spots me, I bite my lip when I see the fire in his eyes even from up here.
The riders for the first race line up, the announcer hypes up the crowd, and the flag gets raised. There’s a horn, the flag drops, and pure thunder roars across the old racetrack as the riders blast off. But I don’t watch it—my eyes just stay glued on Oliver the whole damn time.
…Just like his are glued on mine.
When the heat is over, the crowds cheer and go back to milling around and drinking beer down below. Most of Barnes’s crew heads off to grab more drinks, leaving me, Jay, and Barnes in the booth. I immediately pull my phone out to distance myself, but when I glance up, Jay and Barnes are huddled close, about four feet from me at the second of the two small tables set up.
“Hey, so I heard back from that dude.”
Jay looks surprised. “The British guy?”
Barnes nods. “Yep.”
“And he still wants him?”
Barnes chuckles. “I don’t know what that English cocksucker did to this guy, but he wants Gauge, bad.”
“Damn, no shit.”
“Lookin’ to pay some serious cash for his ass, too.”
My blood chills. Wait, what? I swallow thickly, staring at my phone like something’s got my full attention. But I lean in, my ears trying to perk up to get every detail about what Barnes and Jay are talking about.
“So, what’s the play gonna be?”
“Gonna be?” Barnes smiles thinly. “The play is already in play. He means business, an he’s got the money. So, we’re gonna make it happen.”
Jay whistles. “Shit, boss. What’s he got left on his debt? Oliver, I mean.”
Barnes snickers. “Fuck if I care. I could bleed him of his winnings over the next five fucking years. Or I could serve him up hot to this British fucker who’s gonna pay about five times what Oliver owes me.”
“Fuck!” Jay laughs. “Soon?”
“Yeah. I’ll let him pay me up for a few more big wins. But then I’m kicking his ass back to England, in fucking pieces if this dude pays enough.”
My heart races, my skin prickling with fear and adrenaline. Out on the track, the second heat lines up, including Oliver. I stand and watch as the flag raises and then drops, and the crowd of them roar off down the track.
“Hey, Bryce?”
He frowns when he turns to me, but then he smiles broadly. “Yeah, baby?” He grins and elbows Jay before he nods his chin at me. “You already wanting more from earlier, huh?”
Jesus, I hate this game. This “pretend relationship” Barnes perpetuates for his own image extends to his own guys, too. To them, I really am “his girl,” which includes his disgusting bragging to them about all the ways he’s “made me feel good” right in front of me. It’s nauseating.
“Man, she couldn’t get enough earlier,” he snickers to Jay with a lewd grin. His second in command chuckles, high fiving him.
“Nice, Barnesy.”
I bite my tongue, knowing that correcting or shutting Barnes down in front of his guys is a great way to get smacked around later.
“Aww, I wish!” I say sweetly, my voice dripping with disdain for him. “But actually. I gotta go.”
“What the fuck for?” he growls, frowning.
I sigh and hold up my phone. “The diner called. They’re pretty swamped over there and could use some help.”
Barnes frowns. “So? Fuck ‘em.”
“Bryce, c’mon, they need my help.”
He sighs. “Fine, fine.” He smiles a fake smile at me. “Aright baby, I’ll let you go this once.”
Go fuck yourself.
“Thanks, Bryce.”
I step out of the booth, ignoring the “Bro, she can barely take half of it” from Barnes’s douchebag mouth, followed by Jay’s chuckle as I walk away. I roll my eyes, skirting around the crowd and making my way towards the storage units some of the riders who are coming from further away than Dark Water Falls use. I know that when he doesn’t see me up in the stands, Oliver will look for me here. And I like that I know that.
I really, really like that I know that.
Sure enough, not ten minutes goes by before I hear his Ducati rumble around the corner. He comes to a stop as I stand from where I’ve been sitting against his storage unit.
“Nice race.”
“Thanks. You looking for an autograph?”
I grin, and so does he, and we stand there a foot apart before we crash into each other. I moan as his lips taste mine, his hands holding me tight and pinning me to the door