Chapter 35
SHELBY
CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE
My alarm wakes me up the next morning.
I stretch out, surprised to find myself alone in bed. When I headed to bed around one, the party was going strong, and the guys were plastered.
Since I dislike drinking the day before a race, I sipped on one drink the entire night.
Before I head downstairs, I check the other bedrooms, all empty. That’s not a good sign.
In the kitchen, a bleary-eyed Cin makes coffee.
“Do you know where the guys are?”
“They were on their second game of pool when I came upstairs to sleep on the couch in your room. Did you check their bedrooms?”
Sleeping on my couch isn’t a good sign. She spends most of her time down here and not with Nick. After this race, I need to chat with him.
“Empty. They were drunk when I went to bed. It should be fun waking them up.”
“Let them sleep for a bit.” She sips her coffee.
I pour myself some, too. “We’ll be moving to Georgia for four years.”
She cups her hands around her mug and stares at the contents.
“Cin, what’s going on? Talk to me.”
She sighs. “Things haven’t been going well between us. We’ve been fighting a lot… when he’s even talking to me. I don’t know who this Nick is. He’s obsessed with finding Roger. We haven’t had a chance to talk about Georgia.”
I glance at her over my mug. “Don’t you want to move to Georgia?”
“I didn’t want to move here. I planned on working in Dad’s garage. Garage owners don’t want to hire a kid right out of high school, no matter how much training they’ve had.” Cin inhales her coffee. “I plan on staying here for the summer, then returning home.”
Eek. “What about you and Nick?”
She lowers her head as she shakes it.
I sigh. “Well, shit, that dampens today’s fun.”
“That’s why I didn’t want to say anything.” She huffs. “I also don’t want you to be mad at him.”
“I understand why he’s going crazy about finding Roger. He feels responsible for letting me go with him. Everything that happened while I was gone was hard on him. Not to mention Roger had Hannah and hurt Cam. He knows nobody can relax until he’s caught.”
“Why can’t he tell me that?” She sets down her mug a bit too hard.
I’m surprised it didn’t break. “Only he can explain.”
I hug her. She’s not one for hugs, but I feel she needs one. “I’m going to go check on my guys.”
I jog down the steps to the basement to find bodies everywhere. Dom’s on the pool table, hugging a stick and balls. Cam’s spread eagle on the floor, missing his shirt. Mav’s half on top of him.
On the loveseat, Mark is on top of Robert. I’m unsure how, but Luke is asleep in a chair with what looks like a pillow stuffed into one of my shirts. I cover my laugh.
Ricky and Amber snuggle on the couch, but Sam and Paige aren’t down here. Did they head home? But Sam was too drunk to drive.
I take my phone out to check for messages from Paige and don’t find any. Then, I snap pictures of everyone. Blackmail.
Since the race isn’t until tonight, I go back upstairs and let everyone sleep.
In the living room, I find Paige sitting at the counter drinking coffee with Cin.
“Where were you sleeping?” I ask Paige as I step back in the kitchen.
“On the couch.” She points to the one in the living room.
“Didn’t see you.” I laugh. “I took pictures of the guys downstairs.”
When I show them the photos, Paige spits coffee across the counter.
“What is Luke holding?” Paige wipes off the mess, her hand shaking from her laughter.
“I did some laundry yesterday. I think it’s one of my shirts I washed with a pillow stuffed in it.” I turn the picture over to view it from a different angle.
We laugh for a half hour. Cin’s mood lightens some. She and I decide to check on the car and do some hits.
“Do you mind if I use your shower, Shelby?” She yawns.
“Yeah, that’s fine. You’re in for a treat. The guys tricked out my shower.” I take a step, but then turn back around. “I recommend locking the door. You wouldn’t want one of my guys to stumble in thinking it’s me in there.”
Her face pales. “I’ll make sure to do that.”
While she’s getting ready, I collect the items I store here. For the rest, we found a heated, outdoor storage unit to keep tools, helmets, and car parts. The RV and the flatbed we’ll hook to Nick’s truck are kept in the back with the other RV.
At the unit, Cin and I switch cars and find a back road to do some hits on.
After a few hours, she runs another diagnostic on the car. “I think we’re in good shape. What do you think?”
“Yeah, it feels good. Let’s head back.”
We return to the unit to switch cars.
I stand outside the car while Cin puts away some items, and a chill runs down my spine. I scan the area.
“You all right?” Cin asks when she comes out.
He can’t enter the grounds unless he knows the code, which wouldn’t be hard for him. But I don’t want to freak Cin out.
“Yeah.” I shake my head. “Just being silly. Let’s head home.”
When we walk into the house, the smell of bacon and eggs hits my nose, making my stomach grumble. The guys brought in some camping chairs and are lounging around the living room.
Cin drops into a chair at the breakfast bar. “You guys look like shit.”
Luke scrubs his face from the couch. “Feel like shit. Why did you let us drink that much, babe?”
I giggle. “Like I have any control over what you do.”
“Did you go do some hits?” Ricky asks. “How were they?”
Cin tells him what she thinks as I walk over and sit down on Mav’s lap, who sits on Cam.
“Afternoon, gorgeous.” Cam peppers my face with kisses.
“Hi.” I lean back to give him better access.
He rocks us like you would a baby. “How was your morning?”
“Quiet. I was shocked to find myself alone in bed this morning.”
