Page 24 of Midnight Racers

“That’s the team spirit!” Flynn replied. “I look forward to meeting your pussy tomorrow.”

I glanced down at the feline diva. “She’s a little feral and doesn’t like men,” I commented dryly.

“Well, that’s a new one on me. I guess I’ll have to work out how to domesticate her. Night, Charlotte.”

“Night, Flynn, sweet dreams,” I replied automatically the way I always did to Mum and mentally kicked myself.

When was the last time I had adult conversation with a male?

He chuckled at my slip up. “You too.” He hung up before I could make a bigger fool of myself.

I was making a fool out of myself over a man who was just trying to be friendly. I needed to get my emotions under control and act like a composed adult and not a juvenile who had encountered their first crush.

Tomorrow morning I needed to pull my big girl panties on and try to protect my wayward heart from making a fool out of myself. Flynn was the type of man filthy fantasies were made from, and I had to make sure he stayed only in my dreams.

***

Chapter Nine

Flynn

There had been a little problem that Jordan and I had to go and take care of. A little bird that kept twittering secrets when it should have kept its beak shut.No body, no crimehad been a mantra for years among the assassins’ society. The second law being most murders could be dressed up as an accident. Pathologists tended to look for bruises, injuries, or fractures. The truth was that most deaths could be achieved without any of those being present.

Accidental deaths had been my forte back in the day. I only used that expertise now when required since I had an entirely different career. Stairs were an easy option as no one ever knew if they tripped or were pushed. Add in an item or two for effect, and they were blaming whoever left stuff on the stairs. Drowning left little bruising if you held onto their waists to stop them getting to the surface. The list was endless if you were truly interested in ensuring you got away with murder to collect your bounty.

The entire time I was away, one woman didn’t stray too far from my thoughts. Jordan texted Megan every time we stopped, and I had itched to text Charlotte. She had gotten under my skin and was an itch I couldn’t scratch. Jordan would shoot me in the ass if I even tried to scratch that itch.

She was different to any woman I had met before, someone who understood my aspirations and dreams for my racing career. There were race bunnies who accumulated around racing circuits to catch the eye of the racers, but all they were interested in was bagging themselves a racer and someone to provide for them.

I made a vow a long time ago that the only person I would be responsible for was myself. Mum was independent and tended to only need me occasionally if she needed something retrieved from the attic since she was convinced it was filled with spiders and rats.

She lived in my grandparents’ old home since Dad had left us with little after their divorce. We didn’t have a Megan back then to ensure assets were divided equally. Mum had been so shocked and humiliated that she didn’t have the energy to fight him, finding somewhere to hide and lick her wounds for several years.

Charlotte had shocked the hell out of me when she said she was playing with her pussy. My mind went straight into the gutter and imagined her at home with her fingers strumming her clit. That was not an image I needed embedded in my head when I was already trying to think straight.

I would drink a bottle of whiskey to help me sleep only I was driving early in the morning and needed a clear head that was hangover-free.

What the fuck was I supposed to do about Charlotte? I shouldn’t have texted her tonight, but sitting here in the almost darkness of my home, I hadn’t been able to stop myself. If I’d met her out of work, I would tie her to my bed until my thirst was quenched. The problem was that I liked more than just her body—her mind intrigued me and the ideas she had for my car excited me.

I’d never had a female friend in my life and didn’t know how to proceed, especially since her sexy ass clothed in baggy overalls tempted me more than it should. How could grease-stained overalls be sexy and why was I getting hard thinking about them? I contemplated going to the Midnight Rooms for a hook-up, but the thought of a random woman in the dark did nothing to tempt me.

I wanted something I couldn’t have. Jordan would kill me. My car would never forgive me. And something deep inside told me she wasn’t the type of woman you fucked and forgot.

I trailed my fingers through my hair and stared out into the darkness. My home was my sanctuary, and like Jordan, I tended to keep its location secret. There were additional safeguards in this building to turn it into a fortress, weapons hidden strategically around the house, and saferooms in the architecture that could save lives.

Some people had guard dogs patrolling their property, but I had two geese that hated strangers and wouldn’t think twice about attacking them. They nearly turned the electricity guy into a eunuch when he arrived without warning. Those wings could cause some damage and since they could fly, escape was problematic.

Matilda and Mavis were from the same clutch, and were evil harbingers of doom and destruction. I wandered outside, knowing the girls would be in their house for the night. I pitied the poor fox who tried to tackle them. He would have his ass beaten and the body left outside for me to clean up the next day.

They were settled side by side, so I closed the door back up and returned inside my empty house. Frozen meals filled the freezer, but I didn’t feel like any of them. Instead, I headed to the gym to get rid of my excess rage and anger.

I’d heard Jordan whisper to Megan on the way home on the jet, chuckling at whatever she said. For the first time in longer than I could remember, I felt a stab of jealousy for someone else. My life had been what I wanted, what I created, and yet, suddenly, it didn’t feel enough anymore.

My turbulent thoughts rolled about in a storm as I punched and kicked, a hurricane of suppressed emotions threatening to destroy what little remained of my sanity. Images of Mum, broken and destitute, my dad coming to watch a race with my half-brother to try and get him a chance at being in my team, then lastly, an image of Charlotte as she glanced up at me with a smile on her face and oil on her cheek from under the bonnet of my racing car.

My life was too fucked up for this.

Another punch and the bag swung back.

---