Blind Love (Sulfur Heights Series) (15 page)

Gunner is still down on the ground along with two of his other brothers
. They may be big as hell, but they don’t know how to fight. There’s only one brother left and I’m ready to lay him flat when the sound of sirens comes out of nowhere. Cars round the corner just as I lay my last punch.

Police officers draw their guns and force me to the ground. My face is planted in the concrete as one of them has their fat knee in the back of my neck. Cuffs are tightly placed around my wrists then they pick me up and put me in the back of a cruiser.

I don’t know what she’s saying, but I can tell Delilah is begging with them to let me go. The tears are streaming down her face and it pisses me off it’s her first night in town and it’s turned out disastrously. Where the fuck is Jeremy? He’s always bailing lately, slinking off to be with Ronnie. I’m going to beat his ass when I get out of jail.

***

I’m only in jail for the night before Tom Willington, Reggie’s attorney, escorts me out. Delilah has given a statement to officers and has told them exactly what happened. Gunner and his brothers did not press any charges against me, knowing they would have to admit I kicked all of their asses, so they decide to let me go and only charge me with public intoxication instead of assault.

It’s been a long fucking night and all I want to do is shower and sleep.

Delilah is waiting outside in her rental car when I step from the building. Crossing the street, I walk over to her and see the concern in her eyes. She looks beautiful today, like every other day. Her blonde hair is braided behind her head and her tits look perfect in her solid white t-shirt that fits tightly to her body.

I get my act together when I make it to her car and smile. “Hey
, D, thanks for picking me up. I thought I would have to walk home.”

She nods quickly and I get into the passenger seat then roll down the window. We don’t say anything on the way home. She must be pissed off or completely offended her best friend was in jail. Little does she know
, I’ve been arrested twice before. I do some stupid shit when I’m drunk.

We pull into the driveway then shuffle our way into the house. I stop immediately and crack a can of Mountain Dew. My throat is so dry and the stale whiskey taste in my mouth is disgusting.

“I’m going to take a shower. I feel pretty gross.” Walking my way back to the bathroom, I hear Delilah whisper okay.

I shut the door and quickly get my shower taken and teeth brushed. It’s amazing what a hot shower can do to make you feel ten times be
tter. Now I don’t smell like a homeless guy’s ass crack, and I feel more human.

Delilah is sitting in the living room
, watching TV, when I make my way down the hall. She looks over at me and gets embarrassed, probably because I just have a towel around my waist.
What is your innocent mind thinking of?
I smirk at her and get an eye roll in return.

“Come here
,” I instruct and she gets off the couch, walking toward me. I drop my clothes to the floor and open my arms, inviting her in for a hug, which she accepts, wrapping her arms around my waist and nestling her head into my chest.

My body is a little sore from last night, but nothing I can’t handle. Usually I feel worse when I spar with Reggie. He never takes it easy on any of us.

“I’m so sorry, Jake.” A tear falls onto my skin, igniting a feeling that’s been dormant; now all I want to do is kiss her. “I should’ve never hustled that guy. I just wanted to show you I’ve been working on my game.”

I lift her chin so I can look at her eyes. “Hey
, none of this crying shit. You were fucking amazing last night and I’m more than impressed.” She smiles and wipes the tears away with the back of her hand. “You kicking Gunner’s ass just proves I’m an amazing teacher. I think I deserve a medal right now. You know how much you sucked at first—well, with my expertise, I proved how amazing I really am.”

I want the sadness to be gone, forgotten. What happened last night
is really no big deal. I’ve been in fights before and arrested, so it really doesn’t matter.

The only thing that really mattered last night was the guy who put his hands on Delilah. That was inexcusable and he needed to be taught a lesson.

Delilah slaps me in the chest. “Oh
, thank God. I was wondering when the chauvinistic Jake was coming back.” She moves away from my grip and walks down the hall, toward her room. “You never seem to disappoint, letting him roam free.”

“I aim to please
, cupcake. I’m off to bed. Be ready at eight o’clock,” I say, rounding the corner into the kitchen.

“For what?”

I poke my head out the doorway of the kitchen, making eye contact with Delilah who’s now down the hall. “Races, woman!”

When a
smile lights up her face, I walk down to my room and pass out with the same huge grin on my face.

Chapter 10

Jake

It
’s eight thirty and Jeremy is nowhere to be found. I’ve called his cell phone nonstop for the last fifteen minutes and it keeps sending me to voicemail. He’s never late for a race. Not once have I waited on him to be ready. This is his passion; he would never jeopardize what he’s accomplished for something stupid. Now, though, I’m not so sure.

Jeremy text
ed me this afternoon, saying he was with Ronnie and to take the Challenger up to Old Miller’s Road by eight and he’d meet us up there.

Thirty fucking minutes late
r, Jeremy is nowhere and my aggravation toward him skyrockets.

He’s been absent more than he’s been around
, always tagging along with Ronnie. God only knows what they do. When I try to talk to him about it, he brushes it off and tells me to chill out. I hardly know he’s around now because, when he’s home, Jeremy is in the garage or texting on his cell phone. He doesn’t talk to me anymore.

Delilah and I stand next to the starting line
. Then, nine o’clock rolls around and the competitor is getting impatient with us.

“Is
he answering his phone?” Delilah whispers in my ear and I shake my head no.

Mike, Ronnie’
s cousin, walks over and shows me a text he just got from Ronnie.

Ronnie:
Caught up with Jeremy. Take the bets and tell Jake to race instead.

What the hell? What could he possibly
be doing that would take precedence over racing? I turn to Delilah and tell her what the text message has said. Then we break the news to the competition.

Noah Sparks is known on the racing scene and is pretty decent. We’ve raced him before, always
coming out on top. He drives a Chevelle, similar to Drake’s with a 426 V8 engine under the hood. A lot more muscle than Drake’s Chevelle.

