Good Boy by Megan Lowe
Chapter 24
I’ve been to races in Detroit and thought they were pretty impressive. They are nothing, nothing compared to the Skids.
“Holy shit,” Jase whispers as we drive in.
“Right?” Thomas asks from the back seat. “It’s insane, isn’t it?”
“It’s something,” I reply.
“Is this what heaven looks like?” Jase asks.
“A certain type of person’s heaven, I guess,” Thomas replies.
It’s just as he described: every type of car you can think of, all done up to an incredibly impressive standard.
“Let’s park and walk around,” Thomas suggests.
I nod and find a spot, several heads turning as we drive past.
“This is just the posturing,” Thomas explains as we walk around. “People showing what they’ve got under the hood, others deciding who they want to go up against.”
“What sort of races are they?” I ask.
“Depends. Sometimes they’re a flat quarter mile, other times it can be a couple of mile street circuit.”
“Open roads?”
He shrugs. “Can’t close several miles of road.”
“Wow,” Jase says.
“Do you ever race?” I ask.
He shrugs again. “Sometimes. I mean, I like cars, but that’s it. They’re just cars. I’m not in love with them, not like—”
“Like Cav,” I finish.
He chuckles. “And you.” He shoves me playfully.
“It’s a passion.”
“And I just don’t have it. It doesn’t bother me. I still like coming here, watching the races, looking at the cars. I don’t see something someone else has done and go, okay, I have to do that to my car. How many ideas have you had just now?”
“A few,” I admit. The Mustang is incredible as it is, and I have made some minor changes, but there’s always room for more.
“See? We’re not the same, but it’s all good.”
We walk around a bit more, Jase quiet, taking everything in.
A little while later, Thomas introduces me to Kevin, the “unofficial” organizer of the whole thing.
“You interested in racing?” he asks me. “I’ve seen one R-SPEC in action, and it was a beauty.”
“No,” a voice answers for me. “He’s not interested.”
Cav comes over and shakes Kevin’s hand.
“The fuck I’m not,” I rebut. In school I might be wary of taking him on, but here? This is my lifeblood, my passion. I know what I’m doing here. Here, he can’t take anything from me and I won’t let him.
“This isn’t some hick town race pretending to be the real thing. This is the real thing; we don’t play around here.”
“Good, I don’t either.”
He raises an eyebrow and folds his arms across his chest. “No?” I try to ignore just how good Cav looks out of uniform, but, fuck, he does. His chest is broad and strong, his tattoos that I so rarely get to see at school on full display. The design’s full of smoke, and stars, and dragons, and roses. It makes a guy want to do things. Bad things.
“No more than you do.”
At that, he throws his head back and laughs.
“Seriously, man, what is your problem?” I ask.
He shakes his head. “There’s no problem.”
“Really?”
“Really.”
“So why don’t you want me to race?”
“Because I don’t want amateurs out there. They’re dangerous. Racing is dangerous, and I very much like living, thank you very much.”
“I know how to race,” I tell him.
“You’d be open to doing a trial race?” Kevin asks.
I shrug. “Sure.”
Cav’s jaw clenches, and he balls his fists, his hands now at his sides.
“No,” he says again.
I throw my hands up.
“Cav, man, it’s cool. We’ll have everything set up as well as we can; it’ll be fine,” Kevin says.
“What are you afraid of?” I ask him.
“I told you, that you’ll hurt or kill someone.”
“And I’ve said I’m willing to prove my skill level. But here’s a newsflash for you: even experienced drivers make mistakes. I bet you’ve made your fair share.”
“Oh shit, do you remember that race against the Aston Martin?” Thomas asks. “You oversteered coming into the corner and almost took the both of you out.”
“Shut up, Thomas,” Cav snaps.
“So the god does make mistakes,” I say.
He shrugs. “Shit happens. It’s how you come back from them that counts.”
Thomas nods. “That’s exactly right,” he says. “I mean, we all make mistakes, all do things I’m sure we regret.”
Cav looks at him, his brows pinched. “Riiiiight.”
Clearly I’m not the only one who doesn’t know where Thomas is going with this.
