Page 24

CHAPTER 24

AJ

I knew that when Rosalie came home that night, she would start drilling me with question after question. How many AJs did she know who would apply and say he wanted the sexy female racer as his prize when he won? The answer to that had better be only one.

I chuckled to myself as I walked along the sidewalk of the dealership her dad owned. I saw his car parked out front, so I guessed it was as good of a time as any to drop in. I pushed through the glass doors and looked around the lobby. This was not your typical dealership. Most were based on a brand, but not Kayden’s. He had some luxury cars on the show floor, but also a dragster with a bug catcher sticking out of its hood and a highly detailed livery painted on it in the dead center. There was also a row of cars that I knew had been built with street racing and drifting in mind along one side of the windows.

The man himself walked out of an office toward my direction.

“AJ, how can I help you?” Kayden asked as he came to a stop next to me and looked to see what cars I was glancing at.

“Need something I can race. You already know about me going up against Rosalie. I want to give her a run for her money.”

Kayden nodded. “Surprised you came here instead of just borrowing a car from someone.”

I chuckled and tucked my hands in my hoodie pocket. “Figured you wouldn’t like that much, so here I am, ready to buy a car. Don’t sell me something slower than hers on purpose. She wouldn’t want to win based on me having a shitty car.”

Kayden turned to face me, an intimidating smile on his face. “AJ, I might not like what you do for a living, but I would never sell anyone a shitty car. Now, I have a few in mind if you want to come take a look. Are you leaning toward an import or domestic model?”

I followed him as he walked toward the cars by the window. I admired each one in turn. The first was a pastel-blue Mitsubishi Eclipse.

I pointed at it. “A front-wheel-drive car for a drift car?”

Kayden laughed. “Previously front-wheel drive. It’s been completely converted to a rear wheel. We can take it out for a test drive if you don’t believe me.”

If it were anyone else besides Kayden Wells, I wouldn’t believe him. But I knew what he could do to a car he got his hands on. I shook my head and walked around the next one—a bright orange Mazda RX-7.

“The Mazda is a unique one because it still has its rotary engine—not something you see a lot of people drift today. It’s also a 1997 model, which is pretty rare.”

The other two cars were a Skyline, not too different from Rosalie’s, except for the body kit and color, and a yellow 1998 Nissan 240SX. We paused at the 240SX.

“Now, this one is all upgraded, inside and out. Twin turbos, wide body kit, new rims—you name it, and it has it. Unless you ask if it has NOS. Then, I’m required to say no, per company policy and for legal reasons, but that’s just for the paperwork.” Kayden winked.

So, that meant it absolutely came with NOS built in. Fuck, this might be the winner.

“I’ll take the 240SX,” I said as I walked back over to it and opened the driver’s door.

I sat inside and let my hands slide around the contouring of the suede-wrapped steering wheel as I looked around the interior. The dashboard had been stripped of its original finish and replaced with a digital display that would show information. The roll cage arched overhead, its matte-gray finish a complement to the black racing seat that hugged my body perfectly. The controls and switches were well placed—from the hand brake to the boost controller.

This would be perfect for the race.

“It’s a spendy one. Are you sure you have the money?” Kayden said as he walked over and leaned on the open door.

“I’ve got the money. Don’t even trip. All cash.”

I got back out of the car and reached into my pocket. I pulled out two stacks of cash—my winnings from the fight night—and handed them to him.

Kayden looked at the money, then back at me in surprise. “Do I want to know how you got so much cash?” he asked.

“I didn’t steal it, if that’s what you’re saying. I won it fairly.”

Kayden nodded and then jerked his head toward his office. “Come with me. I’ll get the paperwork for you and I’ll process the right amount of cash from what you gave me.”

An hour later, after too much fucking paperwork for me to give a shit to sign more than a line for, I walked out of the office with the keys to my new car. I had five grand from the fight pool left over. Not much, but enough for now.

“Good doing business with you, AJ,” Kayden said as he extended his hand.

I shook his hand. “Yeah. I did have one more thing to run by you. Rosalie got a text from Kordell. She said he told her they weren’t broken up. She told him they were and then blocked him, but something isn’t sitting right with me. Can you keep your eyes out at the race? I don’t want anyone getting near her or her car.”

Kayden’s smile was replaced with a straight face. He pulled out his phone and sent off a text.

“I never liked the guy from the moment Rose and I found out she was dating him. I knew you were trouble, too, but I knew what kind of trouble you were a part of. Kordell was someone mixed up in a completely different crowd. And after what happened to her, I wanted her to leave him much sooner than she did. I’ll make sure her friends and I all keep a good eye on her.”

I nodded. We were both on the same page about keeping Rosalie safe, and I got into my new car. Kayden rolled up the door in front of me, and I slowly pulled her out into the parking lot outside.

“You need me to have what you drove here towed back to Rosalie’s?” he asked.

“No, I took the bus. The only wheels I have here are the ones under me. See you this weekend.”

I drove the 240SX home, giving it a test through some of the twists and turns of the Hills along the way. She had decent traction on the straights and during takeoff, but with the right steering, she could slide around a corner damn good. My girl might just get an actual run for her money.

