Turn & Burn (15 page)

Marley’s biological father, Brad Taggart, had also been a NASCAR driver. After he’d died in an on-track accident, Jesse had vowed to look after his young wife and brand new baby girl. In the process, he’d fallen in love with Kim Taggart and had broken off his relationship with Robyn to marry Kim, even though he’d known Robyn was pregnant. He didn’t give a damn that he was abandoning Caroline to a mother who’d rapidly become an alcoholic.

NASCAR was like a daytime soap opera.

The idea that Caroline had to settle for illegal street racing, while Jesse’s stepdaughter had the weight of his career behind her bid to drive for NASCAR, pissed me off.

You bet your ass, I’d give up my virginity again to the disgusting fat bastard. Even today, I’d do whatever I had to in order to save Caroline’s car.

At least one good thing had come out of that horrible summer.

While I gave Colt a mental middle finger, Caroline jumped into her new toy. She lowered her window with the push of a button, while Jonny took her seat at my side and labored to turn the Mustang’s window crank.

He hooked the safety harness. “Fire it up.” Shoving his arm out the window, he slapped the Mustang’s roof. “Get the tires hot and let’s see what you can do.”

I turned the key in the ignition. The Mustang’s engine roared to life. I could barely see past the monstrous chrome breather jutting from the engine compartment, something new since the last time I’d driven this vehicle. The hood rested against the wall in the garage. That missing expanse of candy apple red metal bothered me.

Lifting the emergency brake, I pressed the gas pedal. The back wheels spun on the wet asphalt. The rear of the car swung toward the edge of the road. My heart lurched and I let off the gas.

“What’re you doing?” Jonny demanded. “Heat ‘em up, Shelby.”

“Didn’t you feel them slip? It’s too wet.”

“Then back the fuck up and get in the center of the road. You ain’t got a prayer of winning with cold tires.” His eye roll said I was an idiot for not drying the pavement under my starting position, but I’d be damned if I wanted to slide into Caroline’s new car if the Mustang decided to slip in the opposite direction.

Glaring, I jammed the shifter into reverse and backed up about twenty feet. His subtle headshake made me want to slap him. The only sign Caroline’s engine was even running was the small plume of smoke drifting from her exhaust—until she started her burnout. White smoke roiled from her tires.

Jerking up the hand brake, I shoved the gas pedal to the floor, shifted into first, and let the clutch out about halfway. At first, the tires just spun. Finally, the moisture burned off and the stench of burning rubber drifted into the car. Smoke blanked my view of the deserted lane in the rear view mirror.

I closed my eyes, trying to focus on the throb of the engine. The growl from the motor sounded deeper than I recalled. More intimidating.

What if the sheriff came out because someone called to complain of the noise?

Or because I’d basically dared him to keep an eye on what happened on this road?

I knew I had to quit stalling, so I let off the hand brake and eased to the line. Jonny threw the door open to squint at the faint white line of spray paint. “Whoa!”

I set the emergency brake again and hit the gas. The rubber was hot now, so the car didn’t slip before the tread grabbed the asphalt.

“Better.” Jonny grinned and patted my knee. “Take her ass down. So fucking tired of seeing these folks who can’t drive with these high dollar cars.”

I managed not to smile. Maybe I could entice him to race Caroline next. It would do my heart good to see him have to go to his knees and—

Uh, no. Not going there. What the fuck am I thinking?

I took a deep breath and slid my hands to the two o’clock and ten o’clock positions on the unfamiliar wheel. I narrowed my focus to the two white lines bracketing the deserted lane, but in my mind, I heard jeering male voices. My channel clenched as I felt ghostly thrusts from men I didn’t know.

“Ready!”

My concentration faded as sweat trickled down the back of my neck. I just wanted to get out of here. I dropped my right hand to the shifter. Letting the clutch out, I stomped the gas pedal to the floor, letting the handbrake do all the work.

“You burn out that brake and you’re screwed. Doubt there’s any place open to get a new part. Quit doggin’ it, Shelby.”

I ignored Jonny’s ill-tempered bark.

“Set!” In my head, I pictured Caroline’s taillights. There was no way I could beat her fancy new car. Not in this old Ford.

