Make Me Your VIllain, page 7
I didn’t know why Dorcas was here tonight.
Usually, the dirt tracks weren’t her thing.
Anything that had the probability of getting her dirty wasn’t her thing.
Dorcas was all about herself, and the way she looked. Dirt would cause her to have an apoplectic fit.
I secretly couldn’t wait for them to start their cars up and start drifting around those corners, spraying dirt into the crowd.
Dorcas would be so pissed.
I didn’t think she had a clue we were in the danger zone, either.
“Oh, they’re starting!” Clementine squealed. “I hope I get dirty. I can post a picture and make my almost-went-out-with-him date pissed that I blew him off.”
Haggard snorted.
“What do you mean, get dirty?” Dorcas asked.
Nobody answered her.
Then again, they didn’t need to.
Within a lap and a half, Dorcas was more than aware of what she meant by that comment.
“Wow,” I said as I watched Anderson and Iris battle it out. “She’s good.”
“She’s fan-fucking-tastic,” Bram agreed, laughing when a spray of dirt hit him directly in the face.
Dorcas shrieked, outraged when the cloud of dirt hit her.
Then, “Bram, swear to God. You’re dead to me.”
Bram laughed, and I saw him wrap his arm around Dorcas.
I ignored them for the excitement of the race.
In the end, Anderson won, but Iris definitely gave him a run for his money.
I was just standing up, ready to head to the pit where I could meet her after her almost victory, when a car—one that’d been hounding the two all night—came barreling out of nowhere heading straight for Iris’s car that was about to pull into the pit row.
Or, when on a dirt track, what was considered ‘pit row.’
Really, it was just a place where everyone started from and finished from, and if they were too broken to make it through the race, pulled off at.
She’d just spun her steering wheel, ready to make the turn, when the car barreled into her.
It was obvious that he was hitting her, too. There was no doubt in my mind that the man was aiming directly for her.
The two cars hit with a solid crunch, and I found myself all but flying down the fuckin’ bleachers like I was eighteen again and running them to show off my skills.
I made it to the bottom of the stands, then around the half-assed attempt to keep the crowd from the track, and onto the track itself in less than a minute.
I was at Iris’s car at about the same time as Iris’s big brother made it to her car on the other side.
Seeing that Anderson had her covered—I could see her moving and hear her cursing—I chose to let the little peckerhead, number twenty-nine, know how displeased I was that he was such a dumbass.
He’d helpfully already dropped the net that covered his front window.
Reaching in and yanking him out, I threw him to the ground and started to beat the absolute snot out of him. Literally.
Between one punch and the next, my hand was covered in snot, blood, and spit.
I kept hitting him until I was satisfied that I had his attention.
“Now,” I snarled as I got down onto my knee in the dirt. “We’re going to say this once, and never again. Are you listening?”
The man’s fucked-up face lifted so his eyes could meet mine.
They were an astonishing color of blue.
“You will never, ever do something stupid like that again,” I snapped. “Especially to her. Do you understand?”
The man nodded, causing blood to run down his cheeks and into his hair.
“And you will stay away from Iris,” I ordered. “And if I ever catch you, you’ll have the wrath of Callum Crow to atone to. Do you understand?”
It wasn’t an idle threat, either.
I would end him. Wipe him from the face of this earth, and bury him in small pieces, all over the country, so that nobody would have to worry about finding him.
“Shine has an anger problem,” I heard one of my brothers say. “Has for a really long time. Though, I have to admit, I haven’t seen him go off so spectacularly in a while. You must mean something to him.”
I heard Iris’s quiet reply, and I was backing away, looking at the crowd at my back with my chest heaving.
My eyes immediately landed on Iris’s brown ones.
Her very intense, very expressive, very happy brown ones.
“You okay?” I asked, my eyes going to the blood that was on her hand.
“Hit my nose on the steering wheel.” She allowed her eyes to go down to the man on the ground. “Can’t say the same for JJ.”
“JJ?” I asked curiously.
“I thought his name was Jordan?” I said, repeating what I’d heard from the announcer all night.
“Jordan Jennings,” she corrected. “Everyone around here calls him JJ.”
“Oh,” I said when I heard JJ groan beside me. “Remember what I said, asshole.”
JJ moaned again, I hoped in agreement, and I walked toward Iris and Anderson, ignoring how my brothers had knowing smiles on their faces.
Anderson, having heard my last comment, walked toward me and relieved me of my space next to the imbecile.
“You will stay away from her, and you’ll also be paying for repairs to her car until I’m satisfied with how it’s fixed.” Anderson dropped down on his haunches. “Do you agree?”
Iris watched me walk toward her, a smile on her face. “It’s against the track rules to have bystanders on the track.”
I shrugged. “I don’t care.”
I really fucking didn’t.
She scrunched up her nose. “Please?”
I tapped her on her upper lip, not wanting to hurt her nose any further, then said, “If that’s what you want, honey.”
Her face softened, and it was then that I could tell she’d been bothered by the whole scenario.
I just wondered if it was my part in the scenario she hadn’t liked.
