Page 8 of Pit Stop

Seven

18 years old

Tillman

The last twenty-four hours replay in my head like some poorly budgeted movie. Sad part is...it’s not a movie, it's my damn life. A year ago, Emmet was killed in a heist gone wrong. Boris took his place on the throne of the Street Kings. At first, I thought it would be a good thing. Boris had always seemed like one of the good guys. However, the moment the crown, so to speak, was set upon his head the Boris we once knew disappeared and in his place was a hungry, greedy bastard. His only concern is more money. The rest of us are replaceable. Don’t get me wrong, Emmet only cared about us for what we could do, but he also didn’t go out of his way to get us killed.

Boris quickly changed the direction of the SK once he took over. Street and drag racing, along with the gambling, quickly took a back burner to his plan. Drugs. Lots and lots of drugs. The SK always dabbled in drugs. It was always my least favorite part of the job, but I didn’t have to really mess with them until I took the loan out for Annie James’ chemotherapy. Then the drug portion of the SK came into my life, but when Emmet was running the place, he kept the drug trafficking to a minimum and local. Boris, on the other hand, has got us tied up with a cartel and every other day a small group of us are running shit to Mexico and back. The problem is that’s not our territory and some rival gang in Mexico has found out about our deal with the cartel and now we’re targeted. Last night wasn’t the first time we’d been met with gunfire, but it was the first time I had to watch two of the guys I consider brothers die in front of me. Joey and Matt were two of my friends. We often hung out in our downtime. Joey, along with Decker, had shown me the ropes of the SK when I first arrived. He was about a year older than me and came from a similar background as mine. Matt showed up last year. He was young and scared but in need of a place to call home. We all took him under our wing. Joey, Decker, and I fought against Matt going with us on this haul. Boris wouldn’t listen.

When we arrived, the streets were eerily quiet. It was dark but everything felt deserted which is not how it normally is. All of us went on high alert, but it wasn’t until we were out of the car that the gunfire opened on us. Matt went down first, and I think it shocked all of us. Joey was trying to get to him when he took a hit. Everything seemed to be in slow motion and fast forward at the same time. By the time both sides had run out of ammo, Joey and Matt were dead, Decker was shot, and I was covered in the blood of guys I considered family—my brothers. I delivered Boris’ precious drugs; gathered Decker in the car, Joey and Matt in the trunk, and got the hell out of Mexico as fast as I could.

By the time we reach Los Angeles I’m delirious and angry. It boils in my blood. Boris is killing us off like flies. He doesn’t care because he’s protected. Boris sits upon the throne and barks his orders at us. We follow suit and take the bullets and the hits because we need to belong to something. The SK was our something, but it’s derailed, a train crash that you can’t seem to look away from, frozen in shock and fear.

I pull around the back of the run mill and park the car. Decker is unconscious but breathing. Throwing the door open, I announce that we need medical help. Dr. Shoon rushes over. He’s in Boris’ back pocket. “What’s wrong?”

“Decker was shot a couple of times. Once in the side and the other in the leg. I tried to stop the bleeding the best I could. He lost consciousness a couple of hours ago.” My heart pounds erratically in my chest.

Dr. Shoon, a tall, willowy man with a bald head and brown eyes, looks over at me. “Are you okay, Tillman?” I nod my head, unable to find my voice. “Are you sure? You’re covered in blood.”

I am. There’s not a single part of me that isn’t stained with the blood of my brothers right now. My skin itches from where it’s dried onto me. “It’s not mine. Decker, Joey...Matt…” my voice breaks.

Dr. Shoon’s eyes go wide. “Where are Joey and Matt?” He scans the area around us. His nose is too long, it reminds me of a crow's beak, and I don’t know what 's crossing my mind right now.

“Trunk. Dead.” Two words sum up their whereabouts. I sway on my feet. My head swims in an ocean of dizziness and the world around me becomes blurry. My lungs tightly constrict, and it feels like all the oxygen has been sucked from the earth. Voices talk around me, but they’re muffled and I can’t make out anything. A pair of arms wrap around my body and pull me away from the car as my eyelids fall shut.

