Laina “No,” I said. “Stop this! This is madness!” Mason lifted his hand to silence me. I started shaking. I couldn’t control it. I watched, terrified, as Mason moved toward Evelyn. He kept advancing on her, even as her hands began to shake, and the gun trembled in her grip. The safety was off. All she had to do was pull the trigger. “Stay where you are, Mason,” Evelyn demanded. He didn’t listen. He kept moving closer. She slipped out from between him and the nightstand and backed away into the corner. She had nowhere else to go, and he was still closing the space between them. “I said stay where you are!” she screamed. “No,” Mason said. His voice was calm and low. Evelyn gritted her teeth, and he boxed her in. Soon he was so close, the barrel of the gun was resting against his chest. I wanted to close my eyes, but I didn’t dare look away. Mason leaned in close to Evelyn, and she
MasonThe final race of The Streets was held at the same place as the first one, the docks. When Laina and I arrived, the place was spilling over with people. They were set up all the way down the street to get as good of a spot as they possibly could before the race started in four minutes. We had made it in the nick of time. Laina’s eyes were closed as we rolled through the crowd. I rested a hand on her knee, and she looked over at me. She was tired. I could see it in her eyes. “I’m okay,” she assured me. I had called Benji after picking up Laina. He would have been a mess of nerves waiting to hear if his sister was well, and when he answered the phone, he sounded like a man waiting on a bad diagnosis from his doctor. After finding out Laina was okay, he breathed a sigh of relief and told me that he and Rick and Ginny were standing guard by my Boxster on the track. Harley had postponed the race an extra fifteen minutes to make sure we got there in
Mason “Harley,” I said, catching her arm as she turned from me. She stopped and looked up at me. Her eyebrow arched, and she waited. “I mean it. Thank you.” She smiled and rolled her eyes at me. “All this groveling is sort of a turn-off, Mason. You’d better get your act together, or I might get over this crush I have on you.” I laughed, and she winked at me before she marched to the red X she had painted at the front of the line. “Gentlemen,” she cried, commanding the attention of everyone on the street. “You have sixty seconds before the final race in The Streets begins. Start your engines.” I jogged over to Rick’s Jeep as the crowd around my car dispersed. Rick grabbed my hand as I extended it to him, and we bumped shoulders. “Good luck, brother. Don’t fuck up.” “I won’t,” I said. “Good luck,” Ginny chimed. “Murder them,” Benji growled. Laina shook her head at her brother and then wrapped
Laina“He’s got it,” Benji said beside me. We were all crowded at the end of the track. The cars were flying toward us. Mason was in the lead. He was so close. My heart raced, and my whole body strained against the anticipation. Then his car blew over the finish line. The crowd erupted in cheers, and people leaped into the air, throwing their fists up to celebrate Mason’s victory. I let out a shrill scream of joy that made me a little dizzy. Benji steadied me where I stood on the side step of Rick’s Jeep. I hadn’t been tall enough to see over the crowd. I watched Mason’s car slow to a stop. Mark and Sid’s cars came up behind him. I was about to hop down and go to the edge of the track so that when the last cars passed the line, I could rush to meet Mason, but something caught my eye. Movement near Mason’s car. He was getting out. “Uh-oh,” Rick breathed. “What’s happening?” Ginny asked. She
MasonI tossed Kline his keys when he ducked under the garage door to meet me on Sunday morning. “She drove like a dream,” I told him. “And she looks like she sat in your garage the whole time,” Kline said. “I can assure you, she did not. I just know a guy who does a good detail job.” “In such a short amount of time?” “He’s my brother,” I said. “Ah,” Kline nodded. “Well, I appreciate it. And I’m happy to hear you won. It makes it all worth it.” “I have something for you,” I said. Kline’s eyebrows lifted, but he didn’t say anything as I walked over to where my jacket sat on my workbench. I rummaged around in one of the pockets before withdrawing an envelope. I walked back over and handed it to him. “A thank-you for everything you did. This all would have gone down a hell of a lot differently if you weren’t willing to lend a hand. And your baby,” I added, nodding at the Boxster. Kline opened
(One Month Later)LainaI buried my toes in the wet sand seconds before the wave rolled up the beach to engulf my ankles. The water was warm and crystal clear. I lifted my gaze to stare across the turquoise waters and out at the horizon. There wasn’t a thing in sight as far as the eye could see. Nothing but water and blue sky and sunshine. This was paradise. I wiggled my toes in the sand, feeling the grains nibble at my skin as they settled deeper. I smiled as I sank a little farther with each wave. Mason came up behind me and wrapped his arms around my waist. His chin pushed into my shoulder, and he kissed my cheek. “What are you thinking about?” I stared out at the horizon again. “How good life is.” He chuckled. I felt the rumble in his chest as he pressed up against my back. “Life is good. You’re right. And this view,” he said with a sigh, “this view is unlike anything I ever thought I’d be lucky enough to see.
