Page 20 of Full Throttle

“You need me for this?” Jer asked.

I shook my head, scratching the scruff on my jaw. “Nah, I got it. Your brother-in-law is right to test me.”

The man on the ground groaned.

“Shut up,” Jer and I ordered him before we looked back to each other.

“I’m sorry I wasn’t at the hospital.”

“You were,” I countered.

He shook his head, disappointment coating his features. “One of my racers got into a fucking accident, and I had—”

“We were under attack, Jeremy,” I cut him off. “Your woman is pregnant. No one blames you.”

He sighed, looking away for a moment. “Sometimes, I wonder if I’m doing the right thing, running Oasis and the Crew.”

The Crew was a street organization created by Sullie and Dom decades ago. Its members were from all walks of life, and they protected their city in a way the police couldn’t. A year ago, Sullie stepped down and handed it over to Jeremy.

“You’re the life of Oasis,” I told him, meaning it.

He gave me a half-smile and stretched his arm out, his hand landing on my shoulder. “Thanks, brother.”

Brother.

Jer, Dontell, and Leon had been more of brothers to me than my own flesh and blood. Funny how that blood and water shit turned out. “Anytime.”

The asshole on the ground let out another sound, one that was impossible to describe, remaining me of my favor. Jer and I parted ways—he headed back to Oasis, where Casey had set up shop for the day, and I dragged the man into the storage unit.

Then, after shutting us in, I turned on a small light and got to work. I had to give credit to Kavi: when he was using me as a pawn in his game of greed, I learned how to kill quickly and painlessly. Collin probably expected pain, but I wasn’t in the mood to go to the store.

I only had one cigarette left.

“Okay, stay in the kitchen,” Amara called. “We are heading to the shower.”

Dontell looked back to his binder, his eyes scanning over the numbers. “Any leads on the missing money?” I asked, bracing my hands on the hard, cool granite.

“I think he spent it,” he muttered, jotting something down on the papers. He was referring to Oasis’ rat that Leon and I exposed a few weeks ago, the same night Amara was kidnapped by Victor.

“Not spent—gave it away,” Lee interjected, coming to stand opposite of me, leaning his hip against the island. “To Kavi.”

That actually made sense. Kavi was a slimy, lazy bastard, his thirst for power far too great for his own mind and resources. Of course, he got everything he needed from any other place, aside from his own. He was the kind of man who would chop your hand off for stealing but turn around and steal from his best friend. He was a snake, nothing more. “Kavi never liked digging into his own bank account to get shit done,” I told them.

Dontell shook his head, looking out the window for a moment. He was kicking himself for letting that amount of money slip through his fingers. “We need to move accounts,” he said finally, looking back to the binder, scratching out something.

“Agreed,” Leon muttered, pulling out his phone. “Go. I’ll tell Jer.”

Dontell slapped the binder closed, picking it up off the table as he rose to his full height. “Tell the girls I’ll be back later.”

“You need me with you?” I offered, feeling the urge to be anywhere but this fucking loft.

Dontell’s brow rose. “Don’t do that.”

“What?”

“Live in denial,” Leon answered, putting the phone to his ear. I chose to ignore his comment.

Denial?

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