“But it’s our friends who can help with that, can’t they?”
“Ah, sure.”
I’m totally and utterly lost by now.
“Because they’re what really matters.”
“What the fuck are you on?” Cav asks, seemingly sick of Thomas’s weird tangent.
He laughs. It’s fake as hell and leaves a whole heap of tension in its wake. “You know me, Cav. I’m just here for a good time.”
Cav shakes his head then looks to Kevin. “I don’t want him racing.” He throws his thumb over his shoulder to me.
“I guess it’s a good thing you don’t get a say, then, isn’t it?” Thomas asks. “We don’t always get what we want, do we?”
“Look, Cav, man,” Kevin says. “If he proves himself and he’s all right, what’s the harm? Plus, that car’s a thing of beauty. Don’t you want to see what she can do?”
“I don’t want him racing,” he repeats.
“Why not?” Jase bursts out. “Afraid Connor will beat you?”
“Jase,” I hiss. “Stay out of it.” The last thing I want, especially after Thomas’s warning, is Cav’s attention on him.
Cav looks from me to my brother, flexing his hands. Finally, he turns his attention to Jase. “You sick of living in your brother’s shadow?” he asks. “Sick of living under his thumb?”
“Leave him out of this,” I tell Cav.
“I can’t. He’s in it now.”
“Hardly.”
“Try not at all.”
He laughs.
“Get lost,” I tell him. “I’m going to race, and then we’ll see who’s the better out of the two of us.”
He chuckles as he walks away. “Yeah, maybe.”
“I don’t know what the fuck just went on,” Kevin says once Cav is out of sight, “but if you want to race, we’ll give you a trial, and if that goes well, you’ll be in permanently.”
“Thanks, I appreciate it,” I tell him, shaking the hand he offers.
“We’ve got a full roster tonight, but next meet, you’ll be on.”
I nod. “Looking forward to it.”
“And, ah, this thing you and Cav have got going on, is it going to be a problem?”
I shrug. “Not for me, but him on the other hand….”
He nods. “I’ll talk to him.”
“Good luck with that.”
He gives me a kind smile.
“But, um, what happens if he can’t get past whatever’s eating at him?”
Kevin runs a hand through his hair. “Let’s cross that bridge when we come to it, okay? I’ll give you your fair shot, and we can go from there.”
“Sounds like a plan.”
He nods. “So for tonight, have a look around, get a feel for things, and next time out, we’ll see what you and that R-SPEC can do.”
“We won’t disappoint.”
“That’s what I’m thinking. Enjoy your night, fellas,” he says before walking off.
I blow out a breath.
“Well, that was interesting,” Jase says.
I chuckle. “Just a bit.”
“But it’s cool they’re letting you race.”
“They’re letting me try out,” I correct.
“Are you sure it’s what you want to do?”
I scratch the scruff on my cheek. “I mean, I’m not saying I’ll race every meet, but it would be nice to wipe that smug-ass grin off Cav’s face.”
“He’s scared of you,” he says.
“He should be.”
Jase rolls his eyes. “I don’t mean on the track.”
“Neither did I,” I reply. “And while I love you trying to back me up, I don’t want you anywhere near Cavanaugh McLaughlin, okay? He’s my problem, and I don’t want you dragged into something you shouldn’t be.”
“Come on, Con—”
“No. This is between Cav and me. I don’t want you anywhere near it.”
“Gah!”
“You saw that look in his eyes tonight, Jase. He’ll come after you in order to get to me. I don’t want that to happen.”
“You don’t think I can handle him? He doesn’t scare me, you know.”
“I have no doubt you can handle him,” I tell him. “But it’s a matter of should you have to? The answer is no. It’s my mess. I should be the one to deal with it.”
“But I want to help,” he insists.
I put a hand on his shoulder. “I know you do, but that’s not how this relationship works. I’m the big brother; I protect you. You’re the younger brother who’s a pain in my and Amy’s asses and who makes jokes.”
“Sure, that’s all I’m good for,” he grumbles.
I sling my arm around his neck. “It is not all you’re good for, but it’s all I want you to worry about, okay?”
He nods. “Okay.”