Chapter 4
Delaney
On Friday, after my shift at Salty’s, I find myself back at Draven’s house. The first hour I was here she halfheartedly listened to me go through the lessons. The second hour she argued with me until a dull ache formed at the base of my neck.
Now I’m staring at her while she taps away on her phone before I finally say, “Hey, are you paying attention?”
Her head shoots up and her nose crinkles before she says, “I have a headache.”
“So…?”
If anyone has a fucking headache it’s me because she brought me all the way out here and now, she’s going to blow me off again.
I worked a four-hour shift, and my feet hurt. My back aches and I have my own damn homework to do.
What gives?
“So, I can’t concentrate right now. Doctor’s orders,” she says while I fantasize about wringing her neck.
“Which doctor?” I rasp, rubbing my forehead.
Is she playing with me? Why?
It’s not like she didn’t go out of her way to pick me up and bring me all the way out here.
“All of them,” she says with a shrug. “Whatever. It’s Friday. I can take you home, or we can go party…?”
“Me?” I blurt and she looks around like a complete asshole.
“Who else?” she barks, and I shrug, glancing at my nails.
They used to be buffed and painted in pretty, pale hues. Now my fingers are chapped from the bleach water at work and the cuticles are growing like weeds.
Do I want to party with her? I admit, I’m curious.
Frankly, I’m looking for a distraction from my life and she’s the only one who doesn’t remind me of the past.
Visions of going home and moldering in that tiny room cross my mind as my phone buzzes against my ass.
Babe, where r u?
Babe…
I’m sorry
I also don’t want to spend the evening reading Micah’s messages because there’s a part of me that still yearns for the familiar. I can’t go back down that road but sometimes I want so freaking badly to be that girl again.
“Fine,” I say, and she pushes back from the table.
With a last glance at my backpack and the knowledge that I should be focusing on my homework, I push the brutal burn of guilt aside and follow her back out to the car.
Once we’re inside, I glance her way while she glares at her phone. “What?”
“Nothing,” she says, dropping it into the console before starting the vehicle.
The pretty Camaro rumbles when she revs the engine, and I stare at the passing scenery as she pulls onto the highway.
I’m probably going to regret this but whatever, if it means escaping the shit constantly swirling around in my head, I’ll take a few more hours of Draven’s mercurial moods.
When Draven heads the opposite direction of town though, I turn to her and ask, “Where are we going?”
“Tracks,” she grunts, and I eye her sideways.
What the hell does that mean?
Before I can ask though, she says, “It’s down by the old park. Buncha dudes go around the track and whoever gets their first win’s money.”
Huh. How have I never heard of this place before?
Oh right, I was hanging with my friends who wouldn’t be caught dead doing shit like that.
It’s not far though and when she turns down a road sandwiched between a group of trees, I lean forward.
Up ahead, I see a series of flashing lights. Once we get closer, I confirm that they’re headlights.
Four cars are lined up, revving their engines and as we exit her car, they take off, the tires spinning in the loose dirt.
Fascinated, I watch them go while Draven walks away. After a moment, I move to catch up when she approaches a group of people I don’t recognize.
Beyond the four standing by a fire and smoking weed, I see a few students who go to our school and silently pray that this doesn’t get back to Micah.
“S’up,” one of the guys says when I stop beside the fire.
Draven grabs the joint from her friend’s hand before offering it to me. I decline because I’m in an unfamiliar place and these days I’m cautious about that shit.
To my surprise though, I spy a familiar face through the crowd and rock back on my heels.
What the hell is Josh doing here?
On the way to where we’re standing, he pauses by a cooler and grabs two beers before approaching with a pretty smile.
When he passes me a beer, I accept it as he says, “Damn, Delaney, partying on the dark side. I like it.”
Laughing uneasily, I sip from the can. There’s no way Micah won’t hear about this. He’s been friends with Josh since they joined the football team in junior high.
I’m so fucked.
“What are you doing here?” I ask and his lips curve into a sly smile.
“Surprised?”
Snorting, I shake my head. “Probably about as surprised as you are.”
“I don’t know about that,” he says with a wink, and I hide my grin behind my drink.
