26. Bay
TWENTY-SIX
bay
The streets are the only thing I have where my brain will shut off, my anxiety will chill, and I can fully function as a human being.
While Levi is out making money for our family, I’m pulling my weight and doing a few test runs against folks to get Dad’s Nova in line. Normally, I don’t do this out in public to show off what the car can do. So, I’ve been pretending nothing’s quote, “wrong with it”, and racing for a bit of money to test the car out and adjust where I need to.
It’s been working.
I’ve won my first two races while Hot Rod and I tweaked a bit here and there. Ellie brought Peter to show off what I can do, but the kid looks bored. When I went over there to check up on her, he could barely hold his excitement about when we’d be done.
Because I’ve put restrictions on how late Ellie can stay out, blaming it on finals coming up to finish out the school year, and my sister bought it.
Meanwhile, Mae is always in the way. So I put her up in the driver’s seat to pretend she’s racing so Rod and I can work.
It still doesn’t stop her cute and annoying neediness, though.
“Bay, I need tunes.”
Music.
“Turn the key forward once,” I tell her underneath the hood and over the noise of a car burning out at the line. “And the radio will pop on.”
“I dunno how to do that.”
Hot Rod chuckles while wrenching, and I groan because c’mon. Pulling myself out from above the motor, I amble to the front seat, ruffle Mae’s dark curls because she’s driving me nuts, and adjust the key so the radio turns on.
“All of My Love” by Led Zeppelin comes through the speakers, and Mae makes a face.
“I don’t want this.”
“It’s Dad’s station.” My sister immediately wipes off her look of disgust. “If you wanna change it?—”
She plops down in my seat. “No, I like it.”
Okay, then.
“Let me work,” I tell her gently as a set of cars take off. “I’ve got another race, okay? Then we’ll get slushies and go to the beach.”
“Okay.”
Getting back underneath the hood, Hot Rod is just about done changing out a few of the spark plugs. “Levi just texted me to check in.”
“Is he in New York yet?”
“Yeah. He’s got his thing tomorrow night.”
Thing.
Yeah, I hate this.
I’m almost wishing Rod didn’t tell me, but I need to know where Levi is at all times. However, this will be the last stupid-ass drug thing he does outside of our area. I can’t keep tabs on him easily when he’s not here. He might have Juice, but I’d feel better if he also had Hot Rod, too.
“Why didn’t you go?”
Rod glances over at me as the crowd cheers excitedly over whoever won the last race. “And who was going to watch you?”
I scoff and send him over a withering glower. “Is that Lev’s idea or yours?”
“Both of ours.” I’d argue, but what’s the point? “You’ve made some enemies, sis. No one was going to leave you alone while there are wild assholes on the loose.”
“But you’d all let me step into the lion’s den with Lorenzo Black?”
“I’d hardly call Black a lion,” Rod retorts, placing his wrench down and shoving his hand between the alternator and serpentine belt to check something. “More like a lamb with his old age. He’s been trying to side up with Levi for years.”
I lean against the fender with curiosity. “Then why hasn’t he done it?”
“Eh, Levi likes to keep people wondering. Plus, Lorenzo never wanted to publicize it. Then, there was the whole thing about you being kept a secret. Levi didn’t want Emilio getting too close to home.”
“But Emilio did anyway.”
“Still not sure how he figured it out.”
I sigh. “Yeah, well…the devil and everything.”
“It’ll all be over soon. You’ll be away from this shit, and that will be that.”
Guilt fills my chest as Hot Rod continues messing with the car. “How do you feel about all that?”
He doesn’t look at me. “About what?”
Hot Rod doesn’t fool me. He’s just as much family as the rest. “Us leaving.”
“Has to happen.” He pushes his cheek out with his tongue. “I think it’s best for Ellie and Mae.”
“But how long do you think that’ll last?”
His hazel eyes flick over to me, but he doesn’t say anything at first. He doesn’t have to. Leaving South Shore isn’t the all-time solution to our problems.
It’s not home.
“I’m honestly not sure,” he finally replies. “However, I do think it’s worth a shot.”
You’re gonna run, Little T? You’re gonna let this man run you out of town? Your father built South Shore. This is your legacy. Take it and own the shit.
“Do you think we could take Emilio down?”
His eyes squint at me in suspicion. “Why?”
“Just answer the question.”
