
WARNING

This book contains sexually explicit scenes and adult language. It may be considered offensive to some readers. This book is for sale to adults ONLY.

* * * * * *  * * *  * *  * *  * * *  * * *

Please store your files wisely where they cannot be accessed by underage readers.

Copyright 2016 by Revelry Publishing

Published by Revelry Publishing at Smashwords

Smashwords Edition License Notes

Thank you for downloading this ebook. You are welcome to share it with your friends. This book may be reproduced, copied and distributed for non-commercial purposes, provided the book remains in its complete original form. If you enjoyed this book, please return to your favorite ebook retailer to discover other works by this author. Thank you for your support.

Disclaimer

This book is a work of FICTION. It is not to be confused with reality. Neither the author nor the publisher or its associates assume any responsibility for any loss, injury, death or legal consequences resulting from acting on the contents in this book. The characters, incidents and dialogue are drawn from the author's imagination and are not to be construed as real. While reference might be made to actual historical events or existing locations, the names, characters, places and incidents are either products of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons living or dead, business establishments, events or locales is entirely coincidental. Every character in this book is over 18 years of age. The author's opinions are not to be construed as the opinions of the publisher. The material in this book is for entertainment purposes ONLY. Enjoy.

Other Books by Carla Coxwell:

Torrid Exposure New Adult Romance Series

April is finished with school and ready to build a career. Coming from a well-to-do family, she has decided to reboot her life completely. With family scars too deep to mend, April craves a fresh start. But the past is harder to shake than April ever would have imagined. At the center of it all is Bennett, an old family friend who is the heir to a billionaire media mogul company. Bennett and April haven't been able to stand each other since they were kids. But as the world shifts, the two of them discover the past might be the key to their future.

Fifty Recipes For Disaster New Adult Romance Series

Trying to win a competition for best chef is cut-throat business. Kiara Sands has just won the opportunity of a lifetime. When she arrives at Fission, she has no idea just how much her life is going to change. She's immediately introduced to Jenny Foster and Robbs Martin, her competitors in the cut throat competition. The only thing Kiara finds more distracting than Robbs' hateful attitude is the handsome executive chef, Paul Weston. It doesn't help matters that Paul is quite taken by Kiara, and showers her with more attention than he gives her competitors.

Star Bright New Adult Romance Series

Torn between her feelings for her agent, Jon, and Rich, a charming bad boy who has ties in the movie industry, Jenny finds herself working through her own past to try to get a grip on her present. As she struggles to learn the lesson that in Hollywood not everyone is what they appear to be, Jenny tries to become a person that she can be proud of. Will she be able to find love and success in Hollywood? Or will she be dragged down by her past forever?

Obsessed Bounty Hunter Romance Series

Jacqui Schneider couldn't help it. Every time the memories of her family's brutal murder haunted her, she had to escape. The only thing that could replace her sorrow was sex... and lots of it. Depressed and with no goal in sight, Jacqui continued on with her self-deprecating lifestyle until it all changed one day. Uncle Max, an old family friend, appeared unannounced. Jacqui was astonished when Uncle Max revealed a secret to her about her father. From those few words, Jacqui's world turned completely upside down. She really didn't know her own father. In fact, she didn't even know much about Uncle Max, except that he visited them for a few days at a time over the years.

Get the latest update on new releases from the author at:

<https://www.carlacoxwell.com/newsletter>

This book is Part One of the "Devil's Advocate BBW MC New Adult Romance Series"

Book 1

When Kristie comes home from college, the last thing she expects is her world to be turned upside down by the appearance of a handsome, gruff stranger, Gray. Kristie's mom asks if she can try to befriend Gray, in hopes to get him on the straight and narrow. The plan backfires, however, as Kristie finds herself falling for Gray. Is it possible he feels the same way? The connection between them threatens to tear down everything Kristie has ever held dear.

Book 2

Kristie has finally graduated from college. With a new boyfriend in tow, Gray's rival, Armand, and moving back into her mother's house, it feels as if life might finally fall back into place. But Gray, the love of her life, happens to return after hiding out of town. As Kristie and Gray are drawn closer together, both must choose the life they want - with each other, or alone. No matter what they end up picking, the risks in their lives can end up costing the two of them everything.

Book 3

It's been six months since Kristie was taken down in a gun fight related to her husband's gang activity. Despite Gray's promise to leave the gang behind, he finds himself searching for Armand and a way to take out the Infernos. The cycle of violence continues but this time the stakes might be too high and the price to pay might only be one of blood.

Book 4

When Kristie discovers she is pregnant after thinking she cannot conceive, her world is flipped even more upside down. Her best friend had just been gunned down in a gang related shooting and her husband, Gray, is in a battle for his life with a rival gang. Gray has a plan to get their happily-ever-after life but it is risky. He puts everything at stake to get rid of Armand. But Armand won't go quietly. As the fighting continues, Kristie and Gray realize that everything is at stake.

A BBW MC New Adult Romance Series

Devil's Advocate

Book One

By Carla Coxwell

Copyright Revelry Publishing 2016

# Table of Contents

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten

Other Books by Carla Coxwell

About the Author - Carla Coxwell

Connect with Carla Coxwell

|  |

---|---|---

# Chapter One

KRISTIE LOOKED at the sky as she pulled up in front of the casino. The air was chilly and the clouds were dark and threatening snow, which was the last thing Kristie felt like dealing with. She had been in her car for over ten hours, driving home from college for the holidays. Her back was sore, and her legs needed to be stretched out. She wanted a hot bath in a Jacuzzi tub. She'd settle for a hot tub. But who was she kidding? There was no hot tub to be found at her parents' house, and trying to have a hot bath without being interrupted was almost impossible.

Kristie had approached the holidays with an ever-growing sense of dread. It wasn't that she didn't want to see her mother, but every time she came home, it was like being suffocated. Her hometown had held more appeal for her when she was younger, back when her father was alive. Since he'd died and her mother had gotten remarried last year, Kristie had delayed going home at all. She had only met her step-father in passing and hadn't met his ward or former ward, whom he had tried to raise on his own.

Kristie had saved up to stay at a hotel the entire break. It had made the most sense to her. It would cause the least amount of stress during her stay and give her space when she needed it. But when she had mentioned this to her mother, there was no way to mistake the sadness in her mother's voice for anything else. Knowing she was upsetting her mother by refusing to stay at home with her new family, Kristie had cancelled the reservation and agreed to stay at her mother's house instead.

She looked up at the casino where her mother had worked the last five years. Her mother worked in the back offices, far away from the lights from the slot machines and the sounds of people winning money. The casino was a little run down but brought in a steady stream of people who could afford the middle-level slots and risks it provided in a town that was mostly quiet.

The stale smell of cigarettes and alcohol hit Kristie in the face as she stepped inside. She looked around, seeing if anything had changed since the last time she had been here. Nothing jumped out at her. A few of the slots seemed to have been upgraded, but the carpet was still worn down and dirty and the place had an air of despair that made Kristie's skin crawl. She had never been to Las Vegas, but she imagined that the casinos there weren't as depressing.

Kristie made her way to the back and asked for her mother through the grate where an attendant was looking at her cellphone. The woman went off to find her mother, and Kristie was soon ushered into the back offices. What little there was of casino decor quickly ended here. Her mother's small office was near the back, shoved in a corner. The door was ajar, and Kristie peeked her head in.

Her mother was looking at the computer, squinting through her glasses to whatever was on the screen. When Kristie knocked on the door gently, her mother looked up and smiled. Kristie was startled to see she was going gray. The last time she had seen her mother, she had been a brunette. It was odd to see age creeping up on her. She came over to her and hugged her tightly.

"It's so nice to see you again."

"You, too, Mom."

Her mom urged her to sit down as she sat across from her at her desk. It made Kristie feel odd, as if she was interviewing to be her mother's daughter. Her mom didn't seem to notice, however, and smiled again. They made small talk for a while, mostly talking about Kristie's experiences at college. Kristie felt tired. She knew her mom meant well, but she really wanted to go home and nap. She was only here to get the address to her mom's new place.

"How are things with Lionel?" Kristie finally asked, feeling that if she didn't bring up her mom's new husband, she would never get out of the tiny office.

Her mom seemed to relax now that Kristie had brought him up, "He's great. Really, we're just wonderful. There are some issues, though..."

"Like what?"

"Well, it's actually one of the reasons that we wanted you to stay with us instead of a hotel. See, Lionel's former ward, Gray, is a bit of a handful. Lionel still feels responsible for him since he became his legal guardian when Gray was just a little boy."

Kristie wasn't following, "Okay...? But isn't Gray an adult now? Unless he's mentally challenged, shouldn't he be able to make his own decisions?"

