#Swag (GearShark #3) (12 page)

And now I would always wonder if my loss was because I got bumped from the side or if it was because Jace was a better driver.

His eyes were on my car as he got out, came around, and leaned against the hood of his Lotus. People swarmed around him, but it was like they weren’t even there. All I saw was him.

I expected more of a smirk. Instead, the dark power in his eyes seemed focused on something besides his win.

On me.

The Nissan stopped near my car, and just looking at it was like a red flag, and I was the bull. My door shot open, and I lurched out. I didn’t even bother slamming it closed. My heels clapped against the ground as I rushed across the pavement, around the car to where the guy with the tiny junk unfolded from his ride.

He glanced at me with a smirk, and I pulled back my fist and decked him.

The bones in my hand jolted with the force of my hit, but I didn’t regret it. I’d never thrown so much force into a swing before. This guy deserved it. He deserved a lot stronger of a punch than I was able to deliver.

His head snapped back and his footing shook. He didn’t fall, instead righting himself quicker than I wished he could. Shock and fury crowded his eyes, and fresh, red blood smeared the corner of his lip.

“Must really sting to know you can’t beat me fair,” I spat. I had to fight the urge to shake out my hand and pull it into my chest. “Hell, you can’t even beat me when you
cheat
.”

He dabbed at his bloody mouth. Once. Twice.

Swiftly, he flew across the pavement, closing the small distance between us, and grabbed my arms, jerking me forward.

I brought my knee up and made contact with his balls.

His eyes widened, and I wrenched my body away from his and stumbled back.

“You bitch,” he growled and came at me again.

The look in his eyes was real and it was mean. I’d gone too far, I knew, but sometimes I just couldn’t help myself. Sometimes people deserved it.

“Whoa!” someone shouted, and instantly, bodies larger than mine converged.

I was pushed back. Drew and Trent planted themselves in front of me, and in front of them, sounds of a scuffle made me crane my neck to see.

Tiny dick went flying back, smacking into his car and falling sideways. Jace stood in front of Drew and Trent, his body completely rigid and his hands at his sides.

There was an air of menace about him, the kind that made me draw up short.

“Real men don’t hit women,” he declared.

Tiny dick scrambled back up and shoved his body toward Jace. “I helped you! She almost smoked you.”

Jace cracked his neck from one side to the other and made a rude sound. “You helped me?” He scoffed, glancing around at the intent audience.

People smirked and cackled.

“When have I ever needed help winning a race? Real drivers win on their own merit, not because someone
helped
them.”

“You’re seriously gonna stand here in front of your entire territory and side with that bitch pro over your own brother who is loyal to you!” he yelled.

“Kurt. You didn’t do that back there out of loyalty to
me
. You did that because you’re pissed you were losing to a woman.”

Kurt rushed Jace, like a bull in a china shop. His head dropped down, his shoulders jutted out, and he charged.

Jace barely even moved. In seconds, he swept Kurt’s feet out from beneath him and had him on his back. I pushed to stand between Drew and Trent to get a better view at what was going down. Drew’s hand cupped my elbow like he thought he might have to restrain me.

Jace leaned down, grabbed fistfuls of Kurt’s shirt, and yanked his upper body off the asphalt. “I ever see you raise a hand to a woman again, I’ll blacklist you.”

He sputtered and floundered, trying to get out of Jace’s hold. “She swung first! That ain’t right. A man should be able to defend himself.”

Jace’s upper lip curled. “If you need to defend yourself against a woman, you need to ask yourself why.”

With that, he tossed Kurt back down and crossed his arms. “Get the fuck out of here.”

“I won the pot,” he said, scrambling up. “That money is rightfully mine.”

Jace measured him for a long moment. Everyone waited to see what he would say. I swear the tension in the air was so thick it was hard to breathe.

“Give him the money,” Jace said, gruff, to a guy at the edge of the crowd. I think he’d called him Beneto earlier.

After that, everyone seemed to sense the drama was over. It was as if Jace told them it was finished without saying a word. People started talking again, moving off in groups like nothing even happened.

Jace stayed in place, his body still rigid, as Kurt pocketed the money and got in his Nissan.

Drew and Trent turned their eyes to me.

“That was some fucked-up shit,” Drew drawled.

“You got a nice right hook,” Trent added.

I laughed beneath my breath and exhaled. “That guy had it coming. He tried to run me off the road more than once tonight, and when that didn’t work, he tried to blind me with his high beams.”

Drew’s mouth thinned. “No rules racing,” he murmured. “Some guys think no rules also means no honor.”

“You totally would have won if he hadn’t pulled that punk-ass move,” Trent announced.

“No way in hell.”

The guys turned toward Jace, who was fast approaching. I glanced over at Kurt’s disappearing taillights.

All three guys measured each other, and everyone else seemed to have switched into party mode, so I took the split second of reprieve and shook out my hand.

