Chapter 9

MAY 19 – FRIDAY 9:47 PM

T heo

This felt strange. I didn't usually allow anyone to come to the races, but somehow, Ren had talked me into letting her and Myles tag along.

I glanced back at Myles as he followed me through the streets to the meet up. Ransom said that they had to change up the routes ‘cause it was getting too hot with police. Riding around the next corner, I could see the bikes lined up off to the side and the makeshift starting line. There were a few other fancy cars and girls wearing bikinis or shorts and crop-tops, lying on the hoods. Eyes followed me. I was the new guy, fresh meat. At least, that would be the initial thought.

As we got closer to the action, it was easy to pick out the squids. They always stood out from the crowd. The guy with the extra girls who acted taller and was louder than the others. Guys pretending to be alphas. Pathetic. I cruised by with my hand on my thigh and didn't bother to look their way even though they tried to get my attention.

There were a few Lightning LS-218s. I'd tried it, and it was fast, but I still preferred my Ducati. Some relationships just worked. No explanation needed. My girl back home was called Polly, so I decided to call this one Vinculum or Vinny for short. The one thing that I wished I had were my slicks. The dealership didn't have any to sell, and the few places that Ransom had told me to check out for the tires said they didn't have any. It was bullshit, I could see the stacks of them in the back, but I was the new guy, and I needed to earn my stripes here to get respect. It was fine, I'd opened the girl up a few times on the way here to warm up my tires. I would be ready.

I spotted Ransom. He wasn't hard to pick out since he was the only one speeding around in a wheelchair, his shoulder length hair flowing out behind him. It was one of those fancy racing chairs that I'd seen on television. I guess once you were hit with the need for speed, you always had the bug.

I pulled into an empty spot big enough for the car and my bike. Myles backed in beside me. I dismounted, and as soon as I did, those closest inched in to inspect the competition and the Lambo. It was the most expensive car here and stood out like a crown jewel among the other luxury cars.

Ren stepped out of the car, and I was happy she couldn't see my face. She looked like she belonged, even though her eyes screamed that she was out of place. I loved the tight black jeans and the tall shitkicker boots on her. The ripped rocker top gave you the perfect peekaboo effect of her skin underneath, and the crop style leather jacket looked lit. She'd done her hair partially up, and the rest was flowing down her back in waves. This was not the same girl I saw daily at school. This was the girl who saved my brother and stood up to Nash. I didn't hang around her enough back home to see this side of her, but I was getting an eyeful now.

"Remember what I said. You're here ‘cause you're my girl. Myles, you're my mechanic. They don't like randos or bystanders at races just coming to hang out. They don't trust people outside of their circle." They both nodded, and Ren reached up to undo the buckle on my helmet I was struggling with. "Thanks." Pulling it off, I ran my hand through my hair and did the predatory stare around at those looking a little too long in my direction.

I took a deep breath and sighed with the scents of the night. Everything from the fuel, lingering burnout, vape smoke, and perfume wafted on the soft breeze. It was perfection. I worked my ass off to be the best at school and had high expectations of where I saw myself after graduation, but this right here was my escape. Racing filled a part of me that felt empty the rest of the time and made my heart pound like nothing else could.

"Hey, hey! You made it, and you brought a hell of a ride."

I slipped my arm around Ren's waist. "I sure did," I said, and Ransom laughed.

"So, this is your girl?"

Ren held out her hand. "Name's Ren," she said, rubbing herself against my side and nuzzling at my neck. Just like that, she had my mind racing with other ideas that didn't have anything to do with being here. She was good, and Ransom was eating it up as he looked her up and down. He nodded his appreciation. I glanced at Myles, silently warning him to keep his mouth shut.

Ransom nodded in Myles's direction. "And he is?"

"My mechanic and best mate. This is Myles. He's trustworthy," I said as Myles crossed his arms and nodded.

"What's up," Myles said, and I rolled my eyes. He looked more like my bodyguard than a mechanic, but it would do.

"Alright, I can fit you into a race. But I'm warning you, this one has some wicked twisties, and I already took the liberty of drawing the name for your race. This guy is not going to go easy just because you're an out of townie."

"I wouldn't dream of it," I said.

"Follow me, and I'll introduce you to your competition." Ransom turned and rolled off.

I looked at Myles. "Stay here and make sure no one touches my bike. I don't care who it is." Linking my fingers with Ren, we followed Ransom. I looked at her out of the corner of my eye, and she held herself like she owned the place. I liked it, and I liked how the other guys stared. Laying her out on the car and making them more jealous was quickly becoming a fantasy. I gave my head a shake. I was here to race, not pretend with Ren.

Was I surprised to be walked right up to the best rider here? Not one bit. Ransom smirked at me as he introduced us. I knew who Vesper was, and he was a freaking legend. I had no idea why he was in Canada, but it didn't matter. I either took the race against the best, or I bowed out, and I could consider myself done in racing circles everywhere.

"Dude, it's nice to meet you. Ransom said he had a new guy he was throwing my way, but I didn't realize it was going to be Murk," Vesper said.