"You're right, of course. But Lionel still feels responsible for Gray and how he's turned out so far. He tends to run on the wrong side of the law, and we thought it'd be so great if you two could meet and maybe hang out."

The words hung in the air. Kristie felt a twinge of annoyance. She had thought her mother wanted her at the house because she had missed her, not because she wanted her to play nice with her new step-father's former ward. They weren't in grade school anymore. Trying to change someone set in their ways by sticking them with a goody-goody was a useless attempt.

"Mom, why do you feel responsible to fix this?"

"I know you're still young and might not understand," said her mother, with a pleading look that Kristie had never seen before. "But Lionel and I are married now. His problems are my problems, just as my problems are his problems too."

Kristie took a deep breath and held it for a few seconds, letting the air out slowly. Her mother watched, a worried expression on her face.

"What do you want me to do with him?" Kristie finally asked.

Her mom, taking the fact that Kristie hadn't said no as a good sign, started to ramble. "Well, maybe just hang out with him. Show him what you do for fun. Maybe you two can go to the movies or something."

Kristie raised an eyebrow, "Go to the movies? What does this guy do for fun anyway that has you two so stressed out?"

Her mom avoided her stare and sighed, looking tired. "He runs with a bad crowd and doesn't like to listen. He's a good kid though. He's just lost."

"And you think I can fix him?"

"It wouldn't hurt to try, would it, Kristie? For me?"

Kristie sighed and nodded in agreement. How could she say no to her mother? She would always wish that her mother hadn't gotten remarried, but she didn't want her mom to be unhappy either. Her mom got up and walked over to her, hugging her tightly. Her mother's hugs had always reminded Kristie of being a little kid, outside playing till the sun set and running back inside for dinner. Back when her father was alive. Kristie shut her eyes tightly, willing the memories to leave her. She didn't want to think about her father right now.

Her mom finally pulled away and looked at her, smiling, "We'll have to really talk, you know, all about college and everything."

"Yeah, of course."

Her mom's eyes swept down her quickly, so fast that if Kristie wasn't used to it, she never would have picked up on it. She steeled herself.

"Maybe you and Gray can go to the gym. It'd get him out of the house and you could lose a few pounds at the same time," her mom said cheerfully.

Kristie mumbled in agreement and gave her mother one last hug before leaving the office. She should have known that there wasn't going to be any way in hell that her mother would have let an entire conversation go without making some sort of remark to her about her weight.

As she trudged through the casino, her mood lowered with every step. She regretted coming here for the holidays. Before her, the days spread out in a bleak landscape. Dealing with her mother's 'helpful advice' about her weight, and trying to show that loser, Gray, around town. At the very least, she should have kept the hotel reservation.

Kristie dragged out the drive toward Lionel's house. Her mother had given her the address and it was close to the casino. A ten-minute drive didn't seem like enough time to prepare for whatever she was going to walk into. As she turned down the street where her mom's new house was, she found herself taking a deep breath. The first time, she just drove past the house. It was non-descript and showed nothing of worth that made Kristie even notice it. Her mom had stopped gardening after her father died, and the front yard of this house was plain and dull.

Kristie pulled into the driveway. The garage door was open and a man was underneath a truck, working on it. She could only see his feet. Kristie got out of her car, grabbed her bags, and looked inside the garage. The man didn't look up when she shut the door of her car.

"Hello?" Kristie called out toward the man under the truck.

He didn't answer. Heavy metal was blasting out of a stereo nearby, but it was such an old stereo that the music sounded tinny. Kristie called out again, but the man still didn't answer. She knew that he heard her because he stopped working at one point and went still before resuming. She hoped this wasn't Lionel, because the guy was an asshole. Probably his fantastic ward. Kristie trudged toward the front door, leaving the guy behind. What a fantastic trip this was going to be.

|  |

---|---|---

# Chapter Two

Gray had heard someone trying to get his attention when he was working on Lionel's truck. Truth be told, he didn't care who it was enough to answer, although he suspected it was Lionel's new wife's daughter. Lionel and the girl's mother, Pamela, had been talking this Kristie girl up for a solid week. Never-ending tales of how fantastic she was and how much fun the two of them would have if they decided to hang out together. Fat chance. Gray could see right through the two of them. They thought pairing him up with someone who was a drab would make him want to reform. Joke was on them.

Gray wouldn't have even bothered fixing the truck if he hadn't owed Lionel for not telling Pamela he had stolen a twenty out of her purse the other day. But he also liked fixing cars. There was something he could get lost in when he worked on them. There was nothing confusing about cars. It was a different language, but one Gray could always understand. So he would fix Lionel's truck, but he wouldn't be playing nice with Pamela's daughter.

Pamela seemed more concerned with him than she needed to be. Gray didn't need a babysitter. He had nothing against Pamela, per se, but she tired him out with her constant questions about his life. Gray, lost in thought and not paying attention, slammed his finger against something and cursed out loud. He pushed himself out of the bottom of the truck, staring at the top of the garage, holding his finger. Careless. Now he was slamming his own fingers against the bottom of the truck like some sort of amateur.

He decided that he'd had enough for the day and would go shower. Gray had gotten roped into some stupid family dinner because Kristie was here and if he didn't shower, he would have to hear another well-intentioned lecture from Pamela. Groaning, he marched inside the house. He could hear Kristie talking to Lionel in the living room, introducing herself. He wondered what she would make of the old man and then decided he didn't care.

He went upstairs to clean up for dinner.

<<<>>>

Kristie finished making small talk with her step-father and decided to go upstairs to her room. He seemed nice, if a bit nervous to be talking to her without her mom around. Kristie knew that her mother was smitten with him and that was all that mattered. Her mom deserved to be happy. The second floor of the new house had her step-father's and mom's room plus the one where she'd sleep at the other side plus a living area in the middle. Gray apparently lived somewhere else. It was a different style of house than she was used to, but she liked it - it matched her mom's desire for change after her father had been killed.

Kristie walked into her room. It was decorated neatly, looking more like a hotel room than anything else. Lionel had told her she could add anything she wanted to the room to make it hers, but she kind of liked the hotel vibe it had. Kristie liked when rooms felt like hotel rooms. For some reason, it always made her think of comfort and relaxation. Her dorm room, cluttered with her own things, didn't make her think of that - she only felt stressed.

Kristie threw her bag on the bed, realizing the door shut next to it was an en suite bathroom. Score. Kristie gleefully began to tug off her clothes. This might look like an older house on the outside, but some serious renovation had been done inside. The cool air made her skin prickle and she sighed, feeling a little relaxed for the first time since she pulled into town. She went over and opened the door to her bathroom - and screamed in surprise.

A man was getting out of the shower, completely nude. His hair was cut close to his head and he was in incredible shape, with a strong-looking chest and arms. He had tattoos all along his arms and down his back and was grinning at her. Kristie stammered and yanked a towel off the rack nearby, covering herself quickly. She was blushing hard as the man let his eyes roam all over her, clearly drinking her in.

"You must be Kristie," he said in a tone that meant he was Gray.

Kristie took a step back to let him pass her. Gray was still fully naked, and she couldn't stop looking at him, her breath caught in her chest. He looked amazing. She felt a stirring from deep within that took her by surprise.

"What are you doing in here?" she demanded in a tone that she hoped hid the feelings she was suddenly having.

Gray looked at her. "Needed to shower. Didn't know you'd want to join me."

He was looking at her in that way again - a way that Kristie had never been looked at before. His eyes were virtually tugging the towel off of her so he could admire her. Kristie tried to keep her eyes welded to his face, not wanting to look down and have him catch her staring at whatever he was packing. The tattoos moved with him like poetry in motion. The heat from within her core had spread out across her body, and she was breathing hard.

"I don't! Please leave!"

"If you insist."

Gray lingered for a moment, admiring Kristie before snatching up his clothes he had shoved in a ball off to the side. She hadn't noticed them there. He slipped on his jeans, and she tried not to admire his butt as he walked out, shutting the door behind her. Once he left, Kristie ran over and locked the door. She could hear her mom downstairs. She must have just gotten home.

Kristie let out a sigh and looked around her bedroom. She made herself go over to the bathroom. The shower door was still open and next to it was a tub. Definitely renovated. She shut the door behind her and locked it, just for good measure. The bathroom was a little cramped since her mom had added the tub next to the shower but Kristie didn't mind. She knew her mom had added the tub for her. Kristie loved baths. They always managed to relax her.

But now as she stared at the tub, she was too busy trying to control her breathing over Gray to relax.

<<<>>>

Pamela was home and instantly began to ask Gray questions about Kristie. He should have left before she got home. He would have been able to, if he hadn't run into Kristie coming into her room. He had thought she would have spent more time talking to Lionel before coming up.

