Page 105 of Wanted
“Yeah, but the jacket—”
Knox laughed. “Oh, man, I wish I’d seen. You must have been like a cartoon character. It’s fine, Liv. I’ll just get some cool patch to cover that spot.”
Liv smiled to himself. With Knox, nothing was too hard, or too much of a problem.
With Knox, Liv would be winning that race.
“See you home.”
Chapter 34
Knox
It was difficult forKnox to sit on his hands while Liv worked two jobs, underslept, and still reassured him that it was all fine and dandy. So he resumed working at the junkyard as soon as his shoulder allowed. Frank hadn’t been sure of his usefulness, but in the end he allowed Knox to join Jag in endless scouring through mountains of scrap.
At first, Knox had been apprehensive about spending so much time with a weirdo who’d pointed a spear at him when they first met, but Jag had grown on him faster than he would have imagined. When not in combat mode, Jag turned out to be a fun person to be around. He’d even made Knox a hat. The deerstalker was made of fur and leather and didn’t exactly fit his style, but it kept his ears toasty.
Jag also had in depth knowledge of the vast junkyard and was more than happy to share details of the dangers and points of interest among the acres of land belonging to Frank.
He’d taken Knox to a place he called the car graveyard, and the name was accurate, because the amount of abandoned, rusted, dead vehicles had at first overwhelmed Knox. He’d spent lots of time there, scouring the metal bodies for parts. Sometimes with Jag, sometimes alone, but there wasn’t a day when he didn’t find something interesting. He could then either bring the items to Frank, which could be especially lucrative if the part came from a rare car, or keep it for Liv’s race car, which they’d christenedImprezain honor of the Subaru they’d had to drown.
As predicted, Frank had not been happy to hear about Liv taking part in illegal racing, but his nephew, Dex, came through by becoming an“investor”as he liked to call it. He’d given them an okay-ish car they still needed to fix up, for a stake in the race winnings. At least that meant he believed in Liv’s chances. Which was kind of naive, since Dex had never seen Liv race, but you didn’t look a gift horse in the mouth.
Still, the closer they were to the race in December, the more apprehensive Knox became about Liv not only competing against a star known for recklessness but also doing so in conditions he wasn’t used to. It hadn’t snowed yet, but Thanksgiving greeted Knox with frosty weather, offering little hope that global warming would suddenly strike and heat up their corner of the planet within the next two weeks.
And while Liv had attempted to learn how to deal with ice under the wheels by reading up on it, talking to people, and visualizing dangerous situations during the race, it was all theoretical. If nothing changed, he wouldn’t have any real experience byjudgment day.
Knox was sick to his stomach just thinking about the risk of Liv’s getting into a serious crash, but he knew better than to try swaying Liv’s plans and instead focused on helping him rest by keeping the house in good condition, making sure they had nicefood to eat, and giving Liv all the attention he needed in the very rare moments when he allowed himself to do nothing.
Which wasn’t often.
So tonight, Knox wasmakinghim stay home. He’d called the MC and secretly arranged a night off for him. In the past few days, he’d restored a massive old barbecue grill and he’d be treating all their friends and Liv to as many rabbits and rabbit burgers as they could eat. Ezra had offered to cook the turkey, and he was bringing it straight from his fancy oven within the next hour. Which was a blessing not only because it would surely be delicious, but because Knox didn’t have the money to buy enough meat for ten people. He did make a whole pot of potato mash though, and the other guys were each bringing something to the Thanksgiving feast. Jag had helped Knox set up a simple tent above the tables taken from one of the many piles of discarded furniture, so they’d be fine in case of rain.
All planned behind Liv’s back.
Unless, of course, Dex didn’t manage to keep his big mouth shut, but that was out of Knox’s hands. If Liv knew about the preparations, he didn’t let it show when he left for his first shift early in the morning.
It had been hours since, and now that it got dark, Frank and Dane, Jag’s mate, had erected a massive bonfire that made the cold a bit more bearable. They could have all gathered in Frank’s home, or Shane’s, but it wasThanksgiving and Knox wanted all the guys to feel his gratitude. Besides, meat grilled over charcoal was Liv’s favorite food, and since this was a special day, and Liv’s first whole evening off in a month, that was exactly what he’d get.
Knox checked the temperature of the coals by hovering his hand above them before glancing at the meat marinating in many Tupperware containers. Liv had already let him know hewas coming over for dinner soon, which meant it was time to get on with the grilling.
He still couldn’t believe some days that this really was his life. Sure, he was still wanted by the cops, still struggled with a heart condition, and barely had any money to his name, but he had Liv. Liver Polk was hisboyfriendand wasn’t afraid to show it in every touch and cuddle even when they were too tired for an elaborate fuck session. It worked. Felt natural. And Knox would work his ass off to make sure their relationship worked out.
“You caught all these?” Jag asked, sneaking up on him.
Knox stood a bit taller. “Yep, used the traps the way you showed me.” The killing was another matter. He couldn’t make himself do it and, in the end, had taken the traps to Frank.
Jag’s head bobbed as he gave a fervent nod before tightening the folds of his fur coat, complete with a cape of squirrel tails. “I didn’t think you had it in you. But you’re a faster learner than anyone here.” He narrowed his eyes and looked back at their friends, who sat huddled together, chatting about something Dane needed to get on Black Friday. “Ros told me trapping rabbits is cruel. Well, he sure doesn’t have a problem eating them, does he?”
Knox laughed. “At least these bunnies had a good life and a quick death. I never thought I’d be catching my own food, but it feels good. Junkyard to table.”
Jag put his hands on his hips, as if he were the overseer of Knox’s grilling. “My father taught me how to do these things. It’s important to know how to survive in the wild.”
Seemed it was important even when not in the wild when one had as little cash as Liv and Knox.
“My dad never taught me anything like this. Only helped me train kickboxing, but he got more punches in than me.”
Jag hummed, watching Knox with a frown. “Did you have to fight for food?”
