Page 13 of Full Throttled

“Like I even had to ask,” he jokes.

I shrug. “Some things never change.” He places his hand on the small of my back and leads us back the way I just came from. His hand on my back warms my entire spine and creates a fire in the pit of my stomach. I don’tknow what is going on with me but once again I feel like Drake is saving me, bringing me back to life and creating a light in the midst of my darkness.

Ten

Drake

This morning started out rough. I was late waking up, which made Aubree late to her pre-school. She only goes there two days a week, but I know it’s important for her to socialize with other children her age, so I make sure she goes. I hate making her late. We rushed to get there and she was not happy with the way her hair looked which made her pout, I also hate that. I don’t like myLoveBug to be upset, butwe were out of time.

Once I got her dropped off, I tried to chug hot coffee but ended up spilling it on my jeans, which led to me burning my leg. Finally, I reached the job site of the complex we're currently building, but even that didn’t go as planned. We have hit hiccup after hiccup with this project and it’s starting to wear on me. With everything that has already gone wrong today, I feel like I need to punch something.

Then Wilder showed up ready to work, buttoldme that Zoey asked where she could find me and he told her the address to the site. This gives me mixed feelings. I’d be lying if I said I didn’t want to see her again today. I actually woke up first thing this morning and after making sure Aubree was okay, my mind instantly went to Zoey and wondering if she was even still here in Los Angeles, or if she fled town already? I’m more relieved than I thought I would be that she is still in town, but I mentally scold myself because I know nothing can come of this. Zoey is too much of a flight risk to bring her into mine and Aubree’s lives.

Despite knowing everything I know, and all of the mental scolding, I still find myself searching the area for Zoey. I’m still seeking her out. I’m looking over the blueprints of the job because we hit yet another hiccup when I feel the hair on the back of my neck stand up. When I look up, I quickly find Wilder with Zoey tagging along behind him. I hate to admit it, but she makes these disgusting yellow hard hats and safety glasses look way better than they should. My eyes meet hers and finally I find the smile I was working so hard not to give her. She smiles back and visibly relaxes.

Now, we’re in my truck heading to get food, just like old times. Only it’s not old times. This is now. Our lives are different. We are different and I need to quit blurring these damn lines. The silence feels awkward and I know I need to speak, but my tongue is currently stuck to the roof of my mouth. Being around Zoey again is so damn confusing. “I wanted to thank you for putting gas in my car last night. I’ll pay you back as soon as I get a job,” Zoey says, breaking the silence and tension.

Her words stun me for a moment. If she’s looking for a job does that mean she’s staying? I’m almost afraid to ask, but I know that I need to. “So, you’re staying?”

She shrugs and looks out the window. “Yeah, I’ve been running long enough. It’s time to come back to the only place I’ve called home. Besides, I have fences to mend with Zayde and…you,” she admits the last part quietly.

My heart stutters and a surge of hope that I fight down takes over my body. I watch her out of the corner of my eye. “Do you still like tacos?”

She snorts and it’s the cutest damn sound. “Of course, people who don’t like tacos worry me.”

I laugh. “Agreed. There’s this great little food truck that parks along the beach that has the best tacos I’ve ever had. They literally melt in your mouth. There’s some seating around that area too if that’s good with you.”

She looks over at me. I don’t meet her eyes, but I can feel them on me. “Anything is fine. I’ve learned not to be picky in my absence.”

I want to ask her about that remark, but I think better of it. Zoey has always opened up on her own time. Pushing her now might just make her run before Zayde gets to see her again. At that thought,I can’t help but wonder how he is. Waking up late today meant I didn’t get to check in with him or Barker, but I’m hoping he didn’t derail after I had to deliver the news of Zoey’s return. I pull into the beach parking lot and cut the truck off. “Here we are.”

She smiles and unbuckles her seat belt, but not before she notices the picture taped to the inside of my sun visor. It’s a picture of Dawsyn and Aubree at dance class. Zoey doesn’t say anything but I know she has questions, but I can’t have those answers right now. I climb out of the truck before she can ask anything. “Drake,” she says behind me. I look over my shoulder at her. “You know you don’t have to keep feeding me like this.”

