3. Raven
Chapter three
Raven
Naomi shaking me has me jolting from sleep.
“What the hell? Where’s the fire?” I spit in a panic.
“Girl, we slept so late. Get up! I let you sleep while I got ready, so I’m about to leave, but I'll tell Eddie to call you if he needs you.” She says as she rushes out, grabbing her stuff from the kitchen.
“Okay, yeah, tell him I don’t have plans today other than to go grab my bike. Speaking of, if he lets you have a lunch break, can you come get me and take me to the shop? I just don’t want to ask the guys to follow me there again.” I ask, knowing he always has the guys doing grunt work.
“Bitch, you know he lets us do what we want. Just text me when you’re ready to leave and I’ll come get you.” She states, kissing my head as she walks to the door.
“Thanks babe, you’re literally the best ever. No, I'm not trying to boost your ego either.” I yell from the couch jokingly as I blow her a kiss.
“It doesn't take much to boost my ego, baby. Now get your ass up and get ready. I’ll see you in a bit.” She winks as she walks out the door, shutting it behind her.
Laying back down on the couch, I stare up at the ceiling for a few minutes before forcing myself to get up, knowing I’m going to fall back to sleep if I don’t. I walk to the kitchen, throw a pod in the Keurig, and work on cleaning up.
After loading the dishwasher, wiping the counters down and putting the liquor up from last night, I add some sugar to my coffee and a little bit of creamer. Grabbing the cup, I take a long sip of the hot liquid and make my way to my bathroom.
Walking in and turning on the shower, I plug my phone into the Bluetooth speaker and put it on to charge by the sink. Putting some music on, I get in the shower, quickly washing my hair and body before rinsing off and getting out.
Grabbing a towel, I wrap it around my body and tie it in place. I finish off my coffee, brush my teeth, and put my mascara on thick, making sure to wing out my eyeliner. Quickly drying my hair, I tie it in a half-ass braid while dancing in the mirror. Who doesn’t dance while they get ready? Before getting dressed I shoot out a quick text to Naomi.
Me: Hey bitch, I’m getting dressed now and I’ll be ready soon. It’s been a couple of hours, so maybe Eddie will think you got some work done. ??
Naomi: I did get work done, thank you very much. At least one of us came in today. ?? I’ll go tell him I’m out for the day and be on my way.
Me: Ha! Sounds great. See you in a bit.
Walking to my closet, I find some skinny jeans and a crop top to put on. Skinny jeans always make my ass look good. Grabbing my phone, I slide it in my back pocket and go downstairs. I set my mug down in the sink and walk to the garage, grabbing my leather riding jacket and helmet just as I hear Naomi honking by the front door. This bitch . Walking towards the front door, I slide my shoes on and make sure everything is locked up and the security alarm is set. Opening Naomi’s passenger door, she doesn’t even give me a chance to get settled before she’s flapping at the gums.
“Umm, I’m starving! Can we grab food on the way back please?” She pleads, while batting her lashes at me.
“I wouldn’t expect anything less from you, yes we can grab food. Now let’s roll out, I want to see my bike.” I chuckle. Let’s be real, it’s not just my bike I’m looking forward to seeing.
Naomi turns up the music and I shoot Reyes a text.
Me: Hey, I’m headed your way to grab my bike.
He immediately responds and I roll my eyes.
Reyes: So eager to see me already? ??
Me: It is after lunch. If I was, I would have been there first thing this morning. ??
Reyes: Damn, we chose violence today I see. ??
Me: I choose violence every day.????
Reyes: I can see that. I like feisty, Little Devil.
Me: Why do you call me “Little Devil?”
Reyes: See you in a bit. Also, don’t worry about the why right now.??
Naomi waves her hand in front of my face, pulling me out of the conversation, “Hey bitch, where did you go? I have literally been having a one sided conversation here.”
“Oh, umm, I texted Reyes to tell him I was on my way. Let’s just say that the whole conversation has me like, what the fuck?” I say while laughing, feeling my cheeks heat. Was he flirting with me?
“Girl, are we thinking he’s going to be boyfriend material?” She raises her brow at me.
“Apparently, he thinks I'm going just to see him. And hold the fuck up, no one said shit about a boyfriend.” I quip back. Whatever the hell that means.
“Girl, I haven’t seen you with a man in a long ass time. Let the man flirt. Who knows, he may become your little boo thang.” She jokes, winking at me as she elbows me in my side. When she starts laughing, I follow suit because, why the fuck not ?
“Whatever, you know I’ll try anything once.” I wink back at her and we both continue hysterically laughing until tears stream down our faces and we can no longer breathe.
“Lord, maybe he will open you up more. Your life revolves around work and racing. Maybe he will get you to liven up.” She breathes. I guess she’s right, killing people and racing is what I love doing, but what do I actually live for?