I’ve known Josh since second grade. He’s always been a bit reserved but totally cool in the face of our peers who constantly feel the need to show their superiority.
“Wanna watch the next race?” he asks, and I agree because the longer I stand here and don’t partake of the weed the weirder the stares that I get.
We pick our way to the track, and I eye the makeshift stands and people. This is a big deal.
With a thrill of excitement, I turn to the cars, my heart jumping into my throat when I spy Maddox standing by a pretty woman with his hand around her waist.
Her long blonde hair brushes her ass, and I eye her womanly curves with envy when she looks up at him with a sultry smile.
My mouth sours when they kiss, and I look away only to watch from the corner of my eyes as he steps back and rounds one of the idling vehicles.
Oh shit. Is he going to race?
Josh glances at me sideways but doesn’t comment as I inch closer, fascinated by the low rumble of the muscle cars and the crowd surging forward to watch the spectacle.
When a man standing before the cars raises his hand, I flinch and cover my ears, too late when he fires a gun into the air.
Although I’ve been around guns my whole life with Peter being a sheriff’s deputy, I’ve never been a huge fan.
The first few times he tried to teach me how to safely use a firearm, I flat out refused to touch the cool metal and only bribery by way of candy got me close enough to understand where the safety was.
“Fuck yeah!” some guy behind me shouts and I turn back to the race.
The cars fishtail in the dirt. Maddox’s muted blue Mustang with tinted windows and a wicked black stripe down the side passes an older model and I cough as the dirt ridden air flies into my face.
My heart kicks into a thunderous tempo when Maddox maneuvers between two other muscle cars.
He’s a skilled driver, sliding to the right once he’s free and I don’t realize I’m muttering until Josh says, “Chill. Maddox always wins.”
“Oh,” I say, my cheeks flaming. “I was just…never mind.”
When he chuckles and bumps my shoulder, I crack a smile, just as Maddox passes the car in the lead and zooms across the finish line.
“Yes!” I say, fist pumping the air.
In my excitement, I step forward, charmed by the boyish grin on his face when he blows from the vehicle.
It falls flat though, and I falter as the chick from before sidles up to him, pressing her generous breasts against his side.
When those beautiful arms wrap around her waist, I step back, only to pause as he looks up and our eyes lock.
His lip tilts at the corner, revealing that devastating dimple in his cheek and my skin prickles as Josh says, “C’mon, let’s get another drink.”
At the same time, someone shouts Maddox’s name, and he pivots away.
Although Maddox is really freaking hot, compared to that woman, I’m a gawky teenager with no game.
Even so, I glance back for one last look just in time to see his cocky smile fade when another man, this one wearing an MC vest approaches, and he gently pushes the woman away.
From this distance I have no idea what they’re saying but a shiver rolls down my spine when Maddox walks away with his friend at his side.
Something about the stiff set to his shoulders and mechanical smile don’t feel right but I don’t know this guy.
Maybe he’s fine or maybe shit is about to go down. I may not know a lot about the Shadow Saints MC, but I’ve heard enough from Peter to understand they’re dangerous.
Shaking off the weird thoughts, I fight back a wave of exhaustion as I follow Josh back to the fire.
I have another shift tomorrow, not to mention a quiz and I should be hunkered down studying.
Draven is long gone when we arrive, and I wonder what she’s getting up to before silently sighing.
It wasn’t so long ago that all I cared about was partying and while I’m sunk in my misery, my peers wander around blissfully free of the emotions I can’t suppress.
Ugh.
Enough Delaney, let it go and enjoy this moment because later you’ll be back at that trailer and wondering once again how everything fell apart.
“Want another?” Josh asks, raising his empty can.
“I’m good,” I say, still nursing mine.
When Josh points to the fire, I find a spot on one of the logs situated before the flames.
After grabbing a new beer, he joins me, and I sip from my can while he chatters away.
I wonder where Maddox went and did that woman go with him? Is she, his girlfriend?
Does he have a girlfriend?
“Delaney?” Josh says and I whip around to find him looking at me with raised brows.
“Um,” I mumble, hiding my rosy cheeks behind my hair.
Beyond the fact that I wasn’t listening, I’m not sure if he’s flirting and I’ve barely broken it off with Micah as it is. I don’t need the added complication of his friend asking me out.
