Chapter 1 #3
“You did more damage than he did,” Elias cuts in mildly, stepping right over Jax’s comment like it’s radioactive. Which it is.
Raine’s attention shifts to Elias instead, flicking her eyes away from Jax like she’s done with him. “He swung wild,” she responds, like it should be obvious, like it’s not as impressive as we make it sound. My years of jujitsu say otherwise. “People always do when they’re sure they’ll win.”
“But you were sure you’d win. Weren’t you?” The question leaves my mouth before I can reconsider it.
Her eyes snap to me, quick and focused. No hesitation. “Yes, but the difference is I train, I don’t just depend on my massive muscles and little brain cells.”
“You train and fight, but it isn’t the only thing you do.” I nod toward the open tool roll, the faint oil smell clinging to her hoodie. “You fix bikes, don’t you?”
“I fix bikes.” She repeats it like it matters. Like she wants it on record. “I own a shop.”
Of course she does.
My chest does that stupid tight thing where admiration and attraction get tangled and pretend to be one feeling.
It’s not just that she’s hot. It’s that she’s competent and certain, completely unimpressed by all of this.
She knows what she’s doing and doesn’t do it for attention, applause, or anyone else’s approval, and that’s the part that really gets to me, that sticks under my skin.
We listen to the compressor hum for a second as Elias inflates the tire, watching the wheel lift a fraction as the rubber fills out. Raine kneels to check the bead, pressing her thumb along the sidewall, then looks back at me. “Try the light.”
I flick the switch I reseated, seeing the headlight throw a clean cone of light on the asphalt, bright enough to make all our shadows sharp. But I already knew it would work. I wouldn’t be very good at my job if it didn’t.
Jax claps once, dragging the attention back where he thinks it belongs. “That’s teamwork, baby.” Even though he did absolutely nothing.
Nothing but try to flirt anyway.
Raine stands without looking at any of us.
For a second, I think she’s just going to walk away, end of story.
Then she reaches for her helmet and settles it over her dark hair, the matte shell scuffed and worn in a way that tells its own story.
She pauses with the visor still up and glances over her shoulder, dark blue eyes cutting straight through me.
“Try not to wreck on your way home.” Her voice stays dry, practical.
She fastens the strap, and swings her leg over the bike.
One quick check of her mirrors, then she rolls her neck like she’s resetting for the ride.
She looks ready to take off without another word, and for some reason, that bothers me more than it should.
I want more time, more words, more everything, but I’m too much of a coward to say anything.
Jax, however, is the total opposite. “What’s the name of your shop?” He grins like this is already going his way. “Might bring my bike by. Needs someone who wrenches as hard as they hit.”
Raine’s engine kicks over beneath her, a low growl that cuts through the flirtation. She glances his way, lazy and sharp all at once. “If you can afford me.”
“I’m sure you’re worth every penny.” He doesn’t hesitate, undeterred and delusional.
“Iron Wheel Garage. South side.” There’s a faint edge of amusement there, like she’s curious whether he’ll actually follow through.
“Noted.” Jax files it away, clearly pleased with himself.
Her attention moves past him to Elias, then settles on me. “You two always let him talk to strangers like this?”
“Only when we’re tired,” Elias answers, easy and familiar.
“Only when the stranger can punch harder than he can flirt,” I add, and regret it immediately when her focus snaps back to me.
Something glints in her eyes. Something like approval, or perhaps amusement. “Sounds like you’ve got your hands full.”
“Badly,” I admit, exhaling through my nose as I straighten, grease smeared across my fingers and probably my face.
“Always,” Elias adds, shifting his weight to give him something to do.
“They love it,” Jax throws in, flashing a grin and lifting his shoulders as if this part of him is endearing and not a flaw.
Raine studies us for a second longer than necessary.
Her gaze moves between the three of us, slow and deliberate, like she’s already decided who we are and just hasn’t said it out loud yet.
