Music blasted as we walked through the crowd of people admiring the cars. The dust had settled from the last race, and people were enjoying themselves before the next one started. Kade lit a cigarette, inhaling the smoke as a calm washed over him. He smoked whenever we went to races or if he was stressed. Which seemed to be a lot since Mili came to town. But tonight, we were in the middle of the desert, hours from Ridgewood and the girl who had been on our minds more than both of us wanted to admit.
There were a couple hundred people here, and we came to the desert a few times a year for big races like this. The races rotated places, and the last time we were in this exact spot was ten years ago. We hadn’t raced that night, but tonight we were. Kade had already won a race, and I was up next.
My sky-blue Mazda GT-R was parked next to Kade’s red Camaro, and a few people were surrounding them. They nodded at us, stepping back as we got closer. Over the years, we’d made names for ourselves at the desert races. We didn’t always win, but our records were good enough for people to take notice.
“Gray.” An arm went around my shoulder. “Good to see you two.”
“Hey, Andy,” Kade greeted the guy who had me in a bear hug.
“We missed you guys at the last race,” Andy said, letting me go.
“We were dealing with crew business,” I answered.
Andy nodded. “Life happens. Glad you’re here tonight.”
Kade asked him how the last race went as I snagged the cigarette from his hand and took a long drag. Anticipation for my race had my body buzzing. I loved racing, and it had been way too long. Andy didn’t race. He was the man in charge. He organized the races and made sure all the bets and cash stayed clean. He’d been in the game for a long time, and we’d known him since Vic and Juan took us to the races as kids.
Hardened wrinkles surrounded Andy’s eyes, and scars covered his hands from working on cars his entire life. He owned his own garage and lived a few hours from Ridgewood. I didn’t think I’d ever seen him wear anything other than worn out blue jeans and a black T-shirt. Even though he was in his sixties, he could easily pass for much younger. His blond hair had turned a light gray years ago, and he kept it buzzed short.
A horn blasted through the air, signaling the next race was about to start. I nodded to Kade and Andy before getting into my Mazda. Kade leaned through the window once I rolled it down.
“I bet five hundred on you. Don’t fuck it up,” he told me, his tone playful. I hadn’t lost one race since buying this car. “Be careful.”
I chuckled, putting the car in gear and slowly driving through the crowd to get to the start line. I settled into the leather seat, switching on my favorite playlist. A pure white Corvette C6 was already at the line, and I peered through the windows, seeing nothing. The windows were tinted, making it impossible to see the driver.
A woman dressed in clothes that barely covered everything stood in front of the cars, a red handkerchief in her hand. She looked at the Corvette, and the driver pressed on the gas, showing he was ready. I did the same when the woman looked at me. I turned the volume of my music up as she raised the red cloth above her. My hand hovered over the gearshift, my foot already on the gas pedal.
The woman waved the flag, and the Corvette matched my speed as we flew forward. I kept my window down, feeling the wind hit my face. This track wasn’t straight, there were curves and turns, and it took us around the outskirts of where the cars and crowd were. There were cones spaced wide apart to show where the track was. I downshifted, taking the first curve with ease while taking a slight lead. I glanced in the rearview mirror, barely seeing the headlights of the Corvette through the dust my tires were kicking up. My gut knotted with the excitement of the competition as we both slowed down, taking a sharp turn.
“I don’t think so,” I muttered, jerking the steering wheel to the left when the Corvette tried passing me. My move kept me in the lead, and I glanced in the side mirror, frowning when the Corvette weaved around the cones, leaving the makeshift track. I cursed under my breath when my Mazda suddenly slowed down, even though my foot was still on the gas.
My excitement fizzled to anger when the Corvette quickly passed me, slipping back inside the cones before gunning the engine. I had hit a soft patch of sand, slowing me down enough that there was no way I was going to fucking win. Whoever I was racing against knew that. I turned sharply, hitting a cone as I got back on the hard sand. My eyes were glued to the Corvette’s taillights as I pushed my engine to catch up.
