Chapter One

Axel

I still remember the first time I’d been to a drag race, or ‘street race’ as I should probably stick to calling it. I was only ten years old, and a friend of mine had a brother who was into the sport. We’d begged him to take us with him one night. He kept telling us that we were too young, and he was worried that we would tell his parents. But we’d finally convinced him to let us go along, as long as we promised not to breathe a word to anyone.

“I swear, if word gets out that you have snitched, I will make sure that your life is a misery for as long as you both live.”

I’d gulped. “Uh, I won’t say anything,” I had said to him. “But, why is drag racing illegal?” I’d dared to ask. It had been a burning question of mine for a long time, but when I asked my friend Turk, he had no idea. Turk was just as frightened of his brother as I was. Frightened, but also awestruck. He was this big guy, with tattoos all over his arms, and a string of women hanging all over him. Whenever he spoke, everyone listened. The only time I’d ever seen him act differently was in front of his parents. Around them, he was the sweetest kid around.

“Drag racing is not illegal. But street racing is. Not everyone can be in this profession. Also, some of us like the adrenaline that doing it illegally gives us.”

“Will you go to jail if you get caught?” I asked.

“Yes. Which is why I don’t want you to tell a soul. You hear me?”

“I won’t say a thing,” I’d said.

We’d gone along that night and watched the whole thing in amazement. Turk’s brother was so fast that his car drove past in a blur when I watched. He raced a few people that night and won each time. He had a fancy car, which he’d actually won through one of his races. The fact that he had actually won a car just by driving fast had intrigued me from the start. That night, I knew that I was going to one day become a racer myself. I sometimes wondered what had happened to Turk and his brother, but I’d lost contact with them a long time ago. One day, I hoped to meet him again. First, to thank him for introducing me to the game. Second, to race him. It was my lifelong dream—even though nobody knew it but me—to one day beat him and to win one of his cars. A dream I thought about it every single time I went out there. I’d asked about him before, but nobody seemed to know who he was. Perhaps he’d been caught, someone had said to me once, but I battled to believe it. He’d been too good, too careful, to be caught.

“Yeah, but don’t underestimate the power of the cops around here,” my friend had said to me. “They hate us. We go against everything they believe in. We are lawless rule breakers, and there is nothing in the world that they hate more. Especially since we manage to get away with it so much.”

Perhaps it was true. Maybe he was in jail. I hoped not. Even though I wanted to beat him in a race, I still didn’t want him to be doing time. I’d been so scared of him, but I’d also promised myself that I would one day be like him.

I was looking forward to the race. It had been a busy week, as it always was working at the shop. I was a mechanic, and a damn fine one at that, and people were always referring me to their friends and family. It meant that I hardly ever got a break at work. Not that I was complaining. It was good to be sought after, and I enjoyed my job. But I loved having the release of a race after a long week. Some people liked to go home and read a book in bed. Some liked to drink a glass of wine and put their feet up. I liked to race. Fast, hard and crazy—it was what I was known for.

I saw Spike and walked over to greet him. Spike worked with me at the shop and loved coming to see me at a race. He was tall and lanky, with a mop of blond hair that was constantly falling over his face. I’d been sure I wouldn’t like him when I met him. I wanted a man’s man to work at the shop with me. Someone who looked a bit more like me. But, as it turned out, Spike was a lot of fun to be around and loved bikes and adrenaline more than any guy I’d ever met. He wasn’t much of a drag racer himself, but he was one of my biggest supporters.

“Yo, Spike,” I said as I got near him.

He grinned. “Ready? You better win. I have money on you.”

“You do?”

“Of course I do. I always have money on you. Why do you think I always have extra cash these days?”

I chuckled. “Well, it’s good to know you’re confident.”

“Aren’t you?”

“Oh, I’m always confident.”

“Good to hear it.”

“Thanks for helping out today,” I said. I needed Spike at these events. He was there to be on the lookout for the police. Without him, I would be too nervous about them showing up without warning. We were always so careful at these events. We planned them sporadically and made sure that we never had them at the same place, but one could never be sure. Word sometimes got out, or police happened to be driving past. It had happened in the past, and we’d always managed to scatter before getting into trouble.

“Pleasure. You know I’ve got your back,” he said.

“I know you do.”

“Give ‘em hell,” he said as I walked off.

