Sand Angel Page 0,15

his leg over the seat and started the quad. It whined and then roared as he pressed the gas and sped away from camp.

In the distance a huge, brown cloud rose. The smell of dust and the sounds of small and large engines permeated the air.

The races had begun.

There was no doubt in Drew’s mind just where he’d find Zoë.

He approached the makeshift raceway aligned with quads, dirt bikes, rails, Rhinos, trucks, jeeps, any and all types of all-terrain vehicles on both sides. The strip was a series of whoop-de-dos, hills and valleys of various heights and spacing.

Drew slowly pulled up and parked next to Josh, who sat on his quad by Dean Connor. Connor and a man Drew had yet to meet both had their legs hanging casually through the piping of his rail.

“Where’s Zoë?” Drew asked, easing his goggles and then helmet off his head.

Josh’s expression was grim as he used a wet-wipe to clean his goggles. “She should be coming over that ridge shortly.” Concern rimmed his friend’s eyes. Maybe Drew wasn’t the only one worried about the chances Zoë was taking riding, or in this case driving.

From over a particularly large hill a rider on a dirt bike caught air. He soared high, but on his landing, for a mere second, he lost control, sliding into a squirrelly, a trail of waving lines in the sand behind him. The next to appear over the horizon was a monster truck. Its horn burst into a long wail like a train whistle that stirred the crowd with excitement. As the jacked-up truck raced down the track, each whoop-de-do tested its shocks and carriage.

Then, as Drew anticipated, Trent’s sand rail appeared, Zoë at the wheel, as another vehicle ran alongside. No one could claim she sandbagged the race. Trent was gripping the oh-shit bar for dear life. As she hit a hill, she gassed it, soaring higher and farther than the dune buggy now behind her. Sand sprayed into the crowd as they landed hard.

Applause and cheers of appreciation followed her win.

“Fuck,” Drew heard Josh whisper, more to himself than anyone in particular. But Drew’s glare was pinned on Zoë as she whipped the rail around, heading toward them.

Connor threw a lighthearted glance toward Josh. “Damn, Davis. Your sister drives that thing like she stole it. Hell on wheels.”

The dark-haired man next to Connor leaned over to address Josh. “Your sister is something.” His grin of appreciation held a little more admiration than Drew cared for. Heat crawled across his face.

As Zoë stopped behind them, Drew and Josh both climbed off their quads. Drew’s first instinct was to jerk her from behind the wheel and carry her kicking and screaming back to camp. They needed to talk and resolve the issues between them. There were too many men sniffing at her heels for his comfort. Even now, Connor and his friend were eyeing Zoë with too much interest, and then there was Trent.

Trent released his death grip on the bar in front of him. “Josh, your sister is crazy.” His chuckle was a little strained.

Zoë’s face showed no expression, her eyes hidden behind shaded goggles. But Drew swore he could feel her steely glare on him. Her perfectly sculpted lips became pinched, puckered slightly as her head turned in his direction. All he could think of was tasting her—kissing the tightness from her mouth.

The little gal had an attitude that he couldn’t wait to adjust.

Josh waved Drew back as he veered around the rail, heading straight for Zoë. “Yeah. I know.” He bent near her and whispered something in her ear that Drew couldn’t hear over the quads tearing down the track behind him.

Zoë’s return comment made Josh’s frown deepen. When he tried to speak to her, she hit the gas, slamming Trent against the back of the seat. The rail’s wheels spun, whirling sand from beneath them and once again roosting everyone within distance.

The vein in Josh’s throat bulged as he watched Zoë disappear beyond a tall dune. Silently, he shook his head and walked back to his quad.

Tension raced across Drew’s shoulders. “Where did she go?”

Josh ignored him. “Come on. Let’s ride.” In seconds he disappeared over another dune in the opposite direction of his sister.

Clearly something was wrong between the siblings. More importantly, Zoë was gone. Alone, with another man.

This was not how Drew had planned their reunion. He needed a plan to get her back.

Chapter Five

With evening came the cooling of temperatures and streaks of