As Pamela was making a salad and talking his ear off, Gray found himself thinking about Kristie. He hadn't been expecting Pamela's daughter to look like that. He shifted his feet uncomfortably, nodding with whatever Pamela was saying. As soon as he had seen Kristie, sparks had flown between the two of them.

She had looked good. Gray had checked out every inch of her as she had stuttered and grabbed that towel. She had stirred something inside of him that wasn't easily stirred. Gray was focused on what he had to do in life and, outside of one-night stands, he didn't mess around with girls. They were a distraction and that wasn't what he needed right now.

But Kristie had made him rock hard. He had thought of what it would have been like if he had just made a move on her right then and there. Would she have gone along with it? And what if she had? How far would it have gone?

"Gray?" Lionel's voice broke him out of his thoughts. "How are things with the truck?"

Gray was grateful for the subject change.

<<<>>>

Upstairs, Kristie sank into the tub and let out a small sigh of delight. Her mom had even put bath salts next to the tub. Always thoughtful, her mother. Kristie used some and stretched out, closing her eyes. She had turned off the bathroom light and the cloudy weather brought in a dim light that made her wish she could go to bed instead of going downstairs for dinner. The thought of seeing Gray downstairs made her break out into a sweat. What had she been doing, looking at him like that? It was complete madness - as if something had overtaken her. But she couldn't help but remember just how good he had looked coming out of the shower like that.

You need to get laid. Kristie knew she was acting like a school girl. She would go downstairs and face dinner like an adult.

|  |

---|---|---

# Chapter Three

By the time dinner started, Gray regretted staying. He hated these family dinners. They always felt forced. Lionel and Pamela always asked what he was up to with the underlying vibe of, "What are you really doing with your life?" in each question.

Kristie sat down across from him, avoiding his gaze. Gray tried not to smile at her. She had obviously felt something at seeing him naked and was trying to deal with it. He hadn't expected her to be so hot, either. Her modesty appealed to him, different from the women in the Devil's Advocates who threw themselves at him.

He was silent through most of the dinner. Lionel and Pamela peppered Kristie with questions about college. Gray could see why his parents were trying so hard to get them to hang out together. Kristie obviously rolled in another world from Gray entirely, one with tests and studying and going to class. Gray had none of that on his plate.

"Doesn't that sound fun, Gray?" Lionel asked, looking at him over his old glasses.

"No."

Pamela looked at Kristie, as if she was trying to have her back them up, but Kristie remained silent. Gray hid a smirk and shoveled another mouthful of food in.

Lionel looked perplexed. "It's never too late to go back to college."

"You can't go back to somewhere you didn't even go in the first place," Gray pointed out. "And I dropped out of high school."

"You can always--"

"I'm not going back," Gray snapped, feeling irritated - this was the last thing he wanted to discuss right now.

"Is it supposed to snow this week?" Kristie chimed in.

Gray appreciated her effort at trying to change the subject.

But Lionel kept on. "I just think it'd be best if you got out of that motorcycle club you're always partaking in. It is a waste of time--"

Gray stood up, suddenly furious, and stared Lionel down. "You don't know anything about the Devil's Advocates or what I do."

"I know you get arrested," Lionel retorted. "And I had to pay bail to get you out."

"You two, please, if we can just..." Pamela tried to speak but Gray was too irritated to listen and held up his hand to cut her off.

"You want me to be some sort of cookie cutter human being like Kristie - well, I'm not. You've never been able to accept what I do or who I am."

"Who you are?" Lionel thundered. "You run in a gang; how am I supposed to be proud of that?"

"I'm alive and doing things I want to do instead of being a cog in a machine!" Gray spat and took off from the table, knocking the chair over as he stormed toward the front door.

He could hear Lionel yelling at him and Pamela trying to calm him down. Kristie was silent. Gray stormed out of the house, shutting the door behind him and heading off toward his motorcycle. It was always a mistake to come here. Why did he always fall for it? Lionel wanted someone to stand in for a son, and Gray would never fit in with what Lionel wanted. Good thing he has Kristie. His motorcycle came to life, and he roared down the street.

<<<>>>

Kristie watched Gray storm off, suddenly understanding what her mother had been trying to tell her about him back in the casino. Motorcycle gang? She watched her mom try to calm Lionel down. No wonder they were all so worried. That was no joke. She knew Lionel had meant well in bringing up college, but Gray had shut down instantly. It probably had been brought up time after time and he was sick of hearing it.

Dinner resumed in a quiet fashion. The conversation was dry and filled with long pauses. Her mom seemed too concerned with Lionel to ask her more pointless questions. Kristie moved the food around on her plate, wondering where Gray had gone. She knew next to nothing about motorcycle gangs. Wasn't there a TV show about them? Kristie dimly remembered watching it with a guy she had been dating. All it seemed to be was mean-looking guys beating each other up in leather jackets. There had to be more to it than that...right?

Kristie helped clean up after dinner and said she was tired and had to lie down. Once she was safely back in her room, she organized her things a bit, looking out the window. There was no way that Gray would be coming back here tonight. She wondered what he would be doing all night and if someone would get hurt because he was angry. Didn't those gangs just hurt innocent people?

Frustrated, Kristie plopped down in bed, staring at the ceiling. Before she could stop herself, her brain started to wander back to the sight of Gray just out of the shower. His muscles were covered in tattoos and he had that small grin playing across his face. Kristie's heart picked up speed as she thought about how he'd moved past her, his eyes roaming across her body. The heat from before came back to the middle of her thighs. She tried to ignore it. It was ridiculous. She realized her hands were trailing lower, and she stopped herself.

Kristie rolled over, shutting her eyes tightly, barring all thoughts of Gray and his body out of her mind. It was time to sleep.

<<<>>>

Gray stumbled back into his apartment at almost four in the morning. He hadn't meant to be out so late but once he got around his friends, he realized he didn't care. He was drunk and tired and barely remembered to lock and shut his door before collapsing into bed.

His apartment was rundown and in a bad part of town. But it was only ten minutes away from the club where the rest of the Devil's Advocates hung out. That was all that mattered to Gray. Thoughts of the fight with Lionel had long since dulled, due to the alcohol he had been steadily drinking all night. He was ready to fall fast asleep.

Right before he did, Gray found himself thinking of Kristie. She had tried to change the subject during the fight, hadn't she? His memory was muggy right now, but he was pretty sure that she had. And she hadn't butted into the fight at all. Gray appreciated that. He hated when other people tried to butt into his business.

His mind traveled back to her naked body. Gray hardened under the covers, a wonder due to how much booze he had drunk. He found himself going back over every inch of her body mentally, wondering what she would look like underneath him. Bad thoughts, don't go down that path.

He managed to still his brain long enough to pass out into a deep slumber.

<<<>>>

The next morning, Kristie was engrossed in a book, lying in bed with a cup of hot tea next to her on the bedside table when her mom knocked gently on the door. She poked her head in and the look on her face made Kristie think that she wasn't going to be overly thrilled with whatever her mom was going to suggest.

"Hey, sweetie. I'm about to head off to work."

"I hope you have a good day."

"Thanks." Her mom stayed in the doorway.

Kristie sighed inwardly. "What's up?" She closed her book.

"What are your plans for the day?"

"Relaxing. Been a stressful semester."

"Are you doing anything tonight?" her mom pressed.

"Mom, if you want me to hang out with Gray tonight or whatever, I think we should all give up on the plan. It won't work."

"No, I know. I didn't mean Gray. I was going to ask if you were going to see Kass this trip."

Kristie hadn't even thought of Kass, and then felt guilty. The two of them had been close friends as kids but had drifted apart throughout high school. Kass had been in the drama club while Kristie had gotten involved in the debate team and AP classes that left her with a ton of homework. Once in a while, they would text each other to see how they were doing but the conversations were never what they used to be. Life had simply gotten in the way of their friendship. Kristie hadn't even thought of calling Kass to see if she wanted to do something. She couldn't remember the last time they had even hung out.

"I wasn't sure yet," Kristie said slowly.

"I just wouldn't want you to spend your entire break in the house. It might be good for you to get out and about, you know?"

Her mom had always worried that Kristie wasn't as social as everyone else. She had a hard time accepting that she was an introvert. Her mom had always been a social butterfly. She was fantastic with people and could start up a conversation with almost anyone. But Kristie had taken after her father, who had also liked to read and spend time away from people. Her mother had always mistaken Kristie being an introvert as being depressed.

"I haven't talked to Kass in a while, Mom."

"Well, I ran into her mom at the store the other day and mentioned you were coming. She said that Kass would love to see you again."