He lets me go, smirks, and rubs the back of his head. “Yeah, I don’t think we could have made it up to our rooms.”
I snicker. “But Luke could shove a pillow into one of my shirts?”
“What?” Mav tilts his head to the side.
When I show them the picture of Luke, Cam and Mav lose it.
Luke walks over. “What’s so funny?”
We laugh so hard we can’t talk, so Cam shows Luke my phone.
His cheeks turn red. “I don’t remember doing that.”
After we eat, we lounge around the rest of the day until it’s time to go to the races.
Before it’s time to leave, a disheveled Nick makes an appearance. “Shelby, will you be upset if I don’t make it to the race? I have several leads that I don’t want to get cold.”
“Thanks for putting the effort into this. You do what you need to do, but I’m okay if you take a break and enjoy the day.” I glance over to Cin before focusing back on Nick. “The rest of us are.”
“I’m close. If I walk away, I might miss a chance.” He walks over to Cin and hands her his keys. “You can drive my truck.”
She stares at him with her hand out. He drops the key in her hand.
I want to scream at them, but I don’t.
Cin curls her fingers around the keys and shakes her head. “Ricky, Billy, Mark, are we ready?”
“Yep,” Billy answers.
“It’s a beautiful night, so I’m going to jump on my bike.” I watch my brother leave.
“Fine, see you there.” She storms out the door.
Mav scrubs his face. “Was it me, or is there friction between Cin and Nick?”
“It wasn’t you.” Luke yawns. “Nick’s screwing up his relationship.”
“One of us needs to talk to him,” Dom says.
“Nope, stay the hell out of it.” I shake my head. “It’s between Nick and Cin. Now, come here and kiss me. I have a race to win.”
They each kiss me and tell me they will see me at the race.
I pull up to the storage unit. Mark and Ricky back up Nick’s truck to hook up the trailer with Demon in it. Cin’s inside arranging the equipment she’ll need.
“Damn, you guys were fast this morning,” I say as Mark gets out of the truck.
He thumbs toward Cin. “You know what she’s like when she’s in a bad mood.”
I don’t reply.
Demon’s loading is smooth, but Billy exits with his brows drawn. “Trouble, where are your racing suits?”
“Hanging in there?” I point inside the unit.
“Umm, hate to tell you, but it’s empty.”
“No, it’s not. They were in there this morning!” I hop into the unit, only to find the rack empty.
Shit, did I use my last one this morning and didn’t realize it? I’m almost sure I had one or two left.
I don’t have time to figure out what happened, though.
“I’ll go home and get a spare suit. Start prep, and I’ll meet you at the track. If I run late, Ricky can fill in at the driver’s meeting,” I rattle off as I climb on my bike.
I take off for home, cursing myself for this. It’s good we don’t live far from where we keep the car.
I pull up, turn off my bike, throw my helmet on my seat, and jog to the front door.
Opening it with my keys, I look up and scream.
Nick sits in the middle of my living room, his left eye swollen shut.
Behind him, Roger holds him by his hair with one hand, and his other hand presses a knife against Nick’s throat. “Monkey, thanks for joining us.”
My stomach churns. “What did you do to him?”
“Nothing he didn’t deserve,” Roger hisses.
I take a step forward. “Is he alive?”
He pokes Nick in the head and shrugs. “I think so.”
“You think so?” I yell back. “Killing my mom wasn’t enough? Now, you want to hurt my brother?”
I’m mad as hell. I’m tired of this psycho ruining my life. One of us won’t be leaving this house today.
He yanks Nick’s hair, making Nick moan. “He should have stayed out of my business.”
“You should have stayed out of mine,” I growl back.
“No, that’s where you’re wrong. You are my business.” He pokes Nick’s neck, and a small bead of blood forms.
“You made a mistake coming here, Roger. You’re slipping. The guys will come for me.”
He throws his head back and laughs. “That’s where you’re wrong. I have a surprise for them at the races. Why don’t you take a seat?”
I cover my mouth, my breakfast threatening to come back up. What the hell does he have planned for the guys? I have to warn them.
This has to end. If I sit in that chair, he’ll tie me up and be in control again. I can’t let that happen. I’ve been working out again, so I’m stronger. My obstacle is separating him from Nick.
“Make me.” I raise my head and cross my arms.
His eyes go wide. I’ve never stood up to him before.
“Beau, will you come down and make her sit?”
Beau comes down the stairs. “Rooms are clear.”
“No.” My knees go weak, and I almost fall to the floor. “How could you, Beau? They trusted you.”
Beau says nothing as he approaches me, places a hand on my shoulder, and stands by me.
“Oh, boo hoo. The boys trusted you,” Roger mimics. “He’s been under my control since the beginning. Be a good boy and tie her to a chair.”
Beau walks to our dining table, grabs a chair, and picks up the rope sitting on the table. He stands behind the chair and pushes me down.
If they think I’ll listen, they have another think coming. I jump up, ball my fist, and cock my arm back.
“I wouldn’t if I were you.” Roger presses the knife harder against Nick’s neck, and blood drips onto his shirt.
I sit back down and let Beau tie me up. He wraps the rope around my shoulder and ties it behind me.
He whispers in my ear, “Coffee table.”
I stay as still as possible not to alert Roger.
“Good job. Now, go to the races. You know what to do,” Roger chirps.
“Yes, boss.” Beau leaves the house.
Roger smiles as he moves away from Nick. “Oh, I love when he says that.”