“My father texted me. That pregnant chick was paid by Remy to say that about Keno.”
“What?” My eyes get big.
“The club tracked her down. She confessed it all.” Lola leans closer and yells. “She said Remy told her he plans to wreck you on the track.”
Motherfucker!
First, he robs my bar, even going so far as to shoot his gun off in the place with no regard to my safety, then tries to come between me and Keno destroying any chance I have at happiness, and now he wants to prevent me from having any chance at winning the prize money?
I’m his sister, for God’s sake, but apparently, I mean nothing to him. If he purposely tries to cause me to wreck, I could get hurt. Seriously hurt.
Obviously, that means nothing to him, because it’s clearImean nothing to him, and I never have.
Fine.
If that’s the way he wants it, then two can play that game.
I nod to Lola and slam my visor down, glancing over at Remy as Lola gets out of the way.
He’s pure evil, and it's time I realize that.
Our blood means nothing to him; therefore, from now on, it means nothing to me.
Riders begin lining up behind the individual metal gates at the starting line. A thirty-second board is ticking down the time, then a five-second board, after which the gate will fall randomly within five seconds.
I get into position. My nerves are heightened. I take a slow breath and remember Keno’s words. “You can do this, babe. You’ve got the skills. You just have to believe it.”
The instant the gate falls, it triggers the timing system, and I release my clutch and roar out of there, along with every other rider in this heat.
For thirty minutes, we go at it hard, and it's exhausting. At one point, Remy comes alongside me and tries to cut me in the corner, but I dive low, and he has to back off. He tries again, kicking his boot out at my bike, but with a sharp move, I avoid him and put him into the hay bales where he crashes. I barely spare a glance back. I spot Derek farther back in the pack, but he crashes going over a hill, coming down hard.
The next lap around, I see them off to the side, yelling at each other, their bikes too mangled to continue.
Lola’s warning rings in my ears.
If they don’t win, they’re going to rob the ticket office.
I wouldn’t put it past them. I’ve learned the hard way to take their words seriously. If they planned to rob the ticket office, they must have brought weapons with them.
For several laps I notice them move toward the parking area.
When I do a high jump over one of the hills, I see them loading their bikes onto a trailer.
The next time around, the truck and trailer are still sitting there, ready to pull out.
They might be at the ticket office, robbing it right now, but there’s nothing I can do in the middle of the race.
I’m in the top four bikes and battling my ass off to keep up with these guys. They’re good. Really good, and it takes all my concentration. I stick right with them, hoping for an opening, hoping for just a bit of luck to get me into the money as a top-three finisher.
The next lap around, I see a bunch of Royal Bastard patches standing with Lola, Kate, and Isabella.
They cheer as I ride past.
Keno is there, watching me and clapping.
Elation fills me.
I fucked everything up, breaking my word to him, believing that woman’s lies without even giving him a chance to explain, and still he’s here, cheering me on like he’s capable of forgiving all of it.