I’d be talking to her about it later, but for now…
“I know the owner,” I told her, spotting said owner. “But I’ll head out.”
Iris looked toward me and said, “Thank you.”
That’s when I realized that the owner I ‘knew’ was standing just beyond all the excitement.
After catching hold of Bram’s gaze, who was solidly locked on Mimi—and not, might I add, his wife who was standing halfway between Mimi and him—I headed toward the fence.
After hopping it, I called out.
“Mimi!” I yelled, unable to help myself.
Bram stiffened at my side. Dorcas, who’d thought I was running toward her, all but inhaled sharply.
“When the fuck did you get back?” I asked, hurrying toward her and throwing my arms around her.
Mimi had been a staple in our lives once upon a time. It was hard to arrive back home years ago to her just… gone.
I still didn’t know quite what happened with Mimi and Bram, and not for my lack of questioning.
Bram just didn’t talk about Mimi.
Not at all.
And I’d always wondered why.
Mimi smiled, returning the hug. “I got back just a few days ago, actually.”
“Where have you been? Why did you come back? Are you doing okay?” I asked my questions rapid fire.
Mimi smiled, but that smile dropped off her face when she caught who I’d been standing with.
“I’m okay,” she said, returning her gaze to me. “How are you?”
“I’m good,” I said. “Out of the military. Back home. Own my own lawn service. Work when I want. Make beaucoup of money off of rich people. The usual.”
Mimi snickered. “I’m happy for you, Shine. How’s your sister doing?”
My smile dimmed a bit. “Better. After…”
After enduring hell.
“I know about it,” she said. “I followed it all on the news. Then I called my best friend and talked to her almost every day for a year to see if there were any updates. I’m glad that she was found, and to hear that she’s married now. That’s awesome.”
I loved Mimi.
“How about your parents? How are they?” I asked.
Mimi’s face fell completely then. “My parents died in a car crash last month. That’s why I’m back. Taking over the track.”
She gestured at the track around her, and my stomach sank. “Mimi… I’m sorry. I didn’t know.”
Mimi smiled sadly. “It’s okay. I…”
I heard bootsteps making their way down the aluminum walkway.
“When did they die?” Bram all but barked. “Why didn’t you call?”
Mimi looked at him. “Why would I call you, Bird?”
The question wasn’t meant to cause harm, but I saw the blow land on Bram all the same.
“His name is Bram,” I heard Dorcas say angrily behind us. “Use it.”
Mimi’s eyes flicked to Dorcas, then to Bram, finally back to me. “Have a good night, Shine. It was really nice to see you.”
CHAPTER 9
Dolphins sleep with one eye open.
-Things you didn’t know
IRIS
After shaking out my left hand—which was still tingling after I’d hit it on the door panel—I headed for the crowd of people that were gathered around the front gate entrance.
It was now half past eight, and there would be no more driving for me tonight.
Not with how fucked up my car was.
Anderson was walking beside me, his big body shielding me from the people that were mingling about here and there.
I’d scared him earlier, and he was showing off his fear by not letting me get even a step in front of him.
Though, it might be due to the fact that JJ was still around somewhere, probably hiding in the bushes waiting to ambush me whenever he got the chance.
“I just don’t understand,” Anderson said. “Why the hell does he still hold this grudge? It was freakin’ ten years ago.”
I didn’t answer. I didn’t know how.
Nor did I have the answer.
Ten years ago, JJ and I had dated. Ten years ago, JJ had decided that we were better off as friends, and me being me, had decided that friends was okay.
Only, the first time I kissed another boy, JJ got all offended and tried to take his decision back.
From then on, he’d gone out of his way to make my life a living hell when he could.
And on the racetrack was one of those places.
The anger and hatred that we had toward each other now extended mainly toward the racetrack, since we rarely ran into one another outside of the track. It was a rare occasion that either Anderson or I didn’t beat the socks off of JJ.
At this point, it was more than obvious that JJ was willing to do just about anything to make our lives a living hell, any way he could.
And, it turns out, I attracted them like that from multiple sources.
Yay.
Now I had JJ and Teller.
“He knows the owner?” Anderson asked. “Is that what I heard?”
I looked over to find Shine with his arm around the owner’s shoulders. Mimi.
“He said that, yes,” I said through clenched teeth.
I didn’t like that Callum had his arm around her. Nor did I like the look on his face as he tugged her closer and pressed a kiss to her head.
It was more than obvious that they knew each other, and well.
“Thought Mimi had her heart broken,” Anderson said. “You think it was Callum? The reason she wouldn’t go on a date with me before I met Davina?”
I had no idea.
But I sure hoped not.
“Umm,” I hesitated. “I don’t know.”
And I didn’t.
I just seriously hoped that they didn’t have that kind of relationship, because the thought made me want to throw things.
“They don’t really look like they did,” he admitted. “More like good friends.”
By that point, we were arriving at the large group, and I couldn’t reply.
At least, not about that particular subject.
“Oh, you’re gonna have a shiner,” I heard Sophia call as soon as I made it to the group.
I grimaced. “That’ll be unfortunate since I have to work this week again.”
