He doesn’t detect the sarcasm in my tone and nods. “That’s a great idea. I swear you’re wasted as a cop. If you ever get sick of being the sheriff’s little bitch, we should talk.”
“Why?” I bark out an incredulous laugh. “So I can be your little bitch?”
Morelli’s smirk widens. “Why not? I pay heaps better than the police.”
I have no doubt that’s true. “Thank you, but pass. I was joking about the screens, by the way.”
“You might have been joking, but it’s a great idea.”
“It would be if this entire thing weren’t illegal in so many ways that we would be here all night if I had to tell you how many fucking laws you’re breaking.”
The asshole looks entertained. “I’m well aware of that. What’s up? Are you worried your daddy would be mad if you came to work for me?”
“Without even thinking about the fact that my father is the mayor, did you forget that you’re blackmailing my brothers and my girl? If I didn’t put a bullet in your head, it’s just because I’m not sure I can protect Zara and my family from your uncle’s vendetta. But there’s no way you and I could ever work together.”
His smile widens as if what I just said was funny. “Suit yourself. I guess you got a trust fund to ensure you don’t have to live on a cop’s salary. Your dad was an NHL legend. In my family, there are no trust funds and no hand out. You want to live a nice life? You work hard and get your hands dirty.”
“You don’t say.” I sneer at the thought that all the soap in the world wouldn’t be enough to get this asshole’s hands clean. “Look, just drive to the finish line, yeah? We aren’t here to get to know each other.”
“So fucking rude.” Mason looks genuinely put out by my behavior.
I swear to God the guy’s a fucking sociopath.
“Hey, slow down. That’s my brother.” I point out Chance’s MTT coming into view in the middle of the racetrack right after the last curve. “His bike must have broken down.”
It’s not much of a surprise that the bikes might have issues since they haven’t been used much in the last two years. Our old mechanic held onto them for us when I didn’t have the heart to sell them, but I don’t know how much maintenance he has done on them.
“I’ll come off here.” I open the truck’s door even before Morelli has time to fully stop, equally eager to leave his company and to get to Chance.
The feeling that something is wrong takes hold of me even before I reach him.
Chance is sitting upright with his helmet still on, his bike resting on its side stand.
As I turn around to face him, I notice that his eyes are squeezed shut and his head is oscillating back and forth. His lips are moving as if he were whispering something, but it’s too loud around us for me to hear what it is until I lean closer.
“It’s all my fault, it’s all my fault, it’s all my fault.”
He doesn’t stop to acknowledge me when I rest my hand on his shoulder.
“It’s all my fault, it’s all my fault, it’s all my fault.” He keeps chanting under his breath.
Zara jogs over, coming from the side of the road with Lev in tow.
I take quick stock of both of them, my eyes scanning them from head to toe in search of any obvious injuries.
When I don’t find any, I relax just a fraction. “Do you know what’s wrong with him?” I ask them.
“No. I saw that dirt bike coming for me, but it was right at the exit of the final curve. There wasn’t enough room for Lev and Chance to ride by my side, so I went first. When I saw the bikein my peripheral vision, I had just come out of the curve and I decided to accelerate. I knew the dirt bike was going to miss me. That dirt bike is no match for my Ducati.”
That makes sense.
“Chance was behind me, and I saw him slow down to ensure the dirt bike would ride past him before he came out of the curve.” Zara continues.
I nod. “That was smart, princess. You,” I say to Lev, “not so much. Why the fuck did you chase it?”
Lev rolls his eyes. “You have a problem with it just because he got away. If I had caught him, you’d be singing a different tune.”
“You took an unnecessary risk, but we’ll talk about it later.” I can’t hide my irritation. “Chance, dude, what’s going on? You’re scaring me.” I squeeze his shoulder a little harder. When he doesn’t answer me, I lift the visor of his helmet.
