Losers: Part I

I’d shown up for the race that night for one reason and one reason only — to win. I didn’t care about giving these lame fucks a night of entertainment. I wasn’t going to put on some big dramatic show. That was what these people were hoping for. They wanted to see Lucas Bent, the guy who couldn’t control his temper, lose control yet again.

But like Manson had said, we’d settle this behind the wheel.

I raced purely for the rush of it. It was one of the least destructive ways I’d found to release my pent-up energy, an outlet for the anxious electricity that made my limbs shake and my mind go hazy. It was this or fighting, this or drugs, and the other guys had done their damnedest to keep me away from both. Bless their bleeding hearts.

The speed and the power of racing was like nothing else. The adrenaline, the split-second decisions, teetering on the edge of complete destruction — I craved it, all of it.

Alex was glaring at me the second I stepped out of the car, and his face darkened even more when I gave him a simple nod and nothing else. He’d invited all these people out here to witness his own humiliation; he just hadn’t realized it yet. He’d even invited…

Fuck. Jessica was here.

I caught myself too late to avoid looking at her. She’d been a goddamn tease since the first time I met her and nothing had changed in the years since. Her short dress left her legs bare, her tits enticingly framed by the bodice. She looked too damn good and it wasn’t fair.

One quick look, and all I could think of was throwing her over the back of my car and fucking her until she screamed my name. Proving to every asshole here, once and for all, exactly where she belonged.

Exactly who she belonged to.

You fuck with one of us, you fuck with all of us. You’re either with us or against us. Maybe the others were fine with her little games, but she made me feel like I was going to lose my mind. She walked the knife’s edge of my patience, an edge that had grown so abysmally thin I was shocked she managed to keep her balance.

The headlights illuminated her gaze; her eyes the same dark green color of an oak tree’s leaves in the middle of summer. They always looked clever, like she was focusing them slightly, like she had a million things churning behind them. And her mouth, her goddamn mouth. It was a sin for a woman to have lips like that.

I could remember perfectly how they’d felt, warm and soft around my shaft as those eyes looked up at me from the floor. That image of her was branded into my brain — how surprised she’d looked when my pierced cock hit the back of her throat, how her eyes had watered as she worked to take me deep.

The tension that had been building in me all week grew even worse. If Jess wanted to watch Alex race, then she was going to watch him lose. I didn’t know why the fuck she considered that bastard her friend. But she’d always surrounded herself with the worst kind of people, like a shield of assholes around her own insecurity.

He probably still thought he had a chance with her. I still remembered the way he used to talk about her, the things he would say when she and her ex couldn’t hear.

That was how this whole damn feud had started. When I’d bashed Alex’s head open with a bottle, it wasn’t just me dealing with some anger issues. It was me dealing with him running his mouth about her, bragging that he’d seen nude photos of her on Kyle’s phone. Whether or not it was true didn’t matter. I’d wanted to fucking kill him and he was lucky I hadn’t.

Jess was a bitch, but Alex was worse. If someone was going to mess with her, it was going to be me or my boys.

I joined Manson, Jason, and Vincent on the far side of the road. Jason didn’t look pleased about the amount of people here, surveying the crowd with the hood of his jacket pulled low. I’d told them they didn’t all have to show up, but they wouldn’t hear of it.

Now that we were out here, I was glad not to be alone. All the people who’d come to watch were friends of Alex. We were on the very edge of town with no one else around. An ideal place for a drag race, but also ideal for an ambush.

“They all look like they came to see blood,” Jason said dryly, shoulders hunching even more as he shoved his hands into his pockets. “This is sketchy as hell.”

“Stick close to each other,” Manson said. “Don’t let anyone bait you.”

I wished someone would bait me. I wanted to hit something, especially as Alex suddenly gunned his engine, yelling out the passenger side window, “Come on, Bent! Let’s fucking go!”

Jason and Vincent stayed near the WRX as Manson walked with me to the car. I settled into the driver’s seat as Alex burned out his tires, smoke pouring across the asphalt.

“You’ve got this,” Manson said, his voice low as he leaned against the open window. “Remember what he really wants out of this. He’ll be looking for an excuse to fight.”

“So don’t lose my temper,” I said, nodding slowly. “One of my strongest qualities.”

I could see Jess from here, sitting on the guardrail near the bridge. She was looking at me, at us. Her eyes were wide, the smoke from Alex’s tires curling around her feet. Why the hell was she out here, getting involved in something like this? She needed someone to protect her from all this petty shit, from the snakes among her own friends.

I was a fool to even let that thought cross my mind.

“Don’t let her distract you,” Manson said. I didn’t have to give him an explanation for my sudden frustration. He already knew. “Keep your eyes on the road.”

“Why did she even come?” I muttered.

Was it Alex? Had she come here to watch him? He was her type, but goddamn it, she was too good for him. The thought pissed me off and my fingers tightened on the wheel.