I passed the finish line not even five seconds after the Corvette, and my grip on the steering wheel was tight enough that my knuckles were white. I cruised around the crowd, pulling into the spot next to Kade’s car. To my surprise, the Corvette took the empty spot next to me. I hurried to get out of my seat, wanting to see who the fuck had beaten me because they knew the track better.
“What happened?” Kade asked when I slammed my door shut. “You were winning—”
“I hit soft sand,” I gritted out, keeping my eyes on the Corvette.
“Shit,” Andy said with a frown. “I thought we kept the tracks away from those spots. Sorry, man.”
My response died in my throat when the door of the Corvette opened, and the spiked heel of a black boot hit the ground. The woman stepped out, shaking out her black hair before she caught my eye. My heart stuttered as she grinned, not having to say a word as she gloated over her win.
“Son of a bitch,” Kade muttered. “She’s fucking everywhere.”
Mili was wearing tight white jeans that were tucked into knee-high boots. Her black shirt was tucked into her jeans and had such a low-cut V that her breasts looked fucking incredible. She was turning almost every head in her vicinity. If she was trying to keep a low profile, she was doing a shit job.
Andy stepped forward, studying her before his eyes widened with recognition. “Mili? Is that really you? Shit, it’s been years.”
She had already been heading toward us, and Andy met her halfway, wrapping her in a hug. After a few seconds, she slipped out of his arms, a smile on her face.
“You know her?” Kade asked Andy once they got closer.
“Oh, yeah. She’s been around cars for years,” Andy answered, glancing at her questioningly. “But it’s been a long time since you’ve been to a race. We thought something happened.”
“No,” she said smoothly, “life just got busy.”
I wondered if Andy knew she was Sapphire. It didn’t sound like he did. But it made me wonder what her past was in the car world. She had to have been in California before if she knew Andy, and I was shocked we’d never run into her before this.
“You still with your old man?” Andy asked, making Mili’s eyes flash dangerously before she reined it in. “You two seemed head over heels in love.”
His words had me flexing my fingers as something pretty fucking close to rage seared through my veins. She was with someone? And why the hell did that bother me so much? Kade’s jaw was clenched so tight, I thought he was going to crack a tooth.
“He died. Years ago,” she said curtly.
Kade glanced between Andy and Mili, looking thoughtful, and I knew immediately what he was thinking. Even if Andy didn’t know she was Sapphire, he knew of her past. Maybe he could tell us things she wouldn’t.
“Sorry to hear that,” Andy said, gazing at her with sympathy. “What happened?”
“I heard you sell bikes,” she said, completely changing the subject.
Andy nodded. “Yeah, I do. A lot of the biker clubs in California go through me.”
“I’m in the market. I’ll call you to set up a time to look at what you have if that works.”
“Hey, Andy,” someone called. “A guy over here doesn’t want to pay up on his bet.”
“Sure, Mili, anytime. Excuse me,” Andy muttered, looking annoyed. “I need to handle this.”
He strode away, and Mili leaned against my car, crossing her arms. Most of the crowd was heading toward the start line to watch the next race, leaving the three of us alone.
“Nice race,” Mili told me, looking at my car. “You almost won.”
“How’d you know the sand was soft?” I asked stiffly.
“I’ve raced here before.”
“When?” Kade asked.
She shrugged. “In the past.”
“Can you give us one honest answer?” I grated out.
“Sure. If you want to win a race, don’t use a foreign car.” She grinned at Kade. “At least he has taste. Nothing can beat the Big Three when it comes to cars.”
I scoffed. “This isn’t the sixties. Some of the best race cars are foreign.”
“Obviously, yours isn’t on that list.”
“Stop trying to get under his skin,” Kade snapped. “Did you know we were going to be here tonight?”
“Yes. But that’s not why I came. I wanted to race.”
“Does Andy know who you are?” I asked in a low voice.