When her eyes land back on me, they linger, unreadable, and my spine goes a little straighter without my permission.
The corner of her mouth lifts again, faint and fleeting, like she’s entertained despite herself. “Good night, boys.”
The bike rolls forward, the engine smoothing as she eases into motion. She doesn’t rev it or show off. She takes the corner at the edge of the lot, clean and confident, then disappears down the street like she was never meant to linger.
Jax exhales a dramatic sigh and flops backward onto the post like he’s been shot. “I’m deceased.”
“You’re fine.” Elias' voice has that thin edge he gets when his brain is planning. “Think she’s okay?”
“Probably,” I respond, though I don’t know how I know it. She just seems like the kind of person who deals with too much shit on the daily to let this get in her way.
We stand there for a moment, three idiots illuminated by a streetlight, staring after a girl we hardly know but are all suddenly infatuated with.
Jax tips his head at me. “You’re smiling.”
“I’m not.”
“You are.”
Dammit, I am.
It feels ridiculous on my face, like a thing that doesn’t belong but it’s there all the same.
Elias claps me on the back once, solid. “Nice work.”
Needing the attention to be on him again, Jax cuts in. "Tell me I'm not the only one suddenly in love?"
Elias sighs, too tired to put up with Jax right now after a twelve-hour shift on the rig with his newly-wed partner who talks his ear off. “I wouldn't call it love just yet.”
“Intrigue?” I offer, but I know it's more than that.
“Oh please,” Jax scoffs, throwing his arms around Elias and my shoulders and pulling us into his chest. “You're just as infatuated as I am. So here's the deal: whoever gets to her first, keeps her.”
“That's not how life works,” I snap, shoving his arm off me with ease.
I want to say I think this because I'm honorable and not because I know that I have the worst disadvantage here, but I’d be lying.
I can't flirt to save my life. I'm awkward as fuck and get all rambly when I'm nervous.
“You can't call dibs on a woman,” Elias adds, throwing Jax one of his disapproving fatherly looks.
“That's not what I'm saying,” he protests, acting offended at the fact that we thought differently. “I mean, whoever gets her to like him first gets to keep her.”
“No.” Elias uses a tone that leaves no room for argument. “She doesn't need us competing for her attention.”
“Agreed,” I nod a little too strongly to not go unnoticed.
“You two make me sound fiendish. But fine. So what? You want to share?” Jax shrugs, too amused by this entire thing, and it irks me to no end.
“I—” I start, but can't finish, not knowing what I want. I just know I want to get to know her, to peel back her layers. And I don't mean just fabric.
“I want to make sure she's okay,” Elias states simply, his eyes back on the road where she'd left, and I know he means it.
“Bleeding heart, this one,” Jax tells me, gesturing with his thumb toward Elias. “Come on, Professor. Admit you want her too.”
“Fine,” I grumble. “I want to get to know her.”
“Great. So it's agreed then,” Jax adds with a grin too wide to be any good. “We all solve the mystery of Raine, and if she falls for me first, don't worry, I'll share if she wants.”
“You're an ass.” I glare at him, but part of me is an ass too, because all I can think about now is getting her to like me before she falls for this guy.
For once, I want to win.
“Yeah. Nothing new there,” Jax says, that grin coming back, brighter and more dangerous. “Next fight night, Professor. We’re not missing it.”
I open my mouth to say no. To say he's wrong for trying to turn this into some kind of competition, for thinking he can make her fall for him first. What comes out though is, "Okay."
I'm honestly annoyed at myself for falling for his stupid trick, for letting him get me worked up. But that's just Jax. He knows how to work everyone, I'm just hoping Raine is different enough not to fall for it.
Jax needs a humility check. Let her be the one to do it.
We head to our bikes where I pull my helmet off the bar and stare at it for half a second.
Don't crash, she’d said.
So I put it on.
Get ready, Raine. You're about to have three annoying guys invade your life.