Page 67 of Knockout Queen

“I’m dying to see what kind of car you drive, babe,” Johnny says, rubbing his hands together.

I smirk and hold back a laugh. “Yeah? I can’t wait to see the light die from your eyes when you see my very sensible, tan-colored sedan.”

Johnny frowns, and the frown only deepens when we get to the hotel parking lot and I gesture toward the car my aunt and uncle gave me as a present for my sixteenth birthday. It’s practically the only thing I own that’s of any value. “This is your car?”

I nod.

He shakes his head. “This just won’t do. You need something sexy. Red, maybe? Something with sleek lines and a whole lot of power in the engine.”

“Is that supposed to be some sort of weird metaphor for my body?”

He grins. “No, I just like women who drive sexy cars. Plus, I kind of want to bend you over one. Thinking of bending you over this isn’t giving me the same feelings.”

I laugh. He’s got a point there. Though, I’d beg him to reconsider that it wouldn’t be all kinds of sexy because I’m pretty sure I would fuck Johnny Rocket in a kids’ play place and be all kinds of turned on. After hours, of course. We don’t need to sour the minds of today’s youth.

Magnum leans against his black car. He practically blends in with the paint job. He looks between our two cars, and I can tell he hates the idea of us being separated. “We’ll be fine,” I tell him. “The real threats aren’t until we get back to the Heights.”

“I’ll ride with Princess,” Oscar says, throwing his arm around my shoulder. “I’ll make sure nothing happens.”

The black-clad guard blows out a breath. “I’ll follow you thewholeway. Park in the same parking lot you left from,” Mag says. “Then we’ll ride together to Oscar’s house. You’ll have to get something to wear to the club tonight. Oscar, can we use your place to get Kyla all wired up?”

“You got it,” Oscar says.

“Good. You’ll go to the dress shop with Kyla since Johnny can’t be seen with her and everyone knows I’m Johnny’s guard.”

“Go see Lynette again,” Johnny says. “She’s discreet. She fucking owes us for Glo.”

“That wasn’t her fault.”

Johnny gives me a look that says I shouldn’t argue with him, and I don’t plan on it either. I’m agreeing with him. We can trust Lynette.

Oscar goes along the back of my car and stands near the passenger’s seat. Surprisingly, Brawler heads to the black car, standing at the rear passenger side door. I give him a strange look, but he ignores me.

We all pile in, and I lead us out of the hotel parking lot and back to the Heights.

“That was weird,” Oscar says.

“Definitely.”

Oscar leans back, lacing his fingers behind his head, cozying up for the drive. “Also, I told you Johnny loved you.”

He says it with a lot less bitterness than he usually does while alluding to anything Johnny Rocket. “Oh, are you trying to say you knew he’d show up?”

He grins over at me.

“Shut up,” I say. “You did not.”

He smiles. “Okay, maybe I didn’t know exactly how it was going down, but I knew he wouldn’t be able to stay away from you for long. You forget that we’ve all seen Johnny at his worst. He’s different with you. All he needed to realize is that without you, he’s a fucking headcase with a questionable background.”

“We all have questionable backgrounds,” I say, peeking at Oscar. Magnum alluded to Oscar’s dirty past. A reason why he wouldn’t go after his football goals.

“It’s weird, isn’t it?” Oscar asks.

“What do you mean?”

“The fact that you brought us all together,” he says, voice low and even. “The only two who really knew each other all that well were Johnny and Magnum. They initiated in together, but you brought us all in close.”

“What about you and Brawler?”

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