Pedal to the Metal: Love's Drivin' but Fate's Got the Pole (The 'Cuda Confessions Book 3) (10 page)

“Where’s my dash cam?” I interrupted. “Did it break in the wreck?”

“Oh, wait’ll you see this.” Caine spun a dial on the console with a fingertip. “This car has electronics fit for NASA, Shelby, no joke. So, I took the liberty of installin’ a state-of-the-art camera. Dad sprung for the new wheels. Jonny helped me design the skin, and we all pitched in to install it. But the camera’s from me. Happy birthday.”

They’d bought me gifts? This was a first. “Uh, thanks. That’s... awesome.”

“Your site needs some fresh videos.” He winked.

“Your site needs to die and be resurrected.”

He burst out laughing. “I came prepared to beg you to take it over. I wanted to ask you to do it from the git-go. But, Dad said, between that knock on the head and the broken arm, you had all you could handle, just dealin’ with school. Be glad to hand off the login info if you’re feelin’ frisky. Put whatever you need to fix it up on Dad’s card.”

“Really?” I’d re-designed that site in my head five different ways already.

“Yes, really. Goddamn, that shit’s harder than it looks. Got a whole new appreciation for geeks now.”

“Who you calling a geek?” I tossed my head. The awkwardness evaporated. He was being an adorable big brother. I had no idea if
that
should feel awkward or not, so I turned back to inspecting the car.

An electronic screen, built into the dash above the console, sprang to life. My face, as well as Caine’s, stared back. The shot was wide angle, but the curvature had been compensated for onscreen.

He pointed to the rearview mirror, but kept his finger on the dial between us. “Okay, all wires are concealed. There are two lenses on the back of the mirror. Now, see this?” He tapped the dial. The view switched to the brick building behind us. Tapping the dial again brought our faces back.

“Wow.”

“Sweet, huh? You can run the video straight to your phone, or stream direct to another mobile phone with apps you already have. Or, stream it live to any website, if you plug in an IP address. Damn car’s got its own Wi-Fi hot spot.”

I caressed the wheel and placed my foot on the clutch. “Tell me about this stupid automatic mode.” The chrome shifter knob fit my palm like it’d been carved just for me. The dual gearbox had been a joke ten weeks ago. Today, not having to shift would help me not think about the wreck. I’d just leave the transmission in granny mode.

“I had to disengage that.”

“What?” My heart fell. “What do you mean?”

He snorted. “Fancy-ass computer didn’t have much memory to spare. I figured you’d never use the dual gearbox, so—” He dragged a finger across his throat. “Got me a few gigs that way. Let’s ride.”

My throat closed. Sweat stung my upper lip. “I, uh, need to study for an exam.”

“Really?” He brought his fist down on his knee. “Goddammit.”

The venom in his tone made me blink in surprise.

He heaved a deep sigh and turned his eyes on full blast. “Caroline’s in trouble. Me, Colt, and Jonny have a plan, but we need you to pull it off.”

“Trouble? What kind of trouble?”

He lowered the window and hooked his arm outside the car, tapping the roof with his fingers. “She figured out a way to streamline the payroll over at the cigarette plant, right? So instead of rewardin’ her, her boss took the credit, the big promotion, and the six-figure bonus. Meanwhile, they closed her department. All payroll’s done in Richmond now, thanks to software Caroline wrote and they claim they own. When they closed down her entire department, she got bumped back to workin’ on the line. Paid hourly again, instead of a steady salary, and she’s only gettin’ three days a week.”

“That’s so wrong!”

He pressed his lips together and nodded. “Anyway, she can’t afford the insurance on the Viper. I hate to see her sell it. I mean, how many cars you reckon Jesse’s gonna give her? She don’t want to let go of it, but she ain’t gonna beg him for the money to insure it, neither.”

The four-figure insurance estimate I’d gotten on this car danced behind my eyes.

“That sucks.” How could I say no, sitting in the fancy car Dale had helped me get? I scrubbed my palms down the tops of my thighs. The dampness came right back.

