Chapter 6
Chapter Six
Roman
“Ican’t believe you’re really doing this,” Xena says, lacing her fingers through mine.
Music blasts from every direction—basslines, screeching synths, and muffled traps.
The air reeks of burnt rubber and oil. It’s…
weirdly comforting. Controlled chaos. My kind of church.
Not knowing what to expect, the thrill of the race has my body humming with anticipation.
Who would have thought? From the corner of my eye, I catch a blue car rolling up.
The car’s two passengers are wearing neon Ghostface masks. The car seems awfully familiar, and once again, a feeling of dread wraps around me like a vice. Gentle hands squeeze my hands, and I realize the steel grip I have around the steering wheel.
“Ro, you okay?”
I nod, unsure of how to respond.
“You sure? You seem kinda out of it.”
My eyes remain on the car until I lose sight of it—it’s too much of a coincidence to see the car in Cedarvale and then again here. “This is going to be epic; we’ve never done anything like this.”
“Yeah,” I mutter. Feeling Xena’s free hand cup the side of my face, I lean into the touch, kissing the soft palm of her hand just as Tokyo pulls into the parking lot.
Her neon green car sticks out like a sore thumb.
She smiles as she notices us. Xena pulls her hand away as she waves at her friend, happy as a cucumber.
Ever since I’ve been back and she’s been clean, it’s like the old Xena is beginning to resurface, trying to find her normalcy from before all the trauma.
I want to be there with her. I really fucking want to.
But only one of us can afford the luxury of living in Lala land, and it isn’t me.
Tokyo waves back, and something in my stomach churns.
I don’t know what it is about this woman, but everything seems to happen too perfectly.
The way they randomly met, how they clicked—it wasn’t that I didn’t believe in coincidences, but this seemed more like an invasion.
However, I am tired of arguing with Xena about the matter.
I just have to trust her. I just wish she trusted me with this.
Tokyo reverses her car into the parking spot beside us, one arm around the headrest of the passenger seat and the other one focusing on the wheel—a natural behind the wheel. Xena rolls the window down.
“He’s really racing with that clunker?”
I scoff under my breath, my knuckles tightening from my grip. “I’ll outrace you with this clunker.”
“Well, you’d better hope that you do,” she retorts with a smile. Xena’s hand lands on my thigh, a silent command not to engage.
“So, what’s the game plan?” Xena asks as she opens the passenger door and steps out. I follow right behind, needing to be close. Wherever she goes, I go. It’s my sick obsession, but she doesn’t mind, and well, neither do I.
Tokyo steps out, her hand tussling her blue locks as she scans the area. In prison, you learn a lot about people’s body language to survive, and her body is tense, almost as if it were holding its breath, waiting for something to pop off.
What has her so riled up?
“I arranged for us to race in the next round.” She looks down at the screen in her hand. “So, in like five minutes, we line up.” Xena wraps her arms around my waist. She’s so happy, and it’s hard not to enjoy the feeling because I’m too hyperaware. My entire body is built like an alarm system.
Waiting.
Watching.
Ready to jump into action to protect what’s mine.
The girls are chatting amongst themselves when my eyes catch a car sitting alone in the empty lot across from us. Something inside me rings an alarm through my body, but the moment I feel those arms squeeze around me, I’m pulled back from my paranoia.
“Hey, it’s time.”
“Already?”
Xena nods as Tokyo opens the door to her car.
“Roman,” Tokyo mutters, and my eyes find hers as she flips me off. “Don’t get left behind.”
My response is a mocking smile. Opening the door for my girl, I watch as she climbs into the truck, her ass perfectly displayed as she taunts me with a good time. Maybe I should fuck her right after I win.
Nothing like a celebratory nut.
The truck growls beneath me as I pull up to the starting line. A total of six cars line up, and in the far-left corner, I spot the blue car. “Fuck, Roman, you’re really doing this.” Xena leans over and places a wet kiss on my neck. “I’m so fucking horny right now.”
I smile at that, looking over at my girl and watching how she closes her legs, pressing them against each other.
“Needy little slut,” I purr, pressing my foot on the gas, causing the truck to roar.
It’s the loudest and the heaviest of them all.
I bet they expect me to lose, but I know my way around curves.
Plus, my girl is horny, so I need this to be done and over with so I can fuck her properly.
A horn blares in front of us—the music stops.
A woman dressed in a skimpy cheerleader costume walks to the front, holding a green flare high in the sky. My hand tightens around the shifter, the other on the wheel. Xena bounces beside me. I feel her eyes on me—full of lust and hunger.
The cars are all idling.
When the light goes down…
GO.
Tires screech and smoke rises as the cars and my truck jolt forward.
“FUCK, RO!” Xena screeches with excitement. “Win, baby. Win.”
Tokyo’s car remains next to me. From the corner of my eye, I can see the tension in her face before she pulls ahead, blocking a silver Honda from moving any closer. My one hand shifts down, and my other quickly turns the wheel to ride the curve.
Xena giggles—the sound rushing straight to my balls. “You like this?”