Of course she did. It wasn't as if her friend's mom was going to say anything rude. But Kristie was quickly seeing there was no way out of this, so she relented.

"Fine. I'll text her."

Her mom smiled. "Great, Kristie. Let me know if you end up going out."

After her mom departed, Kristie grabbed her phone and sent a text off to Kass, wondering what she was getting herself into.

<<<>>>

Kass hadn't wanted to do anything normal, like go out for dinner or maybe go bowling. Instead Kass had said that she would love to show Kristie the "more interesting part of town," which meant a bar. Kristie wasn't a fan of bars. They were crowded and loud, everything that she detested. But she couldn't back out of seeing Kass now without looking rude, so before she knew it, she was dressing to go out.

Kristie wasn't even sure what to wear to a bar but finally settled on a long-sleeved sweater, a jean skirt with leggings, and a faux leather jacket she had brought along in case it snowed. It was cold outside but hadn't snowed yet, which Kristie was grateful for. She said a quick good-bye to Lionel, who had just gotten home from work from the mechanic's garage he owned, and she was in the car before she could talk herself out of going.

Kass was waiting for her outside the bar. She always managed to dress more stylishly than Kristie ever could. She was wearing a dress that Kristie couldn't imagine provided much warmth and had her hair pulled back in a ponytail. She had long, thigh-high boots on and waved when she saw Kristie.

"Hey!" she said loudly, crushing in a hug.

"Hey, it's good to see you."

"You, too! I never thought we'd be hanging out again. Have you been here?"

"No, can't say that I have."

"You'll love it." Kass grabbed her wrist, dragging her toward the entrance.

Kristie was feeling pretty confident that she wasn't going to have fun but decided she would try her hardest. When she and Kass were younger, Kass had no problem chatting it up with strangers and blinking her eyes to play the innocent card and get whatever she wanted. Kass pulled the same trick on the bouncer outside the door, who let them in instantly as soon as Kass winked.

Once inside, all hopes of actually talking to Kass faded away. A band on one side of the bar blared their idea of a fantastic classic rock cover. The crowd here looked mostly like people who could kick her ass whenever they felt like it. The bar was crowded and people were sitting around small tables, cramped together. A couple was necking in a corner, and the whole place stunk of booze and cigarettes. Wonderful, just my sort of place, Kristie thought wryly as Kass dragged her toward the bar. Call her weird, but Kristie liked going to places with her friends where she could talk to them. Guess I won't be catching up with Kass tonight. Kristie shouted her drink order toward the bartender.

Once they had their drinks, Kass led her to a wobbly table way in the back. Thankfully, it wasn't as loud as it had been right next to the band.

Kass took a sip of her drink and beamed at Kristie. "How are you liking it?"

"It's...interesting!" Kristie yelled over the din.

Kass smiled, apparently pleased with Kristie's vague answer.

<<<>>>

Gray was looking forward to hitting up the bar and then heading off for a ride around town. Once a week, the club would take a ride around town and then along the outskirts, showing off their bikes to one another and feeling free, without any restrictions. Gray's skin was itching for the weekly ride. It felt like ages since last week, and he was ready to have all his thoughts blotted out by nothing but the sound of the wind in his ears and his motorcycle roaring underneath him.

"Crowded tonight," Rick, Gray's best friend, said as they turned off their motorcycles.

Gray frowned. It was awfully crowded for the middle of winter and near the holiday season. For some reason, people liked to come to the biker bar to stare at the other world - one they wished they could join but were too afraid to. Instead, they would come to the bar and gawk at the real bikers like Gray and his friends, and take pictures to post on social media and blab to their friends about. They were pathetic. Gray disliked all of them.

His club, the Devil's Advocates, was the most well-known biker gang in the area. Anyone who said otherwise was a liar. This was their bar and where they liked to hang out on a regular basis. Just last night he had been here, getting drunk off his ass after the fight with Lionel and his run in with Kristie. Kristie. Best not to think of her right now. Nothing good could come of it.

They stepped into the bar, which was packed with a lot of nobodies. People recognized them instantly. Gray and his group of friends ignored them and made their way toward the bar. The music was so loud that he couldn't hear anything anyone was saying about him. He ordered a drink and then scanned the bar for anything of interest.

His gaze fell on Kristie in one corner. Gray squinted, thinking maybe he was just seeing things. But no, it was her, with some other girl. The other girl was dressed obviously to attract stares from someone, probably a biker. She had a look on her face that said this was her first time here, and she was enthralled with how risky it appeared to be. Kristie, on the other hand, looked bored and was stifling a yawn.

Gray's heart skipped a beat when he saw her, but he ignored it. He wondered why Kristie was here and then realized that Lionel had probably put her up to it. Irritation flicked through him.

"Hey, do you know who that is?" Rick yelled in his ear and pointed to the girl next to Kristie.

Gray shrugged. He didn't care who it was. Kristie had probably dragged her along to have someone to hang out with her while she looked for Gray. How could Lionel be doing this? Did he really think sending his step-daughter after him was going to make Gray suddenly change his entire life? It pissed him off. He slammed down his drink and ordered another. Rick was babbling about the girl in his ear but Gray wasn't listening. He grabbed his new drink and began to walk over there.

"Let me do the talking, okay?" Rick was saying, as if Gray was going over there to help him impress that girl.

Gray ignored him, and the crowd parted before them. Kristie's eyes landed on him and widened in surprise. Has to be an act. He loomed over her.

"What the hell are you doing here?" Gray asked.

"Hey there, I'm Rick," his friend said, already slinking over to the girl opposite of Kristie.

Kristie frowned. "Excuse me?"

"You heard me!" Gray barked, feeling angry that Lionel was sending girls after him to keep tabs on what he was doing.

Kristie stood up, staring him down, which took him aback. He thought for sure that she would back off instantly but instead she looked furious.

"I'm at a bar with my friend, asshole."

"I know Lionel put you up to this." His voice was raised over the noise of the band.

Kristie cursed, but it was drowned out by the music. "Are you kidding me? Like I want to waste my break with someone like you."

"What the hell does that mean?"

"It means you are so fucking full of yourself and self-absorbed to think that I came here to look over you, Gray! What a dick." She snatched up her purse and looked over at her friend, who seemed enthralled by Rick.

Gray opened and closed his mouth, unsure what to say. He had been expecting a different reaction. Instead, she seemed defiant that Lionel hadn't put her up to this. What if I made a mistake?

Kristie marched past him. For some reason Gray couldn't let her leave, so he turned around to try to stop her...when he saw them.

Three men from the Infernos were walking into their bar, looking pleased with themselves. Gray clenched his fists. He couldn't believe that they had the balls to come here. People were giving them a wide berth, as if they didn't want to go anywhere near them. Armand, Gray's other friend and member of the gang, was already marching up to them, his fists clenching and unclenching.

Kristie had noticed the group as well and had stopped in her tracks, moving off to one side. Gray forgot about her as he moved toward the rival gang, anger fueling every step. How dare these assholes come into his bar!

Armand was already shouting at one of the men, his face twisted into a mask of rage. The man, Ben, was laughing, as if Armand was just a little kid. Rick was behind Gray as he moved up toward them, ready to punch one of them in the face if he needed to. He was itching for a fight, he realized, as he moved past Kristie.

<<<>>>

Kristie had been more than ready to leave the bar till this group of thugs had come inside. She assumed they were probably a motorcycle gang, but she considered them thugs. The way they were grinning, smug and pleased with themselves for crashing into the bar, rubbed her the wrong way. She had gone from wanting to tell Gray off and leaving to wishing he would tell these guys to get out.

She was still furious at Gray. How could he possibly think that Lionel had put her up to this? How would she have known that this was apparently the bar his stupid gang hung out in? Kristie couldn't even complain to Kass about it, because as soon as Kass had laid eyes on Gray's friend, she had become entranced by him. The two of them had started flirting while Kristie had fought with Gray. So much for her friend having her back.

"Just came by to get a drink and see if anyone had come by to take out the trash yet," the man in front said to Gray, who was clenching his fists.

"Get out of here, Ben," Gray spat.

People were staring now. The thrum of the music was giving Kristie a headache, and she wished that she had stayed home tonight. Curse her mom for making her feel bad enough to ask Kass to hang out.

"No, I think we'll stay and listen to this shitty band." Ben scowled. "I see you still have the pup Armand here. Nice of you to let charity cases into the club."

Before Gray could say anything, Armand swung. Ben seemed to be expecting it and grabbed his fist, twisting his arm back. The rest was a blur. The two groups lunged at each other. People screamed and made a circle around the group, watching the fight with avid interest while some people left quickly. Kass was soon by Kristie's side, yelling at her new crush - apparently named Rick - to be careful. Kristie yanked her back before she could get toppled over by one of the men being punched and flying back.

