Can't Slow Down (Consumed by Love #2)

by Lizzie Hart Stevens

“Go to Derek’s. I’ll text him to have the garage door open and ready so you can pull the Hellcat in.”

  Thank God we’re only about five blocks away. My palms are sweating and my knees are shaking.

  “You got her, sweet cheeks. We’re almost there.” Coen’s phone chimes. “Derek’s ready for us.” Perfect timing, too, as I squelch the tires around the last corner.

  Derek is standing outside waiting as I ease the Hellcat into his garage and he immediately hits the closer button.

  I throw the car in park and slump into the seat. Coen reaches over and pats my leg with his good hand.

  “That’s my girl.”

  We both turn to look at each other, huffing and puffing as we try to catch our breath. Coen lets out a heavy sigh and closes his eyes for a moment. When he opens them again, his beautiful green eyes stare intently and his lips slowly part. I think he’s going to kiss me, but instead his deep voice cracks as he starts to speak.

  “I love you, Lexi.” His voice is barely above a whisper.

  He loves me? He loves me.

  Before I get a chance to reply, Derek is standing in front of the car with his arms crossed and breaks the awkward silence.

  “One of you two care to tell me what the hell is going on?” he says before ripping a piece of beef jerky with his teeth.

  AS IF MY LIFE hadn’t already been fucked up enough, now I’m related to the piece of shit that assaulted and abused my girlfriend. Who I may have just freaked out because I said those three little words. I haven’t said those words to anyone in a very long time. I could try and convince myself that it was just a knee-jerk reaction to the moment, but the truth is, even though I’ve only know Lexi for a short time, I’ve come to realize she’s what I’ve been waiting for my entire life. She’s my family now; her and Derek. I don’t need anyone else and I don’t want anyone else.

  Her eyes search my face and her lips part, until Derek’s voice breaks our silence. Sometimes that guy has the worst timing. Lexi and I both get out of the car and I explain the whole thing to him.

  “And now we’re here in your garage.”

  “That is some fucked up shit, dude,” Derek says after swallowing the last bite of his jerky. “So, what’s the plan now?”

  I force out a breath and run my good hand through my hair.

  “I don’t know yet.”

  Derek nods toward my sore hand.

  “Did you break it on that asshole’s face?”

  I slowly open and close my injured fist.

  “Nah, I can move it. I think it’s just bruised.”

  “I’ll get you some ice and something to clean your face.”

  When the door to the house closes behind him, Lexi walks over to me and wraps her arms tight around my waist and gives me a hug. I lean down and bury my nose in her soft hair. She still smells like my shampoo. She smells like home. I never meant to fall so hard and so fast for her, but I can’t imagine my life without her, nor do I want to.

  “Are you okay, Coen?” She lifts her head up to look at me, still holding me close.

  “I’ll be fine in a couple days. It’s not the first time I bruised my knuckles.”

  “I’m not talking about your hand. I’m talking about what happened at your aunt’s.”

  “I’ve been waiting for her to disown me for years, Lex. She never wanted to raise me, she only did it because my mom wrote it into her will asking her to. Aunt Sarah and my mom were inseparable and when Mom died, Sarah changed. She wasn’t the same woman anymore. As for the whole Patrick thing, I’m not sure what to think about that. It’s like something out of a TV show. But you know, the way this past week or so has been, I shouldn’t be surprised.”

  “It has been a whirlwind of a week. That’s for sure.” She stands on her tiptoes and cradles my face in her hands. “But I’m so thankful for one good thing that has come out of it.”

  I rest my forehead against hers. “Oh yeah, and what’s that?” I tease.

  “My sexy knight in tattooed armor.” She kisses me on the cheek. “I’ll kiss you proper later after your face is cleaned up.”

  “Would you two like some more time?” Derek had come back into the garage but neither of us notices until he speaks. He tosses the ice pack and washcloth at me. Thankfully I manage to catch them with my good hand.

  “Thanks, fucker.” I laugh.

  “So . . . ” Derek crosses his arms and leans against the work bench along the wall of the garage where all of his wrenches and tools are hanging.

