Chapter 3
The smell of something artery-clogging wafted down the street when I stepped out of my apartment building.
I'd been living in a dimly lit, one-bedroom place when I first moved to the city.
I'd stayed in some shitholes in my time, my childhood home included.
The Unseen didn't fund their agents enough to afford luxury.
Adelaide helped me get my current apartment and a job working at her foundation.
It was more generous than I deserved, and I wouldn't betray her trust in me for anything. I hovered on the steps, wondering what Beck would say when I told him I wasn't coming back. Would he even care? There was space for me in this city.
A sleek car pulled up beside me. The motor hummed with possibilities.
"You need a lift?" Ray waved a hand at me.
A tingle ran down my spine and up again. I'd just been ogling Jonah, I shouldn't be salivating after Adelaide's ex-fiancé, now current fake boyfriend. The idea made my head spin. Perhaps I'd been around Adelaide too long. The idea of having multiple partners had become normal.
Ray arched a dark eyebrow, and I realized I'd been staring at him.
"I already ordered a car." I stared down at my phone to notice my ride had canceled.
They didn't want to go to the edge of Greenich Bay either. Just barren hills, carved with long, winding roads.
I cursed quietly. "And that's not happening, so I guess the answer is yes."
I grabbed the door handle and slipped inside.
The rich scent of leather filled my nostrils, paired with something clean and sharp.
Ray's cologne. I almost got out. This was too intimate.
But then Ray smiled. Bright enough to banish my misgivings and flirty enough to make me want to make mistakes.
The veins on his hands popped as he squeezed the wheel.
"Where to, Lara?"
I pressed my palms to my thighs and tried to pull myself together.
"Howie Barbecue, quickest would be the Graham Freeway." I waited for him to pull it up on his maps, but he only revved the car with a flirty flash of his smile again.
"Quick? No fun in that."
My stomach swooped as he tore down the street.
A horn blared out after us like a starting siren.
Ray treated every car on the road like they were his opponent.
Swerving, undertaking, and being a nuisance as he wove in and out of the traffic.
He missed the turn off the Graham Freeway and took another road.
"Nice car." I stroked the leather.
Ray tore his gaze from the road and grinned.
"Her name is Barbara. Bentley Continental, one of my favs." He stroked the wheel with a lingering touch and stared lovingly at the dash.
"Barbara. Did she come with that name?" I held my breath as Ray careened around a turning car.
My heart thundered in my chest. Adrenaline licked through my veins like flames. The burn of it warmed me, and I craved more.
"I name all my ladies. Barbara is my best girl. Then there's Connie, Regina, Betty, Linda, and Franny. Teresa is in the shop, but she's a beauty. Vanessa was my original Dodge Viper, but she's no more." His childish glee dulled to a pout.
"Workplace accident?" I alluded to his reputation, and he let out a sharp bark of laughter.
My chest warmed with the ease of our conversation. Beck was on my mind, and how different it was talking to him. He set snares in the space of his words that left me breathless. In contrast, Ray was relaxed and playful. Maybe it was the high-speed car ride that made me drunk on adrenaline.
"You know an awful lot about me, and I know nothing about you. You work for Adelaide? Roommates and colleagues? Invite me to your next pajama party, won't you?"
I wrinkled my nose. Ray pumped the brakes, cutting his hurtling pace.
The edge of Greenich Bay loomed. We passed a bus stop covered in shattered glass.
It reminded me of the neighborhood I grew up in.
The graffiti on the buildings grew bolder, creeping across shopfronts like the artist knew there would be no repercussions.
There were more vacant buildings than occupied.
"I run PR for the Orazio Foundation. And no boys allowed at pajama night."
"You must know some of Adelaide's other dealings if you're not scared to get in my car."
Ray pulled into a parking lot. He kept his hands on the wheel while he stared at me. I knew more about Adelaide than she realized, and she earned my respect before she knew my name.
"I'm not scared of you," I chuckled.
I'd known too many dangerous men and learned when they were truly worthy of my fear. Beck was one of them. Underneath his painted smiles was a gaping nothingness. Even that hadn't stopped me from falling in love with him.
Perhaps I had a thing for dangerous men.
"You sure? Normally, when I drive like just now, my passengers are furious or horny from adrenaline. Hate fucking is good, but sex after you think you're going to die? Barbara has seats that lean right back, if you're so inclined."
