CHAPTER 16
AXLE
I awake with a start, feeling the bed beside me and hitting the damn pillow she put between us instead of her. A sense of panic hits me when I see her side of the bed is empty, and my eyes dart to the clock as I jump up and start stabbing my legs into my jeans.
It’s after two in the fucking afternoon, so it’s no surprise she’s not in bed. She could be any-fucking-where by now. Damn it!
I don’t even bother with a shirt as I sling my door open…only to slam to an abrupt halt when I hear Rock ‘N’ Roll Train humming through the speakers as Maya skates backwards, making a large loop around Dash, Drex, and Eve as Drex tries to talk to her.
He’s having to yell over the music as Maya spins in a fast, tight circle, her arms straight up over her head.
“You can’t leave right now. It’s not safe.” Drex is saying as she breaks out of her spin and starts skating again, facing front this time, and gaining a lot of speed.
“I have work to do, and all you guys are concerned with is my story. We haven’t even discussed the cars I need built, and my guy never sent me a text last night. Which means something went wrong with the last job.”
Her shirt has vampire teeth on it with a logo that reads, “Bite Me.” Pretty sure some blood is dripping from those teeth. She has on long socks again, only this time they’re blood red.
Her shorts are black and barely cover her ass. Fuck me, I really love/hate spandex.
“You still can’t leave. We’ll go check out—”
“No!” Maya shouts, skidding to an abrupt halt close to Drex.
I start walking down the stairs quickly, cursing the metal steps against my bare feet.
“I’m not supposed to allow you to get involved. This is my show. Not yours. All I need from you are the fucking cars. They’re here. Do your genius stuff, and that’s your job done,” she goes on.
Colleen walks toward them as I approach, but no one notices me.
“You guys need to get quiet. All this music is waking people up, and they might hear you yelling about this.”
“She knows?” Maya asks, crossing her arms over her chest as she glares at Drex.
Drex runs a hand through his hair.
“No. She didn’t. But you’re the one who seems to have forgotten a lot of others have been crashing here.”
She drops her arms to her sides and grimaces. “Right.”
Maya starts skating backwards again, and my hands dart out, grabbing her hips before she can run all over me. She jerks, and I end up tightening my hold so she doesn’t fall and break her damn neck.
When she looks at me over her shoulder, the surprise turns into exasperation as she rolls her eyes and looks back at Drex.
Colleen looks over at me, her eyes widening in her head, as Maya continues speaking.
“Anyway, I need to go check on things,” she says quieter. “And you need to remember that I’m not a prisoner.”
Maya shifts closer to me when Drex stands, and I put an arm around her waist. Drex’s eyes flick to mine. “Deal with whatever it is she needs.”
Maya makes some grumbling noise as she starts skating again, pushing away from me. Drex comes to my side as I watch her drop and spin again very quickly.
“Keep her happy. Please. If she leaves and gets herself killed, it may come back on us in a bad way. We have enough shit to worry about,” Drex tells me.
“Yeah, Axle. Why the hell isn’t she happy?” Dash goads mockingly.
I flip him off and start moving to Maya, but Colleen shrieks, causing me to look over my shoulder at her. Her eyes are trained on my back, because I’m still fucking shirtless, and she’s pale as her gaze sticks there.
Maya skates over, putting herself in front of my scars. “Problem, Red?” Maya snaps, glaring at her like she’s my protector. “Because if you have a problem, we can discuss it like two crazy chicks any time you want.”
Colleen jerks her gaze away, her cheeks heating with color, and I roll my eyes when the guys bite back a little grin. Maya is no one’s fucking protector, least of all mine, but she’s still staring down Colleen like she wants to slap her or something.
A squeal leaves her lips when I suddenly grab her at the waist, tossing her over my shoulder, then straightening to my full height.
“Are you kidding me? You can’t just keep manhandling me any time the mood strikes you,” Maya gripes.
“I need to shower and dress if we’re going to go find your crew,” I answer before making my way to the steps.
Maya just groans, her hands clutching the back of my jeans as her hair tickles my back.
As soon as I barge into my room and put her down, Maya spins, shoving at my chest, while her face burns red from all the blood flow being redirected to her head. I try not to laugh when she struggles to get all her hair out of her face.
“You can’t keep doing that. It’s degrading. And embarrassing. And—”
I shut her up when I jerk her to me and kiss the hell out of her, feeling my body twist tight the second she moans and melts against me. She can’t fake her reactions.
And Maya sure as hell wants me.
Which leaves me damned confused about the complex enigma and what to do with her.