High-Sided: An Armed & Dangerous Novel Read online

  “Sorry,” I said, releasing a heavy sigh. He got back to work and I walked over to him and sat down. He was thirty-six, and had been working for our team for fifteen years. Now that Ethan was gone, my father was probably going to bump him up to pit crew manager. “Why aren’t you at the track with everyone else?”

  He took off his baseball cap and wiped the sweat off his brow with his forearm, his dark hair drenched underneath. “Because someone has to change the oil on these bikes. Has Richard mentioned anything about hiring another mechanic?”

  I shook my head. “We’ve been having a difference of opinion here lately.”

  Sighing, he slid away from the bike. “I take it you saw Logan at tryouts.”

  “Unfortunately,” I grumbled.

  He nodded. “I saw him at the funeral talking to your dad. With everything going on, it might not be bad to have him back. It’ll give the guys some hope.”

  The morale had been dampened, but we sure as hell didn’t need Logan to get it back. The door to the shop opened and my father trudged in, with Sean trailing behind him. Ben scooted back over to Trey’s bike. “Looks like you’re needed.”

  Huffing, I got to my feet. My father nodded toward his office and Sean walked over to his bike, giving me a small nod. I nodded back and marched into the office.

  “I can see you’re not happy with my decision,” he said, shutting the door. “I understand your feelings, but there’s something I need to tell you.”

  I turned my back and looked out the window. “There’s nothing you can say that’ll change things. Just know that once you retire, he’s gone.”

  “You won’t be saying that when you hear what I’m about to tell you.”

  I glared at him over my shoulder. “Doubtful.”

  Circling around to his desk, the chair creaked as he sat down. “I loved your mother, Kassidy. She was the most amazing person I ever knew.”

  I scoffed. “So amazing you had to get a divorce.”

  He shook his head. “I didn’t want a divorce, peanut. She was the one who couldn’t stomach being around me.”

  “Why? And don’t give me that bullshit about having differences.” Which was all my mother ever told me at the time. I’d been in high school so it wasn’t like I was a child who couldn’t understand. I kept waiting for explanations and never got them. Over time, I gave up.

  He held up his hands. “I won’t. I’m ready to tell you everything, if you’ll sit down and listen.”

  Crossing my arms over my chest, I stood firm. “I think I’ll stand.”

  “Fine,” he said sadly. “Your mother and I were happy for a long time. It killed me not to be by her side when she was sick.”

  “You had a new wife by then,” I replied blandly.

  He nodded. “I know, but I never stopped loving your mother. It was my extracurricular activities that broke us apart.”

  I felt the bile rise up my throat. Did I want to know? “Were you into hookers? Drugs?”

  “Hell no,” he exclaimed. “Although, what I was involved in might be considered worse to some.” He took a deep breath. “I had a problem with gambling. There were times when I lost everything and didn’t have the money to pay it back. I had to sell your mother’s jewelry and other things around the house just to help.”

  I closed a hand over my mouth. “Oh my God. Is that why you got rid of my toys?” I remembered when he went through mine and my sister’s rooms, packing up some of our belongings. He’d said he was giving them to a charity for other kids. When he told us that, I let him take my favorite bicycle. I thought another child in need would want to have it, even though I loved it more than anything.

  Tears pooled in his eyes and he nodded. “I’m still ashamed of what I did to our family. I’ve tried so hard to make it up to you ever since.”

  “When Ethan said you had enemies outside of the racing world, he was right, wasn’t he?”

  “Yes,” he choked out. “There was one night they’d beaten me up pretty badly. Your mother told you I was in a car accident.”

  My knees grew weak and I felt sick. I melted into a nearby chair. “I can’t believe this. Does Maddie know?”

  He shook his head. “No. I didn’t want you or your sister to find out. Your mother helped me keep the secret.”

  As a kid, I thought he was superman. There was nothing he couldn’t do. I understood his reasoning, but I didn’t like being lied to, especially from my mother.

