Page 81 of Prince of Pain

“You’re not making it sound any better,” he scoffed with a shake of his head. “I know you’re dealing with some shit right now, so if you just want a fight or something, ask for one. We’re from the Heights, so it’s kind of our thing. You don’t have to use Raven to make me throw hands.”

“How kind of you,” I answered dryly. “I’m not known for making good judgment calls. I get dumb ideas and fixate on them.”

“Those dumb ideas will put you in the ground early,” he warned, uncrossing his arms and stepping away from my car. “We like fighting, so like I said, just ask for a few rounds if you have energy to burn.”

“I’ll keep that in mind,” I nodded, opening my car door and climbing inside.

Tempest smoked and texted until Jett and I drove our cars to the starting line, amusement in her voice. “This is already all over the internet. Everyone’s so excited to see you race.”

“I’m a little rusty.”

“The idea wasn’t to win, it was to race,” she pointed out, finally looking over at me. “If it doesn’t give you the rush you need, we can always get some powder on the way home.”

“I’m not doing that,” I said firmly, focusing on the race ahead of me. I couldn’t remember the last time I’d raced, choosing to spend most of my time at the track to get high and pick up girls, then rehab took me away from here for months.

Jett trash-talked me out his window like he always did, and I couldn’t help but laugh and rev my engine a little in response.

I double checked that Tempest had her damn seat belt on before focusing on the lights that told us when to go, watching them until they turned green, then I put my foot to the floor and took off.

Tempest screeched, not paying attention and apparently surprising herself, and I whooped out the window as I tore around the track. Jett was on my ass for most of it, starting to get ahead of me towards the end.

I pushed the Hellcat harder, managing to lose by a fraction of a second as we reached the finish line, but I didn’t care.

The rush was racing through my veins, and I wanted more.

Maybe that was the cure? If I raced regularly, it would feed the craving slightly. It wasn’t exactly the same, but I felt like I was on top of the world right now.

I climbed out once I parked the car, pumping my fist in the air as Jett joined me laughing.

“You know I won, right?”

“That was fucking awesome,” I grinned, bumping knuckles with him. “You want to race again?”

“Right now?”

“Fuck yes.”

He laughed again, clapping me on the shoulder. “Best two out of three?”

“Deal.”

Tempest

Ryder was having way too much fun, but I got bored after the second race and climbed out to wander for a while. I needed a drink or something.

“Hey,” Luna murmured as she appeared beside me, making me scowl.

“What do you want?”

“To see how you’re doing. You and Ry?—”

“We’re just fucking. Didn’t you just see him trying to fuck Raven?” I said, cutting her off. “I don’t mind sharing.”

“You deserve more than that.”

“I get that you’re happy being monogamous for the rest of your life, but I like variety, Luna. I spent last night between two other guys and it was fantastic,” I grinned, knowing I was making her uncomfortable.

“Are you dating them too?”

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