Ouch.

I didn’t go around punching guys very often, and my poor fingers were feeling it.

“Admit it, Lorhaven,” Drew ribbed. “She’s a damn good driver.”

He shrugged. “She still lost.”

I shook my head. I actually thought he was better than that. “Didn’t peg you for a driver who took a win based on a technicality.”

“There are no technicalities in racing,” he retorted. “You’re either first over the finish line or you’re not.”

Drew didn’t say anything, but deep in his eyes, I saw he agreed.

“All right.” I relented. I wasn’t a sore loser. “You win. Nice driving out there tonight.”

Surprise flickered in his eyes, like he didn’t expect I would accept the code of the street. A slow smile pulled his full mouth upward and reminded me of what it was like to feel it slanting over mine.

“Thank you.” he said. The words sounded rusty coming out of his lips, like using manners wasn’t something he was accustomed to.

Big surprise there.

“So per our bet, I believe there’s something you owe me.”

I rolled my eyes. “I suppose you plan to collect right now?”

Please say yes.

^^^^
I think I might be having a psychotic break.

“No time like the present.” His onyx eyes locked on mine. A light shiver worked its way down my spine. “Show me what you got underneath that hood.”

Lorhaven

Drew and Trent appointed themselves Joey’s protectors.

I’d just seen her literally coldcock some guy after racing a car through dark backroads she’d likely never been on before.

I was pretty sure she could take care of herself.

Didn’t stop you from jumping in when Kurt went after her.

I was an asshole. I’d broken a lot of laws, and no one actually liked me. They just liked my status.

However…

Men didn’t hit women. Period.

And they especially didn’t do it on my territory.

Besides, Kurt fucking deserved what he got. I saw the way he rode her the entire race. It was almost like he wasn’t racing for the cash, but just as an excuse to try and hurt her.

She managed it well, better than a lot of the guys I knew. Joey could handle a car; that much was crystal clear. It was also clear tonight wasn’t the first time she’d had to deal with someone like Kurt.

It was like I said, though. There were no technicalities in racing, just wins and losses. I won tonight. A bet was a bet.

I had no idea when I’d see her again, so I was collecting before I let her out of my sight.

Looking at her definitely wasn’t a hardship, and tonight, she’d taught me a lesson. Women who drove like badasses, threw punches without hesitation, and filled out a pair of jeans while they did it were my ultimate type.

Sexy. As. Hell.

I’d started the race with a damn stiffy. It only went down when I saw her car take a nudge from Kurt and spin off to the side.

But no worries. It recovered. My dick was a champ like that. Couldn’t much keep him down for long. The second she’d marched out of her car and literally drew blood from Kurt’s face, I was back to rocking some wood.

The old airport always had a certain stillness about it after the sun went down. The slightly too long grass around the strips of asphalt, the old abandoned planes sitting like giant relics no one cared about anymore, and weeds poking up between cracks on the roads.

We had four hangars with cars in them.

All of them were metal buildings with wide doors on the front that opened to allow small plane storage. We used them to drive our cars in and out.

One of the four hangars was set up like a garage, and at the back was where Arrow stayed.

I didn’t like that he lived here.

I’d asked, ordered, and demanded he come live with me. I had a townhouse not too far from here, and there was more than enough room for him.

He refused to budge, refused to move in. I knew he liked his space and he liked being here with the objects of his passion.

But there was more to it than that.

He’d never said it out loud, and I never called him out, but I knew there was a part of Arrow that thought living in a garage was what he deserved.

I tried not to think of that often, because, frankly, it cut me like nothing else did.

The guilt I felt when I thought of my brother and the shit I missed was unmatched. Which was probably why when push came to shove, I never forced him out of here.

Besides him thinking he didn’t deserve better than a hangar, this place was his solace. It was a retreat. The fences surrounding the property, the locked gate…

It afforded a sense of safety.

Violently, I shoved away those thoughts. I was already in a tenuous enough state without adding all my demons to the mix.

The Lotus was first through the gate of the airport. Behind me was the yellow Skyline, then the Fastback, and finally Arrow and his Camaro.

When Joey refused to pop the hood right there on the street in front of everyone partying, I suggested we go somewhere a little more private.

She agreed, but so did her bodyguards.

I told them they weren’t invited, yet here they were.

Whatever. My brother liked them.

And I guess they weren’t that bad. I had to respect the fact they were looking out for her.

I stopped in front of Arrow’s hangar, and everyone else pulled up alongside me.

Arrow hit the remote he carried in his car, and the large door drifted open. The front center was empty, and once the door was open far enough, he pulled the black Camaro inside where he parked it every night.

Probably kissed it before he went to bed, too.

I snorted.
Loser
.

Even though it was dark, there were tall streetlights lining the perimeter of the property. It wasn’t a huge airport, but there was a lot of land.

