“I wish I’d been able to keep it up when I was younger.” I stare out the window, remembering how vehemently my brothers opposed me being on the track.
“I wish you’d gotten the support and encouragement you deserved, including from me. I’m sorry if I didn’t do more to stop your brothers when they raised such a fuss about it like a bunch of fucking pussies. I should have shut that shit down, and I didn’t. I’m sorry. Hell, your father should have shut them up.”
“Maybe he felt the same way.”
“I don’t think so. I saw the pride in his eyes when he watched you run. I think he always thought your brothers would get some of his talent, follow in his footsteps on the circuit. They never had it. But you?” He turns to look at me. “You had it, Six.”
“I registered as MC Laroche for the race. I didn’t want them to know I was a woman.” That same old fear is there—the fear that I’m not good enough, that I’llneverbe good enough. I get butterflies just thinking about going up against the real talent on the circuit.
Keno looks at me, and he reads me like a book. He knows what I’m feeling. He’s quiet for a moment. “Whatever it takes, Six. I bet that last name meant something to them. The name Tommy Laroche is still remembered. He was a real trailblazerin the sport. I always wondered why your father never got any sponsorship deals later in life.”
“He wouldn’t play their game. And the booze probably played a role.”
“How’s he doing, by the way?” Keno asks.
“He died last year.”
“I’m sorry. I hadn’t heard.”
“I didn’t know until after. I didn’t even get a chance to go to the funeral.”
“What’s going on with your brothers?”
I don’t want to tell him they’re in town. It would just cause trouble, so I shrug. “I don’t know. Maybe they’re running his old shop.”
I hate that I’m lying to him, but it’s for the best. Besides, Keno is a nomad. He doesn’t stay in one place long.
We drive in silence for a while, but there are questions burning inside me that need answers.
Finally, I turn and study his profile.
He feels my eyes on him and turns to look at me.
“Why did you leave?” I whisper, unable to keep silent.
He drags a hand down his jaw, his entire body language going from relaxed to uncomfortable. “A lot was going on. Stuff you didn’t know about.”
“I heard you that day. I know about Remy… what he did. I heard you tell Derek he’d raped a girl.”
“I wish you hadn’t. You didn’t need to hear that.”
“He should have paid for that,” I whisper.
“I wish the woman had reported it.” Keno stares at the road. “I would have testified against him, Maggie. In a heartbeat, and it would have torn us all apart.”
“Not you and me,” I protest.
That brings his eyes back to me. “You say that, but I would have been responsible for putting him in prison. You really think you wouldn’t have looked at me differently?”
“You wouldn’t have been responsible for putting him there. He’d have done that to himself. I think it would have brought you and me closer. If my father and Derek stood against you, I’d have been on your side, standing with you against all of them. How did you not know that?”
He doesn’t reply.
We’re quiet for a few miles, but I can’t let things go. “How did you end up with the Royal Bastards?”
“Bought a bike after I left. One night I met some of them in a bar. Started hangin’ around their clubhouse. After a year, they asked if I wanted to prospect.” He shrugs. “It seemed like a good fit.”
How was the man I remembered and a notorious biker club a good fit? My expression must show my confusion, because he takes in my face and laughs.