Laina I moaned out of arousal and frustration. Then I decided to take matters into my own hands, and I rolled up to my knees. Mason tried to stop me, but I pushed him back firmly. He fell onto the sand and laughed as I swung a leg over him and straddled his hips. “Do you have a condom?” I asked. He reached in his swimsuit pocket and pulled one out. I plucked it out of his fingers and shook my head. “How are you always prepared?” “Well, I always want to fuck you. So I have to be.” With the heat of a blush on my cheeks, I began undoing his drawstring. It took seconds. I pulled his trunks open and freed his cock to stroke him gently. He watched me and gripped my thighs firmly as I rolled the condom on.He pulled me up, and I lifted off him only to sit back down onto his dick. I was so fucking wet, he slid inside me easily. I moaned as I took all of him and put my hands flat on his chest to brace myself when my knees sank into th
Book TwoBenjiThe numbers weren’t adding up.I slumped back in my old office chair, which creaked beneath me and bent a little too far backward, and pinched the bridge of my nose.No matter how I tried to crunch them, shift them, or re-allocate them, there just wasn’t enough in my account to cover the operating costs of the shelter for the next quarter. Things were going to be very tight from July through September, and I was going to have a crew of very unhappy teenagers on my hands.The summer months were the ones the kids looked forward to the most. All of a sudden all the activities weren’t reduced to only being indoors. They had free reign of the yard out back where, admittedly, there was still a lot of work to be done, but where they were free to split into small groups or sit in solitude in the shade with one of the books from the library I’d built last year. The shelter had some connections to local libraries and used book stores that often donated some of their duplicates to
Harley“I can’t believe it, man,” Rick said.“I couldn’t for a while either,” Mason said. “But this is something we’ve wanted for some time now. Now it’s happening. You picked a good time to go away. I was going to ask for your help building the crib and setting up the nursery.”Rick chuckled. “Well, you have Benji for that.”The men looked at Benji. His shoulders slumped. “Yay.”Everyone laughed.“Are you going to find out the gender, or let it be a surprise in the end?” I asked Laina.She lit up like a light bulb and instinctively put her hand on her belly, even though she wasn’t showing yet. “I think we’re going to wait.”I smiled. “Beautiful.”Within the next half hour, everyone migrated to the dining-room table, which Laina had set beautifully with a white tablecloth, gold chargers, and white plates. The candles were in gold holders, and even the cutlery was gold. She had an eye for detail.While we devoured the spaghetti and meatballs, we talked about life and babies and all the
HarleyTwo Months Later“Careful,” I said as Rick took a sharp righthand turn and drove the Jeep into Mason and Laina’s driveway. The appetizer I’d thrown together slid across the backseat and bumped into the door panel. I scowled at him. “I slaved over those for fifteen minutes. Don’t ruin them before we walk in the door. I want to knock everyone’s socks off with how much of a homemaker I’ve become.”Rick killed the ignition and arched an eyebrow at me. “A homemaker? Really?”I lifted my chin. “What?”He snorted and got out of the Jeep. “Nothing. I just doubt anyone is going to think ‘homemaker’ just because you’re showing up with a plate of—what do you call these?” He opened the back door and picked up the plate covered in three layers of saran wrap.Wrapping the plate had been more difficult than whipping up the food.“They’re caprese salad skewers,” I said.I’d spent the fifteen minutes before we left sliding cherry tomatoes, bocconcini cheese, and basil leaves onto toothpicks. I
RickThe corner of her mouth twitched, giving away the beginning of a smile. “A trip, huh?”I nodded. “We can narrow it down to some destinations and start mapping it out. There’s no better time than now, right? We can get out of the city, figure out what we want, and make up for lost time. Just you and me and beaches and sand and—”“Lots of sex?”I chuckled. “That’s not what I was going to say, but I assumed it was part of the package.”Harley nodded. “That sounds like a plan to me.”“Good,” I said. “Now stay still.”She opened her mouth to ask me why but promptly shut it when I ran my hands over her shoulders and then to her breasts, which I gently massaged, loving how they felt all lathered in slippery soap.“You’re such a guy,” she said playfully.I snickered. “I know.”She let me lather her entire body in the shower. Then we switched places, and she did the same for me. Having her run her hands all over me was heavenly, and it helped me forget about the tight pain in my bruised r
RickAll the aches and pains that had plagued me on Saturday night were still with me when I woke up on Monday morning. I was lying on my back, and Harley was tucked into my side. Her cheek was on my chest, and her left leg was draped over me. Her breathing was deep and slow and soft, and I didn’t open my eyes.I just lay there and listened to her. And felt her closeness.Yesterday had been dedicated to recovering and covering our tracks from Saturday’s race. I hired a tow-truck driver to come get the Saleen and bring it back to my place, where I got it in the garage so that if the cops came looking for it, the car wasn’t sitting out somewhere. It needed a lot of work, and the downside of street racing was obviously that it didn’t have insurance. I couldn’t claim a hit and run when the car was beat to shit on both sides and the rear end.Fucking Torq.But it was just a car, and I liked working on vehicles. The Saleen would be my project for the next year or so while I figured out what