  “So . . . what?” I ask, as Lexi cleans up my face with the wash cloth Derek brought me and I hold the ice pack on my knuckles.

  “What’s the plan, chief?”

  Lexi pauses and waits for me to answer Derek.

  “The plan is . . . I challenge him to a race.”

  Lexi and Derek both look at me quizzically.

  “Have you lost your fucking mind? We need to keep an eye on him.” Lexi sounds a little angry.

  “Lex, are you scheduled to work tomorrow at the restaurant?”

  “No, I requested the day off tomorrow a few weeks ago. It’s Brea’s birthday and we always go bowling and have dinner.”

  “Call her and tell her you need to postpone it and that we’ll make it up to her this weekend.” I tuck a strand of her hair behind her ear. “I have an idea, sweet cheeks. Trust me?”

  She looks away, closes her eyes and nods. I kiss her forehead.

  “D, can you make a phone call? Tell the watchdog to tell that dumbass to be at the track tomorrow evening. I have a proposal for him I think he’ll be interested in.”

  “Uh, sure man, whatever you need.” Derek crosses his arms and strokes his chin like Santa does his long beard.

  “But . . . ?” I know there’s a “but.” I can tell by the look on his face and the way he’s rubbing his chin.

  “But, isn’t Sulley going to be pissed if we open the track for personal reasons?”

  “He owes me a favor. Plus, I am pretty sure once I explain the situation and my plan, he’ll help us out.” I give them both a smirk.

  Derek, Lexi, and I spend the rest of the evening discussing the plan over pizza and a few beers. Just in case the cops are still out looking for me we leave the Hellcat parked in Derek’s garage and Lexi and I will sleep over at her place tonight.

  This asshole is going down. I’m done playing.

  THE NEXT EVENING the three of us head over to Sulley’s Raceway. We’re high on adrenaline and praying we can pull this thing off. Sulley, the owner and my boss, agreed to allow me to use this place for the night as long as we don’t do anything drastic, and I gave all the maintenance workers the night off, just in case anything goes awry.

  Derek is standing at the entrance gate and Lexi and I are on our way up to the press box. When we get to the top I show her where she can sit so she can see everything. She’ll be safer up here, away from everything.

  “Coen, I’m not so sure this is going to work.” Lexi stares out the big square windows overlooking the track and down at my Hellcat that is parked in the pit.

  “Hey, come here.” I lift her up by the waist, sitting her down on the table in front of me as I stand between her legs and place my hands on either side of her face. “Have I let you down yet, sweet cheeks?” My thumbs gently caress her freckled skin.

  “No, but what if—” she starts.

  “No buts, no what-ifs. We have to have faith and trust that this will work, Lex. I’ll challenge him. He will lose. He’ll flip his shit and Derek has the cops on speed dial.”

  Static comes across the walkie-talkie followed by Derek’s voice.

  “You ready to feed this twerp your road dust?”

  “Be right there,” I answer back. “Please, stay here, Lex. I’ll have Derek come and get you when it’s safe.”

  “Coen.” She grabs my arm as I turn to leave and stops me so I turn around to face her. “Did you mean it?”

  “Mean what, babe?”

  “When you said you lov
e me.”

  I smirk before devouring her in a deep, passionate kiss.

  “Baby cakes, you are the spark plugs to my ignition. You are my piston princess, and I never ever say those three words to someone unless I mean them.”

  Lexi giggles. God, that’s a beautiful sound.

  “I love you too, Coen. Please be careful”

  When I get to the track Patrick is waiting at the starting line next to his Porsche. I’m so taking him down.

  “What’s up, cousin? Did you decide you want to kiss and make up? I mean, we’re kinda even now, don’t you think? You stole my girl, I stole your aunt—or should I say, my mom.” He starts laughing hysterically and he reeks of alcohol.

  I don’t have time for this shit. I’m ready to get this all over with.

  “Here’s the deal, ass hat. You and I are going to race. Whoever loses will leave town and never contact Lexi ever again.”