“You’ll look like a domestic abuse survivor,” Anderson teased, throwing his arm around my shoulders and tugging me in close.
I leaned my head against his large chest and kept my gaze not on Callum’s face, but on his chest.
I didn’t want to know if he wasn’t looking at me.
It might break my heart a little bit if he didn’t notice that I’d arrived.
But, with my gaze on the ground, it made it possible for him to arrive at my side without me bracing myself for the impact of his gaze.
All of a sudden, he was just there, lifting my chin with the middle knuckle of his pointer finger.
“Sheeze,” I heard him whistle. “That’s intense. It’s gonna be bad in the morning.”
I more than understood that.
Mainly because I could feel the pain in my freakin’ face.
“I know,” I admitted. “I’ve had black eyes before, but I’ve never broken my nose.”
“You’ll have two black eyes in the morning,” he said, dropping his hand. “Are you hungry?”
Was I?
“They have fair nachos and jalapeños at the concession stand,” I pointed out. “I was actually kind of looking forward to that. You want to share?”
He frowned. “I don’t share food well. I’m too hungry all the time. But I’m more than willing to buy you some, and me some.”
I snickered. “Actually, that’s normally what I would do, too. But racing makes me absurdly hungry.”
“All those Gs you pulled whipping your car around the track,” he teased. “Let’s hit up the concession stand.”
I looked over at my brother to see he was in talks with Callum’s brothers, so I nodded, and offered him my elbow.
“Use your body to get us through this crowd,” I urged.
He winked and did me one better, reaching for my hand and tugging me along behind him.
I followed in his wake, amazed with how fast the crowd parted for him.
They parted even better than they did with my brother.
Must be the MC cut he was wearing.
Whatever it was, Callum was like a force to be reckoned with as he easily sliced through the crowds.
I was snickering by the time we made it to the concession stand.
He looked down at me when we finally made it into the line, his brow crooked. “What?”
I shook my head, my face flushing slightly at the direct eye contact.
“Nothing, really.” I giggled. “I just like how everyone moves out of your way. I have to fight my way through the crowd, and I was thinking it’d be nice to have someone like you around to fight the crowd for me every time I came here.”
He tilted his head, the shine in his eyes catching the overhead lights, making them sparkle. “Anytime you want me, honey, I’m here.”
The warm fuzzies stayed for a few long seconds before they were blasted away by a toxic voice behind me.
Yet another person that hated me.
And she belonged to JJ.
“Don’t think you’re going to get away with hurting JJ.”
I looked over my shoulder at Tinsley, JJ’s on-again, off-again girl.
Tinsley and JJ had been together before me, and after me, and I would forever be a bone of contention between the two of them.
I looked at her over my shoulder, and then back ahead, ignoring her.
“Did you fucking hear me?”
I did.
It was kind of hard not to hear that obnoxious voice.
“If you touch her,” Callum growled, “I will literally rip that hand from your body and slap you with it.”
Tinsley didn’t say anything to that, but I could almost hear her mind working, wondering if he was serious or not.
“Try me,” he said. “Because unlike some men, I have no fucking problem hitting a woman.”
Tinsley, I saw out of the corner of my eye, stepped back hastily.
Then, without another word, she whirled and left, leaving us alone again.
“You don’t have a problem hitting a woman?” I raised my brows at him.
He shrugged. “Not the ones that are like that. You? It would break me in half to hit you. But her? She fuckin’ deserves it, and I don’t even know her.”
I snorted. “That’s JJ’s probably off-again instead of on-again girlfriend, Tinsley.”
“If she’s the off-again persuasion, there’s at least one redeeming quality in JJ,” he muttered, then took a giant step forward and reached the counter. After ordering his choices, he turned to me. “What do you want?”
I listed off about five things, all of them costing about twenty-four dollars total. When I reached for my wallet, he laughed and handed them a few twenty-dollar bills.
With the change left over, he stuffed it into the tip jar that was overflowing for this time of night, and then helped me carry my stuff along with his.
He caught my drink and the Snickers.
I stuffed the corn dog wrapped in butcher paper in the back pocket of my jean shorts along with the mustard, leaving my hands free to devour the nachos.
I was following behind him, enjoying my heart-attack-inducing cuisine, when something caught Callum’s eye and caused his head to turn.
He froze, halfway into the crosswalk, his eyes zeroing in on something there.
“What?” I asked, bumping into his muscular arm, nearly spilling my nachos down his back.
He shook his head, his eyes going sad for a few seconds there.
“Nothing.” He paused. “It was nothing.”
I frowned. “It didn’t look like nothing.”
He tilted his head slightly to the side. “Yeah. Just thought it was a guy I served with once upon a time. Guy’s deployed right now, though. No way it could be him.”
I looked over where he’d looked earlier and frowned. “Are you sure?”
He nodded once. “Sure. I have a group of guys that I served with when I was in. Went on multiple tours together. Inseparable. But then I got out because of my sister… and well, I haven’t seen them since. Been a few years now. I just miss them and kind of see them in the crowd sometimes. You know what I mean?”