  “It wasn’t until Logan joined our team when I was able to pay back my debt. I owe him so much.”

  “What about now? Do you still have debt?” I asked incredulously.

  “No, of course not. I cleared that up almost nine years ago. I don’t know what’s going on now. I just don’t want anyone getting hurt. That’s why—”

  The door to his office opened and Angela strolled in with a stack of papers in her arms and earbuds in her ears. She was dressed in her yoga pants, most likely about to go on her morning run after she filed our expense receipts in the file cabinet. Her eyes went wide and she shrieked when she saw us.

  “Oh my goodness, I’m so sorry,” she said, taking out her earbuds. “Usually, no one’s in here at this time.” She held up the papers. “You had these in your completed pile, so I thought I’d file them.” My office was on the other side of the shop. I was probably going to have to look into working from my house for a while, until everything settled down.

  I waved her off and started for the door. “It’s okay. I’m leaving.”

  “Kassidy, wait! I’m not done,” my father hollered.

  Stopping at the door, I took a deep breath. “For now, you are. I don’t think I can handle anymore today.” I hurried out, drawing the attention of everyone in the shop. The last thing I wanted was to be childish, but I couldn’t handle Levi’s death, Logan’s return, and my father’s lies all in one day.

  Sean looked up from his motorcycle and he knew I was pissed. After being friends for so long, he knew to leave me alone. I bolted outside and closed my eyes, taking in the fresh mountain air.

  “Kassie,” Logan murmured.

  His voice startled me and I jerked around. He leaned against the building, his arms crossed at his chest. I got a good look at his motorcycle, and realized why it looked so familiar. It wasn’t the same one he had years ago, but the paint job was the same. What made it hurt worse was, it was the design we had fabricated together. It was different from everyone else’s. The blue wasn’t just metallic, but iridescent.

  “Don’t ever call me that again,” I snapped.

  He held up his hands and stepped forward, his striking blue eyes full of regret. “Okay, I won’t. All I need is five minutes of your time. Will you please give me that?”

  Eyes burning, I had to leave before the tears fell. “Sorry, but I don’t have the time.” Hurrying to my car, I got in and sped away. I wasn’t ready to hear him out.

  Logan

  It was beginning to look like I would have to make her listen to me by force. Kassie was a stubborn girl and I knew how to handle her, only I couldn’t see her enjoying me wrestling her to the floor like I used to do. I’d get a swift kick to the nuts if I did that now.

  Walking into the Bennett Racing shop, everyone turned my way. I’d met the other Bennett racers at the track and they seemed like cool guys. Sean glared at me from where he sat, but that was to be understood. If Kassie hated me, then I had no doubt he would too, even though we were friends back in the day.

  Ben slid away from the bike he was working on and smiled. “How ya been, Chandler? I would shake your hand, but I’m covered in grease.”

  Ben was a good guy, always on top of things when it came to work. I wasn’t surprised to still see him working for Bennett. “No worries, man. I’m sure we’ll be seeing a lot of each other.”

  “I hope so. The boys said you were on fire today.”

  “Hell yeah, he was,” Trey shouted. “I’m ready for him to teach me a thing or two.”

  I point
ed at him and smiled, even though inside, all I could think about was mentoring Levi. “You got it.”

  “Logan,” Richard called, nodding toward the door. “It’s time.”

  “See ya later, boys,” I said, following Richard outside. We hopped in his truck.

  “I called Ethan and told him we’re on our away.”

  “Did he sound angry?” I asked.

  He shook his head. “I think shocked, especially when I told him you were with me.”

  “I’d say so. I showed up out of the blue after eight years. I’m sure a lot of people are going to ask questions.”

  “You have that all figured out, right?”

  “I’ve done this a thousand times, Richard. I know how to do my job.”

  “Yeah, but you’ve never had to investigate the people you know. It complicates things.”

  “That it does.” I sighed, focusing my attention out the window. He had a point; it was hard to keep emotions out of the way when it was people you knew. “So I researched those three gamblers on your list.”

  “What did you find?”