  His evil grin turns solemn as he looks at my car and back to his, eyeing up his competition. He’s probably never raced once in his entire life. This is going to be a piece of cake.

  “Deal,” he says a few moments later.

  “May the best man win.”

  We both get inside our cars and strap on our helmets and seatbelts and slowly start easing our way up to the starting line to trigger the Christmas tree lights. A split second before the green light goes Patrick jumps the start, resulting in an automatic loss, which is confirmed by the bright red light I catch out of the corner of my eye. I might as well make the run and show him what a real car can do.

  We circle back around to the pits and exit our cars. Patrick slams his door and strides over to get right up in my face. His nostrils are flaring and his fists and teeth are clenched.

  “I want a fucking do-over. My damn foot slipped. I wasn’t ready!” He spits in my face as he talks and I snarl. I want to shove my fist into his gut right now, but I hold back. If he throws the first punch this will be self defense, so instead of punching him, I laugh in his face.

  “Rules are rules and a deal is a deal, cousin. I’ll be nice and give you twenty-four hours to pack your shit and get lost. For good.”

  “Who in the fuck do you think you are?” He shoves my chest and tries to push me backward into my car, but I don’t move a muscle.

  “You want to know who I am?” My lip curls in anger and I stare right into his cold gray eyes. “I’m the man that is going to treat Lexi the way she deserves to be treated and needs to be treated and worshipped. I’m the man that is going to do every possible fucking thing in his power to protect her and keep her safe from fucking losers like you.” It takes everything in me to not shove him back, but he needs to make the first move. I don’t want to give the cops any reason to think that I’ve done anything wrong.

  He takes a swing at me but I dodge it, causing him to land on his face, which just pisses him off even more. He quickly jumps to his feet and charges at me; his shoulder slams into my rib cage so hard that it knocks the air out of me momentarily. I cough hard and fight to gain control of my breathing again.

  “You think you’re so fucking tough, running Sulley’s Raceway, leading the wins on the quarter mile on the streets, stealing another man’s girl. You think I’m going to agree to leave town quietly because I lost a race on a technicality to you?” Patrick shoves his finger into my chest.

  After a few minutes, I’m finally starting to breath properly again. Rage and anger are coursing through my veins like a burst of nitro racing through an intake manifold. I let out a yell similar to a Viking charging into battle as the adrenaline takes over. I retaliate with the same move he just pulled on me; only my shoulder is much bigger than his. I slam him into his car so hard that his elbow goes through the glass of his window. Blood is now dripping down the door of his precious Porsche, and I’m pretty sure if humans could breathe fire like dragons he would be right now.

  Good. Bring it on, fucker.

  I look over toward the gate; Derek’s not there. That’s when I hear Lexi screaming my name. “Coen, stop! It’s gone far enough! He’s not worth it!”

  No, but you are.

  Derek is trying to hold her back. “Lex, don’t go over there. Coen can handle him.”

  The brief moment I had my attention off Patrick was enough for him to catch me off guard. I expected a good fist fight out of him, but I didn’t think he had the balls for this. I feel cold, hard steel pressed against my back.

  “This ends NOW, asshole,” Patrick grits through his teeth, close to my ear. “I’m going to fill you in on a little secret before I blow your brains out in front of our little slut over there. I hate to disappoint you, but I’m not your cousin after all.”

  “What the fuck are you talking about? Sarah said—”

  “Sarah doesn’t know.” He cuts me off. “My real mom is in Sarah’s little book club and I overheard my parents talking one night about how Sarah was looking for her son she had put up for adoption years ago. And that she has a nephew named Coen that she was forced to raise when her sister and brother-in-law died. I thought to myself, this is the perfect opportunity to ruin your life, like you’ve ruined mine. All I had to do was make a phone call. You see, Coen, not all of my ex-girlfriends hate me. The girl I was with before Lexi just happens to work for the adoption agency in this lovely small city of ours, and when I explained to her what I needed and why, she was more than happy to help.”