Her gaze cut to me. “No. No one here does. Except you two. And that’s how it’ll stay. Understand?”
“But you’ve been around these races,” Kade murmured. “How did we not see you before?”
She waved an arm around. “Look at this crowd. Very easy to blend in. But tonight, I don’t have to. Andy knows me as a girlfriend who hung around because my asshole boyfriend used to race. I never come to things like this and announce my other name. I do that work in the shadows. Makes everything easier.”
It didn’t seem like she was especially sad that her boyfriend was dead. And for some reason, that made my anger ease.
“And you might not have seen me, but I’ve seen you here before.” She was looking through us, as if reliving a memory. “You were here with Vic and Juan.”
“What? When?” I asked, knowing if I had seen her, she wouldn’t have been easy to forget.
“A long time ago,” she muttered, as if she hadn’t meant to tell us. She glanced at the phone in her hand, and something close to fear crossed her face before she pushed off my car. “I have to go.”
She rushed toward her car until Kade stepped in her way. “Go where?”
She had a gun pressed to his chest faster than I had time to see where the hell she pulled it from. “Get the fuck out of my way. I’m not in the mood to play right now.”
Her voice was ruthless, leaving no room for argument. Her eyes bored into Kade’s as if daring him to say a word. It was easy to see how she’d held on to her power for however long she’d been Sapphire. Every inch of her screamed that she was a force to be reckoned with.
Kade looked down at the gun jabbed into his chest before slowly backing away. She bolted to her car, starting it before the door was closed. We watched as she raced off into the night as Andy stepped up beside me.
“She’s leaving?” Andy asked. “Without collecting her winnings?”
I shrugged. “She looked at her phone and said she had to go.”
“How long have you known her?” Kade questioned as her taillights disappeared.
“A long time.” Andy counted a wad of cash as he spoke. “Her boyfriend used to bring her with him. But she never raced before. He was a dick and liked keeping her out of sight.”
“Who was her boyfriend?” Kade asked before I could.
“He went by Chris, but that wasn’t his real name.”
“When did she stop showing up to the races?” I asked.
“Hmm, maybe about five years ago.”
I wondered if that was when she’d taken over the Sapphire name. Or when her boyfriend died. I suddenly wanted to find everything out about her but had a feeling we wouldn’t find out much unless she shared it.
“The last time you had a race here was ten years ago,” Kade stated. “Unless you had a race we didn’t know about.”
“No, ten years ago sounds about right.”
“She was here,” I muttered, looking at Kade.
We were at that race too—with Vic and Juan. That must have been when she’d seen us.
“I can’t remember if she was there,” Andy interjected, his gaze darting between us. “But I know for a fact she didn’t race then.”
“Then she knew someone who raced,” I said.
“Why all the questions?” Andy grinned. “One of you have a crush?”
Kade scoffed. “No. Just curious about the girl who beat Gray’s ass.”
“She barely won,” I grumbled. “And if she’d stayed on the track, I would have fucking won.”
Andy chuckled. “You’ve always been a sore loser, Gray. Guess it’s a good thing you usually win.”
With those words, he walked away to chat with other people. Kade and I moved toward the start line to watch the next race. My mind was racing, trying to connect the dots with what we’d learned about Mili tonight. It wasn’t much. She’d been in our world for as long as we had, but we’d already figured that. People didn’t become Sapphire out of luck.
“Juan wants us to do one of our usual jobs with her next week,” Kade said, lighting up another cigarette. “They’re still pissed about what we did a few nights ago.”
“They want the money and connections.” I rubbed the back of my neck. “They’ll get it. She doesn’t need to do jobs with us for that to happen.”
“We’ll just make sure she’s busy that night.” His eyes gleamed with mischief as he got an idea.
“If she stays in town. She seemed panicked by whatever she saw on her phone.”
Kade shook his head. “I doubt it. I’m sure when we get back, we’ll run into her within a few hours. She has a knack for knowing where the fuck we are at all times.”
“I guess we’ll see.”