"You know who I am?"

Vesper smiled. "I knew this day was coming. You always keep an eye on anyone coming for your pipes. Didn't think it would be here, though."

"Likewise. Good to meet you. What are we racing for?" He looked back the way we walked. I knew before he opened his mouth that he was going to say pink slips.

"You got it in you to race for slips," he said.

Some of the girls standing around gave Ren cut eye, but Ren gave it right back, impressing me further.

I looked at his machine and rubbed my bottom lip. "You sure you want to lose your ride tonight?"

Ransom oohed and then laughed as he clapped his hands. "That sounds like a challenge accepted if I ever heard one. You know the drill. Slips come to me, and I award the winner with both. To forfeit after the race will get you banned and blacklisted everywhere. Understood?"

"Understood," Vesper and I said together.

Turning Ren around, I walked with my hand in her back pocket as we headed for my bike. I didn't know how long Vesper had been here or how many races he'd already run. I was at a definite disadvantage.

Reaching the bike, I turned to Ren to tell her where she and Myles could stand, but I was surprised when she wrapped her arms around my neck and kissed me.

"The guys over there were whispering and laughing. I figured we'd give them a show," she whispered against my lips.

"I can give them a show." I picked her up and laid her on the Lambo with her hands pinned over her head. I kissed Ren hard as she let me explore her mouth, and I kind of hated that this was all an act. I could feel Myles watching us, and I glanced up, smirking to fuck with him, but he rolled his eyes and looked away. Interesting. "Smart and a great kisser, you are certainly full of surprises, Ms. Davies," I breathed into her ear. "What else are you hiding?"

"Nothing that you're going to find out about," she said, and just like that, she tossed the gauntlet in my direction.

"At least not here," I said and pushed myself up, bringing her with me. She turned to walk away, but not before I grabbed her hips and pressed against her back. "I'd be careful how much sass you give me, Ms. Davies. I think you'd look amazing with my cock in your pussy and my brother's shoved down your throat."

She looked over her shoulder at me, her expression caught between shock and desire under that. I loved that her cheeks were bright red, and she seemed genuinely lost for words.

"Murk, you're up," Ransom yelled, breaking the staring contest between us. I nodded at him and grabbed my helmet, securing it in place.

I wiggled my fingers at Ren. She looked skeptical, but after a quick glance around at all those still watching, she stepped in close enough that I could wrap my arm around her waist.

"Aren't you going to give me a kiss for good luck?" I tapped my helmet, and she shot me a cheeky look but leaned in and planted a kiss right where I was pointing. As soon as she stepped back to Myles, I hit my start, gave her a two-finger salute, and rolled toward the starting line at the end of the street. My mind was already focused on the task at hand. You didn't race unless you could separate everything else going on in your life from the road in front of you. Adrenaline coursed through my body, and I sucked in a deep breath loving the feeling. The first surge as we took off from the line would bring a dopamine hit that I craved.

I turned left onto the road that we would be racing down and then wheeled around to face the same direction as Vesper. He had a sexy looking Busa, and I knew this was going to be my biggest challenge yet. Top rider, a powerful bike, and a circuit I'd never been on. Nothing like living on the edge.

He nodded, and we flipped up our visors. "I like to race fair and nothing dirty," he said.

I shrugged. "Same here. If you have to ride dirty to win, then you don't know how to race."

He pointed up the road. "I've been here a couple weeks and scoped this out. Turn three and seven are deadly and slick with tar snakes."

Most people wouldn't give tips to their opponent, so he was either a super nice guy or setting me up.

"Thanks for the heads up," I said and held out my knuckles for him to hit. He returned the friendly gesture.

A leggy blonde in high heels stepped into the middle of the road and held a flag up. The crowd was starting to chant, "Rip it up," but as I flicked down my visor, everything went quiet in my head. When her hand came down, we roared off the line, and both bikes ended up in a catwalk as we flew past the flag girl. The crowd and cars disappeared behind us.

This backroad was on the outer edge of the city, and we flew down what seemed to be a service road for trucks. Industrial buildings were nothing more than a blur of white or brown as we blew past. I could see the first turn coming up, and I purposely let Vesper have the lead and pulled into his slipstream. He knew the road, had already raced it, and he was the number one street racer in North America, if not the world, with over five years more experience. I was going to be on him like a flea on a tick's ass for the first half of the race to let him show me the course and how it rode.

We hit a long open stretch, and we both went full throttle and sailed through a red light. The first two turns were easy, but just like Vesper said, number three was tricky with a tight hairpin that had a slightly odd angle. I could feel my back end wanting to get loose on the way in, but she stuck to the curve like she was on rails. The marks that indicated the way were taking us through a roundabout, and I could see a large truck already in the intersection. This was going to be tight.

We raced into the circle and squeezed by on the shoulder to blow by the transport that was hogging the road. The next section was dark as we left the city behind. It was isolating as we settled into the fast pace with only the moon and stars to light the way. Turn six was wide and sweeping, and we carved hard, letting the momentum push us around the curve.