“Anyway, Jonny says that after the regular Thursday night NHRA bracket, the guy who runs the tower over at the Greer Dragstrip bankrolls a couple of local boys for cash money races. With you, and Caroline, and Colt, we think we can make enough to pay her insurance.”

No. Not just no, but hell, no.

“Your helmet’s in the trunk.” A shadow crossed his face. “New helmet, actually. I guess you got that knot on your head because I picked out a size too big.” He gave me an apologetic look. “Reckon I thought your head was as big as your heart.”

My heart dove and ducked like a butterfly on crack, but showing fear in front of Caine was out of the question. I’d either find a way to bow out, like tempting Colt to get behind the wheel, or—

Or racing might get the dream out of my head
. I didn’t need a psych degree to know the dream was the manifestation of my fears. Besides, it shocked me how much I wanted to see Colt, Jonny, and Caroline.

“Lead the way.”

W
hen Caine said, “Follow me, I know a shortcut,” letting him out of my sight wasn’t an option. Thankfully, the curvy back roads he took meant he had to keep the big rig below the speed limit most of the time. My insides jerked and my hands would not stop sweating. And he wanted me to race?

After rolling past several minutes’ worth of scenery I’d never laid eyes on before, I gasped out loud when I recognized De Marco’s Garage—the only place in town Dale would let touch the ‘Cuda. Whenever I came to have my oil changed, Siri dictated a far different path to this spot than the one Caine had taken.

Like that’s a surprise. There’s the Hannah way, and then, there’s what everyone else does.

About three miles later, Caine hung a left beneath a pick-your-own peaches sign, also bearing the De Marco name. We rolled past a darkened farm house and barn. A quarter of a mile beyond that, a tall, colorful pole, decorated with jutting wings, reared at least thirty feet into the sky. I slowed to stare.
A totem? Out here in Bumfuck? How cool is that?

A dirt lane turned off to the right, but Caine went straight. Low trees with thick, stubby trunks marched in straight rows as far as I could see on both sides of the road. New leaves and grass painted the fields with an emerald haze. Fat buds had already formed on some trees, even though they shivered in the late-March breeze.

A mile ahead, a left onto a narrow lane took us past more orchards, then, the peach trees ended abruptly. A junkyard came into view. Caine’s brake lights flared. I braked, squinting at the neat rows of rusting, wrecked cars. Most were missing doors, fenders, and hoods.
Are they all Corvairs?
I jumped when Caine tapped on my window.

I delighted in the touch button controls, uncaring that I lowered the wrong window first.

“I need to back into this drive, okay? Just sit tight for a sec. Why’s your phone off?”

“Mom kept calling. You think she wants to thank me for the new chair?” I batted my lashes in hopes he wouldn’t see how anxious simple driving had made me.

He burst out laughing. “I think she put Dad’s ass on that plane and now she’s comin’ after your ass. I’d screen her calls for a while, too, if I was you.”

Once he pulled the big rig forward, I spied a long, rutted driveway and a white frame house reminiscent of the one Caroline lived in. A two-bay garage dominated the back yard. Colt and Jonny swept through the front door of the house and flopped down in an old-fashioned metal porch rocker. Green-and-white striped metal awnings right out of the Sixties jutted from the front windows, but I did a double-take at how close the pair sat and the way they slung an arm around each other’s shoulders. 

And the happy grin Colt wore.

Chill, we’re in the middle of nowhere. Best place for them to show affection.

The brake lights on the rig flared again. Caine jack-knifed the trailer and stuck the rear into the narrow lane on the first try. He gunned the engine, reversing so smoothly up the drive that I could only stare in admiration.

A honk drew my attention to my rear view mirror. I grinned at the pair of sexy, foot-wide white stripes someone had applied to Caroline’s Viper.

Caine did that for her.

When I realized Caine had gotten out of the truck, I pulled into the driveway. Caroline rode my bumper until I parked.

I jumped out of the Audi. She swung her door open, popping to her feet like a Jack-in-the-box.

“Ain’t it gorgeous?” Caroline’s jeans were tucked into the tops of a familiar pair of red cowboy boots. “I just about died when I first saw it with the skin on it.”