“I didn’t mean it in a bad way, babe. I just meant other than the job, me and Eddie, you don’t really do Raven anymore. I’ll never pry. I know your past. Just know that I am your best friend, and I love you. Whatever makes you happy, makes me happy.” She sighs. I know she only wants what’s best for me.
“No, it’s okay, I get it. I didn’t think you meant it in a bad way. I guess I just never really thought about what would make me happy outside of this life.” I honestly don’t know life outside of the Mafia and racing. I just do me. We all have demons. I choose to feed mine, and taking an evil bastard's life just does it for me. Racing, well it’s just the extra adrenaline rush I need.
Before I know it, we’re pulling into the auto shop. She pulls into a parking spot and I tell her I’ll be right back as I get out of the car. The bell chimes as I walk in, but Reyes isn’t the one greeting me at the counter.
“Hey, I’m Raven. Reyes said my bike was ready.” I inform the man behind the counter. He looks me over with a sinister smile, then his eyes meet mine.
“Mmm Raven is it? Yeah, my brother said you’d be in. I’m Luis.” He states with a smirk, and damn if they both don’t have that panty dropping look about them. Where Reyes has ocean blue eyes, Luis has hazel with specks of green around the iris. They both have dark hair, that sun-kissed tan skin, and sharp jawline. Luis is covered in tattoos as well but has his lip pierced. Tattoos and piercings? Fuck, that’ll do it. Pulling me from my thoughts, he adds,
“Reyes is out in the garage. You can follow me if you want. Your bike is in there too. Eddie already paid for the work we did.” Dammit Eddie, I can pay for my own things. Walking around the counter, I follow him to the garage. His scent has me nearly tripping over my own feet. Damn, they both look and smell so fucking good. He smells like burnt tires, sandalwood and leather. Hearing a loud ‘clank’ pulls me from my thoughts and I spot Reyes working on another bike. He must hear us walking towards him because he turns around and gives me the same smirk his brother just did. Jesus fucking Christ.
“I see you met my brother. Gimme a second, I’m almost done here.” He turns and finishes up what he’s working on.
“So the upgrades you had done, those aren’t just any normal upgrades. Do you race or something?” Luis questions.
“Yeah, you could say that,” I smirk, “I race this and my car.” I answer, pointing at my bike.
Reyes chimes in, walking over to us, “Ah see, I knew you’d eventually be needing that friend I was telling you about. He races cars too, so he will definitely be able to help you out if you ever need it. As for bikes, Luis races them and I just enjoy riding. That's probably why Eddie sent you our way.” I wonder how well he knows them.
“Well he is my best friend's uncIe, and basically like family to me, so I trust who he trusts.” I state, looking between the two of them. They both just quirk a brow.
“We’ve known him for a while, but whatever you need, I’m down to help. I’ll have to start paying more attention to the racers though, because your bike looks familiar, but you don’t. Don’t see many purple and black ones out there.” He states.
“That’s because I never take my helmet off after races. I mean, sure, most know they get their asses handed to them by a chick. But for those who don’t, the look on their face when they see who I am, is priceless. I’ll be sure to look for you next time.” I sass back as I walk over to my bike. Their gaze follows me before Reyes tosses me my keys and raises an eyebrow.
“Here’s your keys. Next time he goes to a race, I’ll make sure to be there so I can watch you both.” He gives me a coy smirk.
“I’ll make it easier for you. I race Thursday night and Friday night. Guess if you wanna know where, your brother here, or your car friend, can fill you in.” I smirk back before hopping on my bike and starting her up. Before I can lift the kick stand, Luis quickly calls out to me,
“You’ll definitely see us again. Pleasure doing business with you.” He says mockingly as Reyes adds in,
“Oh, you’ll be seeing us real soon, Little Devil,” he smirks, licking his lips. I have to force myself to look away from his mouth as I slowly pull out of the garage. Damn, they are going to be trouble.
Pulling up to Naomi’s car, she tosses me my helmet and I ask her where she wants to go for lunch. Telling me she knows the perfect place, I put my bike in gear and follow her.
Next thing I know, we’re pulling into a little mom and pops burger joint. Turning off my bike, I get off and set my helmet on the seat. I fix my hair while I wait for Naomi to get out of her car. Once she fixes herself up, we walk through the front door and the lady tells us to sit anywhere we’d like. Picking a table in the back, close to the window, we quickly take a seat and look at the menu while we wait for them to take our order.
Coming over to the table, the waitress takes our order, bringing our food out after a few moments. While we eat, we make conversation about the race this week. I tell her that Luis, Reyes’ brother, also races and that they will both be there too.
Once we’re done eating, and saying our goodbyes, I take off heading toward my house and she goes off in the opposite direction. I take my time, cruising all the way home. Nothing feels better than being on my bike at night, on the open freeway, getting lost in the music.