The lights cast a yellowish tone about. One of the lamps closest to us flickered and made a buzzing sound. The air was balmy and warm; a breeze moved around us. It always seemed a little windier here, and I wondered if it was because of the lack of trees.

Joey was all business once she was out of the car. I heard her pull the latch for the hood, and she moved around like she was going to prop it open right there.

I liked a person who paid their debts.

“Whoa.” I stalled her. “It’s too dark out here. You can pull it in there,” I said, pointing to another hangar. It was a short distance away, on the other side of the one next to Arrow’s.

“What’s wrong with that one?” she asked, motioning toward the closer one.

“It’s already got cars in it. No room.”

“That one over there has some garage space so it would be better,” Arrow said, backing me up.

“Whatever,” Joey said.

“Be right behind you,” Drew called from near his Mustang.

Joey waved and returned to her seat behind the wheel and coasted over to where I’d instructed. Arrow jogged into the open hangar and hit a button so the door would open up.

“There a reason you’re so up her ass, Forrester?” I challenged before he could scurry to follow.

Drew swung around to look at me. Trent pushed his partway opened door back closed. “There a reason you’re trying to get rid of us?”

“Besides the fact I don’t like you?” I drawled.

Arrow cut in. “I thought you guys were friends now.”

Little brothers. Making everything harder since the day they were born.

“I’m thinking this don’t have to do so much with friendship,” Trent said. Damn him and his knowing tone.

“Fuck you, Mask,” I shot out. “Y’all wanna stay and hang out with my brother, go for it. But that hangar over there ain’t big enough for the five of us.”

Trent smirked. Sometimes I really just wanted to punch the guy.

Drew shoved away from his car and strode forward. If it weren’t for his light hair, he would totally blend in with the night. His black jeans, jacket, and T-shirt gave him a cloak of partial invisibility.

“You look like a floating head.” I scoffed, watching him approach.

“Good. Then you won’t see my fists coming when I start throwing them.”

My eyes narrowed. We stepped up to each other, measuring for weaknesses. Behind us, I felt Trent and Arrow watching as if they thought a fight were imminent.

“What’s your deal with Joey?” He spoke low.

“Deal is I get to look under her hood.”

“Which hood you talking about right now?”

My tongue slipped over my front teeth, and I half snarled. “I’m pretty sure she can take care of herself.”

“I’m positive if you fuck with her, you’ll see a side of me you’ve never seen.” Forrester vowed, speaking forcefully and only at a volume I would hear.

“You really think I’m gonna hurt her?” I asked. I wished instantly I could take back the words. Not because of what I said, but the way in which I said it. It was like I practically admitted to wanting more with her than just to fulfill the terms of a race.

So? Maybe I did.

Maybe I wanted to fuck her brains out.

That wasn’t Forrester’s business. Neither was the fact I was appalled at the thought of hurting her.

“Before tonight, I would have said absolutely.” Drew shifted, relaxing a fraction.

“And now?” I prompted.

“After having seen you bolt into action the exact same moment T and I did when that fuckwad Kurt went at her, now I’m more inclined to say maybe not.”

“Was that a ringing endorsement, Forrester?” I grinned.

He snorted. “Yeah, and I’m the tooth fairy.”

“Good talk.” I slapped him on the shoulder. “Beer’s in the fridge. Help yourself.”

He grabbed my arm as I was pulling it back. “I’m serious, Lorhaven. She’s not one of your so-called street rats.

I yanked my arm out of his grip. “Yeah, well, she ain’t a wilting violet. She don’t need you trailing her everywhere she goes.”

He glanced away, then back.

I folded my arms over my chest. “Say it.”

“Gamble asked me to keep an eye on her.” He admitted.

“You mean spy,” I spat, actually feeling pissed on her behalf. “I thought you were friends.”

“We are,” he said, tight. “Which is why I agreed.” He paused, then sighed. “Look, when Ron Gamble asks you to keep an eye on someone and help with the crossover, he has his reasons. This is his daughter, man. He wasn’t asking me as a businessman. He came to me as a father.”

“Why is he so concerned?” I asked.

He shook his head. “I don’t know. Maybe he’s just being a dad.”

But Drew didn’t think that. He thought Gamble had reasons, so he agreed, because truthfully, I knew Drew and Trent cared about Joey.

Have you been hazed?
The question Emily asked Joey the day of the interview floated through the back of my head. Right after it came Joey’s PC reply.

Was that it? Did Ron Gamble find out Joey was being hassled?

Seemed like a man like him would just squash that problem then and there. There had to be more to it.

“I’m not going to hurt her,” I stated.

He cut right to the chase. “But you might fuck her.”

I felt my grin slowly spread. “Oh, I’m definitely gonna do that.”

Drew’s eyes narrowed.

“Don’t you worry, Forrester. She’s gonna like it.”