2. Kelley
2
KELLEY
“ W hat are you up to now, you piece of shit?”
I lean closer to my laptop, as if being an inch from the screen is going to provide me with more information on Vince Logan and his illegal activities.
Ever since his oversized goons chucked me out into the alley, I’ve been on a mission to find out everything about that prick that I can. With a punctiliousness I didn’t even know I possessed, I’ve been following a digital trail of whispers and rumors concerning Vince’s involvement in illicit underground racing.
From the moment I found out he might be doing something he shouldn’t be, I’ve been on his trail like white on rice. I’m not about to lose sight of the prize, which is to bring him down.
I reach for my cell phone and tentatively dial in Cody Jacobson’s number. Rumor has it he might know something, and if he does, I want to know what he knows. I’ve only met him a few times and each time was just in passing, but he should remember me.
I also know for a fact he hates Vince. He’d be willing to give me information. Of that, I’m certain.
It rings a few times before he answers.
“Hello?”
His voice is deep and I can picture him perfectly. He’s tall, dark, with green eyes, and a body that would make most women faint the moment he took his shirt off.
“Cody? Hey, it’s Kelley McLander. We met a few months ago at the-“
“Yeah, I remember. What can I do for ya?” he asks, shortly.
Oof. He doesn’t seem thrilled to be hearing from me. In which case, I might as well cut to the chase, no point in beating around the bush.
“Well, I was wondering if you knew anything about Vince Logan’s…interests in the underground racing scene.”
Silence.
I wait a few seconds before speaking again.
“Cody?”
“Why do you ask?”
Maybe honesty is the best policy. I shrug. It’s not like I have anything to lose. “He pissed me off and I want to get back at him.”
Cody sighs. “Maybe I’ve heard that he’s into underground racing.”
My heart starts hammering with excitement. “Do you know where? When are these races?”
“No.” His reply is short and absolute. “I’ve got to go.”
He hangs up without another word but at least he confirmed Vince’s involvement. The more I dig, the more it seems to make sense.
My screen has about thirty windows opened. I’ve been piecing together forum posts, veiled references from interviews conducted, and financial anomalies all of which lead to one thing: there is absolutely no way Vince’s fortunes continue to expand simply from the prize money of the official races from which he’s known for.
Even with the many declared businesses he’s involved in, he shouldn’t be as wealthy as he is. From Cody’s cold but definitive response, I know I’ve got Vince by the balls. I smile to myself as I turn my computer off and turn to find my roommate, Marcy, a hair’s breadth from my side.
Her long, black curls fall to the middle of her back. She has large, brown, almond shaped eyes, and perfect lips. She’s probably the prettiest woman I know.
“So what’s your plan?” Marcy asks, taking a seat on the desk. She pushes my laptop aside to make more room.
I grin wickedly. “I want to infiltrate the underground racing club.”
Her eyes widen in surprise. “Are you nuts? It’s a rumored club first of all, and second of all that’s dangerous. We don’t even know where it is.”
“I have a really good idea.”
Marcy looks even less thrilled with my confidence than she did when we started this conversation. “Where then?”
“The abandoned part of town.”
“There’s nothing there besides falling down, brick buildings and a few rotted cars.”
I shake my head. “I think those cars are like checkpoints or something.”
She rolls her eyes in disbelief. “This is absurd, Kelley.”
“Oh, c’mon. Get dressed and come with me.”
She sighs, but an hour later she and I are standing next to one of the rusty, abandoned cars. We’re on the outskirts of the city. There’s nothing here, no people walking, or even driving by. The bridge that once connected this part of town to the center of the city was deemed unsafe by the DOT and that was the beginning of the end for the businesses in this area.
“Now what?” she asks.
“What are you two doing here?”
Marcy and I whirl around, coming face to face with a tall, blonde woman in a pair of tight jeans and a white t-shirt. She’s attractive, even though she eyes us with mistrust.
“We’re, uh, looking for something.”
Her hazel gaze narrows and then she smiles. “You wouldn’t be looking for the races now, would you?”
My mouth drops open and I find myself nodding. “Uh, yeah. We are actually.”
“Thought so,” she says. “My name is Dawn. Follow me.”
She turns on her heel, her blonde hair whipping over her shoulder as she hurries away. I turn to Marcy who’s shaking her head.
“Fuck no. That woman looks like she’s taking us to a back alley to shoot us.”
“Oh, c’mon, Marcy. She knows where the races are. We’ve got to find them and she’s our only hope. She probably waits around here for people like us. That’s probably her job.”
Marcy blows out a puff of air, and still looking unconvinced, follows me as I follow Dawn. Despite the amount of research I did, I couldn’t find anything on the race's location. Dawn, however, seems to know exactly where she is going.
She leads us down sketchy looking alleys with nothing but broken bottles and the occasional stray cat. The buildings are all missing windows. Graffiti lines every single inch of some of the buildings.
Some of the artwork, profane as it is, would blow Picasso out of the water. We duck under broken fencing, some of which has rusty barbed wire coming out of it.
Dawn’s stride never wavers and we walk in uncomfortable silence for twenty minutes until she stops in front of a massive, old building. The most rundown of them all.
She knocks twice, pauses and then knocks three times. The door opens and a huge man in a plain, gray t-shirt opens it. She winks at him, pats him on the chest, and he allows us in.
That had to have been a security checkpoint. The thrill of it all courses through me like an injection of adrenaline. I can’t believe Marcy and I are infiltrating the illicit underground racing scene.
I glance at my best friend, her unease is palpable, a stark contrast to my excitement. And then, the roar of engines fills the air.
My head whips toward the sound and I grin. We did it.
“Kelley, this is a bad idea. Can we please just go before we get in over our heads?” Marcy grabs my arm and pulls herself as close to my ear as she can.
Her plea falls upon deaf ears. I shake my head. “I’ve got to do this, Marcy.”
I take her hand and pull her behind me, following Dawn close to the track. I don’t want to be right upfront, but I want to be able to see better.
I’m not sure who is here. I can’t be certain I won’t be recognized by someone. For Christ’s sake, I don’t even know if Cody is involved in this scene, and no matter what, I don’t want to be thrown out before I get a chance to see what really goes on in the underground racing world.
It took a lot to get here and I’m not about to throw away all my hard work. My heart hammers in my chest and my palms are sweaty.
My journalist instinct senses the story of a lifetime. No matter what, I can’t, I won’t, back down now.