Sweet Burn

by Winter Travers

  “Sure was nice of that Meg to help out. I don’t know what I would have done without her.”

  “Yup, definitely nice of her.” I shifted the truck into drive, keeping my foot on the brake, knowing exactly where mom was headed with this.

  “You should ask her out.” All I could do was shake my head and laugh.

  “Straight to the point huh, Ma?”

  “I’m old, I can say what I want. Meg is just the thing you need.”

  “I didn’t know I needed anything.” I pulled out of the parking lot and headed to Ma’s house.

  “You need someone in your life besides that club.” My mom grabbed her phone out of her purse and started fiddling with it.

  “We’ll see, ma. Meg didn’t seem too thrilled with me.” She liked what she saw, but it was like she couldn’t get away from me quick enough when she saw that Ma was going to be ok.

  “Well, you are pretty intimidating, Lo. Thank goodness you didn’t wear your cut.”

  My leather vest with my club rockers and patches was a part of me. “What the hell is wrong with my cut? If some bitch can’t handle me in my cut, she sure as shit doesn't belong with me,” I growled.

  “Not what I meant Lo. That girl has been hurt, you can see it in her eyes. You’ll have to be gentle with her.”

  My phone dinged. I dug it out of my pocket and saw my mom had texted me. “You texted me her number, ma?”

  “Use it, Logan, fix her,” she insisted.

  I sighed and pulled into mom’s driveway. “Maybe she doesn’t want to be fixed, ma. Maybe she has a boyfriend.”

  “She doesn’t. Call her, or I’ll do it for you,” she ordered.

  I knew my mom’s threat wasn’t idle. She totally would call Meg and ask her out for me. Fuck. “I’ll help you get your shit inside, ma.”

  “I’ll make you lunch, and then you can call Meg,” Ma said, as she jumped out of the truck and grabbed some bags.

  I watched her walk into her house and looked at the message she had sent me. I saved Meg’s number to my phone and grabbed the rest of Ma’s shit and headed into the house.

  Looked like I was calling Meg.

  *

  Take a ride with the Jensen Boys.

  Meet Violet and Luke in the first chapter of DownShift!

  DownShift

  Skid Row Kings

  Book 1

  Winter Travers

  Chapter 1

  Violet

  It was half past seven, and I should be on my way home already, but I wasn’t.

  I watched the lone girl who was sitting at the far table and sighed. She came in every day after school like clockwork, stayed till five forty-five then left. Except today, she didn’t. The only way for me to get the heck out of here was to tell her the library was closing, but I didn’t have the heart to.

  She appeared to be well taken care of, nice clothes, good tennis shoes and well groomed. But she was never with anyone when she came in. Even when other kids would come in to work on homework or such, she stayed by herself at the far table.

  I glanced at the watch on my wrist one last time and knew I had to go talk to her. All I wanted to do was go home, eat dinner, and take a nice long bath with my latest book boyfriend. Was that too much to ask?

  After I skirted around the desk, I hesitantly made my way over to her, not wanting to tell someone they had to leave. I wasn’t one for confrontation. “Um, excuse me.”

  The girl looked up at me and smiled. She couldn’t have been more than thirteen, fourteen tops. Shiny braces encased her teeth, and black-rimmed glasses sat perched on her nose. “Yes?”

  “The library closes at seven.”

  She glanced at the watch on her wrist and hit her hand on the table. “Crud. Luke was supposed to pick me up over an hour ago. I’m really sorry,” she said, gathering her books and shoving them into her bag.

  “Did you need to call him?”

  “No, he probably won’t answer the phone. He’s only managed to pick me up once this week. He’s busy getting ready for Street Wars. He’s probably stuck under the hood of a car right now.” She zipped her book bag shut and slung it over her shoulder. “I’m really sorry for keeping you here so late. I know the library closes at seven, but I was so into my book I didn’t even notice the time.”

  “It’s OK.” I had totally been there before. That was the whole reason I worked at the library, I got to be surrounded by the things I loved all day.