  “Nothing out of the ordinary. One of them died about a year ago, and the other two aren’t living in the area anymore. I think I’m going to focus more on the people around here, mainly the Hendrix team.”

  He huffed. “Makes me sick to think anyone could hurt my team out of spite. I hope you figure this out soon. Whoever’s behind it needs to pay for what they did to Levi. He was an amazing young man.”

  Yes, he was.

  I loathed the Hendrix racers and could definitely see them being the ones contributing to Bennett’s downfall. Unfortunately, I had to keep an open mind. I turned away from the window. “What do you say about me putting cameras up around the shop?” I asked.

  His eyes widened. “That’d be great. For years, I kept saying I was going to put some up, and never did.”

  “Good. Micah and I’ll do that tonight. Make sure we can get in.”

  He nodded. “Will do. Did you see Kassidy when she left?”

  I shrugged. “All of two seconds. After we finish up with Ethan, I’m going to her house. She needs to know the truth.”

  We pulled into Ethan’s driveway and he shut off his car. “I told her about my gambling. That’s why she left pissed off.”

  “She deserved to know. Keeping her in the dark will only make things more dangerous for her. She won’t know to stay on her guard.” I got out of the car and waved at Ethan. He was in his garage, working on the motor of an old Chevy truck. His dark hair had a little more gray in it, but overall, he still looked the same.

  “Well, I’ll be damned,” he shouted, smiling wide and ignoring the fact that Richard stood right beside me. “How the hell are ya?” He held out his hand and when I shook it, he pulled me in for a hug.

  “Happy to see you,” I replied. “It’s been way too long.”

  He slapped me on the back. “That it has. What’ve you been up to?”

  I glanced quickly at Richard. “It’s a long story. Do you mind if we come in and talk?”

  His smile faded and he huffed when he glanced at Richard. “Sure. Come on in.”

  We walked inside and he sat down at the kitchen table, clasping his hands on top. “You’re not going to accuse me of stealing something else are you?”

  Richard closed his eyes and took a deep breath before opening them. “No. I’m here to offer you your job back. I was wrong, and I’m sorry, Ethan. You’ve been nothing but a loyal friend to me.”

  His face brightened. “Did the cops figure out who did it?”

  “No,” Richard said sadly.

  Ethan glanced back and forth between us. “I don’t understand. If you don’t have proof, why are you asking me back? You were pretty adamant on kicking my ass the other day.”

  “That was until Levi was killed,” I spoke up. “Listen, he told me what you said about my crash not being an accident. After his death, Richard knew it all didn’t add up. There’s someone who wanted you both out of the way. Why? I don’t know.”

  His gaze narrowed. “So what is bringing me back going to do? If I’m wanted out of the picture, don’t you think whoever it is will strike again?”

  I nodded. “That’s what I’m hoping. That way, we can catch them.”

  Ethan chuckled incredulously. “The police aren’t having much luck. So, how the hell are you going to catch them?”

  I pulled out my FBI badge. “Because I’m not the police. I want to find who killed Levi, and who tampered with my bike. They could’ve killed me too.”

  His eyes went wide and he smiled. “You actually did it?”

  There weren’t many people I’d told about my dream to become an FBI agent; he was one of them. I had family members who laughed in my face when I told them because they thought I would never make it. Being an FBI agent was hard work and took a lot of discipline, but I’d done it. It felt good to prove everyone wrong.

  “I did,” I responded. “And that’s why I’m back. Whoever these people are, they don’t need to win. Having you back will stir them up. I can’t say it won’t be dangerous, but I have plans to keep everyone safe. Bennett Racing needs you.”

  Ethan lifted his brows and stared at Richard. “Is that true? Do you need me?”

  Richard nodded. “Not only as an asset to the company, but as a friend—someone I can trust. Please say you’ll forgive me. I was being a jackass.”

  Ethan stared at us both and blew out a heavy breath. “All right, I’m in. I’ll start back tomorrow.”