Sometime later I wake up in my room. It’s dark aside from the light in the bathroom that comes through the cracked door. Images flash back at me. Bile rises in my throat. Rushing to get out of bed and to the toilet, I hang my head and release everything I can as if it takes the images from my mind. Decker comes to mind, and I wonder if he...no I can’t let myself think about that. Once my stomach is empty, I stand up, brush my teeth, splash cold water on my face, and start the shower. The blood on my skin is gone but I swear I can still see it. I wonder if I’ll ever not see it there, sitting on my skin, feeling the itch of it…

I go back to my room and grab my cell phone. I’ve been asleep for almost a full day. I have about two hours before the street races start up. I need to be there. My mind runs over everything, and I know what I have to do now. Gathering a set of clean clothes, I go back to my bathroom and climb under the shower. I scrub at my skin until it almost bleeds. Once the water starts to run cold, I climb out and get dressed. Grabbing one of my baseball caps, I slip it on and head out.

In the hallway I stand outside of Decker’s door. A part of me is frozen in fear, afraid of what I’ll find on the other side. Will his room be cleaned out like he never existed? That’s how all the others have been. Their rooms are cleaned out and ready for the next poor, unfortunate soul who finds themself looking for a place to belong. I take a deep breath, wrap my knuckles on the wood, and twist the knob. It’s unlocked. As I enter, I keep my eyes shut. Allowing just a peek, I see Decker sitting up in his bed with a cup of green Jell-O in his hand. He’s paler than normal and dark circles ring his eyes. “You look scared shitless, what’s up?”

I chuckle. “I didn’t know if you…”

“Died?” Decker laughs. “I survived somehow. They told me you passed out from exhaustion and shock. I wanted to come check on you but Doc refused to let me out of bed. He’s worried about infection, so he didn’t want me pulling my stitches.”

“I’m fine. I slept it off and I’m good to go.” I study him. Decker is a tall slender guy, platinum colored hair, perfectly angular face, silvery blue eyes with a body covered in colorful ink.

He studies me. “Where are you off to?”

“The races.”

He nods his head. “Pedal to the Metal, not the SK races.” He doesn’t ask, he just comments.

It’s a bad idea but he’s right. Going to Pedal to the Metal is probably a bad idea. Pedal to the Metal is the weekly, local street races. The James brothers are front and center there. Normally I avoid them because these days avoiding Axell seems like the best idea, but right now I need my best friend. I need a plan. I need to get out before I get killed carrying out Boris’ dumbass plans. “Yeah, I have some unfinished business to take care of.”

“Be careful.”

I nod my head. “You, too. I’ll be back.”

I head outside to my car. With my earnings from the SK, I purchased myself a black Toyota Supra MK IV. One of the best street racing cars you can purchase. It’s my baby and means everything to me. Mostly, because it’s the first thing I’ve bought on my own. It’s truly mine. I climb inside and rev the engine. The music comes on full force. “Smells Like Teen Spirit” by Nirvana blares through the sound system. I roll the windows down and peel out of the parking garage.

When I arrive at Pedal to the Metal, I see all the familiar faces, including Axell with Sadie, his girlfriend and better half, tucked under his arm. I know Axell doesn’t race as much anymore. He feels a sense of responsibility to his family since the death of his mother. I know his father has taken it hard, leaving Axell to lead his brothers. Also, Sadie isn’t a huge fan of the danger that comes along with racing. I park a few spots down from him and climb out of the car.

As I get out, I watch as he presses a kiss to Sadie’s forehead, before moving in my direction. When he reaches me, he crosses his arms over his chest. Both of us are built the same now. Same height, broad, muscular, and in shape. It’s amazing what having actual food to eat can do for your body. “I haven’t seen you around in a while.”

I nod my head. “Yeah, I know. I’ve been busy.”

Axell nods his head. “Yeah, with this mystery life of yours.”

“That’s why I’m here. We need to talk. Actually, I need to explain, and I need you to listen.”

He studies me. I feel like we don’t even know each other anymore and I know that’s my fault. I caused this distance between us. “Why now?”

I sigh and shrug my shoulders. “Because I’m not sure how many more chances I’ll have to explain, and I need at least one person to know what the hell is actually going on in my life.”

Axell must see something because he nods his head. “After the race we can go grab some tacos.” I nod and he walks away. I’m sure he’s curious about what I have to say. I’m in no hurry to give him the details because I know he’s not going to like them, but at this rate I’m either going to end up in jail or dead and I want my best friend to know why I did it all.

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