Chapter 8

SEAN

A couple of bags full of burger wrappers and empty containers of fries rested at the corner of the garage. I crumpled another wrapper and tossed it in with the rest of them while I finished off the last few bites of my hamburger.

“It looks like you’ve brought your appetite,” Joshua said. “You just ate a few hours ago.”

“I couldn’t let it go to waste. You said you didn’t want it.”

“Believe me, I’m stuffed. You must have worked up some appetite. You’ve been working all night.”

“It’s only been a few hours. I’ve gotten used to eating when I needed to.”

Joshua had his attention on the bike. His shirt off, the sweat and grease dripped down his lean body. It was a warm night in Snow Falls but judging from how much he was glistening, you would’ve thought we were in the middle of a heatwave.

I sat off to the side, enjoying the last remnants of the greasy dinner we’d been sharing this entire night.

“Back when I was on tour, I was always hungry,” I said.

“I can imagine. Being out there, spending all that energy. I’d probably be hungry, too.”

“It was more than just using the energy. We had rations. There was more than enough at the base to keep our bellies full. But for me, it was always Snow Falls that made me hungry.”

He gave me a confused look before getting back to work on the bike.

“How’s that?” he asked.

“I grew up here. All of this grease and fat and sugar… I grew up on this, too. My family never made much, so it was all we could afford. All of a sudden, I’m on the other side of the world and I’ve gotta switch everything up.”

“No fat and grease and sugar out there in the desert, huh?”

“Not even close. They wanted us to be at our best. I never complained about the food but it just wasn’t the same. I was always craving a greasy burger or salty fries or an extra cheesy slice of pizza…”

“The way you’re describing it, you make me wanna have some of that right now.”

“Maybe when you’re done we can have another bite to eat.”

“Ha!”

He burst into laughter. Despite how hard he was working, he still had the biggest smile on his face. A man as cute as Joshua smiling was enough to make me forget about what he was actually doing.

“We just had dinner,” he said. “I’m almost done but it’s already late.”

“Nothing wrong with a late meal. Just because the sun’s down doesn’t mean there aren’t places still open. I hear there are some new places in the Southern Block to eat.”

“Just as long as it’s nothing fancy.”

“I don’t think there are any fancy places in the Southern Block…”

The garage suddenly fell quiet. It would’ve been peaceful if the motorcycle traffic and police sirens weren’t so constant in the distance.

“Now your sister…” I started. “She was fancy. She’d always wanna go to some new restaurant or some trendy club. And there was always some place opening up in the Northside. All those rich folks with no idea what to do with their money so they just opened a place up for fun.”

“Lisa was always like that. Ever since we were little, she talked about living in the Northside in some big mansion or a penthouse that looked down on the rest of the city. I never blamed her for it though. It’s hard not to have those dreams with those buildings in the distance always in view.”

“How is Lisa?”

Joshua gave me a shrug, his head down as he focused on his bike.

“She couldn’t be better,” he said. “You know her. She found the man she was destined to be with. Lucky for her, he has enough money in his pockets to take real good care of her.”

“I’m happy for her.”

Joshua suddenly stopped working and stared at me.

“Shit,” he muttered. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to say there was anything wrong with you—”

“Relax,” I said, snickering to myself. “That was 10 years ago. I’ve moved on. There are more important things to worry about than an ex-girlfriend I broke up with.”

“Yeah… Still…”

He put his head down. It was obvious there was something on his mind but I didn’t push him to tell me. I trusted Joshua enough that he wouldn’t hold anything important from me.

“I wonder if it’s awkward for you,” he said.

“Awkward? Why would it be?”

“Because… My sister is your ex-girlfriend. Last I remember, you two didn’t exactly break up on the best terms.”

“True.”

“I love Lisa.”

“Of course you do. She’s your sister.”

“I know. But I care about you, too. You’re my friend and…”

I got up from my seat and put a hand on his shoulder.

“I’m not uncomfortable,” I said to reassure him. “It’s not awkward for me. I… I’ll admit that you resemble Lisa a little bit.”

“What?” he exclaimed.

“But of course you do,” I said with a smile. “You’re her brother. But when I look into your eyes, I don’t see her. I just see you. We were friends back then. I don’t see why we can’t be friends now.”

I could feel an awkward tension coming from him just from the way he shifted slightly. But he stared right back at me, his lips sealed tight like he was trying to hide a smile.

“We’re friends, right?” I said.

“Yeah…”

“Maybe we could even be more than friends.”

“After the other night, I wouldn’t mind.”

“Even if things don’t work out, we’ll always be friends, won’t we?”

He started laughing with the biggest smile on his face.

“The way you explain everything,” he said. “It’s like you know exactly what to say to me.”

“I’m only telling you the truth. Ten years apart doesn’t have to change anything between us. I think it only makes both of us appreciate what we used to have.”

I stared into those innocent blue eyes.

Damn… He looks just like Lisa…

I did see his sister. But she wasn’t the reason I found him so attractive. Joshua would’ve been handsome regardless of who he was. I was sure most men in Snow Falls thought the same as me.

I had to fight off the Alpha instincts inside of me from kissing him because I knew he still had some work to do. That wasn’t even mentioning the fact that I would never make him do anything he didn’t want to do even if I could.

“I… I should probably get back to work,” he said. “I figure Roland will be back here any minute.”

He raised his head up and turned his attention to the bike. He tightened a few screws and gave it a quick polish. I leaned up against the side wall of the garage, my arms crossed while I gave him a chance to work in peace.