Kristie could see Gray in the fray. He moved forward and wrapped his hands around one guy's jacket, throwing him backward against the wall before lunging and decking him across the face. She winced, imagining that it must not have felt good at all. This is so childish. We aren't in high school anymore. The band was still playing. Obviously these fights were nothing new.

She turned to Kass, who seemed mesmerized. "I'm leaving!" she shouted over the noise.

Kass nodded, clearly not caring too much about if Kristie stayed or went. Annoyed, Kristie turned around to go when the lights of cop cars shone through the front doors. Seeing the lights snapped the crowd out of their daze. People began to leave in droves and others headed toward the bar to pretend they hadn't been cheering the fight on. She lost sight of Gray in the crowd and was moved forward by the crush of people.

She managed to get outside as the cops were getting out of the car. She could hear Gray fighting loudly with one of the officers. If he isn't already getting arrested, he's about to be. She would have to go over there and try to stop him from being arrested. If her mother found out that she had been there and merely watched as Gray got arrested, she would never hear the end of it.

Kristie barreled her way over to Gray. He was fighting loudly with a younger cop as Armand was being placed in handcuffs along with Ben. Rick, the guy Kass was crushing on, was standing behind Gray, as if to intimidate the cop.

"Ben started it," Gray exclaimed. "Yet you arrested Armand!"

What a liar, Kristie thought as she approached. Armand had clearly thrown the first punch.

The handsome officer stared at Gray wearily. "Listen, your friend is being arrested for refusing to stop attacking one of the other men. We've had to call an ambulance for him. The only reason you have gotten out of being arrested yourself is because you've behaved yourself since we arrived. Don't make me change my mind."

Kristie looked over to where the group of other men were. Ben was being shoved into one of the cars with Armand, but there was a man lying on the ground, his nose clearly busted, with blood down his face. He was trying to look tough even though he was laying there, shooing his other friends off of him. Armand must have gone after him when Ben went after Gray. Ben was glaring out of the police car at Gray with a split lip but seemingly no other damage. Kristie was guessing that as soon as Gray had seen the lights of the police car, he had stopped punching everything in sight, unlike Armand.

"This is bullshit!" Gray yelled and the officer tensed.

Kristie ran over and put her arm on Gray's shoulder. "Gray, enough," she hissed. "You're going to get arrested."

Gray turned and his eyes widened slightly. "Fuck off, Kristie."

"Seriously? Stop being an asshole for like two minutes so you can get out of here without another arrest on your pathetic record."

Gray seemed to be sizing her up. He had a strange look on his face that she couldn't read.

The officer said, "She's right, Gray. Let it go. I don't feel like having to detain you again tonight."

"Still bullshit," he said but was more subdued.

He moved away from Kristie and Rick followed. Kristie watched Gray go over to his motorcycle, talking earnestly with the other men in his club. Her head was aching, and she wished she could go home and have a bath. What a stupid night.

"Thank you, miss," the officer said, and she turned back to face him. "I haven't seen him back down like that before."

She rolled her eyes. "Well, don't say that loud enough for him to hear or he'll just start back up again. You deal with him often?"

"Often enough. I'm John." He held out his hand, and she shook it.

"Kristie. His former guardian, Lionel, married my mom." The words felt strange on her tongue.

"Well, hopefully we won't have to see each other again. Have a good night, miss." John said before turning back to deal with the arrests.

By this point, the ambulance was arriving.

Kass's eyes were shining with excitement as she jogged up to Kristie. "What a night! I should have come here before!"

"What?" Kristie sighed. "You made it sound like you came here all the time!"

"No, no, first time. Hey, where did your friend go? That Rick guy is so hot..." She started scanning the crowd, trailing after Kristie as she walked to her car.

Kass spotted Rick by the motorcycles and said a rushed good-bye, heading toward him. Kristie walked away, wishing the night would end. As she got to her car near the back of the parking lot, Gray was there, smoking a cigarette, which he flattened underneath his feet when he saw her.

"What the hell was that, Kristie?"

"Oh my God, Gray, please stop. I just want to go home. What are you upset about now?"

"You busting in on me talking to John. This isn't any of your business."

Kristie moved to her car, trying to demonstrate to Gray that she didn't want to have this conversation. "Get a grip, Gray. Like I give a damn about your stupid childish biker gang battles. I just didn't want you getting arrested like an idiot."

Gray moved in front of her. Kristie turned around, her back against the side of the car, crossing her arms.

"It's my life, Kristie."

"If I hadn't interfered, you would have been arrested, idiot!" she exclaimed, feeling irritated.

Gray moved forward, and she realized with a jolt that their hips were touching. They were so close that even in the dimly lit parking lot she could make out the flecks of color in his eyes. Her chest felt as if it had seized up.

"You need to mind your own business," he said, his breath coming fast - although Kristie didn't know if it was because he was irritated as well or just worked up over their close proximity.

"And you need to grow up," she replied, but her voice came out softer than she intended.

"I have a life here, Kristie. You don't even know what my life has going on in it because you're so sheltered." Gray moved slightly, and her breath caught with how much they were touching.

The look on his face seemed to be a mixture of annoyance and one that was similar to the one he'd had in the bathroom the other day. She swore she could feel him hard against her thigh - but that was absurd, right? Everything was muddled in her own brain.

"I'm not that sheltered," she mumbled.

Kristie tried to move away but Gray's fingers wrapped around her wrist, moving her back against the car. Both of them were breathing hard as his fingers stayed wrapped around her wrist, unsure of how to act. His eyes searched her face as if he was looking for a sign.

Kristie wasn't sure what she wanted. In the back of her head, she knew that she should move away from him and fast. But the louder part of her brain was screaming to rip his clothes off right there in the parking lot. It was confusing and made her brain slow, as if she was waking up from a long slumber. Gray seemed unsure of what he was feeling as well. Kristie could feel him hard against her thigh - there was no mistaking it. His breathing was shallow, and his fingers were still around her wrist as he pressed her against the car with his own body.

She thought again of him naked in her room. Then the lights of the police car came by as the cops drove out of parking lot, followed by the ambulance. The lights brought Kristie crashing back to earth. She realized she was letting Gray press himself against her in a parking spot in a public place. What is wrong with me? Kristie suddenly pushed Gray away from her. He looked dazed as she turned on him and got into her car quickly.

Without looking back, Kristie took off out of the parking lot.

|  |

---|---|---

# Chapter Four

Gray watched Kristie drive off, confusion filling him up like a balloon. What the hell had they been doing? He had completely lost his head there. Pressing Kristie against the car like that had brought up urges that were better left in the dark, not out in the open in a goddamned parking lot. He was sure that she had felt him against her leg. Yet she hadn't pulled away. Her own face had been a mirror to his - desire and confusion, with an undercurrent of irritation.

With a groan, he kicked the ground and turned around. Luckily, Kristie had parked all the way in the back, far away from anyone being able to see them. The crowd outside the bar had thinned out. It was a little after midnight. The only people staying at the bar now were the people really looking to party. All Gray had wanted was a drink and then a motorcycle ride. He wanted that ride now.

Gray marched over to the rest of his gang. Rick was talking to Kristie's friend. The look on his face was one he hadn't ever seen before. He looked like a sick little puppy over this girl. It was incredibly annoying.

"We're heading out," Gray snapped. "Armand will call us once he knows how much bail will be."

The group nodded, suddenly all business as Gray slid on his bike. He looked at Rick. "Are you coming?"

Rick nodded and turned to the girl, clearly giving her his number before jumping on his motorcycle. Gray turned his on and felt the motorcycle come to life underneath him. The engine hummed and shook. Gray pressed on the gas and shot off out of the parking lot, with his club following behind him.

This was what he had always loved. The feeling of the club near him - his friends were loyal to him - and the sound of the engines roaring in his ears. It made his heart thrum. He loved everything about it.

The cool air whipped through his jacket, cutting him to the bone as they headed toward the main drag of town. People walking along the street stopped and openly stared at them. They would ride on the highway tonight, Gray decided. He wanted to only see the endless road in front of him. No stop signs or street lights. Just the highway.

He looked down and sighed. First, it looked like he would have to get gas for the bike.

<<<>>>

Kristie normally didn't like to smoke. But when she was stressed, it was a bad habit she had picked up in college. It was only about one cigarette every couple of months. It was either that or a crying fit and she didn't feel like having one. She already stunk of smoke, so she figured why not? Kristie turned into the gas station just off the main street of town and parked her car, letting out a deep sigh.