I rolled my eyes and got out of the car. He wasn't wrong about fucking when you thought you were going to die. My thighs clenched as I remembered Beck and the last time I'd seen him.
Angelo Amato should have been a simple job, a casino-owning gang leader who needed to be eliminated. But he'd known I was coming. Now the memory of that night was forever etched in my mind.
Ray slammed his car door and jogged to my side. "Is that no?"
"You didn't go that fast. Feel." I snatched Ray's hand and pressed it to my chest.
His hand was a warm weight over my shirt, the touch riding the line of innocent and suggestive. His gaze dropped to my lips.
"I'll have to try harder next time. Maybe I'll take you for a spin in Franny. She makes my speed-loving heart want to fall out. Can confirm, her back seats are also comfortable."
"Didn't say I wasn't down to fuck. Just that I'm not scared. I've always had a thing for boys with fast cars, even lost my virginity in the back of a Torana."
I stepped back as Ray's eyes dilated, and his Adam's apple bobbed. This was playing with fire, but I liked it. The silky potential was delicious against my goose-bumped skin.
"Is that right? You don't seem the type."
"You should have seen me when I was younger." I let out a sigh. Nostalgia held me tight in its sharp grip. "I was reckless. Trying to make my mom worried, like anything would have brought her out of her drunken stupor."
Ray flicked me a look and hummed with interest.
"Tell me more, little wild child, Lara. Did you enjoy being rebellious in the back of a Torana? I can give you a better time in my Ferrari?"
A car sped past us, and its occupant let out a cloud of smoke through a half-cracked window.
Adrenaline bubbled in my veins, nostalgic.
The minute I got a taste of this fire, the heart-pumping, lung-gasping mix of fear-terror-excitement that made my cells want to pop.
It made me so good at my job. I ran headlong into this feeling, rather than to safety like I should.
"Trent, my Torana guy, thought I was a prude.
So, I marched right up and planted a kiss on his stupid mouth.
Turns out I wasn't as uptight as he thought I was, and we ended up in his car after a few dates.
But let's be real. What sixteen-year-old is really thinking about his partner getting off as well? "
Ray's lips spread in a smug smile, and he winked at me.
"You'll never find a lady complaining about their time with me, when I was sixteen or otherwise. Happy to give you a firsthand demonstration," he offered out the corner of his mouth, low and secretive.
I pushed through the swinging door of Howie Barbecue, and the scent of slow-cooked, juicy meat barreled up my nostrils.
Outside, the street was deserted but every single table inside was full except one.
Ray placed his hand on the small of my back and moved us over to an empty booth.
The menu had red and white stripes, like a classic diner, but thumping bass growled through the speakers.
"Didn't you and Adelaide just make it official?"
"Correction. I arranged with Adelaide to make her ex-boyfriends jealous. In return, she's going to help rehabilitate my reputation," Ray explained.
I cataloged every peel of paint and crack in the ceiling.
Every stare that lingered too long. A few snagged on Ray.
Recognition sparked but quickly faded. No-one seemed perturbed, drawn back to their heaped plates.
People knew who he was, but they didn't care.
Details rushed in, and I collected each one like second nature.
"Bad boy, Ray." I bopped my finger on his nose. "Needs a lesson in manners."
His eyes warmed like dark spirits, and thirst gripped my throat like a vise.
"Tell me what you want?" He jerked his head to the menu.
I wanted to speed down the highway with the window open and only the sound rushing in my ears.
To exist without the prickle on the back of my neck, that forced me to think about every word that came out of my mouth.
I didn't regret the choice I'd made at eighteen, but I'd outgrown it.
The time in Greenich Bay had been like convalescence, and I knew with certainty what I needed now.
An unleashing.
"Let's get a number two to share, yeah? And a lemonade, please."
Ray licked his lips. "I'm always happy to share."
My thoughts went to Jonah, scowling at us when we left and, incredulously, to Beck.
Would he share me with them? I'd really been around Adelaide too long if I imagined all three of them in my bed.
I couldn't have gathered a more motley crew, who'd more likely tear each other's throats out than share me.
My phone buzzed, and I saw three new messages from another unknown number.
Unknown: Check in.
Unknown: Answer me, bitch.
Unknown: I don't like being ignored.