Joshua… Can this really work?

Just standing there and staring at him, my thoughts started to wander on their own. I had to remind myself not to make this personal. Cade and the other Chargers were still expecting something from me.

Stay focused. You have a job to do.

I didn’t have a chance to think any more about where Joshua and I stood when the loud hiss of exhaust rumbled its way down the road. I stepped out of the garage and watched a flood of headlights moving in my direction. They pulled up right to the garage.

Roland.

The bastard looked as dirty as I remembered him. The flickering streetlights were more than enough to highlight his dusty leather vest. His long beard and hair needed a wash so bad that I could smell it even from a few steps away.

While the rest of his crew stayed on their bikes, Roland got up. He gave me a quick glance. Just a second was enough to see his disdain. But he ignored me and turned his attention to Joshua.

“You finished, Josh? You’ve had more than enough time.”

“I got it done. Just gimme a second.”

Joshua lowered the lift Roland’s bike was resting on. The entire time, Roland eyeballed me.

Careful now. You don’t wanna do anything you’ll regret.

I stared back at him. I wasn’t about to back down from any man, especially a man like Roland. He was obviously thinking about me but I didn’t say anything as I leaned up against the wall.

“There you go,” Joshua said. “Just need to give it a quick polish—”

“I don’t care about that,” Roland interrupted. “Did you put the mods in or not?”

“I did. Changed the injection system. Replaced all the valves. Tires are sharp. This thing will be humming down the road. It might be a little tough to handle once you get near top speed.”

“Don’t worry about that. I can handle it.”

Roland examined his bike, standing next to Joshua. I wouldn’t blame Joshua for feeling intimidated if he was.

Time to speak up.

“What exactly do you need a bike like that for?” I asked.

Joshua stared at me, his eyes wide in surprise, but I ignored him.

Roland slowly turned his head toward me.

“That’s a fancy ride,” I said. “That thing is a lot faster than it needs to be. You’ll get from the Northside to the West Bay in a few seconds on that thing but I wonder why you’d even need to go to the Northside.”

“…Who the fuck is this guy?” he asked Joshua.

“He’s just a friend,” Joshua said. “He saw the blueprints on my bench. You don’t have to worry about him. It’s not like he’s a cop or anything.”

“I don’t give a shit. I’m a customer. You shouldn’t be telling people, even your friends, about the bikes you’re working on.”

Joshua was growing more anxious. Roland kept eyeballing me but I still wasn’t gonna back down.

“I think I know,” I said. “That’s the kind of bike you’d need for racing. Of course.”

“Why don’t you mind your own fuckin’ business?” Roland said through gritted teeth.

Joshua took a step back while I slowly inched closer to Roland.

“Races,” I said. “I hear there’ve been a lot of races going down around here.”

Not Roland. Not the rest of his crew. None of them would intimidate me enough to get the answers I was looking for.

But before I could question him any further, one of the other men stepped off his bike.

He was about the size of Roland. But there was no dirty beard or stringy hair. His head was clean shaved with tattoos on the back of his head and all along his neck. The muscles on his arms bulged with the same tattoos that trailed all over his body. Judging from the look in his eyes, I wouldn’t doubt he was probably on something.

Leon…

The man took a step toward the garage and looked me up and down. The bald thug moved slowly, almost like he was getting ready to pounce.

“You ride?” he asked.

“I do,” I said with a nod. “It’s right there.”

I looked at my bike parked just outside and everybody else did the same. He glanced at the sticker on my bumper then turned back to me, a slight smirk on his lips. It was the kind of smile you saw when someone was trying to hide what they were really thinking.

“Charger,” he said.

“I’m flattered you recognize it.”

“The Chargers have quite the rep in the West Bay. You should come.”

“Come?”

“The races are on 55th Street. Every weekend. Sometimes in the middle of the week—”

“What are you doing?” Roland interrupted. “Why are you telling—”

The bald thug raised his hand up and shut Roland up, his eyes still locked on me.

“Every crew from the West Bay has come out to race,” he said. “I think you representing the Chargers would be something special.”

“I’m not much of a racer,” I replied. “I just like a slow, easy ride.”

“Hmm…”

His smirk grew even wider. Even his teeth looked threatening. Like a wolf showing off his fangs.

“…I see what you’re saying. We can’t all race.”

“Let’s go already,” Roland said. “Everybody’s waiting for us.”

Roland tossed a paper bag at Joshua and it hit him right in the chest. I stared and watched the rest of them while they revved their engines. Leon had his eyes on me the entire time. It was only a few seconds longer before they disappeared back into the darkness of the city streets.

“What the hell was that?” Joshua said.

“It’s them,” I said. “The accidents are because of the races.”

“How can you be sure?”

“Look at ‘em. If not the Demons, someone there is responsible for them.”

“Yeah, well, maybe you’re right. But did you have to confront them like that?”

Judging from the look on his face, Joshua was still worried.

“Sorry,” I said with a soft smile. “I just needed my answers.”

“It’s all right. It’s…”

He sighed a deep breath.

“…It’s been a long night. I really just wanna relax now.”

“That sounds like a good idea. You have anything in mind?”

He opened up the paper bag and pulled out the stack of cash. The worry on his face left completely.

“You said there were some good places in the Southern Block still open, didn’t you?” he said.

“So I’ve heard. Let’s go check ‘em out.”