Mason“Bastard,” I growled. Sid Paul was standing over Benji, who was cradling one arm across his stomach as he leaned over and spat blood out on the gravel. Rick came to a skidding halt beside me. Sid splayed out his hands, chuckling. “Well, look who showed up to the party.” Rick cracked his knuckles. “I’ll hold them off. You get Sid. Deal?” “I just need thirty seconds.” “You’ve got them.” “Deal.” We didn’t need to exchange more words than that. As soon as I moved for Sid, all of his boys, including Mark, came at me. Rick threw himself between us and fought dirtier than I’d ever seen him fight. He kicked groins and kneecaps, and I didn’t notice until I was stepping over Benji that he was laughing while he did it. Sid lifted his fists to fight me. But I wasn’t interested in a fight. I was interested in inflicting pain. Sid swung first. His fis
Mason “The point is, you’ve shown your hand, Sid. You’re a transparent, foolish jackass, and everyone knows it. Your time here is done.” Sid threw his head back in manic laughter. Laina was slipping under Benji’s arm and helping him to his feet. He staggered, and Rick went to her aid, sliding under his other arm. They walked him toward the Jeep and away from Sid and his band of not so merry men. I could hear Laina whispering to her brother that he would be all right, and I hoped Benji wasn’t too banged up. How long had the beating been going on before I got there? “Let me guess, Mason,” Sid said as he began pacing back and forth. He commanded the attention of everyone in the vicinity. “Are you going to be the one to get rid of me?” I smirked. “I’m here. Aren’t I?” The crowd rippled with laughter. Sid narrowed his eyes at me. He was losing his edge, and he knew it. The crowd favored me. He was scum. Sid lifted his
LainaI watched Mason close the back door of the Jeep as Rick slid into the driver’s seat. They paused to talk to each other in the open door, and Rick told Mason he would meet him at the finish line. Benji wasn’t capable of standing on his feet, so they were going to drive him to the end of the race, and as soon as Mason crossed the line, they would get the hell out of there before Sid and Mark got any other bright ideas to try to start a fight. Mason nodded and slapped his hand on the frame of the Jeep. “Okay. I’ll see you in a bit. Lock the doors.” Rick chuckled. “I don’t think we’ll need to take those precautions.” “You have Ginny in the back seat. And Laina’s busted up brother. Just lock the damn doors.” Rick rolled his eyes. “All right, all right. Good luck.” “Don’t need it,” Mason said. Rick closed his door, and Mason turned to me. “You still up for this, flag girl?” I nodded. “Good,
Laina A lot could happen out on the streets. My throat tightened as I thought about the crash last weekend. The squeal of tires. The smashing and grinding of metal as the car hit the barrier. All the blood. Mason, passed out and slumped sideways in the driver’s seat. I shook my head. Now was not the time to think of such things. I was only making it harder on myself. This was Mason’s decision. I respected that, and I respected what he was fighting for. He needed to reclaim his title and push out the men who had turned this sport into a seedy, dangerous, underground game. Sure, street racing had always been illegal, but it hadn’t been as risky as it was with Sid and Mark. They took their business off the streets. They’d come to find you in your home and fuck you up if they thought you were a threat. All to win a stupid race. I sighed and tucked a corner of the flag in the back pocket of my jeans before
MasonThe Boxster was a speed demon. It ate pavement and cornered like a beast, which meant one thing. I was able to take risks. The roads weren’t as slick as I’d been anticipating. I was lucky that the rain had cleared up well before the race started. My tires had excellent traction, and I took corners tight—tighter than any of the other cars I watched in my mirrors. Those saved fractions of a second kept inching me farther and farther ahead of the group. And farther ahead of Mark and Sid. Their cars were at the front of the pack but were driving a good three or so car lengths behind me. And I was still losing them. I owed Kline big time for this car. The race Harley had planned led onto busier streets, as they all did, and when I hit one of the main roads, I opened up on the throttle, racing toward a red light I knew would turn green as my tires crossed the sidewalk. It did. I blew through the intersection. Peop
Mason The crowd was moving like a wave, jumping in place as my car hurtled toward them. I indulged in one last look in the mirror. Sid and Paul were still trailing behind. They’d caught up but not by much. I still had at least a car length on both of them, and that was more than enough to guarantee me first place. My cheeks stretched in a grin that I was incapable of concealing. The screams of the crowd reached my ears. Harley was there, standing near the front, waving Laina’s red flag as I closed in. The spray-painted red line passed beneath my tires. I took my speed off as Sid and Mark crossed behind me. I came to a slow stop at the end of the road and waited for the rest of the cars to finish the race before I circled back, driving at a snail’s pace, and kept my eyes peeled for my people. I spotted Laina first. She exploded out of the crowd, her face alight with joy, and leaped over the barrier to r
LainaI gripped the edges of my seat, and the leather creaked beneath my fingers. Sid Paul looked like a rabid dog at the end of the Porsche’s hood. He had both hands planted firmly on the glossy black paint, and he was looking at Mason with a crooked sneer. Blood ran from his nose over his upper lip and into his mouth. My stomach rolled. I just wanted to get the hell out of here. “Mason,” I said nervously. He was half out of the car. One foot was still flat on the floor, and the other was on the gravel outside. He had his right arm resting on the hood of the Boxster and his left draped over the door. From where I was sitting, Mason didn’t look concerned at all. But I was concerned. I was very concerned. Sid slammed his hands down on the hood again, broadcasting his crazy to the stragglers who had lingered after the race ended. “Keep your hands off the car,” Mason said. His voice was much calmer than I expected it
Laina We stopped for booze at a store down the street from Mason’s house. While we were there, I picked up Tylenol in case Mason ran out soon along with some bandages. I’d noticed Mason’s split knuckles in the car and wanted to wrap them for him. I was sure Benji and Rick would have the same problem—among others. Benji most of all. Afterward, we got back into the car and finished the drive home. The lights were on, and the Jeep was in the driveway when we got back to Mason’s. We went inside and found the others in the living room. Benji was sitting on the sofa with his eyes closed. He had an ice pack over his swollen eye but cracked open his good one when he heard us come in. “What took you two so long?” he asked sharply. Rick stood up from his place on the opposite sofa beside Ginny and took one of the bags from Mason’s hand. He peered into it and pulled out a bottle of tequila while saying, “I bet they were, you know, celebrating.”
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