Chapter 2
RILEY
Heat shimmered off the asphalt in thick waves as I kept the Mustang at a careful sixty.
Crossbend was just ahead when a sharp metallic snap cracked from beneath the hood.
The power died instantly, and I gripped the wheel to coast the last fifty yards into a gas station lot before my car rolled to a dead stop beside an air pump.
“Perfect,” I muttered, my voice raw with exhaustion. “Just freaking perfect.”
I sat there a moment, my knuckles white on the steering wheel. Finally forcing myself out into the blistering heat, I popped the hood and stared down at the carnage I already knew I’d find.
The timing chain had snapped clean, and that single failure had turned into a disaster.
The snout of the billet crankshaft was fractured.
The custom-ground roller camshaft had its lobes sheared right off.
This wasn’t a twenty-dollar fix at the auto parts store.
I was staring at a new forged-steel stroker crank, a matching custom-profile cam, a billet double-roller timing set, and an SFI-approved harmonic balancer.
Parts alone would easily clear two thousand five hundred dollars before I bought a single gasket or drop of oil.
I could fix every bit of it myself, but I didn’t have the right tools, lift, or parts. And no money beyond the couple hundred bucks in my pocket.
I braced my hands on the scorching fender and let my head hang for a moment, the sun baking my neck. Three nights on the run, and I’d had most of my cash stolen and now this. The universe really wanted me on my knees.
I straightened, wiped sweat from my eyes, and pulled out my phone. Time to find a garage that wouldn’t completely screw me over.
Leaning against the car, I squinted at my phone screen while the sun tried to bake my brain.
A quick search for nearby performance shops pulled up The Pit almost immediately.
They were one of the best in the South for race and performance work.
Exactly what my poor Mustang needed, if I could somehow afford the repair.
I dialed before I could talk myself out of it.
A gruff voice answered on the second ring. I explained the breakdown in as few words as possible, and they said a tow truck was on the way. I thanked them and hung up, then shoved the phone back in my pocket.
While I waited, I wandered over to the gas station’s shaded front window. Race flyers for Brake Point Run were taped in a few spots, curling at the edges from the humidity.
Behind me, two older locals in faded ball caps stood by the ice machine, and bits of their conversation drifted toward me.
“…heard Nitro’s been dominating lately.”
“Yeah, well, no surprise there. Kane’s guys run this town when it comes to anything with wheels.”
The way they were talking, it sounded like the whole town revolved around engines, rubber, and racing reputation. My kind of place.
I stayed by the window, sweat trickling down my spine, and waited for the tow that would eat up most of my cash.
The driver didn’t say much when he pulled up next to the Mustang. “Called for a tow?”
“Yeah.”
I watched with a mechanic’s critical eye as he set the hooks.
He positioned the wheel lift under the front tires first, then slowly raised the boom until the Mustang’s front end cleared the ground.
Chains rattled, and ratchets clicked tight.
He checked the rear straps twice, making sure nothing would shift on the drive.
The whole process was smooth and professional. The guy clearly knew what he was doing.
“Can I ride with you?”
He dipped his chin toward the truck, and I grabbed my bag from the trunk before I climbed into the passenger seat. After one final safety check, we were rolling.
The drive to The Pit was quick, and he quickly dropped my Mustang in an empty bay.
Jumping out of the tow truck, I felt right at home as I was surrounded by the familiar rhythmic thrum of aggressive camshafts and the thump of an air compressor turning on.
I stood beside my dead Mustang, my arms wrapped around myself, trying to take it all in.
Then he walked out from under a lifted truck on the far side of the bay.
He was easily 6’3” with broad shoulders and a powerful build.
His dark brown hair was cut short, and his strong jaw was clean shaven.
His dark green eyes scanned the shop with calm authority before landing on me.
Racing flags were inked across his throat in black, and a tribal design wrapped around his right arm from elbow to wrist.
I noticed his hands were big, rough, and streaked with grease as he wiped them on a rag. And I could all too easily picture them on my body.
I’d spent my entire life surrounded by mechanics and drivers. Never once had my stomach flipped like this. Heat rushed up my neck that had nothing to do with the Florida heat, but I refused to let him see how rattled I was.
He stopped beside my Mustang, his head tilting slightly. Without a word, he reached down and popped the hood. The metal groaned as it lifted. He leaned in, and his hands moved with purpose, checking a few things by sight and touch.
Then he straightened, his gaze meeting mine. “You’ve got a small exhaust leak, probably a loose manifold bolt or gasket. And the serpentine belt is showing some wear. Idle was probably a bit rough. Right?”
Those were all minor issues I’d planned to fix before my life had imploded.
Irritated, my mouth moved before my brain caught up. “Yeah, I know. The rear alignment’s also compensating for the suspension pull, but none of that compares to the real problem. The timing chain snapped and took the snout of the billet crank and half the lobes off the custom roller cam with it.”
It felt like the whole garage went still. Grinders powered down. Engines on the dynos quieted. And a couple of mechanics paused mid-motion, tools frozen in their hands.
Those dark green eyes scanned me, like he was reading every inch of my soul the same way he’d assessed my car. His broad shoulders squared a fraction more, and something intensely focused settled over his expression, like a switch had flipped.
“Where’d you learn to diagnose like that?”
I shrugged, trying to play it casual even though my pulse was racing for reasons that had nothing to do with the situation I’d found myself in. “I’ve spent more time under hoods than most guys twice my age.”
His head tilted as he continued to study me. “With that rundown and the parts on this car, there’s gotta be more to it.”
“I worked in a racing garage,” I admitted. “But my skills don’t do me much good when I can’t afford the parts I need to get my Mustang running again.”
His jaw flexed, and the air between us suddenly felt heavy with something I didn’t have the energy or the emotional bandwidth to name.
I’d never had a man look at me like I was a puzzle he needed to solve, and certainly not with heat in their eyes.
But now wasn’t the time to explore whatever this was, no matter how many butterflies were swirling in my belly.
“Ryot McCoy,” he murmured. “I run this place.”
His introduction earned him a few odd looks that I didn’t understand.
“Riley Mercer.”
Ryot wiped his hands one more time, then tossed the rag onto a nearby workbench without breaking eye contact. Then he said the last thing I expected.
“I’m not gonna quote you a repair bill right now. I have a better idea. We’re short a good tech. You clearly know your shit. Come work here. I’ll give you a bay, tools, and the parts to fix your Mustang. You work off what you need, and we’ll go from there.”
My mouth opened, closed, then opened again. I swallowed hard, searching his face for the catch, but all I found was an intense gleam in his eyes and a faint trace of grease on his strong jaw.
“You’re serious,” I finally managed, my voice barely above a whisper.
His lips quirked into the smallest hint of a smile. “Dead serious.”
I stood there, every instinct screaming at me to run while the exhausted part of me wondered if I’d just stumbled into the first good thing to happen since Shawn destroyed my life.