“Fuck
, no!” Noah shouts. “A deal’s a deal. If Jeremy can’t race, then he automatically forfeits, declaring me the winner.”

“Come on
, Noah. It’s not like you don’t know what you’re up against. We raced last summer, remember?” I say, trying to get him riled up enough to accept the bet. I’m gonna kill Jeremy the minute I see him. “Stop being such a fucking pussy. It’s not like you don’t know how the car handles. How different can it be if I’m driving instead of Jeremy?” It actually makes a big damn difference because Jeremy can drive anything with wheels. I’m pretty good, but my brother is fucking amazing.

Delilah moves to my side and crosses her arms
over her chest. Last summer, she was much more guarded, always looking over her shoulder, but now, I can tell she’s more comfortable in Sulfur Heights. I think she likes the potential danger in all of this.

“Okay, I will race on one condition
,” Noah says, moving in closer to us. “The race will continue as normal, but she has to drive.”

“Me?” Delilah gestures to herself and lights up with excitement.

“No way in hell, Noah!” I snap back. The only type of cars Delilah has driven are luxury cars and that stupid Mini Cooper; there’s no way in hell she can handle a car with this kind of muscle.

“You said it yourself, Jake. It shouldn’t matter if Jeremy isn’t driving.”
With that arrogant smirk on his face, I immediately want to deck him between the eyes.

Delilah pulls me away from the car so we can talk privately. “Jake, I can do this.”

“No, you can’t,” I whisper back. “He’s really good and you’ve never driven a car with this much power. They handle way differently than your stupid piece of shit rentals or Mini Cooper.”

Annoyed
, Delilah rolls her eyes and gets into my face just to make her point. “Have you ever seen me drive? I mean, really drive?” I shake my head no. “Then let’s do it. Think of all the money we could make. No one will bet on me. I’m just a spoiled, rich princess, remember?” Holy hell, I think she just hustled me. What have I created?

When
Delilah moves away from me and walks over to Noah, she’s swinging her hips, walking seductively toward him. I’m pissed immediately.

Then
she begins to turn on her southern girl charm, flirting with him. “Okay, sugar. I’ll race.”

Mike shouts the news to the growing crowd
, causing everyone to scurry and put their money in on the bet—against Delilah no doubt. I give him my money, betting on Delilah and get into my designated seat. Delilah is behind the wheel, white a ghost.

“Turn the engine on and
rev it up.” She does as I ask, but barely touches the gas. “Come on, cupcake. I said rev the motor! Push your damn foot on the accelerator and make it roar!” She glares over at me and slams her foot on the gas pedal. Good.

“Jake, I’m really nervous now. I’m not sure I can—”

“Shut up. Your damn mouth got us into this mess, now you’re going to get us out,” I snap back, purposely pissing her off so she will focus on anything other than what she’s actually about to do.

“Don’t tell me to shut up!” Her eyes are set to kill as glares
fly in my direction. Good, now she’s pissed. This is the right frame of mind that will make the slim chance of winning successful.

“Don’t do anything or say anything, got it? Listen to exactly what I’m saying and do exactly what I say w
hen I say it! Do you understand?” I hold her chin, turning her head toward me and say, “You’ve got to trust me.”

This is the most dangerous stunt we
’ve done thus far; with one wrong move, we could get killed. Driving one hundred mph down a straightaway isn’t for the faint hearted. It takes total concentration, balls of steel and absolute trust in your machine. Delilah needs to get acquainted real fast with the Challenger and find her balls because we’re about to do this.

I grab her hand, intensity burning from my skin and seriousness pouring from my eyes. “Look at me.”
When her blue eyes reconnect with mine, we are suspended in a moment in time, hanging on only by the connection our eyes make. “You can do this. Do you hear me?” I take her hand in mine. “Repeat what I just said.”

Delilah doesn’t break my gaze, her eyes only grip harder to mine. “I can do this.” She squeezes my hand
. “I trust you, Jake.”

I smile in return, knowing how good it feels to have her trust. The trust of someone who knows
that whatever you do, they will believe in you and the words you say.

“Good. Now let’s make this grown man piss in his pants.” She gives me a giggle and then nods to Noah.

Here goes nothing.

Delilah

I exhale a deep breath and glue my eyes to the woman starting the race. Jake pops in Thin Lizzy and
we wait silently until arms go flying. Game time.

I slam on the accelerator and feel the power of the Challenger vibrating in my seat. The car feels faster now that I’m actually behind the wheel.

Jake is as cool as anyone could be. “You’re doing good, D. Noah likes to ride close. Just ignore him; keep focused on the road.”

It
seems impossible, but I don’t pay attention to where Noah is and whether he’s close to the car. I only do as Jake says and keep my eyes on the windshield.

“Okay. The turn’s coming up. When I tell you
, you’re going to slam on the breaks. I mean, hit the fucking breaks
hard
. Grab the wheel on the outside and crank it to the left. We are going to fly, you’ve got to maintain control. She’s gonna slide on you. Control it. Do you understand?” I listen to the deep seriousness in Jake’s tone. He’s not yelling. The sound is soothing, cool and controlled.

“Yes
,” I answer as I nod my head in agreement, but on the inside, I’m freaking out. My heart is thumping so hard in my chest that I feel like at any moment it will bust out through my ribs.

“Are you ready?” Jake asks
.

“Yes.”

“Here it comes. In ten feet… five feet… PUNCH IT!” Jake shouts as I hit the brakes then violently turn the wheel hard to the left. The back end of the Challenger swings out quickly as we do a one hundred and eighty degree turn. “Control it, D. Control!” Jake instructs as the car makes its aggressive turn.