As I made my way to the car, my heart pounded in my chest. No matter how many times I did this, I always felt a mixture of nerves and excitement before a race. I wasn’t sure if that feeling would ever leave me. I hoped not. I lived for this moment, and I used my nerves to help me in the race. It fueled me and propelled me forward. As I got to the start line, I looked around at my opponents, and I smiled as my gaze settled on a tall woman. I had never seen her before, and she was definitely the sort of woman that I would’ve remembered if I had met her. It wasn’t just her height that was so unusual. She just had something about her that was different from the women I’d seen before. She reminded me of a Greek goddess, and the more I looked at her, the more intrigued I was by her. I wondered if I would get the chance to race her.

I didn’t have to think much longer because she caught me looking and came my way.

“So, you’re the great Axel I’ve heard so much about,” she said. Her voice, sweet and smooth was in direct contrast to her outward appearance. The contrast sent shivers down my spine. This was the most interesting looking woman I had ever seen. Up close, she was even more unique: a small button nose, a strong jawline, deep brown eyes, and long dark hair.

“Great Axel, eh? I won’t deny it,” I said and laughed. “How about you? I haven’t seen you around.”

“I’m Savannah; it’s good to meet you,” she said and held her hand out. Her grasp was strong, and she looked me in the eyes when she shook my hand. I liked her confidence.

“So, are we going to race?” I asked. “Or are you too afraid of the great Axel?” I said. I inwardly grimaced at my words. I was trying to flirt with her, but I was coming across too much like the sort of cocky guys I’d always hated.

“Oh, I’m not afraid at all. And yes, let’s do it.” I wish we could do it, I thought and smiled at her. We shook hands again, and she walked off to her vehicle.

Just because I was racing a girl didn’t mean that I was going to go easy on her. I had no intention of losing to her just because she was pretty. In fact, quite the opposite. I found myself wanting to do better than ever before. We raced, and I beat her, although I was surprised to find that she had been hot on my heels. We’d been playing for pink slips, and even though I felt excited to beat her, I still felt bad about taking her car. I’d never been in it for the cars, but rather for the adrenaline and the win. It had never been about what I won, but rather just the pure enjoyment of winning itself. I watched her walk over to me, a slight swagger in her hips as she handed me the pink slip.

“You deserve it,” she said.

I shook my head. “I don’t want your car.”

She frowned. “Why not? Anyway, I’m used to racing motorcycles. I just like to vary it up with the car sometimes.”

I grinned. This woman had stepped out from one of my dreams. I was sure of it. She was beautiful and fierce with a passion for motorcycles and cars. I had to pinch myself to make sure it was real.

“I prefer bikes too,” I said. “I actually have mine here,” I said.

She laughed. “Same here. But seriously, you won the car fair and square. That’s what we signed up for, remember? I hope you’re not doing this because I’m a girl. The fact that I’m into things like this means I’m not an ordinary woman, you know.”

I grinned. “I like my woman extraordinary. And no, I’m not declining the slip because you’re a girl. If I was worried about you being a girl, I wouldn’t have tried to beat you. But how about we swap the slip for something else instead.”

She narrowed her eyes at me. “Oh yeah? And what would that be?”

“How about a date instead?”

She laughed. She had one of those big belly laughs, where she threw her head back at the same time. I liked it. I could feel that she meant that laugh. She looked at me, and I saw a gleam in her dark brown eyes.

“A date, huh? Oh hell, why not. You’re pretty cute.”

“Cute and great. Wow, I should hang out with you more often,” I teased. I liked this woman. No other woman had ever complimented me like that so early. She just said things as they were and there was something so very refreshing about that.

She laughed. “Let’s go to McB’s. I’ll race you there.”

“You’re on.”

We took the back roads to the bar, and no matter how many times I tried to beat her, she kept getting in front of me. When we arrived at the bar, I climbed off the bike and looked at her.

“Okay, you were right. You’re better on the bike.”

She laughed. “I am. Oh, and I forgot to tell you. The winner of this race has to buy the first round of drinks.”

I grinned as I followed her in. I didn’t mind at all. In fact, I was happy that she’d said I was going to have to buy the first round. That sounded to me like there was going to be more than one. I had been looking forward to my Friday night and knew it was going to be a good one, but I had no idea it was going to be this good.