Edge made a strangled sound that he badly disguised as a cough.
Saylor ignored him, her gaze still on mine. “But I know you were trying not to let them kick me out in a way that made me feel unwanted. So stay. Figure out how to take those jerks down. I’ll go find food.”
I stared at her for a beat, appreciating that she was smart enough to see the truth, soft enough to understand the intention, and brave enough to walk out of the room without making me chase her. “Old ladies probably have something in the fridge you can heat.”
She smiled and shook her head. “I do know how to cook, Levi.”
“That so?” I asked, my brow raised.
Saylor smirked. “I have many talents you haven’t discovered.”
Well, fuck.
Saylor’s face suddenly flushed, and she glanced around as if she’d just remembered we were in a room full of my brothers.
“Go,” I told her with a grin. “I look forward to exploring those hidden talents later.”
I helped her off my lap, letting my hand drag over her hip as she stood because I couldn’t seem to stop touching her even when the room was full of men who’d absolutely give me shit for it later. She headed for the door, pausing when Kane opened it for her with a quiet nod. The second she disappeared into the hall, every instinct in me screamed to follow. I didn’t, but it was close.
Edge grinned before the door even shut. “Found yourself a good one.”
I shot him a look. “You’ve got your own woman. Stop looking so entertained by mine.”
His grin widened. “Exactly how I know what I’m seeing.”
Kane’s eyes were amused. “She understands you better than you deserve.”
“Probably,” I agreed. No reason to deny it.
Jax looked up from his laptop. “For the record, if Lark ever reads me that clean in front of all of you, I’m moving servers and changing my name.”
“She already does, and you know it,” Axle retorted.
Jax grinned. “True.”
I let the banter roll because it was either that or pace the office until Saylor came back. Then I planted both hands on the back of the couch and looked at Kane. “I have an idea.”
Edge’s smile sharpened. “Now we’re getting somewhere.”
“We challenge them to a race.”
Silence settled, but not because they were surprised by the concept. Racing was our language, our power, and the easiest way to make men with more ego than sense walk into a trapbecause they thought horsepower could save them. Kane leaned against the edge of Edge’s desk, arms crossing over his chest.
I continued, “Terms are clean. If I win, the Diesel Serpents leave Saylor alone permanently, wipe Sutton’s debt and offenses clean, get the hell out of Redline Kings territory, and never come back.”
Axle’s brows lifted. “And if you lose?”
“I don’t lose.”
Kane’s eyes narrowed. “Terms, Century.”
I looked at Edge first because part of what I was about to wager belonged to both of us. “If I lose, they get access to some of the proprietary techniques and custom tools Edge and I developed. Not club security. Not routes. Not business. Nothing that puts the Kings at risk. Personal racing advantage. Tuning processes, calibration methods, a couple of tools that would help them run cleaner and faster if they had the brains to use them right.”
Edge didn’t blink. “Done.”
“You want to think about that for half a second?”
“No.” He rolled his knife between his fingers once, then set it flat on the desk. “It’s for your woman. I’m in.”