“Go!” Jonny barked. I let the clutch out. The rear tires made a gratifying grab. The front tires lifted off the asphalt. A slight lift of the front end was normal, but the Mustang just kept getting air under the front tires. My heart knocked against my ribs but I kept my foot on the gas.
What goes up, must come down.

The front end kept rising, until I could see wet asphalt through the spaces in the engine compartment.

It’s gonna flip.
I yanked my foot off the gas pedal. Relief sent a hot flush across my skin when the tires dropped to the pavement. Pressing the gas again, I yelled, “No!” when the back tires skidded sideways, toward the woods. I spun the wheel in the direction of the skid and jerked my foot to the brake.

Caroline’s taillights flashed—a quarter mile ahead.

“Fucking amateur hour.” Jonny scowled. “Jesus, Shelby, you gave up a full second before you even got off the line. Then you lost control of the goddamn car.”

“Well, I know all that!” Puffing my cheeks, I blew out a breath. “I just don’t know why it happened.”

His eyes widened. He unhooked his safety harness and made a grab for his phone. “See if you can get her backed up. Think you can handle that?” He jabbed a number and put the device to his ear. “Yo, Colt? Seriously, what’s Plan B?”

I eased forward so I could straighten, then reversed so hard, he snapped forward, but to my annoyance, he slammed a hand to the dash so I didn’t get to see him bleed. When I had the car lined up, I turned off the engine and rolled out. Slamming the door, I stalked from one end of the car to the other, watching Caroline’s smooth reverse through narrowed eyes.

She hung out of the window. “What happened?”

“I don’t know what the hell Colt’s done to this damn thing. It’s... it’s possessed.” I threw my hands out. Jonny let out a loud groan and slid down in his seat. Slapping a hand to the side of his face, he spoke into the phone, but I was too pissed to listen while he tattled.

“C’mon, Shelby. Let’s give it another go,” Caroline urged. “You just gotta get used to the car, is all. You can’t quit. We just got started.” She giggled. “And I still got gas in the tank. Fire it up, girlfriend. Let’s go, before my babysitter calls to say I need to come home.”

Easy to say sitting on sixty grand worth of new car. And why, oh, why, did she mention that baby? How could Colt ask her to do this? What if something happened? If the car continued to malfunction, I might lose control and hit her vehicle. If she got hurt, how would she work? I’d never be able to forgive myself if I made it impossible for her to look after her child.

“I’m telling you, it’s that... that,”—stabbing a finger at the monstrosity sprouting from the engine, I spluttered—“whatever the fuck that is. It’s not set right or something.” I crossed my arms over my chest and bent my knees, stooping to glare through the window until Jonny slung his door open and got out.

After scanning the engine compartment, he glanced up. “Huh. Hang on, I see the problem.” He reached in to wiggle a belt on the chrome plated phallic symbol the guys called a breather.

“Oh, okay.” He straightened with a smile. “You were right. All good now. Let’s go.”

“Do you think I was born yesterday? How many damn hours have I spent watching Caine and Colt play around in this engine? You didn’t fix a goddamn thing.”

“Because there’s nothing to fix.” His reasonable tone made me clench my fists. “Let’s try again.”

“Grrr!” I yanked the door open and flopped into the seat. Feeling for the lever, I tried to adjust the seat forward. The seat slid forward the extra inch I needed, but there didn’t seem to be a catch at the right spot.

“We didn’t make any adjustments to the upholstery. You need to worry about some shit that might help.” He blew a raspberry.

“I will slap you.” I wrenched the safety harness over my shoulder.

He ducked his head to study the side mirror before he cut hard eyes to mine. “Do I need to explain what would happen next?”

His hot and cold act reminded me too much of Colt. “Look, Jonny, I don’t know what kind of game you’re playing, but I left you standing in that parking lot yesterday because I don’t want what you have to offer.”

He raked his hands through hair that was already a hot mess. “Thank God you did. I need to play nice with the Hannah family. Giving their little sister a much-needed tumble would’ve blown up in my face. But—”

“No worries. I would never out you.”

Relief washed over his face. Which, in turn, made me relax, now that I had an explanation for why he’d cooled off around Dale and the boys.

The crunch of tires made me glance into the rear view mirror. Caine skidded to a halt off the side of the lonely lane and got out of Dale’s truck. Waving to Caroline, he strode to the GT500’s engine compartment and peered at the blower. To my relief, he began to nod after a moment’s perusal.