As she stared at the neon sign of the gas station store, Kristie wondered if there was some way that she could leave town early. She was in over her head. She had wanted to do things to Gray. It was ridiculous. She got out of the car and walked inside the gas station, buying a pack of cheap cigarettes. As Kristie paid for them, there was a roar of engines. She turned to look out the glass door to see a group of five men on motorcycles pulling up. The woman behind the counter sighed.

"Might as well call the cops now," she mumbled to Kristie, reaching for the phone.

They weren't Gray's men, Kristie noticed as she left and lit up her cigarette. She just wanted to get home. Hopefully, if she avoided their gazes they wouldn't take notice of her. Kristie tried not to look at them but she realized who they were - the rival gang that had just gotten into a fight with Gray's club. Their jackets all said Infernos on them in big lettering. She held her breath as if it was going to give her good luck and was halfway to the car when one of them shouted at her.

"Hey, girl!"

Kristie bristled at the name.

"You were at the club tonight, weren't you?"

She ignored them. Almost there. She took a puff of her cigarette.

"Hey!" The man was jogging over now. He was large and tall and could probably snap her in half if he ever felt like it.

"What?" she finally replied, knowing she couldn't ignore him anymore.

"You were there when our boss got punched by your boyfriend's little pup."

"Gray isn't my boyfriend." She fought down the urge to add idiot at the end.

The man towered over her, his eyes flashing. "He sure seemed to listen to you."

Kristie moved back a foot, trying to put on a brave face. The men were crowding behind this beast, and she felt suddenly aware of the size of all of them.

"Why don't we talk somewhere private? You can tell us all about Gray."

"No, I'm actually okay. I think I'm going to head home."

The man reached out for her arm and grabbed it, yanking her forward. Kristie struggled when suddenly there was a roar of motorcycles. She turned her head to one side, trying to see who it could be. Her heart beat wildly in her chest.

"Fuck, it's Gray." A smaller man said.

<<<>>>

At first, Gray thought he was just seeing things. Otherwise, the sight in front of him didn't make any sense at all. The Infernos were here, crowded around Kristie. As Gray pulled his bike up next to one of the pumps, he shut it off and leapt off, walking purposefully toward the group. His blood was pumping again and a low hum seemed to fill his ears.

"What the fuck are you doing, Gale?" he called out to the big man who was second-in-command to Ben.

Gale's hand still gripped Kristie's upper arm. Gray could see the side of her face as she tried to see him. She was pale and scared. It just made him even more pissed off.

"Just talking to your girlfriend here, Gray. Wanted to ask her a few questions. Like what she did to make sure you didn't get arrested back there."

Gray pushed Gale hard. He barely moved, but it was enough that he let go of Kristie, who took a step back and gingerly rubbed her arm.

Gray's breath came hard and fast. "Get the fuck off of her. Do you understand?"

Gale opened his mouth to retort when the lights of a cop car went off again.

"Fuck," Gray mumbled as he turned around to watch a car drive up.

"The girl inside," Kristie whispered, "She said she was..."

The cop pulled up close to the group. No one tried to run away. There was no point. They hadn't technically done anything wrong. Gray was just upset he wasn't going to be able to punch Gale in the face. To his dismay, it was John who got out of the car, walking over to them.

"Great," someone in Gale's club retorted.

"You guys again?" John asked in mock surprise.

Gray had never liked this guy. The cop was constantly up his ass about every little infraction and it was irritating. He had a smug look on his face whenever he saw Gray that rubbed him the wrong way. John clearly thought he was better than Gray, when he was just a pencil-pushing jerk.

"Thought I told you boys it was time to go home. Then I get a phone call about you two clubs getting into it out front."

Kristie stepped forward. "I'm pretty sure the lady called when these guys showed up." She pointed to the Infernos. "And Gray happened to show up later."

Something crossed John's face that looked almost like annoyance. "Was there a problem here, miss?"

"Yes, I was being harassed. Gray was helping me."

"Is that so," John replied, posing it as a statement rather than a question.

It took all of Gray's willpower not to say something smartass. But Kristie had defended him again to the cop and to blow it seemed like a waste. So he bit his tongue and stood next to her as John looked at them.

"All of you, leave now. And if I see any of you again tonight, I'm arresting you, got it?" John finally said.

Gale's club slunk off almost instantly, heading toward their bikes, shooting glares at Kristie and John.

John looked at Kristie. "You might want to reconsider sticking up for your boyfriend like this. He's down a path that won't lead him anywhere."

Gray saw red and took a deep breath.

"He's the former ward of my step-dad. I told you already. Thanks for the help," Kristie said quickly.

John glanced at Gray one last time and then turned to depart, getting into his car.

"That guy is such a dick," Gray said.

Kristie watched John go and then looked at him. "Thanks for your help."

Gray cleared his throat, not wanting her to get sappy on him. "You're welcome. I'm leaving now."

All he wanted to do was pin her against her car and kiss her violently. He imagined her underneath him as he took her, begging him for more. He could make her feel things she had never felt before. Stop it. Stop it. You heard her - I'm nothing more than the former ward of her step-dad. He slid back onto his bike and departed off into the night.

<<<>>>

By the time Kristie finally got home, she was utterly exhausted. Her mom and Lionel were fast asleep. It was past one in the morning and all she wanted to do was go to bed. But all she could think about was Gray. She thought about how he had burst in there at the last moment and saved her from Gale. She saw John's face as he told her to stop sticking up for him. The way that John had looked at her - it was impossible to miss his interest in her. Was she interested in him?

She thought again about how Gray had pinned her against the side of her car, his breath coming fast as they were pressed against each other. What if she had kissed him? Would he have kissed her back? Kristie saw an image of them on her bed, her legs wrapped around him as he thrust into her. An overwhelming warmth grew between her thighs. Kristie told herself to stop thinking about him and try to get to sleep.

|  |

---|---|---

# Chapter Five

On Saturday morning, three days later, Kristie's mom beamed at her. "Gray is coming over for dinner tonight. Isn't that great?"

Kristie almost choked on her toast. No, anything but. But instead she meekly nodded as her mom trailed out to the backyard. It was her day off, and she had told Kristie that she wanted to try to get back into gardening. Lionel was out golfing with his friends. In the silence of the dining room, Kristie found herself staring out the window, watching her mom get her tools in order.

Suffering through another dinner with Lionel being tense and Gray being in a terrible mood sounded awful to Kristie. Plus, there was the nagging fact that she couldn't stop thinking about Gray in that way. It was horrifying to think of it, but late at night when she couldn't sleep, Kristie found herself thinking about him in all sorts of inappropriate ways.

And now tonight she would have to see him again. Dread filled her and the toast tasted dry in her mouth. She took a swig of orange juice. There was no getting out of dinner tonight, unless she faked being sick. Would she really want to do something like that? Suddenly I can feel a migraine coming on.

<<<>>>

Gray had only agreed to this dinner to try to patch things up with Lionel. That's it, he told himself for the millionth time as he rode his bike to Lionel's house. It has nothing to do with Kristie. Deep down, he knew that was a lie. It had everything to do with Kristie.

The only time in the last three days that he hadn't thought of her was on the ride he had taken after he had left her at the gas station. The highway had swallowed Gray up whole. The only thing he focused on was how it felt to speed down it with his crew behind him. Afterward, Armand had called about his bail being posted. They had paid for it, but they were all low on cash. Time to start boosting again.

Then Gray had gotten home and laid in his bed, thinking about Kristie. He hadn't wanted to think about her at all. But the thoughts had come, unbidden to him, about the way she had felt pressed up against him. Her eyes had been wide and nervous. But she hadn't pushed away from him until the cop lights showed up. What if he had kissed her, right then and there? If he had taken her, secretly, in her car, in the backseat?

He had gone to bed hard, worked up, and refusing to touch himself and let himself release over her. It would only make things worse if he had given into temptation and thought about Kristie that way. Instead, his sleep had been terrible, leaving him exhausted the next day. He longed to go riding again just to block out the images of her. When Lionel had called about dinner tonight, Gray had agreed before thinking it completely through.

Now he was pulling up into the driveway and regretting everything. Gray wasn't sure how he would be able to talk to Kristie without giving everything away at once. He thought back to how John had called him her boyfriend and Kristie had quickly corrected him. This is stupid. He turned off his bike and stared at the house. There were lights on in the kitchen. Gray's palms were sweaty as he took off his gloves and walked up to the front door. A light snow had started but he barely noticed it as he knocked on the door.

Pamela answered it and ushered him inside quickly, fussing over him as she usually did. Gray let her this time as his eyes scanned the living room. No sign of Kristie. His heart was hammering in his chest as he made his way to the kitchen.

Lionel was bent over the stove and looked up at him. "You're early," he said, surprise flitting across his features.