Focus. That was all I needed to do. Block out the bullshit and see only that long stretch of black asphalt in front of me. I released a heavy breath, rolling the tension out of my shoulders. I imagined the G-force pulling me back in my seat, the engine roaring, the smell of smoke. God, it was better than any high. Nothing could come close, except…

I glanced at her again. Just one look.

She was looking back.

“Ah, fucking hell.” Manson’s voice snapped my attention back. He was glaring off to the side, a grimace on his face. “Your devoted fangirl is here.”

“My fucking what?” I hitched myself up in my seat, looking back. A woman with long dark hair was making a beeline for us. I should have expected it, considering she had a habit of showing up to street races. Vincent and Jason were making over-exaggerated motions of disgust and sudden death from the side of the road as Veronica strutted up to the car.

“Good luck in the race, Lucas,” she said. “I’ll be starting you boys off today.” It figured she would be the flagger. It gave her an excuse to stay close. Her tits were pushed up so far they were nearly bursting out of her shirt, not that I was complaining. I liked tits. I didn’t think there was fuckall wrong with showing tits.

I just didn’t like who these tits belonged to.

“Give him space, Veronica,” Manson said. I thought he was going to physically recoil when she pouted and brushed her hand against his neck.

“Aw, don’t be jealous, Manson.” She was tracing the line of the snake tattooed around his neck, her long nails leaving a pink trail on his pale skin. “I can stand on the sidelines with you until Lucas gets back.”

“Don’t wait for me,” I said. She didn’t like me, she didn’t like any of us. But that hadn’t stopped her from trying to convince me to fuck her.

“A kiss for luck?” She leaned down in the window, managing to bump her ass against Manson at the same time. Okay, enough of this shit. I turned in my seat, about to tell her to fuck off —

The passenger door opened.

“Hey, Veronica, babe!” Jessica’s voice was dripping with so much fake sweetness it was practically syrup. She leaned over me from the passenger seat, waving her hand at Veronica before she gave Manson’s wrist a brief squeeze.

I didn’t know what exactly she was doing, but she’d staked her claim like a pro. I didn’t let anyone but the boys sit in this car, but fuck, I could make an exception. Jess could sit her ass on my goddamn face if she wanted.

Veronica’s lip curled as she took a small step back. “Oh, Jess, how nice to see you. Didn’t know you were back in town.” Her smile had become a grimace. If she were a cat, she would’ve been hissing. “I think the last time I saw you was…” She paused, with a little giggle. “It was in a video actually. From some Halloween party, I think? You were…well…” She let it hang. I glanced over at Jess, but she wasn’t even blushing. Not the slightest hint she was bothered at all.

Damn. That confidence made my jeans tighten.

“Move your ass, Veronica,” Manson said. “Unless you want your foot to get run over.”

Her eye twitched before she forced a smile back onto her face and turned away with a flick of her long hair over her shoulder. “Fine. Let’s get it started, shall we?” She sauntered forward, stopping and turning to face us once she stood even with the front of our cars. She didn’t look pleased as she lifted her arms and shouted, “Are we ready?”

There were cheers and shouts from the crowd. Alex revved his engine, and I adjusted my hands on the wheel, glancing over at Jessica right as she plugged in her seatbelt.

“You gonna move your ass too?” I said. I hit play on my phone and turned up the music, letting the heavy beat fill the cab.

“No.” She settled a little more comfortably in the seat. “I’m along for the ride.”

I shook my head in disbelief. What the hell had this night turned into? “Hear that, Manson? She’s along for the ride.”

“Better give her a good ride, then,” he said. “Turn up your AC. I think she’s feeling heated.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about, Manson. I’m fucking — fucking fine.” She hiccupped in the middle of her sentence. Poor girl was blitzed.

“Sure you are,” Manson said, giving me a wink. “We’re going to have a little talk soon about your drinking habits, Jess.”

“My drinking habits?” she sputtered. “The hell do you — Hey!” But Manson stepped back, waving at her with a smirk as he joined Jason and Vincent on the side of the road.

She was in for the ride of her life.

“You’re looking a little green, Jess,” I said, gripping the shifter.

She laughed forcibly. “You wish. As if I give a fuck where your dick has been. That goes for all of you.”

“Are you sure about that?” I slowly let out the clutch as I revved the engine, the handbrake keeping me in place as my back tires spun out. My skin was on fire, my heart was pounding a million miles a minute. That open stretch of road was calling me, the engine rumbling through every nerve. Veronica began the countdown. Five…four…three… “I’m willing to bet you give a fuck about this dick ending up in your mouth again.”

“Oh, shut up, Lucas, you —”

I didn’t get to find out what special name she’d come up with for me. Veronica waved her arms, and I slammed on the gas, the engine roaring as the El Camino’s power was finally unleashed.