  “I’ll see ya,” she waved and headed out the door.

  I quickly flipped off all the lights, making sure everything was ready for tomorrow and walked out the door. “Shit,” I muttered as I got pelted with rain as I locked the door. I ran to my car, looking for the girl but didn’t see her. Was she really going to walk home in the rain? I glanced up and down the street and saw her two blocks up, huddled under a tree.

  Whoever this Luke was who was supposed to pick her up was a complete douche monkey for making this poor girl walk. I assumed it was her father, but it was strange that she called him Luke.

  I ducked into my car, tossing my purse in the back and stuck the key in the ignition. I cranked it up and reversed out of my spot. As I pulled up to the girl, all I could do was shake my head. What did she think she was doing? Standing under a tree during a thunderstorm was not a bright idea.

  “Get in the car,” I hollered over the wind and rain. That was one of the drawbacks of the library, there weren’t many windows so I never knew what the weather was like until I went outside. “I’ll give you a ride.”

  She shook her head no and huddled under her jacket. What was she thinking? It didn’t look like the rain was going to let up anytime soon. “I’m not supposed to ride with strangers.”

  Well, that was all fine and dandy except for the fact me being a stranger looked a lot better than standing in the rain. “You’ve been coming into the library for months. I’d hardly call us strangers.”

  “I don’t even know your name,” she said, her teeth chattering.

  “It’s Violet. Now get in the car.”

  She looked up and down the street, and it finally sunk in that I was her only chance of getting home not sopping wet. As she sprinted across the street, I reached across the center console and pushed open the passenger door.

  “Oh my God, it’s cold out there,” she shivered as she slid in and closed the door.

  “Well, it’s only April. Plus, being soaking wet doesn’t help.”

  She tossed her bag on the floor and rubbed her arms, trying to warm up. I switched the heat on full blast and pointed all the vents at her. She was dripping all over, and I knew the next person who sat there was going to get a wet ass. “Which way?”

  “I live over on Thompson, on top of SRK Motors,” she chattered.

  I shifted the car into drive and headed down the street. “How come your dad didn’t come and pick you up?” I asked, turning down Willow Street.

  “Probably because he’s dead.”

  Oh, crap. Whoopsie. “I’m sorry,” I mumbled, feeling like an idiot. She seemed too young to have lost her dad.

  “You can rule my mom out, too. They’re both dead.” She pulled a dry sweatshirt out of her bag and wrapped it around her hair, wringing it out.

  OK. Well, things seemed to have taken a turn for the worse. “So, um, who’s Luke? Your uncle?”

  “No, he’s my oldest brother. I’ve got three of them. They all work at the garage together that Luke owns, he’s in charge.”

  “So, your brothers take care of you?”

  “Ha, more like I take care of them. If it weren't for me, they’d spend all their time under the hood of a car.”

  “What’s your name?” Here I was giving this girl a ride home, and I had no idea what her name was.

  “Frankie.”

  “I’m Violet, by the way, if you didn’t hear me before,” I glanced at her, smiling.

  “Neat name. Never heard it before.” That would be because my mother was an old soul who thought
to name me Violet would be retro. It wasn’t. It was a color.

  “Eh, it’s OK.”

  I pulled up in front of the body shop and shut the car off. It was raining even harder now, the rain pelting against my windows. “I’ll come in with you to make sure someone is home.”

  “I’m fourteen years old. I can be left alone.’

  “Whatever. Let’s go.” She was right, but I didn’t care. I was pretty pissed off that her brother had left her all alone to walk home in the rain.

  We dashed to the door, my coat pulled over my head, and I stumbled into the door Frankie held open. “Oh my God, it’s really coming down,” I mumbled, shaking my coat off. My hair was matted to my forehead, and I’m sure I looked like a drowned rat.

  “I think Luke is in the shop, I’ll go get him.” Frankie slipped through another door that I assumed lead to the shop, and I looked around.

  Apparently, I was in the office of the body shop. There was a cluttered counter in front of me and stacks of wheels and tires all around. Four chairs are set off to the side, which I assume is the waiting area, and a vending machine on the far wall.