Into the awkward silence, his lips lift into a cute grin, and he taps my shoulder before saying, “Tell me your deepest darkest secret.”
“What?” I ask, rearing back. “Why?”
“Because,” he says, his blue eyes twinkling. “I want to know who Delaney is.”
Uh oh. I need to nip this shit in the bud, but I don’t want to put a strain on this burgeoning relationship. Josh is nice and fun.
Flustered, I wave my hands and say, “And we’re starting with secrets? You don’t mess around.”
His husky chuckle sends a chill of unease down my spine but before I can summon the right words to put Josh off, the air whooshes behind me.
When I turn, I meet Maddox’s glittering dark gaze. Without breaking eye contact, he nods at Josh and says, “I’m surprised you’re here, princess.”
Princess? Is he mocking me?
“Oh?” I say stiffly, touching my neck, where my pulse pounds beneath my heated skin.
He’s so close, I could lean forward and press my chest to his and I scooch back in pure defense of my thrumming heart.
His lips lift into a wicked smile, and he follows until he’s so close that I can feel the puff of his warm breath against my mouth.
Strangely, unlike with Micah, who I thought I was madly in love with, I want to lean into this man and confirm that the zing cascading through my veins is as real as it feels.
“Yeah,” he says, “I’ve never seen a Bay River High cheerleader slumming it before.”
Mocking it is then.
My skin tingles with the need to get closer while my chest burns and averting my gaze, I mumble, “I’m not a cheerleader anymore.”
“No? Too bad.” When I meet his glittering gaze once more, he says, “That uniform was hot.”
Speechless, I can only stare when he raises his brow and gently presses a finger against my jaw, hanging no doubt at my knees.
“Cat got your tongue,” he purrs, and I shudder before saying, “You’re making fun of me.”
His eyes drop to my lips, and he shakes his head but before he can deny it, a scuffle starts up beyond the fire and he stands.
Two dudes are going at it, and I silently fume at their antics when Maddox walks away leaving me bewilderingly tingly and confused.
What was that about?
Maddox
When the pretty little cheerleader with the silky dark hair watches me walk away, I hide my grin. What a surprise to find her at the tracks.
I wasn’t kidding. I know her type. Chicks like that play on the dark side before they come to their senses and go back to their perfect little lives.
I don’t blame her. If it were me, I’d be itching to see something beyond the colorless world she inhabits too.
She won’t stay once she’s gotten a taste of what she’s begging for with those pouty lips though and if she weren’t so young, I’d be happy to give it to her.
And that hair…I’d give anything to run my fingers through the dark strands while I fucked her dirty and sent her back to her vanilla world.
Fuck me.
While it was fun to play a little, I know my limits, some of which I learned the hard way.
Stay away from girls like that because in the end, they take shit way too seriously…and so do their daddy’s.
Still, visions of her rosy cheeks follow me back to the clubhouse, where I’m tempted to find a sweet butt to ease the ache she created.
That is until I walk through the door and Lilli turns to me with a pretty smile.
Hiding the sliding sensation in my gut with a grin, I back away and wave like an asshole before exiting back outside.
It’s not like we didn’t have other families and even children here before Lilli and her sisters came along.
So, why does my blood run cold whenever she’s around?
Despite the inner strength she’s shown not only by surviving her shitty childhood but Wolf’s stupid ass behavior, Lilli doesn’t belong.
She’s too kind and gentle. She’s too much like…nope, not going there. Mom’s been dead for ten years.
Except…I can’t shake the images that crawl through my brain like a fucking macabre slideshow and it’s all I can do to fight back the bile crawling up my throat.
And when I pass Wolf, who eyes me with a frown, I wave like a moron again before stopping beside Romeo at the barbecue.
Luckily, no one senses my unease but it’s time I set that shit aside because I don’t want to create beef with my brother and in this, I’m happy that Wolf and Lilli finally came to their senses.
Romeo eyes me sideways before handing me a beer. I tip my head in acknowledgement and knock it back in a couple of gulps.
I’m going to need a few of these before I can regain my equilibrium and with a silent sigh, I turn away from the woman who’s turned me into a fucking pussy.