You are South Shore.
Cairo’s words have been haunting me for the last twenty-four hours, and I’m not sure if my staying would just benefit him or if he is truly trying to get me to see what was meant for me.
What I’m entitled to.
“It’ll be hard,” Hot Rod deadpans. “Many have tried?—”
“And none have succeeded,” I finish for him just as another burnout starts. “However, you didn’t have me.”
He shakes his head. “No. You’re not going to be involved.”
“You’ve been hanging out with Levi too long.”
“Still doesn’t mean we’re going to have you go out and do some stupid shit.”
“Like pretend to want to be his daughter?” I counter with a perked eyebrow. “Sounds pretty stupid to me.”
He scowls. “Bay, get real.”
“I am getting real. Why should we leave home when we can nail this asshole?”
“Because it means war if we miss.”
“Are The Nameless not ready for it?”
He tsks and straightens his spine, hovering like a palm tree and casting down his opinion. “It’s about innocent lives being lost.”
“And what do you think Emilio will do when he discovers I’m gone? Do you think he’s going to leave South Shore alone?”
Hot Rod stares at me, but I know I’ve already won this so-called argument. Emilio will rip this place apart, South Shore will go to war anyway, and everyone I love here will suffer.
“I’m starting to second-guess the idea,” I convey honestly. “I haven’t told Levi yet since he’s not here. But…I feel as though we’d do more harm than good if we left. If we do still go, I’m afraid of what Emilio might do if he finds us. He found me under a different name before. What makes us believe he’s not going to be able to do it again?”
“I dunno,” Rod answers flatly. “I can…suggest it to Levi.”
“Might want to leave that to me,” I volunteer. “He’s out there doing silly shit, and now I’m being a woman and possibly changing my mind.”
“Alright.”
I press my lips together and inhale. “What do you…” I release my breath because I loathe these conversations. “What do you think is best, Rod? I need your honest opinion. What would you do?”
Hot Rod is the most rational of us all. He’s the thinker and the planner. He does nothing without looking at the pros and cons of everything first before speaking.
“I’d have to think about it,” he says. “I just… I’m just doing what Levi wants us to do.”
“Who’s taking over the Titan seat?”
This time, he exhales heavily as if a weight is settling on his own chest. “Me.”
I give him a small smile. “I thought so. You’d be?—”
“Nah,” he cuts in, alluding he might not want it. “Don’t start complimenting me yet.”
“I wouldn’t dare,” I tease lightly. “No need to give you a big head when you’re not sitting on it yet.”
“Yeah, well…” He looks over my head at the people behind us. “Let’s just say, I’m not a fan of the idea.”
I’m honestly not surprised.
Hot Rod would make a good leader, but he likes to support than to be supported.
“I’ll sit down with Levi when he gets back.”
Hot Rod bobs his head. “Sounds good.” He reaches for the hood, takes his wrench, and closes it. “You need to get up there. You’re racing that chick from the other night again.”
I smile. “Yeah?”
“Yep.”
He doesn’t need to elaborate any more than that as I pry Mae out of the car and remind her of slushies and the beach to get her out of the Nova.
Within thirty minutes, I’m up at the line again where Angelina Cooper, a groupie who hangs around, motions me and the other girl to the start line.
I’m so used to seeing Nessa there that this race almost feels foreign as hell, but it’s reality. I need to adjust, and even if Levi and I don’t leave South Shore, we’re still on the fucking rocks because of her attitude.
Angelina flashes her light to begin to race, and it starts and ends just as quickly. I mow down the new girl and circle back around, but the chick flashes her lights at me for me to stop.
Instantly thinking I have a massive leak somewhere, she skips out of her car and heads over. Pretty brown curls bounce as she approaches, and she beams at me like winning isn’t everything.
It is.
Newbie.
“Hey,” she beams, bending over a bit to see me inside my window. “Good race.”
“Yeah,” I drawl. “Good one.”
She reaches toward me, and at the end of her hand, she’s palming a cell phone. “This is for you.”
“Um…we don’t bet personal items, honey. Just cash.”
The girl chuckles at me and shakes her head. “No, the call.”
My brows pinch, but I’m still not touching shit. This screams red flags all day and night.
“No, thanks.” I’m about to remove my foot off the brake and hit the gas, but the girl talks again.