  The phone rang a shrilling ring, making me jump. I looked around, trying to figure out what to do when the door to the shop was thrown open, and a bald, scowling man came walking through. He didn’t even glance at me, just picked up the phone and started barking into it.

  “Skid Row Kings,” he grunted.

  I couldn’t hear what was being said on the other end, but I could tell Baldy was not happy. I looked down at my hands, noticing my cute plaid skirt I had put on that morning was now drenched and clinging to my legs. Thankfully I had worn flats today, or I probably would have fallen on my ass in the rain.

  “What can I help you with?”

  My head shot up, baldy staring at me. “Um, I brought Frankie home.”

  He looked me up and down, his eyes scanning me over. “Aren’t you a little too old to be hanging out with a fourteen-year-old? You’re what, sixteen, seventeen?”

  “Try twenty-seven.” This guy was a piece of work. He was looking me over like I was on display and he thought I was a teenager.

  His eyes snapped to mine, and his jaw dropped. Yeah, jackass, I’m older than you are probably. “What the hell are you doing with Frankie?”

  “She works at the library. You know, the place you promised to pick me up from today?” Frankie said, walking back into the shop. She had managed to find a towel and was drying herself off. I would kill for a towel right now.

  “Fuck,” Baldy twisted around and looked at the clock behind him. “Sorry, Frankie. Mitch and I were tearing apart the tranny on the Charger.”

  She waved her hand at him and tossed the towel to me. Oh, thank you sweet baby Jesus. I wiped the water that was dripping down my face and squeezed all the water out of my hair into it.

  “How the hell did you get so wet if she gave you a ride home?”

  “Because I started walking home, Luke, until Violet was kind enough to stop and give me a lift.”

  He watched me dry my hair, confusion on his face. “Violet?” he muttered.

  “That’s me,” I said, sticking my hand out for him to shake. “I didn’t want Frankie to get sick walking home. Plus, it’s getting dark and someone her age shouldn’t be out then.”

  “She’s fourteen years old,” he sneered. “I was out on the streets when I was twelve.”

  “Oh, well. If that’s how you want to raise her.” Luke was a gearhead that was also an ass. I didn’t have time for this. My bath was definitely calling my name now that I was soaking wet. I tossed the towel back to Frankie and pulled my jacket over my head again. “You’re welcome for bringing your sister home.”

  “I didn’t ask you to.”

  “I know,” I turned to Frankie and smiled. “I’ll see ya tomorrow.” She nodded her head at me, smiling, and I turned to walk out the door. I twisted the handle, and the door blew into me, rain pouring in. I glance back at Luke one time, a scowl on his face, and figured the pouring rain was better company than he was.

  I pulled the door shut behind me and sprinted to my car, dodging puddles.

  Once I was safely in my car, I looked up at the two-story building and sighed. I wish I could say this was a hole in the wall garage, but it was far from that. The building itself was a dark blue aluminum siding with huge neon letters that boasted, Skid Row Kings Garage, also known as SRK Garage. There were five bay doors that I’m assuming is where they pulled the cars into and over the office part is where I believe they lived. It was monstrous. Everyone in town took their cars here, especially the street racing crowd.

  I had never been here before, mainly because I have never really needed repairs done on my car. I always went to the big chain stores to get my oil changed and thankfully hadn’t needed any major repairs.

  I started my car, thankful to be headed home. I turned around, the big looming building in my review as I headed down the street.

  Hopefully, that was the last time I would ever step foot in Skid Row Kings garage and never see Luke again. He seemed like a total ass.

  *

  Check out the Karate Hotties!

  Dropkick My Heart

  Powerhouse MA

  Book 1

  Chapter 1

  Kellan

  “Left, Ryan.” I shook my head and watched Ryan punch to the right. “Your other left, Ryan.” In my fifteen years of teaching martial arts, I discovered left and right was a concept that was hard learned by anyone under the age of ten, especially when they were just excited to be punching and kicking the shit out of stuff.

