Chapter 40
FORTY
JESSICA
Ava screams like a banshee in the backseat, clutching the handlebar for dear life.
I tighten my grip on the wheel and take a deep breath to steady my fluttering chest. The rush of driving this fast never gets old, especially the sense of freedom it brings.
The engine groans beneath me, and its vibrations travel through my seat and into my bones.
Chris’s car isn’t as powerful as Kane’s Bugatti, but it still packs a punch, and I’m loving every second, even if Ava is convinced we’re about to die.
Rain pops her pink gum, then tells me to floor it and gives me an expectant look as she purses her lips around another bubble that’s getting bigger by the second.
“I’m already flooring it,” I point out as the speedometer continues climbing.
She pops her gum, then scoffs. “This car is a piece of junk.”
“Don’t let my brother hear you say that,” I comment as we pass the finish line.
There’s no one out here at this early hour.
When I knocked on Rain’s door this morning, she looked at me like I was asking her to sacrifice babies.
It was barely seven, and we had classes, but I couldn’t bear another minute of wallowing in my thoughts.
I needed a day off with my friends. Needed a kick of adrenaline.
Rain might not have been enthused about my showing up that early.
Ava, however, was already waiting when we rolled up in my brother’s old Camaro.
As soon as I texted her to let her know we were on our way, her butler or some other equally bored-looking man gave her a ride to the iron gates on a golf cart. We caught the back of his balding head when he drove away again.
Rain had said wow as Ava scooted in beside Summer and asked what she was wearing and why she was dressed like they were going on a spy mission.
And she is.
Dressed head to toe in black.
The only thing missing is a ski mask, but I doubt she can fit one in her tiny purse, which is only big enough to hold her phone and lipstick.
Ava checked her makeup and hair in a pocket mirror and smacked her lips before explaining that I told her we were getting up to no good and that she was down for anything.
Then she snapped the pocket mirror shut, noticing Rain’s sheer black top with leather bra cups and choker before slipping between the seats and looking down at Rain’s platform stilettos with a red leopard design.
I admire her. If I tried to walk in something like that, I’d break an ankle, but Rain has loved heels since she was old enough to secretly wear her mom’s stripper heels.
Ava then questioned whether Rain could run in her high heels as we pulled away from the curb. “What if we need to escape the cops? I’m warning you all now that my father will kill me if I get into trouble.”
As it turns out, Ava is a screamer. And no, we’re not talking about sex.
“Haven’t you been a passenger in a race before?” I ask. I would have thought she’d experienced races, since she hangs around that crowd, after all.
“Hello,” she says, paler than I’ve ever seen. “I’ve been studying in England for the last few years. All they race over there are tiny bumper cars. You won’t catch me dead in one.”
I slow down at the far end, turn around, and look back down the stretch of empty road.
My driving wasn’t perfect by any means. I eased the car over and corrected too late, which caused the back end to give the smallest twitch.
I can almost hear Kane’s voice in my head telling me where I went wrong and how to avoid it in the future.
“Is this it?” Rain asks as I finally get back to the starting line. “We came here to drive up and down this road?”
“We’re practicing,” I explain. “Kane’s been teaching me to race, and I’m going to win here someday. Mark my words, Rain.”
“You little slut. You never told me that. I bet that wasn’t the only thing he was teaching you out here.”
I grin, shifting into first gear. She’s not wrong. I’ve had some insane orgasms on this stretch of road.
Ava groans and falls back when she realizes we’re about to go again. “You never told me we’d be doing this,” she grumbles, which is actually cute. I can’t believe I used to think she was intimidating. She’s a big softie.
I wink at her in the rearview. “You said you were up for anything.”
“Robbery, which I hear you excel at, minor vandalism, light trespassing, maybe a dramatic getaway, but vehicular manslaughter feels a touch ambitious. I draw the line at becoming roadkill.”
I rev the engine. “Relax. I’m practically a pro.”
That makes Rain laugh, but then she gasps and smacks me on the arm. “Girl, you need a starter girl.”
What?
She’s out of the car in an instant, swaying her hips and flicking her hair over her shoulder. What is she doing now?
Summer, the tiny little thing, climbs into the passenger seat and bats off Ava when she tries to pull her back.
“Don’t leave me back here.”
We ignore her as we lean forward. Rain hikes up her leather skirt and wiggles out of her red thong.
I gasp. “Is she?”
“She is.” Summer giggles.