HarleyHe watched me like a hawk as I started going down to my knees, pulling his boxers down as I went.His cock sprang free, teasing and taunting me as I got comfortable below him. I gazed up at him and took his shaft in one hand, working him over softly and warming him up. His gaze was dark and heavy as I ran my tongue from the base of his shaft to the tip and then swirled it around his meaty head.I drew him into my mouth, suctioning my lips around his thickness. I worked him slowly at first, taking my time, easing him into it. I knew he was hurting, and I wanted to be gentle with him.If he’d let me.He had a way of taking over halfway through and showing me who was boss. Not that I’d be mad if that happened.I swirled my tongue around his length before taking him deep in my throat and holding him there as my mouth filled with saliva. Then I bobbed my head, sucking him off hard and fast and fitting as much of him in my throat as I could take.He let me suck his cock for a long ti
HarleyIt was a wonder that the Saleen had even started back on the track, and it was even more mind blowing that it made it back to my house without losing several more pieces along the way.I parked at the back of my building in the private parking lot. I didn’t want to leave it on the curb in case any police drove by. It would be easy for them to link the Saleen to the scene down by the docks, and then we’d be done for.After parking the car, Rick had to climb out of the passenger window again. Every move he made was gentle and controlled. I knew he was hurting and hated that there was nothing I could do to take the pain away.Once he was out of the car, I climbed across the console and slipped out too. He offered me his hand, and I took it but didn’t lean on him for support. I was pretty sure he wasn’t in much of a position to be offering it in the first place.We walked soundlessly across the parking lot, our footsteps drowned out by the sound of rain pinging off the metal garbag
Rick“Fuck me fucking sideways,” I said.I couldn’t afford to waste any time. Either I was getting his ass out of the car, or I was bailing.“You owe me, motherfucker,” I said as I leaned in through the driver’s window and reached up to unclip his seatbelt.Torq crumpled to the ceiling of the car, landing across my arm beneath him. Shattered glass from the windshield bit into my bicep and forearm, but I gritted my teeth against the burn and worked to drag Torq’s ass out of the car. He was a heavy motherfucker.He started groaning.I stumbled to my feet and hauled him backward. “Work with me you fat bastard. I’m getting you out of here. Your asshole buddies bailed on you.”He mumbled something incoherent.“Yeah, I know. They’re your friends, not mine. I guess that’s what you get for being a piece of shit.”I collapsed when I had him clear of the car. I struggled to catch my breath, and my side screamed with pain. I tucked my arms under his armpits, stumbled back to my feet, and kept dr
RickI landed heavily on the wet pavement after managing to climb out through the passenger window of the Saleen. My right leg was tender and bruised from Torq driving into me, and my chest ached from the seatbelt and being jostled around roughly as I’d lost control of the car.But I was alive, nothing was broken, and there was no blood. So, overall, things were pretty good.Aside from the approaching police.I used the car to push myself to my feet, slicking my wet hair off my forehead as I rose. Then I stood and waited for the dizziness to pass. I didn’t think I’d hit my head at any point, but it sure felt like I had. Maybe it was just severe vertigo from whiplash.It didn’t matter. I could figure that out later. I had to focus on getting the hell out of there and making sure Harley was safe, too.She had a lot to lose if this race got busted, and so did I. She was everything. If I lost her, I would lose my damn mind. After all this time, we were finally together, and there was noth
HarleyBenji and Mason took off for the registration table. I swung my attention toward Rick’s car. The whole passenger side was busted up. The damage looked pretty bad, and I had no idea what sort of injuries he might have acquired. I leaned forward to look down the road.The last drivers were only twenty or so seconds away. Maybe less.“I think his door is jammed,” Laina said, nodding at Rick’s car.I narrowed my eyes. She was right. He couldn’t get out. His car was too crumpled and too fucked up for him to get the door open. I wondered if it would still run.If we had to leave it behind, it was a sure-fire way for the cops to trace the car back to Rick. Then all our dreams of starting a new life together would be over. He’d be in jail for a long time.Charlie shook my arm. “What do we do, Harley? Tell us what to do!”I swallowed and took a deep breath. “Okay. Okay. We need to clear the area. Rick can handle himself. Help me get people the hell out of here. Send them off in differen