Page 1 of Crash and Burn
Prologue
Rascal
May 2020
Saint,Clutch, Diesel, and I are spending Memorial Day weekend on a run to Colorado. I haven’t made this trip since I came back in March when Shade raced in the underground circuit. That shit was badass. Shade sure knows how to handle cars. He and three other guys were handed the keys to Audi R8s. Shade made winning look like a piece of cake.
We got into Denver late last night, and we’re crashing at Ace and Nitro’s place. These guys will be recruited into the Savage Riders before the end of the year. Along with a couple of their buddies, Breeze and Zero. We’re looking to expand into New Orleans soon, too.
Walking into Higher Zen, a bell above the door signals to Blaze or whoever, we’re here.
“Welcome to Higher Zen,” a female’s voice calls out from the back room. Not any female. Marley. She walks out from behind the colorful tapestry that serves as a door to the back room. She’s still rocking the partial dreads. I’ve never seen a chick who can pull off any kind of dreads like Marley can. I can’t stand the chick, but I can appreciate her beauty.
Her smile fades when her eyes land on mine. “Oh, it’syou.”
“Miss me, Princess?” I smirk at her.
She scoffs. “Yeah, in your dreams, Romeo.”
Typical Marley response. I grin. “Nah, in my dreams you’re . . .”
“Don’t fuckin’ finish that sentence, Rascal,” Blaze warns. Saint snickers behind me, and I shoot him a glare over my shoulder. Blaze is practically Marley’s older brother, so him getting on me is no surprise. She dishes it out as much as I do, though. When I see her, that is. I only come out here once a month, but it’s like she makes a point not to be here when I am.
Blaze narrows his eyes at me, and I hold my hands up in defense. “We’re just havin’ a lil’ fun, Blaze,” I tell him.
“It’s gonna be real fun when she’s ridin’ back to Texas with you.” He grins like a cat who caught the canary.
“What?” Marley and I shout in unison.
“There’s no way I’m riding in the same car ashim,” Marley spits out.
“It’s not like I want to share that small of a space with you either, Princess,” I say to her.
“You’ll go with them if you want the protection the Savage Menaces can provide you,” Blaze whispers to her. For a second, I wonder if I even heard him right. Marley huffs out a frustrated breath and storms out of the room.
Blaze lets out a heavy sigh. “Can’t the two of you get along foronefucking day?”
“Talk to her. She’s the one throwin’ sass as soon as I walk through the door.” I defend myself. I’m not taking the blame for this shit. Not all of it anyway.
“Ras is mad Marley won’t give it up.” Clutch laughs.
“I don’t need her to give it up. I got plenty of chicks linin’ up to take a ride.”
“Yeah, but how often does a chick actually turn you down,” Diesel asks.
“She didn’t turn me down.Iturnedherdown.” I don’t know why I lie. It’s not like it fucking matters. I can get my pick of women any time I want. Marley would probably be a boring lay anyway.
“So, what’s the deal? Why is she coming to Texas,” Saint asks the question we’re all wondering.
“She needs a change of scenery around people who will take care of her,” Blaze explains.
Annoyance washes over me. It’s easier to deal with her when she’s here because I never see her. Now, she’s going to be in my clubhouse twenty-four seven. What the hell am I supposed to do with that?
