. “Just watch and listen. You’ll see what I mean.”

  “I feel like we should have popcorn. Or wine.” Her roommate got up to rummage in the kitchen.

  “Bring both,” Cass called, attention glued to the television. One guy—Sam maybe?—was singing “Someone to Watch Over Me” in a style that was country adjacent. She made a face, wishing they would just get to the good stuff already. She heard the microwave ding and the smell of buttered popcorn hit her nose.

  “Hurry up,” she said. “Dillon’s next!”

  Mags returned with two plastic wine glasses, a bottle of white wine and a huge bowl of popcorn. Cass helped her put everything down, and then poured herself a generous glass of the cheap white wine. She took a big swig of it when Gavin announced, “Dillon Varga!”

  Dillon sang his version of “Someone to Watch Over Me�
� to some kind of swing beat. He killed it. Cass had never heard him sound so good. She glanced over at Mags to find her staring at the television, rapt with attention. She was pretty sure a bomb could go off and her roommate wouldn’t have noticed anything while Dillon was singing.

  The judges, all except one, loved it. Dillon ducked his head, like he always did when he was done with a song. Cass took a handful of popcorn and chewed thoughtfully while she waited for Mags’ reaction to Dillon’s performance.

  “That was…amazing,” Mags managed to get out, looking stunned. “I had no idea he could sing like that.”

  “Here’s Savannah,” Cass told her. They settled in to watch.

  When she was finished, the camera panned to capture Dillon’s expression. “Oh, he’s so screwed,” Mags giggled.

  Cass nodded. His feelings for Savannah were there for all to see. It looked like America’s Sweethearts was more than just a marketing scheme. “Yeah, he’s got it bad.”

  Mags leaned back against the cushions. “You think she feels the same?” She twirled her wine glass between her palms.

  She shrugged. “Hope so, for his sake.” Cass propped her feet up on the coffee table and tossed another handful of kernels into her mouth. “We need to make watching American Voice together a weekly thing.” She leaned her head against Mags’ shoulder.

  “Anybody special you want to invite?” Her roommate nudged her playfully.

  Dev immediately sprang to Cass’s mind. He’d sat on this couch and kissed her until she couldn’t remember her own name just a few nights ago. She wished she’d felt up to doing more, but the scene with Liam had kind of wrecked her. She would have liked to have him over again, although she doubted he was the type to watch American Voice.

  Still, any excuse to get her hands on him was a welcome one.

  “Earth to Cass,” Mags was saying, looking at her strangely.

  “Sorry,” she told her roommate. “Got things on my mind.”

  “Any of them happen to be a smoking hot mechanic?” Mags grinned.

  Cass tried to hide a smile and failed. She should never have told Mags about Dev. “Maybe.” She got up to putter around the kitchen, needing something to do. Cass didn’t want to answer questions about Dev right now. Mostly because she didn’t have any answers.