I was shocked when Vesper's taillight came on for turn seven. He wasn't joking when he said it was nasty. There were little pebbles like marbles and thick lines of tar that twisted across the road. The turn doubled back on itself before it snaked out the other side. The little glowing arrow pointed us in the right direction for the road that would take us back the way we came, and as soon as I spotted the roundabout, I knew where we were.

This was when I needed to wait for my opening to maneuver around the bike in front of me and visualize the remaining road and places Vesper was least likely to expect me to pass. Teasing him a little, I made sure he could see me in his left and then right mirror and pretended that I was going to pass on the inside of turn four. As expected, he cut off my lane, but he kept checking.

Turn three was my goal. I caught his attention as we were heading into the turn. I faked low, and he blocked my way. But I was already going high and had to carve so hard that sparks flew, but it worked. It worked too well. Vesper looked over and hit a tar snake at a bad angle. I could see his back end lose it a fraction of a second before he was down, and I had to grab a handful and wheel out around him or crash into him as he dropped the bike and slid on his ass. Pulling out of the turn, I stopped, heart pounding, and waited to see if he was okay. Most riders would carry on, but as much as I loved racing, this wasn't how I made my living, and I cared more about the thrill of the challenge than the money from a win.

Vesper was lying on the pavement, so I jumped off my bike and ran to him. "Hey man, you okay," I asked, flicking open the dark visor so I could see his eyes.

"Yeah. Fucking embarrassed more than anything. It's been a while since I had any road rash."

"You sure nothing is broken?" He moved his feet and legs, then arms, before I helped him sit up. "I'm good. You shouldn't have stopped."

"Consider it my payback for the turn warnings."

"Much good it did me. Fuck, I knew that thick snake was there. Good call on passing at that moment. I was expecting for you to do it as we passed apex."

Standing, I held out my hand and helped him to his feet. "You good to finish the race?"

"Let's do it," Vesper said as he limped over to his bike and righted it.

Hopping on mine, I waited until he was ready, and we were off. He still pushed me hard, but as the line came into view, I knew that I had won and sailed over it to cheers.

Turning around, I slowly road back to where Vesper was slumped over his handlebars, breathing hard. I spotted Ren breaking free of the crowd and jogging toward me. Dismounting, I yanked off my gloves and quickly undid the helmet just as she reached me. I pulled it off and set it down and groaned as she caught me off guard and kissed me like we really were together. Whether it was the thrill of the race or her, my heart pounded hard, and I pulled her as close as I could.

She broke the kiss and stepped back. "Congrats on the win," she said, and I couldn't stop staring at her lips. The adrenaline was making my brain foggy. That had to be it because I wanted to bend her over my bike. Myles strolled over, and I blinked and shook my head to rid it of the crazy thought.

Luckily, Ransom wheeled over, holding the two ownerships in the air. "Fair is fair. Here you go," Ransom said, and I plucked them from his fingers. "Feel free to come back anytime."

"Thanks, man."

"Can you stay with the bike," I asked Myles, and he nodded. "Come with me," I whispered to Ren, and she took my hand. Vesper was still sitting on his bike as we wandered over.

It looked like his wife was with him. A sparkly ring was on her finger, and she was rubbing his shoulder, but she was also very obviously pregnant. His crash suddenly bothered me more, and I was happy that I'd stopped to make sure that he was good. We all knew the risks, but he had a kid on the way, and that was tough.

He held out his hand for me to shake, and I gripped it hard. "Thanks again for stopping, man. You're gonna love this bike. If you want me to clean up the scrapes, let me know."

I shook my head. "No need. Here." I held out his slip to him and he stared at it.

"Why are you giving this back? You won it more than fairly."

"Just take it, but one day, I may call with a favor," I said and smirked.

Vesper smiled and got off his bike, pulling me into a manly, back-slapping hug. I could've done without the hug, but I went along with it.

"Thanks, man. Buying a new one was going to cut into the whole baby fund," he said, wrapping his arm around his wife. I pulled out my phone, and he rhymed off his number. "Anytime, anything you need, you hit me up. I'll do what I can to help."

"Take care of yourself, Vesper," I said, pulling Ren into my side as we walked to my bike.

"That was very sweet of you," she said, and I made a gagging noise, which made her laugh.

"Don't say that again, or I'll go back and rip it out of his hand."

Smiling, she gripped my waist tighter. "You can't lie to me anymore. I've seen the kindness you try to hide."

"I'm not kind," I grumbled and scowled at her as I picked up my helmet.

"Whatever you say." The corner of her mouth curved up in a mocking smile as her eyes told me that I was a liar.

I needed to get out of this country soon. Three more weeks seemed like way too long. There was something in the air that was messing with me. I glanced at Ren's swaying ass as she walked away, and if I wasn't careful, I was going to fall into the same trap my brother and Myles had fallen into. Ren was casting a web, whether she realized it or not, and I needed to avoid the sticky strands before it was too late.