dirt bike tonight, a frog-green Kawasaki with wide tires and a meaty exhaust. I roll my dented, faded, and scratched bike to the line, and while a girl makes her way into the hot lane between us, I push my visor down.
I peek over my shoulder and grin when I find Nora clutching her hands in front of her chest. Jay backs away in her distraction. She watches me with a smile, but he watches her with his own. Like a proud father, he only shakes his head when Nora watches me like I’m a rockstar.
Turning away from her, Jay climbs into his car and forces the crowd to move the fuck out of his way or get hit, then he’s gone, and she’s standing in the dark, in a crowd, on her own. No gun, no dog, and she’s smiling.
“Good luck, gentlemen!”
I turn back to the woman standing between me and my opponent. I rev my bike when her hand comes up high, so when she brings it down again, I rocket away from the starting line and into the night.
I’m flying.
Epilogue
“Welcome!”
The moment Evie’s grandmother opens the front door of Tina and Aiden’s home, she grabs my hand and yanks me into the front room until I find myself crowded in a crush of fighters. So many people, so much noise, but not one of them star in my nightmares, so I turn back and snag Tucker’s hand when he only stands at the door and studies the crowd. I pull him in close, tuck my arm around his, and float around the living room with a giddy grin.
Because this is a happy occasion. This is an exciting time.
“You okay?” Tucker mistakes my happy nerves for fear. “You good?”
“This crowd is fine.” I accept a hug from Evie’s Aunt Kit, from Ben’s stepdad, Oz, from Evie’s sweet mom, Tina. These people who never had to be my friend – and especially had no reason to like me, considering Evie and I weren’t friendly back in school – welcome me into their home, and hug me like the prodigal daughter has returned. “I don’t get scared here.”
“This is a lot of people.” He peers around with wide eyes. “A metric fuckin’ ton.”
I lead him through the crowd and head toward the kitchen. “I’ll protect you, I promise. Oh, Mac!” I grab on and yank him to us so Tucker has a friend he knows. “Where’s Evie and Ben?” I look around with a frown. “Where’s Aiden?”
Mac snags a mini-quiche from a plate on the counter and stuffs the whole thing into his mouth. “I think Ben’s probably dead,” he speaks around his food, “Aiden’s likely in possession of a smoking gun, and Evie’s deciding how mad she is about it.”
“Does her dad know?” I lean in to whisper. “Did she slip on the surprise?”
“Well… no.” He wipes crumbs from his shirt and grins. “But she’s married, she hasn’t trained like normal in a while, she’s not sparring with anyone except Bean, and now they’re throwing a party. It’s kinda obvious, right?”
I stand on my toes and peer from face to face. Aunts. Uncles. Cousins. Bry and Maddi from last night stand on the other side of the room, and watch me with playful smiles.
“I don’t know,” I murmur. “I mean, it could still be a surprise. I doubt her daddy is rushing toward this moment, so maybe he’s blanking it out as a kind of self-preservation.”
“Perfect!” Mac laughs. “Perfect attitude to bring into this event. Hey, Daddy, I’m knocked-up. I know it’s your worst nightmare, but get on board.”
Mac’s stepdad stops beside us and stares at his kid with laughing eyes. “You’re calling people Daddy now? The fuck is wrong with you, kid?”
“Forget you heard any damn thing,” Mac growls. “Put it in the vault, Cap.”
“All I heard was that you’re knocked-up, and the father’s name is Daddy. Is it, like, the kinky kind of daddy, or did you fuck someone’s actual dad? Because how you answer that will dictate the rest of this conversation.”
Mac’s eyes roll to the sky. “Shut up. Go away. And don’t tell Mom.”
“Your mom knows everything, dipshit. She always knows everything, which is how she knows you plan to surprise Bean with a vacation after Christmas.” He shakes his head and winks for me as he steps away. “Kids these days, I swear. You have no clue how to keep your mouths shut. This new generation of gangsters is fuckin’ weak. You’d all fold the