Page 22 of Full Throttled

I sigh and sit in the parking lot staring off into space. There’s something I need to do, but I’m avoiding it. I need to see Zoey. I need to tell her about Aubree and why I didn’t tell her to begin with. The fact is, I don’t want to have to face the music of it all. I pull out of the parking space and make my way out to the clubhouse. As I pull up it’s easy to spot Zoey’s car. It’s the only one here.

I make way into the clubhouse, but find it completely silent. When I reach my door I knock, expecting Zoey to answer, but I don’t hear anything. I knock again, louder this time in case she’s asleep, but I’ve never known Zoey to sleep this late in the day. When she still doesn’t answer, I holler her name through the door before announcing I’m coming in. When I open it, I find it neat and clean but also completely empty.

Making my way back down the hallway, I holler out for Wilder. I don’t expect an answer from him because I didn’t notice his bike out front, but I figured it was worth a shot. By the time I reach the barstools, I’m exhausted. Having only one good foot is tiring. I plop down onto the stool as I pull my phone from my pocket. I scroll down until I find Wilder and listen as the phone rings. When he answers, it’s clear that he’s outside because all I hear is wind. “Hey Man,” he answers.

“Hey, sorry to interrupt you, but do you know where Zoey is? Her car is at the clubhouse, but I can’t seem to find her here,” I explain.

“Yeah, she has a job interview at Surf’s Up here in a few minutes. Originally, it was supposed to be at one thirty, but I guess Seth called and asked her to come in earlier. She rushed around to get ready, but when she got outside, the car wouldn’t start so I gave her a ride,” Wilder tells me.

I scrub my hands over my face. I’m glad, yet shocked that Zoey has a job interview. Maybe that means she’s planning on staying here for a while, but I still won’t let myself get my hopes up. “Do you know what’s wrong with the car?”

“It sounded like the battery to me. She said it’s no big deal that once she gets a job she’ll save to get a new car.”

“And what the hell does she plan to do until then?” I ask, as my anger rises.

Wilder chuckles and it grates on my nerves. “I guess she plans on walking. She was going to today, but she didn’t have the time. She would have never made the interview.”

I growl in frustration. “She can’t be walking all over the place. Besides, Surf’s Up is like three damn miles and you have to take the highway to get back into town. Is she crazy?”

“No, I don’t think so. I think she’s broke and trying to figure her way out without any cash to do it on. She’s just doing what she has to,” Wilder tells me. His tone sounds so matter of fact, that I want to ask if he’s developed a crush on her, but I know better than to do that because if he has then I know I’ll lose my shit.

“I’ll get the car fixed,” I tell him, before I hang up with him. I quickly dial my family’s shop and Jagger answers the phone. “Hey Jagger.”

“Hey Drake, how have you been? I haven’t talked to you in a bit. Londynn tells me how good Aubree is doing in dance class though.”

I smile at the mention of my little girl. A little bit of my anger disappears, too. “I’ve beengood, justbusy. Took a fall yesterday on the job site and messed up my ankle. I’m out for at least a week.”

“Damn, that’s got to suck. You know if you need help with Aubree or anything Londynn and I are happy to help just let us know,” he explains.

I nod my head. That’s the thing about the James family, they are the most helpful and supportive group you can find. If you ever need anything, they will be there to help you in one form or another. “Thanks, I’ll let y’all know.”

“So, did you need your dad? He just stepped over to JamesTown to grab some food.”

“No, I actually need a tow truck at the clubhouse. Is one available?” I ask.

“Of course, I’ll grab one of the guys and send them your way. Do you know what the car needs?” Jagger asks. I go on to tell him what I think is wrong. He lets me know they’ll be here within the hour.

I’m still sitting in the clubhouse, playing some silly game on my phone, still no sign of Zoey when I hear a horn blast in the parking lot. I get up and make my way to the front door. When I open it, I see the tow truck backing up behind Zoey’s car. Jagger hops out of the tow truck. Jagger James could have been a ladies man if he had wanted to be, but instead, he was a relationship type of guy. He first met his fiancé Harlyn in junior high before they got engaged and found out they were having a baby girl, Harper. However, they were both killed in a car accident while Harlyn was still pregnant with Harper. From what I’ve gathered, it devastated Jagger and he left Los Angeles for five years before he returned. Then he met Londynn, who is now his wife and they have two kids together, Westin and Tabor. Jagger has all those boxes the ladies like though. He’s tall and in shape with a few tattoos and a head full of thick dark hair that he leaves cut just long enough to pull straight up into spikes with the sides short. I’ve never seen him without his trimmed beard and his amber colored eyes are full of kindness. He’s not the badass he comes across as, but he is a badass behind the wheel of a car. Don’t race him because you will lose. “I thought you were sending one of the guys.”