I nodded, unable to repress a grin. “Looks like you got some pretty paint, too.” The Hannah-Built logo on her door matched the one on mine. Not to mention, a tiny duplicate signature rode the left-side edge of her hood.

I headed to meet her, catching sight of something I’d overlooked on the back deck of my car. I halted, tracing the raised letter ‘H’. The icy metal chilled my fingertips. I stared at the rest of the inch-high letters. It was one thing to paint a logo. To have it cast in metal?
They aren’t fucking around.

“Girl, let’s go kick some ass.” Caroline grabbed me into an embrace. “Jonny says these boys drive with their dicks. They ain’t never gonna believe they can get beat by a couple of women. Let’s pick ‘em clean, babe.”

“Caine told me what’s going on.” I gave her a fierce hug. “Have you spoken to an attorney? I swear, it sounds like discrimination.”

“Yeah, Mama made me talk to one. He said I had no case, since nobody promised me nothin’. I did it on my own, but used company time and resources. So, it’s their software now. Lesson learned.”

“Bastards.” I stroked her hair, inhaling the fruity scent.

Her eyes flashed with anger. “My retirement money won’t vest till January first. I’ve always put in the max. If I can hang on till then, the company will match my contribution, penny for penny. I need that money. In fact, getting’ it is the only damn way I can take anything back, you know? But, they’re makin’ it hard for me to hang on that long. My checks have dropped to about three hundred a week, before taxes. Half of that goes for health insurance. I’d drop the coverage if it was just me, but I can’t let Shelby go without.”

Jesus, first they screw her out of her due on something that would save the company millions—and now they wanna fuck her out of a few thousand bucks, too? When does she get a damn break?

Colt loped to our side. Patting Caroline’s shoulder, he urged, “Just keep your bennies, sis, and enjoy the extra time with your kid. We’ll keep figuring it out. Come November, Hannah-Built will be a reality. Then, we’re gonna need someone with experience at movin’ large chunks of money around while keepin’ tabs on every red cent.”

My eyes were drawn again to the logo on my car, then to the matching version affixed to Caroline’s ride.

“What’s happening in November?” They had to be talking about more money than Caine made modifying engines in the family garage. Hell, I could do the books for that. For that matter, Mom could handle the job. But, Caroline dealt with millions doing payroll for Phillip Morris. That was why Robyn bragged on her so.

“Dad’s leavin’ Ridenhour. We’re startin’ our own team.”

A Hannah NASCAR team? That’s what they kicked me out of?

Colt moved suddenly, hoisting me into the air. “Where’s my motherfuckin’ kiss?” He lowered me, until my nose touched his. To my shock, he spun and laid me across the sloping glass deck of the Audi. Startled by the heat coming through the glass, I didn’t realize what he was doing until he grabbed my left hand.

Despite the onrush of dusk, his eyes flashed. “Well now, little sister. Can’t wait to hear why you still have Mr. Automatic relegated to the slow lane of your love life. Right after you say hello, Hannah-style.” Spearing his fingers through my hair, he lifted my head and thrust his hips between my thighs. He ground his groin against me while his eyes danced with mirth.

My brain cried
No!
but my body had other ideas. While he plundered my mouth, stealing my senses, his cock began to harden. Before I could focus on something besides my throbbing clit, Colt backed away and Caine stepped into the sudden void between my legs.

“Oh, yeah. Can’t wait to hear what bullshit was in your head when you ran this damn time.” Caine drove a hand between my shoulder blades, jerking me forward until my chest pressed his. Instinct made me clasp my legs to his sides, but the goddamn devil made me grind when I felt his cock through his Wranglers.

His lips twisted in triumph, but I was gone. Common sense be fucking damned. I ached for this man, tossed and turned every damn night, wanting him. The memories of everything we’d done out on Old Cottonmouth Road twisted like a flame inside my body.

The dull mists inside my brain parted and the moment that had danced just out of reach for weeks roared to life inside my head, complete with the stabbing pain in my shoulder that shut off my breath. A blue cotton curtain materialized between me and Caine, so real, I felt the soft weave brush my fingertips.