“Have you eaten?” I ask, sounding just like the father that I am. She shakes her head no and looks away. “Then yes, I am feeding you.”

She stops walking and I turn around. “You don’t need to keep saving me.”

I scoff. “That’s good since I’ve been doing a lousy job at it in the last six years.” Zoey bites down on her bottom lip and I wait for her reply but she never says anything. “I’m going to order. Go grab us a seat somewhere.”

I turn around and walk away from her before I say something I might regret. My moods are jumping from one extreme to the next. One minute I’m hoping Zoey will stick around, and the next I’m angry all over again for her running away. I place our order and wait along the side of the truck. I see Zoey sitting on a bench near the sidewalk. A breeze comes by and catches her hair and I watch as it dances. It reminds me of the first night I met her. The way the sun catches her hair now reminds me of how the fire caught it back then. My name is called and I grab our order before going to meet her. I take a seat and hand her a bottle of soda and a plate of food. “Thank you.” We sit in silence once again. Finally, Zoey sighs, “Drake, you need to know that I didn’t expect you to save me when I left here.”

“Yeah, well I felt like I should have. I had every time before.” That wave of guilt takes over my body and mind once again.

Zoey shakes her head. “That’s why I ran so no one would have to save me this time. Zayde and you were always there and even though I loved you guys for it I knew I couldn’t keep dragging you two into my mistakes.” I have so much I could say to that, but it would do us no good now. The past is the past. This is now and no matter what I say it won’t change the fact that she ran and I can’t trust her. She takes a bite of her taco and moans. “Oh goodness, you weren’t kidding about these tacos. These are serious.”

I laugh. “Yeah, I never joke about tacos.”

We both laugh. Zoey wipes her hands with a napkin. “So, is Zayde the president of Sons of Sin now?”

I can see why she would assume that, but I guess I should explain the way the club has been the last few years. “Zayde should be the president, but a few months after you left, the club took a turn and not a good one. Some of the brothers were doing drugs as well as selling them. Others were doing all sorts of illegal gambling. A couple of them were even acting as pimps and used the sinner girls as prostitutes. It was a mess. Then your dad came down sick and he had to step down. Of course,thepresidency went directly to the current vice president, Buzz, but he was one of the biggest problems in the club.” I notice the way Zoey shudders at his name. I have to wonder if he did something to her or she just didn’t like him in general. “Luckily, though there were enough of us youngsters in the club at the time that we were able to vote him out of the seat. Zayde was then given the title, but he didn’t want it then. The club needed to be cleaned up and he knew they’d never listen to him. They had watched him grow up and to them he would always be just a kid. So, Zayde passed the title to Barker. Barker had been with the club for a few years. He was smart, levelheaded, and a no-bullshit attitude. You knew he meant business. He of course, gave vice president to Zayde and they both won majority vote in the club. Barker made it clear that once Zayde was ready to take his rightful place as president he would hand it back over, but Zayde hasn’t been in the right mindset, yet. Over the next few monthsafterBarker and Zayde tookover, they cleaned house. I mean, almost all the older brothers were stripped of their cuts. Sons of Sin were put back on the rails and the club is stronger and cleaner than ever,” I explain.

“Wow, I knew the club was going down a bad path when I left, but I had no idea it would go that far. I’m glad you guys were able to pull it back up.” Zoey goes quiet and I study her as she studies the waves in the ocean. “What happened to him?

I don’t have to ask her who she means. I know her well enough to know she means her father. I sigh. “Too many years of smoking, too many years of drinking, and random hook ups, it took a toll on his body, heart and lungs mostly. One day, he went out for a ride and a few hours later, we got a call that there had been a wreck and he was gone.”

“Oh.”

It’s all she says, but it’s a loaded word, I know. Their relationship was never a good one, but I also know that at the end of the day, he was the only parent she had and that meant something, despite how tough she tried to act about it. I reach over and take her hand. She squeezes mine back and I check the time. “I need to get back to work. It looks bad if I’m gone too long.”

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