Jagger shrugs. “I was but they were all busy or at lunch and instead of interrupting their work, I just ran really quick. I was just manning the phone, but Axell will be back in there in a minute anyways. This the car?” he asks, pointing to the Dodge Neon. I nod my head. Jagger lets out a low whistle. “Damn, this thing has definitely seen better days. Are you sure it’s even worth a new battery?”

“It has to be,” is all I say in reply.

Jagger nods and starts messing with the chains on the tow truck to get the Neon hooked up. “So, whose car is this anyways? I didn’t know any of the guys owned a car like this.”

By guys he’s referring to the brothers of Sons of Sin. He’s right, none of them own a car like this, but I’m reluctant to tell him the truth. However, the rumble of a motorcycle has me mentally cursing like a sailor. Wilder pulls into the parking lot, his leather cut and aviator sunglasses are the first thing anyone would notice after being blinded by his shined up, chromed out bike. The next thing is Zoey riding on the back of his bike. He parks and she climbs off. Her dark denim jeans hug her in all the right places and her simple black blouse may be flowy, but it’s also see through and the red tank top underneath hugs her curves just as well as her jeans. Her red Converse completes her outfit. She takes off her helmet before handing it back to Wilder and thanking him for the ride. When she turns around, she starts to undo the braid in her hair. It doesn’t take long before I notice the pissed off look in her eyes, and the way she crosses her arms over her chest, lets me know I’m about to get an earful. I’d laugh if she didn’t look so hot right now.

Seventeen

Zoey

My phone starts to ring again and I groan inwardly. Why won’t he just give up? This has been a shit day as is. First, I got no sleep because every time I tried, flashes of Aubree came to mind. I couldn’t seem to wrap my head around the fact that Drake was a father. When Wilder and I finally got back to the clubhouse I found myself going stir crazy so I went up to my old room and started cleaning up the mess that Zayde left behind for me. My body was sore and tired but my mind seemed to miss the memo, so I had to lie in bed, staring at the ceiling. When I finally fell asleep, I woke up feeling all out of sorts because it was much later in the day than I was used to sleeping in till. From there things went downhill fast. I was in the process of getting ready for my interview at Surf’s Up when Seth called and asked if I could come in earlier. I agreed thinking that it wasn’t too big of a deal. WRONG! Once I got ready, I ran out to my car to find out that it finally bit the dust. It wouldn’t start, just made these annoying clicking sounds. Normally, I would have just walked to the shop but there wasn’t enough time for that so I ran back inside and asked Wilder for a ride. Thankfully, he didn’t give me hell about it but having to climb on the back of his bike felt foreign and wrong to me.

It’s been so long since I’d been on a bike, that I wasn’t even sure how to get on it for a second. Luckily, it’s true what they say, you never really forget how to ride but wrapping my arms around Wilder rubbed me the wrong way. He was handsome but my mind kept going back to a certain blue-eyed best friend that I was longing for currently. Why couldn’t I see back then what I was feeling for Drake? Why did I run away when I did? There were so many questions in my mind that I felt like I was being smothered by them.

Once we arrived at Surf’s Up, I rushed inside and things seemed to be going fine. I recognized Seth as Sadie’s brother. He had the typical surfer look. His brown hair had a lot of golden highlights running through it thanks to his time spent in the sunlight while surfing. It was a little on the longer side with the ends turning into curls. His ocean blue eyes shined against his tanned skin. He was tall and lean, but it was evident he was in shape. We weren’t even ten minutes into the interview when my phone started ringing. I apologized and let it go to voicemail. I didn’t need to even look at the screen to know who was calling. That pit in my stomach was growing. Finally, the ringing stopped only to start up again. On the third round of ringing, Seth let me go outside to answer it, but I couldn’t. I couldn’t deal with Gregg and the mess my life was in. I needed this job, but I had just lost it.Instead ofgoing back inside and embarrassing myself further, I walked out and met up with Wilder who drove me back to the clubhouse.

The last thing I expected to see as we entered the parking lot was the JamesTown tow truck. I growled in frustration and I’m pretty sure my nails might have caused Wilder to bleed from where I dug them into him. My anger and frustration had hit an all-time high. Drake’s eyes met mine as I climbed off the bike, but I wasn’t sure he could tell that. The helmet that Wilder had insisted on me wearing gave me an advantage. Drake couldn’t see my eyes just yet. I tried to remind myself that Drake was always playing the hero in my world but that only made me more confused. I hated to be confused.

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