My Delicate Destruction: Book One of the Wolfegang Series (2 page)

"I do," I whispered into his ear, my lips brushing against his cheek as I tried to hide how flustered I really was. I watched his hands clench as his breathing quickened. Good. He needed to remember he wasn't the only one who could play this game.

"I'm having a party at my house after the race. I want you to come," he said, his deep voice resonated through me.

"And Crystal?" I asked.

Kevin shrugged. "We're not together anymore, although she likes to forget that."

I raised my eyebrows in surprise and glanced back at Crystal. She looked angrier than normal, her arms crossed and her eyes glaring a challenge at me.

"We've tried this before, Kevin," I reminded him.

"I know," he said, putting an arm around my waist and pulling me closer.

"And it didn't work out." I tried to remember why I was bringing this up, but his body was making it hard to think.

"I was wrong," he whispered in my ear as he nuzzled my neck.

I couldn't hide my shock; I had to be hearing things. Kevin Reed never admitted he was wrong.

"You were wrong?" I repeated, unsure.

"Yes, I'm sorry." His face was too close to mine, I couldn't breathe.

"Kat, you ready?" I vaguely heard Victoria ask. "Kat!"

"Uh yeah, let's go." I looked at Kevin one last time. He smiled and let me go, stepping back to his car.

"Are we playing teams tonight?" Victoria asked me.

"I'm thinking that would be a good choice," I replied.

Victoria knew my history with Kevin, knew he was my Achilles' heel. So when it came to racing against him, it was safer if all I had to think about was Kevin and not the other drivers. Last time we raced I ended up totaling my car and spending a week in the hospital. I didn't really want to repeat the experience.

Trent appeared out of nowhere, a hat in his hand. "Two large to race, winner takes all," he said.

I dropped a roll of cash into the hat as did Victoria and Kevin. The last racer was a friend of Kevin's who we didn't know. He threw his money in as well, a smug grin on his face. I snorted at his expression. Who did this guy think he was? To even presume he had a chance was ludicrous.

"I didn't know girls could race, this should be a snore," he said, laughing and shaking his head at us. The crowd joined in. He probably thought they were laughing
with
him.

I faced him and stared appraisingly. "You must not be from around here then, newbie," I snapped. Victoria stood next to me supportively. She looked every bit the sex idol.

I mentally shook my head at her. Sometimes her obvious sensuality didn't exactly help certain matters, like this one.

"Yeah? Well baby, you can eat my rubber," he said. Kevin just smiled at me, loving every minute of it.

"Really?" I asked, feigning interest. "Let your driving do the talking, because I guarantee all you will be seeing is my ass." Smiling I turned to my car.

"I got your back, girl," V mouthed. She could definitely give him a run for his money while leaving me open to put all my attention on Kevin, who was unfortunately a fantastic driver.

A double-edged sword it seemed. It is part of what I liked about him and part of what drove me crazy. His arrogance was annoying yet well placed; it was hard to argue with.

Trent came to my window as I buckled into my racing belts and turned the ignition. He patted my shoulder. "Easy money," he said. He smiled and walked to the starting line.

Trent waved us forward and we pulled up to the spray-painted red line. Kevin was on my right and Victoria was on my left, with Newbie on Victoria's other side. I rolled up my windows and refused to look at Kevin. I booted up the computer and twisted the valves to let the Nitrous Oxide flow freely into the fuel system. Music blasted throughout the car, beating wordlessly in my mind and allowing me to concentrate. I emptied my thoughts and focused solely on my car, the race, and nothing more.

Trent raised his arms, telling us to get ready. We all revved our engines in response.

I watched Kevin out of the corner of my eye and Trent with the other, my foot gunning the accelerator and my right hand caressing the stick shift. Trent's arms dropped and I saw Kevin lean forward. I dropped the clutch and jumped forward, immediately slamming into second and straight through to third.

Kevin was inching ahead of me, but not by much. I glanced in my rearview mirror; Victoria was definitely keeping Newbie busy. She drove side to side with his motions, always keeping ahead and not allowing him to gain an inch.

I shifted to fourth and into fifth. My car broke even with Kevin's S2000. God knows what was under that hood, but damn, he was
fast
.

I checked my monitor; everything was ready. The engine was performing just as it should, time to test the new NOS system. I pressed the red button on the right side of the steering wheel and shot forward. I had no idea how fast I was actually going. The first thing I did with any car I was going to race was remove the speedometer. I found that if I knew how fast I was driving then the inclination to slow down would hurt me. Removing it got rid of that innate desire.

I glanced back again; Newbie was trying to get Victoria out of the way by slamming into her rear bumper. She just let him, keeping enough speed and control that he wasn't doing any real damage. She swerved from side to side, preventing him from getting the lead. She looked pissed, jumped forward, and then slammed on her brakes. He crashed into her back and his car flipped end over end. He landed on the nose of his car, sliding into a cement wall. She whipped around him and sped forward to tail me. I flicked my attention back to the road ahead of me and my own personal kryptonite.

The second phase was complete, the computer informed me. I noticed Kevin about half a car length behind me, but easily keeping the distance consistent. There was one thing that I remembered about his driving that allowed him to win so often: intimidation. That and his lack of concern, it was like he wasn't even trying.