Rosalie and I had been good about not practicing with our cars too much around each other the past couple of days, but now, it was race day, and we were on our way to the starting location from home. The course was a big loop, and it went all through the city. There were different checkpoints each car had to pass, but the way to get to each one was completely up to each racer. In some of the areas, there was an obvious best road to take between checkpoints, and others left a lot up to what you were familiar with driving on. The goal of a race this long was to give people not racing a chance to get from the starting location to the finish location without alerting the cops.

I rode Rosalie’s back bumper while we drove, pushing up close to her taillights here and there. I teasingly acted like I would pass her, occasionally driving up alongside her, then breaking and going back behind her.

She sent me an emoji with its tongue out and eyes closed in response to my last pull-up alongside her. She was so damn adorable.

By the time we pulled into the meet, there was already a decent crowd. We decided it would be smart to begin it close to the beach, which had lots of parking, so it wouldn’t be suspicious to see cars like ours hanging out there on the daily.

And it was packed. From groups surrounding the other racers to the entire crew her dad ran, taking up more than half the parking lot.

But the crowd parted for us to pull through to the back—some people giving us dirty looks, but mostly people giving Rosalie looks of admiration. When we parked, her car was instantly surrounded by her friends and fans.

I hadn’t realized how big of a deal she’d gotten to be when I was away. I knew she had won some big drift and drag racing events her dad had thrown this past year. Even when I had her number blocked, I still kept up with her on social media. From when she won a big drag race somewhere in the county to hanging out with her friends. I’d even gotten annoyed when I saw her post a photo of the new guy she was with. I couldn’t help keeping tabs on her.

And seeing her now, around all these people, she glowed.

I got out of my car and walked around it, watching Rosalie greet everyone. And while I was leaning against the back of my car, just enjoying seeing everything go down, I felt two little arms wrap around my arm. I glanced down and saw my girl looking back up at me, the biggest smile on her face.

“I am so excited! Aren’t you?” she asked as she practically bounced in place.

I chuckled and ran my hand along the side of her face, stroking it. “Yeah, baby girl, I am. You know I’m gonna win and take your money, right?”

She giggled and met my gaze with eyes that were full of determination. “You can sure try, but I’m not going to be that easy to beat!”

She stood on her tiptoes and kissed the side of my mask before letting my arm go and started walking backward toward her own car. Then, she turned and began chatting with a few girls. I didn’t think Rosalie was used to having girls be interested in what she did. She had told me, growing up, all her friends had been guys because she felt more comfortable talking to them about cars than to girls about clothes and shit.

I walked over and talked to Kayden, who was standing by his car parked across from us.

“Are you all ready for the race, AJ?” Kayden asked as I stopped next to him.

“Yeah. You haven’t seen anyone who shouldn’t be around here yet, have you?” I glanced around the area.

“No, it’s just the usual car crowd. No one I don’t know or who isn’t just here for the beach. I think we’re overthinking this whole thing. Maybe Rosalie really got through to him this time. I’d just focus on the race. You’re going to need to. Rosalie won’t just let you win. You’re going to have to earn it if you want it.”

I looked over at Rosalie, still thoroughly enjoying the crowd. Someone was clearly asking her about her car, and she walked around it, pointing things out excitedly. My stomach growled as I watched her.

Damn, I should grab something to eat. Where are the food vendors around here?

“You should probably take care of that before the race. I’ll talk to you later,” Kayden said as he walked off toward Rosalie and her car.

I walked through the crowd, passing the other two competitors as I made my way over to the couple of food trucks that were normally at the end of the large parking lot. I passed a few other people I knew, including one who flipped me off. I had to think about who he was and how I’d pissed him off, and it dawned on me. I’d stolen one of his cars once. I paused and looked at his current car. It was a new Charger.

“Nice car. Keep a better eye on this one.”

I smirked and kept walking as he swore under his breath. It wasn’t something I tried to advertise, but my reputation did follow me to some places. Mostly, people just hoped it wasn’t their car I was after if they saw me at a meet. Lucky for them, I wasn’t boosting tonight. Not when there was a purse of a hundred G’s on the line for the winner. Each racer had put in money, but so had Kayden since it was an official race for Flywheels. The pot total was up there with a championship match in the fight circuit. That kinda cash was something I couldn’t pass up.

I finally got some food and sat down at a nearby bench to devour it when someone sat down across from me. I looked up, and it was none other than her brother, Jayden.

“Yo, AJ. See you got shit with Rosalie figured out,” Jayden said as he reached across the table and grabbed a couple of my fries.

I sat in silence as I watched him eat them one after the other. I took another bite of my burger, and when he grabbed at my fries again, I pulled them closer to me.

He chuckled and pulled out a pill bottle, popped a couple, and then put it back away. I saw he had graduated from weed now, not like I couldn’t tell from his eyes.

“Should probably watch the pills and harder drugs—easier to fuck up with those. And, yeah, told you I would.”

Jayden just shrugged and chilled, leaning forward in his seat, elbows on the table. “Don’t worry about me. I know what I can handle. Anyway, just don’t fuck up again with her, and we won’t have any more issues.”

With that, he got up from the table and walked away into the crowd. I didn’t bother to comment back on his statement—there was no reason to because I didn’t plan on doing anything else to fuck up my relationship with Rosalie.

I finished eating my food before making my way back toward my car. But when I got back, she was talking to her dad by herself.

Better just give them their space. Looks like an important conversation.

I’d get to see her more before the race, and really, it was the after-party I was looking forward to.