“Fuck yes,” she breathes, her hand inching towards the dent in the fabric of my pants. I almost want to tell her not to, that I might actually fucking crash, but when her hand slips inside, all doubt leaves the truck and all I feel is her.
My truck takes all the curves as we climb into the mountain, and I dodge a swerving coupe. Tokyo hugs the curve, while I push my Pop’s truck beyond its limit, gears grinding as I surge ahead. Xena continues to laugh and stroke my cock. “Baby, you trust me?” I ask through clenched teeth.
“Always.”
“Ride me,” I breathe out. It’s not the safest thing to do, but Xena will always be safe in my hands. Always. I lay off the gas just enough to push my seat back a little and give her room to straddle me.
My girl sinks onto me with a loud moan as I shift up and press on the gas.
“Don’t crash.”
Her mouth grazes mine as her hips begin to grind. The heat of her skin and the thrill of the race have me dangling over the edge with an urgency to jump down headfirst.
“I’ll die with your cunt wrapped around me if I have to,” I growl as her teeth bite down on my neck. My body bucks.
My mind blurs between ecstasy and adrenaline.
I’m so lost in the moment; I almost don’t see Tokyo abruptly stopping right as we hit the pull into a curve. “Fuck, hold on.”
Then suddenly, I feel a blow come from behind, causing the car to fishtail as I wrestle with control.
“RO!” Xena screams as her arms wrap around my neck. Then the headlights get closer. That same black car pulls up beside us, and the masked person inside just waves before Tokyo closes in again as I finally manage to straighten out the truck.
“What the fuck is happening?” Xena whispers into my skin, realizing we are smashed between both cars. Her friend closed us in.
“Xena, I need you to go back to your seat. Trust me. Please.”
She nods; small drops of tears fall quickly on my heated skin. I slip from inside her as she moves back to the passenger seat. Thankfully, they strike once she’s back in the seat and restrained. This time, the truck swerves, and Xena screams.
Metal crunches.
Rubber screams.
The truck jerks sideways, tires skidding over loose gravel as we slam into the guardrail lining the mountain curve. Xena lets out a blood-curdling scream as her body jolts forward, snapping against the restraints.
My chest slams into the steering wheel; a flash of stars explodes behind my eyes, but I don’t stop.
I can’t.
I try to steady us once again when the black car rams into us from the other side.
“FUCK!” I roar, spitting out the blood that has pooled in my mouth as I yank the truck right, trying to escape the trap, but there’s nowhere to go. The truck fishtails, scraping the barrier, sparks showering the side window. The frame groans.
My girl is sobbing now, hands over her ears. “What the fuck, why is she doing this?”
I didn’t answer.
Because all I want to do is shout, I told you so.
But it’s not her fault for wanting companionship— a friend.
Even if that friend turned out to be a fucking deadly snake.
“Hold on,” I bark, slamming the shifter down and twisting the wheel hard left just as Tokyo pulls in again. Her car smashed into the front bumper this time, causing the truck to spin completely.
We’re skidding.
Flying.
My girl screams my name over and over, but all I hear is the blood rushing to my ears and the thundering of my heartbeat.
And then the world goes sideways… The truck flips. Metal and glass explode.
We roll once.
Twice.
The night sky spins, the earth groans, and then—
Silence.
We land on our side, engine still hissing, smoke spilling from the front. The windshield is cracked into a million pieces. My ears are ringing. I don’t know if I’m dead or alive until I feel her hand wrap around mine. Gripping me with little strength as she whimpers.
“Ro.” Her voice breaks. “I can’t move.”
“Don’t,” I rasp, my head pounding, blood dripping down the side of my temple. “Don’t move. Just– stay with me.”
I can’t see Tokyo’s car anymore, but I can see a pair of boots closing in, stepping away from the black car.
Slow. Confident. Predatory steps.
Then blue eyes stare back at me as he waves. “I’ll be taking her now.”
I fight with my seat belt as he opens the door.
Xena mumbles something as he cups her into his arms. My body screams as I use all my strength to push open the door and fall to the cold soil.
The man stops before me. Xena lies slumped in his arms, her arm dangling as her blood drips onto the ground… on me.
“Who?” I rasp. “Are–”
The man steps on my back, and I almost scream out, but instead, I bite down, holding back the urge to scream from the pain.
“You don’t know me, but you will soon.” With that, he releases me and kicks the side of my face, forcing it to turn in the other direction. I see headlights approach, and watch Tokyo as she staggers towards the black car, holding her side.
“I’ll kill—” I choke out the words between coughing fits. Then I crawl—they won’t take her. I can’t lose my heart.
Not again.
My body drags through the wet soil—everything burns. Tokyo opens the door to the black car, and through the blood pouring down my face, I see her hesitate before she looks directly at me and turns away, slipping inside.
“TOKYO,” I shout as I continue to drag my useless body through the grass.
No.
No.
No.
I watch as the man places Xena in the back seat, closes the door, then rushes into the front seat and reverses out of the area. When headlights pull in, I fall to my back and scream.