I felt a prick of fear. I couldn't lose to him again, no matter how much I tried to convince myself I didn't care.

I floored the accelerator; the engine screamed in protest but complied. I knew the limits, and the car could handle what I gave.

My vision tunneled and all I saw was the finish line. Anticipation made me tense and adrenaline ran through my veins with reckless abandon. It was my drug: what I lived for.

I blocked out everything but the speed, and the track. I made sure Kevin was watching me and pretended to press the other NOS button. He fell for it. I saw him smile as he used the last of his NOS to pass me.

The finish line was close; I only had a few microseconds left. I pressed the button, and the third phase engaged. I flew forward, feeling exalted as I passed him and hit the finish line. Victory flooded through me, sweeter than any high.

I slowed and swung the car around in a fishtail, facing Kevin in his oncoming car while grinning in triumph.

The crowd slammed around us in excitement, cheering and yelling. I stepped out of my car and was immediately accosted by the spectators. I grinned again and accepted the money. I couldn't stop myself from raising my arms up in victory. It was exhilarating.

I handed the money to Trent and watched Victoria and Kevin. He came over, looking like a super model, and shook my hand.

"Good race," he said. His eyes held my gaze until he was all I could see.

Out of nowhere Victoria jumped on my back laughing. Newbie had gotten a ride with someone and he had finally showed up. His car was too trashed to make it and he was going to have to get it towed. He came over, boiling with anger, and grabbed Victoria's shoulder, yanking her around.

"Hey!" I yelled. My voice snapped with a warning.

"You cheated!" he screamed at Victoria, pointing viciously. He was so mad his finger was trembling. I stayed at her back, my arms crossed and glared. I dared him to touch her again.

"Technically the only rules are winning," Victoria told him.

"Luke, forget about it," Kevin's deep, soothing voice said from behind me. Apparently newbie had a name.

"You're just mad you were beaten by a bunch of girls," Victoria said smugly, rubbing it in. Great, she wasn't helping.

"You're just whores!" Luke yelled, slamming his fist on the hood of my car.

I narrowed my eyes. He did not just do that. I moved forward with every intention of inflicting intense pain, but Kevin held me back.

When Kevin spoke there was so much rage laced throughout his normally sweet voice that it gave me shivers and it wasn't even directed my way. "You need to go home now before I change my mind and beat your ass so bad you won't wake up for days."

Luke still looked pissed but backed down, his eyes a telltale sign that he was terrified. He turned and huffed through the crowd which parted silently to let him through. As soon as he was gone the crowd started talking in hushed voices.

"It's time to split people!" Kevin yelled over the noise.

"That was my goddamn car!" All the rage still coursed through me and it didn't have an outlet any more. I turned to leave, unsatisfied, and was restrained again by Kevin's hand on my waist.

I pushed him away and started for my car, not wanting to deal with him at the moment and say something I would probably regret later. He turned me around and I was forced to look up into his eyes.

"Are you coming to the party?" he asked. He rubbed his nose along my neck, breathing in my scent, and the rage dissipated like mist on a hot day.

"Yes," I whispered.

"Good, I'll see you there." He kissed my throat and turned away with a grin on his face.

I couldn't move, my hand resting on my neck where he had kissed me as I stared after him.

We all headed down the streets to Kevin’s house in Little Tokyo. He lived in a rundown suburban area. You could tell where the party was. There were people pouring out of the house, loud music, and I could almost smell the alcohol from where I was.

I parked on the street behind the house and covered my car with a tarp. I liked to keep it as inconspicuous as possible; I had no desire to attract any unwanted attention, particularly from the police.

Trent and Victoria parked and then walked over to me. I handed V three thousand for wingman, and Trent two thousand. We split the winnings every time one of us won. Winner got the larger portion and we switched that around to keep things copacetic. It was a team effort regardless who wins.

“So…Kevin?” Victoria asked, ensuring my mind was still intact.

“Yeah.” I shifted nervously. I didn’t want her to rag on me about this. She switched from supportive to thinking I was out of my mind all the time.

“We always got your back,” Trent reminded me. He gave me a small hug.

I smiled, and Victoria nodded in agreement. There was nothing like good friends to keep you out of trouble, or into it, depending on the situation.

We walked up the front steps together and through the open door. I looked around the room where chaos reigned. It was the usual scene: club music loud enough to burst eardrums, couples hooking up all over the place, alcohol, and tons of people.

A girl came over and gave us all a beer. V winked at her. The cute redhead put an arm around Victoria’s waist.

“I’ll see you around,” Victoria said to us, a huge smile on her face. That girl got
around
.

The look on Trent’s face was priceless.

“You know,” I said. “All you have to do is tell her you want her and she would be all over you and not her.”

“How can I compete with that?” he asked me, almost in despair. I took another look, he did have a point. The redhead was gorgeously exotic.

He sighed and headed over to the TV where a bunch of guys were watching videos of our races. They kept replaying newbie’s crash. I smiled; karma always came around to bite you in the ass.

“What are you thinking about?” Kevin asked softly, his voice tickling my ear. I shivered, telling myself it wasn’t because of him.

I turned around to face Kevin, a million answers running through my head so fast I couldn’t grab at one. I decided silence was better than making a fool out of myself, so I shrugged in reply.