“Hell, yeah. If Remy and I finish first and second, we’ll get a huge payout.” Derek nods to the other guy in the shop. “Buddy might finish third.”
“Or first,” Buddy corrects.
Derek scoffs. “Right.”
“Maybe I should enter,” I suggest.
Remy huffs a laugh. “You? A girl against all of us guys? Be serious.”
“I am serious. Why not me?”
“You’ve never run a four-hundred, Mag. Those powder-puff races are nothing compared to a four-hundred and competing against men.”
I roll my eyes. The double-standard makes me want to scream. My brothers have never encouraged my riding. After they got inside my father’s head about it, he never took me again. When they would leave out on the road to head to a racetrack somewhere in the country, I was left at home. But I never forgot how to ride. I guess I should be lucky they kept my bike all this time.
My gaze hits the flyer they’ve tacked up on the wall. Twenty-five thousand dollars would solve all my problems. Hell, even the third-place winnings would do it.
“You see Sully again,” Remy warns in a voice that brooks no nonsense, and I turn to meet his eyes. He points a finger at me. “You stay away from him, understand?”
“First of all, you’re not my boss. And secondly, it’s not like I frequent the Royal Bastards’ clubhouse or even know where the damn place is.”
“If he comes into the Gaslight again, you tell me.” Remy arches a brow.
“Whatever.” I turn to leave.
“Mags.” His voice is sharp, and I turn back.
“What?” I snap.
There’s that finger again. “I mean it. Steer clear of him. He’s trouble, always was. And now that he’s part of that fucking bunch, it's especially true.”
“Fine.” I whirl on my heel and stalk toward my car.
Derek follows me, opening my door. “He can be an ass, but what he says is valid. You don’t want to get involved with the Royal Bastards, Maggie.”
“It’s not like I plan to, for God’s sake.”
“Here.” He holds out a folded stack of bills. “It’s all I can spare right now.”
“Thanks.” I give him a hug and a kiss on the cheek. I’ve always been closest to Derek.
I climb behind the wheel, and he pats the roof. “Drive safe, kiddo.”
CHAPTER FOUR
Keno—
Utah and I stand in Rock’s office at the clubhouse. Darko, his VP sits in a chair across from his president. While Utah talks, my eyes scan the room. It’s a nice office with a stone fireplace to the right, a seating area across from it, and huge windows behind Rock’s desk overlooking a fantastic view.
My mind drifts, the image of Maggie flooding my vision.
She’s the last thing I expected to find in this town. I still remember the look on her face the night I left Chalmette. When she saw my things packed in the back of my truck, the hurt was plain. The devastation, the disappointment, the panic. I never wanted to let her down, but that’s what I did. I lied to her face, promising I wouldn’t leave that night, then did exactly what I promised I wouldn’t. Getting into that truck and driving away was the hardest thing I ever did.
Watching her in the rearview mirror, staring after my retreating taillights ripped my heart out.
I’d heard through the grapevine she’d left town not long after I had, which had shocked the hell out of me. My father said herfamily came looking for her at his house. Derek had even texted me, asking if she’d come to me or if I knew where she was.
I’d worried about her for months but never heard another word.