  I can’t listen to this shit anymore. I can feel the warm breath from him on my neck, so I know he’s right behind me. I slam my head back, crashing mine into Patrick’s. He sweeps his leg under mine knocking me on my ass. Punches are thrown. And then it happens. The dumbass remembers he has a gun. I reach for his hand to try and knock it away, but I’m too late.

  Suddenly it feels as though time is standing still. The shot is too close. My ears are ringing and the right side of my chest is excruciatingly hot and wet as the crimson fluid pour from my body. Everything is in slow motion as I fall back onto the ground. My head falls to the side and I just want to close my eyes. The last thing I see is Derek and the cops charging at Patrick. The blackness starts to swallow me whole as I smell Lexi’s perfume as she kneels down, screaming in tears beside me.

  WHEN I COME TO, the smell of anesthetic and bandages fills my senses. Lexi is there, sitting beside me on the bed. Her beautiful freckle-dusted cheeks are tear-stained and she looks exhausted, but still just as gorgeous as the day I met her.

  “Hey, sweet cheeks.” I clear my throat. “Are you okay? Where’s the asshole? Where’s Derek?”

  She slugs me in my good arm.

  “What the hell, woman? I’m injured here.”

  “You could have gotten killed, Coen!”

  I place my finger under her chin and urge her closer to me, gently pulling her into a kiss.

  “I didn’t think he would have a gun, Lex. I’m sorry. Are you okay?”

  She sighs.

  “I’m fine now that I know you’re okay. Derek went to get us some food.” She places her hand on my cheek for a brief moment and then runs her hand through my hair and places a kiss on my forehead. Her caresses are better than any modern medicine. This girl is my drug. “Derek called the cops the moment we saw the gun and they pulled in and caught Patrick as he was trying to escape the scene after shooting you. He’ll be gone for awhile with all the charges pressed against him.”

  Lexi gets up and walks over to the window. It’s dark out now, the city lights shine off in the distance and I hear her sniffle.

  “Lexi, I’m okay.”

  “I know. I was just so scared that I lost you. I don’t want to go back to a life without you, Coen.”

  “Marry me and you’ll never have to.”

  She turns to look at me with tear-filled eyes.

  “You’re on pain meds, you don’t know what you’re saying right now. We’ve only known each other a little over a week.”

  I laugh. “I’m serious, Lexi. I don’t want to go back to a life without you,
either. I obviously don’t have a ring right now, and I know we haven’t known each other long, but I will ask you one day. I love you, sweet cheeks.”

  She hops up onto the bed and straddles me; being mindful of the tubes and wires I’m hooked up to, and devours me in a deep kiss.

  “I love you too, Coen Walker.”

  DEREK WENT TO Sarah’s house the day after Coen was shot and explained everything to her—about how Patrick lied about being her son, and everything that he put Coen and me through. She immediately came to the hospital and apologized. They’ve both decided that the past is just that and they are both ready to move forward. Their relationship still isn’t perfect, but it’s definitely a lot better than it was before all of the craziness with Patrick.

  We even helped her track down her real son who was put up for adoption. His name is Tyler. He is a couple years older than Coen and he is a dentist in the city about an hour away from here. He and Coen share a love for fast cars and tattoos. Tyler has a wife named Gwen and she is pregnant with their first child. Coen is so excited about meeting that baby; he’s already started talking about giving it driving lessons.

  We’ve been seeing each other for about four months now. In fact, he and I have been inseparable. The days when we do stay at our own places are spent falling asleep on video chat with each other. Some people would say that’s clingy, but when you find the other half of your soul it’s difficult and even painful to let it slip too far away for fear of losing it again.

  I’m sitting here in the parking lot of the Stoplight Diner where he told me to meet him, but I don’t see his car anywhere. I decide to go inside anyways. Maybe he took a cab. When I walk in the door, Brea is there, sitting at the same table we were sitting at the first time I saw Coen.

  I walk over and give her a hug.

  “What a nice surprise! I wasn’t expecting to see you here,” I say as I sit down across from her. “Have you seen Coen? I’m supposed to be meeting him here for dinner.”

  “Nope, sure haven’t,” she chimes with a silly grin on her face.