"Yeah, well..." Gray trailed off, having not realized he was early - he was notoriously late to everything.

That was when he noticed Pamela had only pulled down three plates from the cupboard.

"Kristie not here?" he asked, hoping his tone was light.

"Poor thing has the worst migraine," Pamela said, frowning, "She has to skip dinner, I'm afraid, and rest."

Bullshit. Gray sat down at the table. She's avoiding me. She isn't interested. You're imagining it. So get over it and get through this meal. He tried to ignore the bitter disappointment in his chest.

<<<>>>

Kristie had begun to fake her headache early in the afternoon. She made sure to mention it in passing at first and then with increased severity as time went on. By the time it was about thirty minutes before dinner, Kristie had turned it into a full-blown migraine. She simply had to lie down instead of eat. Her mom hadn't doubted her once and had ushered her up into her room. Kristie had felt bad until she heard Gray down in the living room.

Just hearing his voice had made her heart beat quickly, as if she had chugged five energy drinks in a row. Kristie had laid very still in her room for fear of Gray coming up to check on her. Stupid. Soon she heard the clatter of plates that told her dinner was underway. Kristie laid there and finally rolled to one side to look out her window at the falling snow. Pretending to have a migraine was pretty boring, she realized, the longer she laid there.

She must have drifted off because the next time Kristie opened her eyes, the moon was high in the sky and the snow was falling harder. Moonlight spilled across her bed. She rubbed the sleep from her eyes and turned slightly, straining to hear if dinner was finished or not. She could hear plates being washed and the low murmur of conversation. Kristie exhaled. Gray had probably bailed out already. She couldn't see him as the type of guy who would stick around and clean up plates. She had made it through the dinner.

<<<>>>

Gray had barely been able to pay attention to dinner. Anytime the conversation tried to be shoved back on him, he would resist and soon asked either Lionel or Pamela something that would require a long story. He poked around his meal - pork chops and potatoes, with corn on the side - and ate enough of it that no one would notice.

Was Kristie avoiding him? That must have been it. Gray found it hard to believe that she truly was suffering from a migraine. She didn't want to see him. Not only had Gray yelled at her in the bar and in the parking lot, but she had almost gotten in trouble with the Infernos. You know that isn't the reason, the voice in his head taunted.

Once dinner finished, Gray felt unsure what to do. Part of him wanted to go up to see her. Another part of him just wanted to leave quickly. It wasn't until Pamela brought her up that he decided what he wanted to do.

"I should go check up on Kristie. I haven't heard a peep from her."

"I'll go," Gray blurted out before he could think it over. "I can check up on her."

Surprise crossed both Pamela and Lionel's faces but it seemed to be a nice surprise for them.

Pamela was excited and agreed almost instantly. "Tell her if she wants leftovers, there are still some left," she added as Gray made his way up to Kristie's room.

Outside her bedroom door, Gray hesitated. But before he could talk himself out of it, he knocked gently and then peeked his head inside. The room was lit only by moonlight. The room was spotless - the complete opposite of his own apartment. Kristie turned her face to see who had opened the door and her mouth open and shut when she saw it was Gray. He stepped inside and shut the door gently behind him.

It was as if he had stepped into another world, separate from the hustle and bustle downstairs. The only thing Gray could think about was Kristie. Her eyes were wide in surprise.

"What are you doing in here?" she whispered.

"Your mom said you had a migraine."

Kristie didn't reply. She shifted slightly in bed so she was propping herself up to look at him better. Gray took a step closer. The only thing he could hear was his breathing as he slowly walked over to her bed. He sat down on it next to her, avoiding her gaze.

"I don't believe you do," he finally said.

The words hung in the air, heavy and weighted down with their meaning. Kristie's breath caught. Gray leaned forward and brushed a lock of her hair away from her face. The touch was electric. His hands shook gently as he bent down and kissed her.

<<<>>>

Kristie felt as if she had been doused in water and then electrocuted. As soon as Gray's lips pressed against hers, she felt as if she had come down with a fever. The surge of emotions that washed over her made her weak all over. She wanted to tell herself to pull away, but she couldn't find the willpower to do so. Instead, she wrapped her arms around him and pulled him closer. Their lips crashed together again, harder, almost desperate with the need for one another. Their desire, which had always been so closely simmering under the surface, had now boiled over.

Their kiss broke. Kristie realized she was breathing hard. She wished she could have him, right here in her bed, but she didn't dare. Her fingers were wrapped up in his shirt, as if she could tear through it herself. Gray's own hands were moving along her back, wiggling toward her sweatpants. Kristie moved her hips slightly in response. She could hear the clatter of dishes downstairs. She knew she should pull away, but didn't.

Gray moved his fingers to her underwear and then moved downward. The blankets were covering his hands in case anyone came inside. He wiggled his fingers underneath the fabric of her underwear. Kristie lay back down, looking up at the ceiling, tension wrapped up in every muscle. Gray's fingers gently ran down to her clit. The sensation made her break out into shivers, and she shut her eyes tightly. Gray moved his finger along her wetness before sliding one inside of her.

Kristie whimpered in pleasure as he began to finger her under the covers. She bit her bottom lip and rocked gently against his finger. He was moving his thumb against her clit as well. The pleasure was heightened for Kristie by Gray's ragged breathing. Her heart hammered in her chest, telling her to stop - telling her it was wrong. But as the pleasure increased, the nagging voice in her head faded away. Soon all she could focus on was how good it felt to have Gray touch her like this. He began to move faster. Kristie kept her mouth shut, knowing if she opened it, she'd make too much noise.

Part of her wished they were alone so she could have Gray fully. But she would take this. The moonlight spilling across the bed, the silence of her bedroom, Gray's breathing - Kristie would take all of it to feel his fingers pumping inside of her. She could feel herself on the brink of orgasm. Hurry, before they wonder why Gray is taking so long.

Her eyes fluttered open, and she locked eyes with Gray. He was staring at her, drinking her in, a look of dazed pleasure on his face as he watched her. Seeing him like this was enough to push her over the edge. She whimpered and suddenly her orgasm was rolling over her. It was slow, almost leisurely, in the way it over took her body so completely. Kristie tried to control her breathing as she came, riding out the orgasm. Finally, she lay against the bed, out of breath, her head spinning.

Gray removed his hand and looked at her. He was going to say something when a voice called out from down the hallway, "Everything okay in there?" her mother asked.

Gray snapped his hand away from Kristie and stood up suddenly, walking over to her bedroom door almost two steps at a time. He opened it and slid out, shutting the door behind him.

"Yes, sorry. She was sleeping and then I was getting her some water from the bathroom tap."

"Does she want a bottle instead?" her mom asked, concerned.

"No, she's asleep," Gray lied.

The two voices faded as they walked down the stairs. Kristie lay there, very still, waiting for Gray to come back. They needed to talk about what just happened. Now that her head was clear of desire, the implications of what they had done were settling in on her, making her panic.

But Gray never came back. Instead, five minutes later, she heard the unmistakable sound of his bike's engines starting up and then roaring away, leaving Kristie behind.

|  |

---|---|---

# Chapter Six

The next day. Gray had everyone over to his apartment, something he didn't normally do because it was so small. Rick was stretched out on the couch, texting that girl Kristie had been with - her name was Kass, apparently. Armand was thinking out loud about cars.

"If we stick to Manor Heights," he said, "those idiots usually never remember to even lock their cars. It might be as easy as opening the door and hot wiring it to start."

But Gray wasn't listening. Not for the first time that day, he was thinking about Kristie. He hadn't tried to see her since the incident in her bedroom. His mind kept drifting back to it. The way the moon hit her face and seemed to illuminate her hair like a halo. The way her eyes widened in surprise when he had kissed her. The way she had willingly let Gray slide his fingers into her and move her to orgasm. How beautiful she looked as she came. It was on repeat in his mind, over and over again. If it had been a film reel, it would have started to be worn around the edges from so much viewing.

"Hey, are you listening?" Armand snapped.

Gray looked up at him. Armand had joined the gang over a year ago. Gray hadn't wanted him to. There was something off about him. There had been fights where Armand had seemed so bloodthirsty that Gray had been worried about him killing the guy. He had joined through a friend of his who had been in the gang up until he had violated probation and got sent back to jail. Sometimes, late at night, Gray wondered if Armand was the one who reported the violation. If his friend who had gotten him in the gang went to jail, it was just one less person for Armand to worry about in getting access to the inner circle.

Gray tried to avoid being alone with Armand. Normally, he didn't even invite him over. But they had spent money on his bail to get him out of prison for punching Ben in the face a few times. They were low on funds and needed to turn a quick profit. Their go-to business for that was stealing cars. Armand always knew the best places to go. For that reason alone, Gray had invited him along tonight.

