Page 45 of Fast and Dirty

West

So…I suppose if I was going to tell Kira I went to jail for stealing and racing cars, I should’ve been prepared for her to ask mewhyI did such things. I guess it being the middle of the night and post mind-blowing sex has my circuits scrambled.

“So… your dad’s a famous race car driver…” Kira rattles off, simply reciting the facts I’ve revealed.

“Yep,” I groan with my chin in my hand as the other grasps my coffee mug.

“And you wanted to be one too…” she recounts.

“Uh huh.”

“And so you played it straight and went through all the motions and ended up on his pit crew while you learned the ropes…”

“Yes.”

“And when you finally got the chance to try out, you beat his time?”

I nod. “By two tenths of a second the first time. And then when he wanted to go again, it was by four tenths of a second.”

“So you were there. You made it,” she summarizes.

“Yep.”

“So what happened?”

“Turns out he didn’t like that too much,” I rub at my eyes as I lean into the table. “He paid off all the willing sponsors to keep me off all the teams.”

Her mouth drops. “So all that time and training…”

“All for nothing,” I finish for her.

“What a son of a bitch,” she spits and I nod, amused. “So what does that have to do with you stealing cars?”

“Well… I was feeling a little rebellious after that bullshit,” I sigh, conversationally. “After all that effort and time put in to earn money doing what I love - the right way—to have him shit all over it. So I started making money street racing.”

“Fuck, that’s hot,” she mumbles under her breath before she stiffens. “Shit, did I say that out loud?”

“Loud and clear.” I smirk, grateful that she’s still not bolting for the door.

“And you stole cars to race with?” She leans in on her forearms, nibbling the corner of her lip.

“Not at first,” I admit. “I had enough access to cars and parts that I could put them together into racing shape. I learned even more about certain modifications that can be done to specific models.”

“So how many times did you race before you got caught?”

“I did four races before I got caught,” I nod, blowing out a breath. “And I won them all.”

“What did you get for winning?”

I huff out another sigh. “Quite a bit of money.” Which was how I was able to buy Shane Automotive. “I got caught and arrested, but my father bailed me out. Unfortunately, my antics didn’t make him any more inclined to back off.” I sit back in my seat, cocking my head at her. “Are you sure you want to hear all this?” I offer the out more for myself than for her. Dredging up my past is not one of my favorite pastimes and living in this town has given me a blissful form of amnesia where that’s concerned.

“I want to keep seeing you, West,” she lays out, with only a hint of shyness. “Do you want to keep seeing me?”

“Fuck yeah, I want to keep seeing you,” I lean forward to take hold of her wrist and pull her into my lap.

“Then I need to know about you,” she sighs plainly as she straddles my lap and laces her fingers together behind my neck. “At least a little. At least this part.”

Her crystal eyes are warm as they invite me to share more. “I kept racing and making more money,” I continue. “But it wasn’t enough to …quell the spite I had. And so… since I had access to his stockcar…”

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