Page 148 of Full Throttle

“Donnie started it,” I laughed.

“So of course it’ll stick,” Mina and Shayla said at the same time.

“What’s sticking where?” Dontell asked, coming up behind Cain. He went straight to Mina, pulling her off the stool and giving her a kiss. “You racing tonight, Jazzy?”

She shook her head. “Hell no.”

“Aw, come on,” I begged, sticking out my bottom lip as Cain moved to stand beside me. His arm wrapped around my waist and a second later, I felt his lip at my ear.

“We just got Jer to agree to race.”

I gasped and turned my head, our lips brushing. “No fucking way.” I looked over to Amara and Leon, my eyes meeting Lee’s. His lips twitched. “Am I finally going to see Big Bertha in action?” I asked.

“For the love of…dammit, Haley.” Jeremy came to stand in our circle, shaking his head at me. “Let’s get one thing clear: that beast over there,” he said, pointing to his Challenger in the showroom, “is not named Big fucking Bertha.”

“If Haley and James weren’t too busy fucking on a beach right now, she’d beat your ass for saying that, Jones.”

All heads turned to find Gwen and Dean Connors coming up to us. At the sight of Gwen, Mina moved away from Dontell, going in for a hug.

Gwen’s arms wrapped around Mina as they laughed and started whispering about the children. A few seconds later, Mina looked at me, wagging her finger.

I slid off the stool, making my way to the women. “You two never had a proper introduction,” Mina began. “Gwen Connors, this is Nikki Wells, soon-to-be Donovan.”

Gwen held out her hand to me, her ocean eyes shining. “It’s nice to properly meet you. I think the last time I saw you, I was the size of Texas.”

“She was not,” Amara said, joining us.

The four of us fell into a conversation, and a few minutes later, I asked where Collin and Kay were.

Gwen rolled her eyes. “Who the hell knows? I honestly think Collin took a page from James’ book and whisked Kay away. After everything, they deserve a fucking vacation.”

“Well, when they get back, if Casey is feeling up for it, we all need to get together,” Mina said.

“Oh, that’d be so fun. You all can come out to the house,” Gwen invited.

“They all can what?” her husband asked, looking at us with raised brows from his place beside Jer. They rest of the men were also staring at us in question.

“Girls night, Dean,” Mina announced.

“Hell no. The last time you had a girls night, Collin had to get James’ bomb squad out to his island.”

“Island?” I asked, looking at Gwen.

She nodded. “Yeah, the Mafia King has a fucking island on Lake Michigan.” She looked to her husband. “And it wasn’t that big of a deal. Collin just left the explosive Dom gave him out in the living room.”

Jer muttered something under his breath as Dontell and Leon shared a look. Cain’s eyes met mine, and I swallowed my laughter, feeling the happiest I’d even been.

I was surrounded by my people, and I was about to race.

Speaking of that. “Okay, are we just standing here talking to prolong the ass beating that poor Big Bertha is about to get?”

Jer’s hand fell from his face as he looked at me.

“Oh shit,” Amara whispered beside me.

Jeremy tilted his head. “You getting in on this race, Nikki?”

I nodded. “You got a problem with that?”

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