  “Okay! Lock it up.” I stood in front of my class of twenty-five under belts and watched them all fall to the floor, eagerly looking up at me. I waited for all eyes to fall on me. “Good job today, guys. We need to work a bit longer on delta, but for only working on it one day, you guys are killing it.” Clinton raised his hand eagerly, and I tipped my chin at him. “Go ahead, Clinton.”

  “Mr. Wright, when are we going to get to put all of the combos together?” he asked meekly.

  “As soon as we learn them all,” I assured him. Clinton asked the same question every class. The kid was the most eager to learn, but he had the attention span of a squirrel. I surveyed the class, then looked over the crowd of parents waiting to pick up their kids. “Now, remember that belt graduation is in three weeks, and you need to have your homework turned in before. Otherwise, you don’t graduate.” Everyone groaned at the word homework, and I couldn’t help but smirk. They didn’t have any clue how much homework I had done to reach sixth-degree black belt. “Everyone up,” I said, motioning up with my hands. “And bow,” I ordered, placing my hands at my sides and bowing.

  All the kids started running up to me, giving me high fives and then scurrying off to their parents.

  “Is Mr. Roman going to be here next time?” Carrie asked me as she high-fived me.

  “He should be. He had a couple of things to do today and couldn’t make it to class.” Like sleeping until noon and screwing me over completely. Thankfully, it was the last class of the day, and I could hopefully find some time to sit down for five minutes.

  Finally, the last parents left with their kids, and I locked the door behind them. I loved classes on Saturday, but they were exhausting when I was the only instructor.

  The phone rang on the desk, and I knew it was Roman with some lame-ass excuse for why he didn’t make it in today. Roman and I were business partners with Dante and Tate, but most of the time, it was all on me to make the school a success.

  Roman’s name flashed on the caller ID, and I picked up the phone. “So, what’s your excuse this time?”

  “Ugh, I’m fucking sick, man.”

  I shook my head and sat down behind the front counter. “That’s called a hangover, Roman. Drink some fucking coffee, and get out of bed.”

  “Nah, man. This is worse than a hangover. I think I got food poisoning from the burger I ate last night at Tig’s.” Roma
n moaned into the phone, and I sighed.

  Food poisoning from Tig’s was a definite possibility. “I guess you should stop eating nasty shit while you’re getting shit-faced every night.”

  “It’s not every night,” Roman grumbled.

  “Sure, keep fucking telling yourself that.”

  Roman sighed. “Look, I was just calling to tell you sorry about not coming in today. If you wanna take off next Saturday, you can. I’ll take care of the monsters all by myself.”

  “Nah, don’t worry about.” I made the mistake once of trying to take off a Saturday. Roman had called me halfway through the day, and I could barely hear him over yelling parents and screaming kids. I ended up coming in and spending most of the day putting out fires he had started between yelling at the kids and telling the parents to shut it while he was teaching. “Just get better, and I’ll see you Monday night.”

  “What time do classes start?”

  I closed my eyes and counted to ten. “Four. Same as every Monday,” I reminded him.

  “Got it. I’ll be there.”

  I hung up the phone and sighed. Roman was one of the most talented guys I knew when it came to karate, but his adulting skills were severely lacking. At the age of twenty-eight, he should have his shit figured out.

  When Roman, Tate, Dante, and I opened Powerhouse, we expected to help kids the way we were taught when we were young and just starting karate. Roman, Tate, and I began karate at the same time and worked our way through the belts together. Dante was a red belt when we were white belts, but he took us under his wing, and we all became close friends.

  While Dante was almost ten years older than most of us, I was the highest black belt. Dante was a second-degree black belt, while Roman and Tate were fourth-degree. I was going for my sixth degree this year.

  We all came together to start the school, because we all had our own specialties that, when put together, created a karate studio unlike any around. Dante was an international sparring champion six times over, while Roman and Tate were geniuses when it came to kamas and bo staff. I rounded us out with my expertise in forms and people skills the three others lacked at times.