“Fine, I’ll put it on speaker.” With her thumb, she taps her screen and says, “She’s right here.”
“ Buena nina , Holly,” replies a voice that sends shreds of panic slicing through my veins.
Matteo.
“Bay, babe…congratulations on your win. I can’t say I’m surprised.”
I wish it wasn’t the case, but I’m speechless. Matteo was the last person I thought— Well, I don’t think about him at all, if I can help it.
“I have something of yours, mi reina ,” he remarks simply. “You might want to come get it.”
Of mine.
For the love of Christ.
“What do you want, asshole?” I leer through my fear. “You’re using other chicks to fuckin’ talk to?—”
“Chill,” he orders gruffly. “Don’t make me upset.”
I try to settle into a state of calm, but that’s like reaching for a star and holding it in the palm of my hand. It’s like bringing Dad back.
“What do you want?” The question is rancid on my tongue, but I have a feeling that something is terribly wrong right now.
“It’s not about what I want,” Matteo mutters. “The question is do you want it? I have an outsider at one of my little shindigs who I thought was one of your strays. Dark shady hair, hooped nose ring…dude goes by Reeve Stanton.”
Sheer dread fills my veins because this is exactly what Matteo feeds off of. He has something of mine, and he knows I’m going to come get it.
“Where is he?”
Really not good.
“He’s at the Breeze Bar. You remember the place, don’t you?”
Almost too well.
It was the place where Matteo and his guys always hung out and played pool. It was also, on occasion, the place where Torin would hunt me down just to get me alone for a few minutes.
“Don’t touch him,” I command. “I’ll be there in ten minutes.”
“It’ll take you twenty, sweetheart.”
“Then you must not remember how well I drive, De Leon.”
“You’re going to take Holly with you,” Matteo orders. “No need to bring or call anyone else to keep you company. You know how much strangers make me nervous.”
I clench my teeth as Holly steps around the back of Dad’s car. A surge of possessiveness takes hold of my brain, and I pop the glove compartment open. Levi’s Glock is in my palm by the time Holly rudely yanks open the passenger door.
Then, she’s greeted by my new friend.
“Um, Matteo…” she says nervously, eyes almost bulging from her head. “She…um, has a gun.”
“Bay…” Matteo warns, but I can hear the amusement in his voice. “Don’t shoot the poor girl.”
“I’m in daddy’s car, sweetheart. There’s no way some hoe is sitting in the front seat.”
“Then drop it off and Holly?—”
“ Think , Matteo. I just raced this bitch, and we’re not back at the line yet. Then, she’s driving back in my car? Not gonna work.”
And I need time.
There’s no way I’m not heading in there without backup.
“And what do you expect me to do with your pet, mi reina ?”
“Let me figure this out,” I reply honestly. “And why do you need to see me so bad?”
“I didn’t plan this,” he retorts simply. “He showed up with two blondes, and I’ve been keeping him safe.”
Bullshit .
“You could’ve just let him go.”
Matteo chuckles deeply, and the sound sends a hundred bad memories through my brain. Ones that, not only included him, but his boys, too. “Fine, mi reina , you caught me. I wanted to see you.”
“Let him go out of good faith,” I reply. “And I’ll meet you wherever you want.”
He scoffs. “I want more than that, Bay. It’s time you start realizing shit. The game is changing. You have a hit on your head.”
I glare at Holly as if she said it to me. “By whom?”
“Baby Wildes, of course. Word on the street is that he’s torn up about what you did to his brother.”
“You know damn fuckin’ well I didn’t kill him.”
Nothing but the sound of the Nova’s exhaust fills the air before I hear Matteo’s voice again.
“That’s not what Torin saw.” I clench my teeth because, no shit. “You have exactly two hours to come collect your fuckboy before I pepper a few bullets into his head. Then I’ll leave him on your front porch for denying me. Any sign of anyone else, he’ll be dead before you hit the door. Text this number when you’re on your way. I’ll have someone follow you in just to be sure. That won’t be a problem for you, will it, mi reina ?”
My chest tightens because this is typical Matteo in all his fucked-up treachery.
He gives you the smallest bit of hope before he rips it away and corners you into doing something you don’t want to do.
“Alright,” I manage to force out. “He leaves exactly how he arrived. Got it?”
Matteo chuckles, sending a violent shudder up my whole body. “For you, mi reina , I’ll do anything.”