And then we combust into laughter when she holds them up with a hand on her hip and a glint in her eye. God, I love that girl. She’s always up for a good time.
The engine purrs like a kitten beneath us, and I lift my foot off the brake to find the biting point. I never used to think much of my brother’s car, but now I understand why he's spent countless hours working on it in the front yard.
I focus on the thong.
“Promise me one thing,” I say, and grip the steering wheel a little tighter. “Don’t let my brother know I raced his car.”
He’d never let me hear the end of it because no one is allowed to race it but him.
As the red lace flutters to the ground, I gun it. The wheels spin, kicking up a cloud of white behind us before the tires finally bite and we tear past Rain.
Now all I need is an opponent
I pull into the gas station, and my pulse crawls up my throat as a black Range Rover follows us in and parks near the air pumps.
This is ridiculous. I’m just paranoid, that’s all. It’s been weeks since I last saw the silver car. There’s no one following me anymore, but tell that to my brain.
With the engine idling, the Range Rover sits—dark, looming, and waiting. No one gets out. The windows are tinted, making it hard to see inside. The car just… sits there.
I gulp, staring at it in my rearview mirror, but Rain suddenly snaps her fingers in my face, and I almost jump out of my skin.
“Whoa. Calm down,” she says with a laugh. “What got you so spooked?”
After one last uneasy look in the rearview mirror, I shake my head and rub the space between my eyebrows. “Nothing. I just spaced out.”
This paranoia has to stop. No one is following us. It’s just a car. So what if there’s a Range Rover in the Falls? So what if it’s a vehicle that no one in this part of town can afford?
So fucking what? It doesn’t mean anything.
Irritated with myself for letting my anxiety get the better of me, I exit the car, refill the tank, and head inside the gas station to pay.
I’ve got a few crumpled bills in the back of my phone case, just enough to pay for a quarter of a tank.
It comes off easily, and I unfold the bills as I walk to the drink cooler.
After this, I won’t have any money left for groceries, but if I don’t refill the tank, Chris will know I took his precious Camaro for a joyride, and he’ll flip.
The bell above the door jingles, announcing another arrival. I look around, seeing a man in a high-visibility vest paying for gas. Aside from him, there’s no one else in the shop.
You’re paranoid again. Reaching for a bottled water, I ignore the growing unease. Shutting the cooler, I catch sight of a tall shadow behind me and spin around.
It’s Mr. Ravencourt, Kane’s father.
He reaches around me to grab a bottle of water, and I shrink back, but there’s nowhere else to go.
“It’s a hot day out there, Miss Holt,” he comments as he shuts the door, but he doesn’t step back. I’m trapped between him and the cooler. What is he doing here? Was he following us? I think about the Range Rover parked outside. When did I first notice it?
My heart pounds as I press back against the glass. The crop top I have on ends just below my boobs, and now I regret cutting it so high when I feel the chill against my spine.
Kane’s father stares down at me like I’m gum beneath his shoe.
An inconvenience he wants scraped off before anyone of importance notices.
He wears a long, dark coat over a perfectly fitted suit despite the heat, and leather gloves, which make me flinch as he cups my chin and examines me like an animal at a cattle market. I flinch back, but he tightens his grip.
“And to think such a pretty little face could become such a big problem.”
He releases me and trails his gloved fingers over my exposed belly, but I slap his hand away, refusing to play his sick games. What does he want? Why is he even here?
“Go to hell!”
As I try to move past him, he seizes my arm and pulls me back.
“Where do you think you’re going, Miss Holt? I’m not done with you yet.”
“What do you want?” I snap. My heart races so fast, it’s frightening.
Kane’s father leers down at me with a sadistic grin, then drags his thumb along my jaw and tilts my head sideways, his gaze running over my face and neck. “Exquisite,” he murmurs, sick lust written all over his face.
But then he steps back, grabbing our drinks and setting them aside on the nearest shelf before pulling out a checkbook and pen from his pocket. “How much will it take?” he asks as he writes a check.
I blink, confused. “How much will what take?”
He keeps writing, then rips it out and holds it to me. “This should be a satisfactory amount.”
I take the note when he practically grabs my hand and pushes it into my palm. “What’s this?” I ask before glancing at it, but as soon as I do, my eyes bug out.
Wow. I’ve never seen such a large sum of money in my life. “Half a million dollars?” I manage to gasp.
What the hell is this?