  Kassidy

  For the past two hours, I sat on my back porch and did nothing but stare at the mountains. If I went back to the shop, I’d no doubt see Logan again. I couldn’t risk being cornered by him. The only problem was, I couldn’t evade him forever. Sooner or later, he’d come after me. He was relentless when he wanted something.

  My phone rang and I groaned, thinking it would be Logan. It wasn’t. “Hey, girl,” I answered.

  “Hey, how are you?” Janie said.

  “Tired,” I replied. “It’s been a bad week.”

  Her voice grew softer. “I know. I just wanted to give you an update about Hendrix.”

  “Go for it,” I said, sitting up straighter in my chair. Any news was better than nothing.

  “As you know, I’ve been hanging around Mark a little more. And let me tell ya, you owe me. Big time. He can’t seem to talk about anything but himself and racing.”

  Mark was an arrogant douche, so that didn’t surprise me. “I’m so sorry, Janie.”

  “No worries, I’m happy to help. I don’t think Hendrix wants Ethan though. I know you had a theory that Hendrix wanted him gone from your team, so he could snag him up.”

  “Yeah.” It was one of my thoughts, but there was no telling what was going on.

  “I heard through Mark that Hendrix has no plans of hiring another mechanic or anyone on their pit crew.”

  Sighing, I leaned back against my seat. “I’m stumped then.”

  “But,” Janie blurted, “they are going to hire another rider. Apparently, word got ‘round that some new riders came into town. Hendrix is looking for new blood.”

  “Great,” I grumbled. “More asshats to add to their ranks. Why does your brother even hang out with them?”

  She huffed. “Good question. He seems to think they’re good guys.”

  “I beg to differ.”

  “I totally agree with you.” The line grew quiet, then she cleared her throat. “If you don’t mind, I want to ask you a question.”

  “Go for it.”

  “Is Sean single?”

  I couldn’t help but giggle. “You like him, don’t you?”

  “I don’t really know him, but he’s definitely easy on the eyes, and he seems like a good guy. You always had a way with the nice ones back in school.”

  “Sean is a great guy. I don’t like to waste my time with douches. To answer your question though, yes, he’s single. Maybe we can all go out to dinner soon.�
�

  She gasped. “That would be great. I’d love to get to know him better. He doesn’t seem to be interested in me though.”

  I didn’t know what to say to that. I definitely wasn’t going to tell her it was because he was still in love with me. By getting them together, I hoped it’d get his mind off me.

  My phone beeped and I looked down to see Sean’s name come up. “Janie, do you mind if I call you back later? I have another call coming in.”

  “Sure. Keep me updated about dinner.”

  “Will do. I owe you one anyway.”

  “No problem. I’ll talk to you soon.”

  We hung up and I clicked over to Sean. “Hey.”

  “You okay? You left pretty pissed off.”

  “I’m fine. My father finally told me the truth about what was going on. Did you know he had a gambling problem?” When he didn’t comment, I knew his answer. “Dammit! Was I seriously the only one who didn’t know?”

  He sighed. “No. Your sister doesn’t know.”

  “How did you find out?” I felt betrayed, especially since Sean was one of my closest friends.

  “I overheard my mom talking to Donnie about it a few years ago. She thought she could help him get it under control. Obviously, something helped for a while, but is he doing it again? It almost seems like someone’s trying to send a message.”

  “He said he’s not. So whatever’s going on, it isn’t because of his gambling. And if it were, they’d go after my father directly, as they’d done in the past. There was a time they beat him up bad. I remember how awful he looked. My mother had told me he was in an accident.”

  “Damn, I didn’t know all of that.”

  “That’s why I left all pissed off today. I couldn’t handle anymore. Not to mention, I just got off the phone with Janie. She said Hendrix isn’t interested in a new mechanic, it’s a new rider they’re looking for. They want new blood.”

  Sean huffed. “Great, just what we need.” Knowing them, they’d pick the dirtiest rider they could find. Hopefully, the guy on the red and black bike left town before they got their hooks in him.