“What’s the matter with it, Caine?” Caroline called.

“Lubrication issue.” Caine straightened and stalked to my door. Yanking it open, he barked, “Get out, Shelby.”

I slid out of the car, but didn’t get why Caroline started clapping. “Oh, this is the best Christmas gift ever,” she squealed.

Looking from her to Caine, I tried to catch up. “So, you brought what you need to fix it?”

Caine curled a hand around my arm. “The car doesn’t need lubricating. You do. Spread your legs.”

I jerked from his grasp, alarmed by the hard thump his commanding tone sent to my girlie bits. “No! I’m not the stupid girl who does whatever you say anymore, you bastard.” I had plenty more to say, but Jonny’s presence saved Caine from hearing it.

He took the wide stance I was learning to hate and crossed his arms over his chest. “Now, just hear me out. After Jonny called, I got to thinkin’. When I taught you to drive, I mixed racin’ up with sex in your head. I think that’s your problem, because all that big blower’s doin’ is gettin’ more air to the fuel mix, so you can fly.”

I wanted to scream, but kept my voice low. “You’ve been here all of one minute, Caine. You don’t know what my problem is.” His grin told me I’d misspoken. I hurried to say, “What the car’s problem is, I mean.”

The way his eyes narrowed made me wish I wasn’t backed up against the Mustang’s door.

He lifted those damn broad shoulders. “You can fight your nerves, or whatever’s holding you up from making a clean start. You can keep swearing it’s a mechanical problem, when we all know it ain’t. Or, you can ask me to wipe everything out of your head except the thought of how good Caroline’s little tongue is gonna feel when you kick her ass.”

Caroline’s cry rang through the silent woods. “Oh, in her dreams. I’ve been waitin’ on this for a long time. Hope you ate some rich girl pussy at college, Shelby. I ain’t got time for no amateur head.”

I wrenched around to stare over the top of the car, but I was too damn short and her new car sat too low for me to see her, so I just yelled. “Do you get head from many women, Caroline?”

“No, baby.” She giggled. “I been savin’ my girl-on-girl cherry for you all this time. Can’t wait to feel those dainty fingers slidin’ in and out of my pussy, even though I doubt you can make me scream. Maybe Caine and this hot little number you brought along will dive right in for seconds. But all you’re gonna get is my cream on your chin.”

“I grew up in the wrong goddamn town,” Jonny blurted. “Fuck me, are y’all serious?”

Caroline’s teasing tone evaporated. “Get her ass behind the wheel and find out.” She gunned the Viper’s engine, then let the motor idle. “If she can get that bitch off the start line, that is.”

I tried to think of a way to back out of this, but all I could think about were all the nights spent out here that culminated in the best sex of my life. And how close Caine stood. I realized I stared at the growing bulge in his Wranglers and jerked my gaze to his face.

Caine grinned like he’d learned how from the devil himself. “The Shelby I used to know would be christening Caroline’s hood in... oh, maybe fifteen seconds from now. If you let me and Jonny help, you can make her use her tongue for somethin’ besides talkin’ smack. Or... not.”

Heat flashed over my skin, leaving a fine film of perspiration. The hard thump in my clit made me squeeze my thighs together. Caine’s grin said he knew that, too.

The promise of explosive orgasms that shook me to the core was something I should resist, but four years of lackluster sex danced in my brain. Blood rushed to my folds and I was already wet. I’d taken enough Psychology courses to know that Caine might have a point about the operant conditioning that made my brain connect sex with racing. Every time I’d raced in the past, I’d been aroused out of my mind. All I’d wanted was to hit that finish line and collect my trophy fuck.

Why not go along with this? I’d almost fucked Jonny the day before—and still wanted to. Fucking Caine might be the best way—the only way—to get him to screw Colt, metaphorically speaking, if I could figure out a way to do that.

“You better know how this is done, Caroline.” Spinning, I yanked open the door and gripped the top edge of the doorframe, butting my ass against Caine’s groin.

His chuckle sent a shiver down my spine. Or maybe it was due to the way he gripped my hips. “Nice try, but you ain’t in charge. Pull those pants all the way down. Then ask Jonny real nice if he’d put his fingers in your pussy. My palm’s itchin’ to get reacquainted with your ass.”