"Yeah, sorry," Gray replied, shaking his head. "Spaced out for a second."

"You've been out of it all night," Armand complained. "We have to get this shit straight before we can head out."

Gray nodded. "You're right. Sorry." He turned to see Rick still texting Kass, "Hey, Rick, what the hell? Are you going to actually help us out or stay over there playing school girl?"

Rick flushed and put his phone away, flipping Gray off. "Don't be a dick."

"Who are you texting anyway?" Armand piped up, a scowl across his features, "We don't have time to mess around with chicks."

Rick sat at the table with them, opening up a beer and taking a swig. "Kass is different. She has a spark to her."

Armand snorted and Rick glared at him. Armand cleared his throat. He may be a cocky bastard but Rick was still twice his size and that counted for something.

Armand turned his attention to Gray. "Speaking of chicks, what's up with that one I saw you with?"

Gray froze. Was it that obvious? He had tried to be so careful not to even bring Kristie up. Had he somehow slipped up when he had protected her from the Infernos the other night? Gray tried to think back to what it could be.

"What do you mean?" he replied, trying to keep his voice neutral.

"She's hot. I might ask her out."

For a moment, Gray saw red. His breath caught, and he covered it up by taking a swig of his beer. He couldn't exactly say no, could he? And lunging and tackling Armand to the floor wasn't a normal response either.

He lowered his beer. "Not sure if she'd agree. I think that cop is into her."

"Officer Asshole?"

"The very same."

Gray didn't like to admit it but it seemed silly not to accept the fact John was interested in Kristie. He was pretty sure that she hadn't noticed. But the way John had looked at her the second time he had run into her that night - he was intrigued by Kristie and the way she had been standing up for Gray. Would he rather she dated him or Armand? Neither. His mood darkened.

"Well, fuck that guy," Armand said. "I think I have a shot with her. She could use a good tumble in the sack with a guy like me."

Gray wished he could deck Armand right across the face but instead stood up to get another beer. "Can we get back to the discussion at hand, please?"

And stop talking about Kristie, he thought darkly.

<<<>>>

The snow crunched under Kristie's feet as she made her way toward the grocery store. Normally she parked a little bit away from the store on nights like this. She liked the few extra moments outside when the air was chilly and cold. She loved the sound of the crunching snow under her feet. This was her favorite time of year.

But what had happened with the Infernos still rang in her head. Kristie felt too nervous to park farther away from the grocery store, just in case they happened to see her. It was silly, she knew, but she couldn't shake the fear she had felt when she had seen that Gale guy, the one who had roughly grabbed her arm the other day. So instead she had parked as close as she could get and was inside the store in less than ten steps.

Once inside, the piped in music and the sight of people pushing their carts around calmed her. There wasn't a chance of something bad happening here. Lionel was originally going to go grocery shopping but the cold affected his hip, which he had injured a few years ago back playing ice hockey with his friends at the local rink. Kristie had offered instead, desperately needing to get out of the house to get some fresh air without raising any suspicion.

Kristie had thought of nothing but Gray since the night he had snuck into her room. She knew she should have stopped it and moved away. But the way their lips had crashed together had brought to life a passion in her she hadn't even known was possible. She needed him in that moment, more than anything else. If her mom hadn't been downstairs, Kristie knew what would have happened.

At night when Kristie shut her eyes, she could imagine Gray's hand sliding down her sweatpants, rubbing against her, sliding inside of her. He had brought her to such a strong orgasm just from his hands alone. What if they had slept together? What pleasures would she have felt then? Kristie felt confident that Gray would take her to heights she had never reached before. She was used to the bumbling hands of college boys. Gray had seemed skilled.

Kristie knew that it could never go that far. It was wrong on every level. She had to move on from Gray. Her holiday vacation ending would be a way out, but she still had too much time until then. There was no telling where Kristie would go if she didn't put her foot down this instant. She needed to move on.

These thoughts were in her head as she made her way through the store, checking the list Lionel had given her once in a while. She was pretty sure she was almost walking in circles at this point. She needed to get her shit together. As Kristie turned down one aisle, she wished she could turn around. John was in the aisle. Of all fucking people, Kristie thought with panic, wondering if she had time to turn around and leave.

As if sensing her thoughts, John looked up. His eyes landed on Kristie and a smile broke out on his face. He moved his cart over to hers.

"Funny running into you here," he said.

She waved her list. "Well, the food is here." Idiot.

But John didn't seem to notice. "You look nice tonight."

Kristie looked down at herself. There was no way in hell she looked nice tonight. Her hair was a mess, she was low on sleep and her jacket clashed with her pants. Her boots were old and scuffed up. Is he flirting with me?

"Thanks. You look...different...out of uniform."

It was true. Without the din of a bar fight and shining cop car lights behind John, he looked handsome, albeit a bit tired.

John laughed and his eyes crinkled in a comforting way. "Listen, it seemed in poor taste to ask the last time I saw you, but I was wondering if you'd like to grab dinner sometime."

Kristie felt flummoxed. She hadn't been expecting to be asked out. She thought of Gray and his lips against hers. She thought of her promise to herself to move on and cut him out of her life in anything other than a friendly family relationship.

Before she could lose her determination, she nodded and smiled. "That sounds great."

<<<>>>

The next night, Kristie was getting ready for her date with John. She was trying to avoid the butterflies in her stomach that had nothing to do with John. Gray was downstairs, trying to help Lionel with the truck he had apparently promised to fix. Act natural, just say hi and then leave. She had managed to avoid John coming to pick her up, even though he really wanted to. Now Kristie was thankful she had been so adamant about it.

She finished putting her hair up in her bun and grabbed a jacket. This one was nicer and a maroon color that matched well with her colors. Her heart was hammering as she headed downstairs. I wish he wasn't here. Kristie stepped inside the kitchen and grabbed her keys before saying good-bye to her mom, who was more excited for her than she was. Kristie headed to her car and was silently praying that Lionel and Gray were too busy on the truck to notice her leaving.

"Heading out?" Lionel peeked out from around the hood of the truck.

"Yes," she said quickly, hoping no more questions were asked.

Gray slid from out from underneath the truck. Even though it was cold outside and snow covered the ground, he only wore a simple T-shirt. Kristie could see his muscles underneath it and tried to ignore the blood rushing to her head.

"Where are you going?" he asked.

"Kristie here has a date," Lionel boasted.

Damn it. "It's nothing. Really," she said quickly.

"Don't be so modest! He's a cop, after all. I'm going to go get a drink. Need anything, Gray?"

"No."

Lionel left, the door shutting behind him. Gray's gaze was on Kristie and she felt as if he was seeing into her heart. She didn't speak.

Finally, Gray said, "It's with John, isn't it?"

"Yes."

Gray didn't say anything. Lionel came back out and Kristie said good-bye. As she headed to her car, Gray called out, "Have a nice night."

But his tone betrayed the opposite feeling completely.

<<<>>>

Trying to focus on fixing the truck was a lot harder after finding out Kristie was on a date with that idiot, John. Gray had wanted to sit down and talk things out with her, but she obviously didn't want to do the same. Instead she had set up a date with John almost immediately after...whatever that was that had happened between the two of them. How could she go on a date right after they had fooled around like that?

His mood went sour, and he worked on the truck in silence. Lionel didn't ask any questions. The whole time all Gray could picture was John putting his hands on Kristie.

<<<>>>

Kristie took a sip of the drink she had ordered. John had been talking for ten minutes about his own college experience. He was about four years older than her and was regaling her with stories of his drinking when he ended up dropping out.

"I used to be a lot like Gray," he finally said as he began to tell her about how he formed an interest in police work.

The sudden mention of Gray made the drink in her mouth sour and she put down her glass.

"What do you mean?" she forced herself to ask as she looked over the menu.

He shrugged. "Blanket disrespect of authority. He has a chip on his shoulder and thinks the world should pay for it. Maybe he would have had a shot at fixing the path he was in if he hadn't fallen in with that Devil's Advocates club."

"I don't know much about them," Kristie admitted.

"Do you know what you're going to get?" John asked as he looked the menu over.

Kristie looked back down at the menu. "Chicken parmesan, maybe." She wasn't feeling very hungry all of a sudden.

John frowned. "Probably not a healthy choice, right? You should look at the back of the menu; they have healthier options there,"

Kristie's mouth opened but she was too surprised to say anything back.

John barged on, "That club Gray's in is horrible. They steal cars non-stop. Sometimes they sell them, others they fix up and street race in them. Street racing is dangerous, I don't think I need to tell you that. People get killed."

Kristie gave a non-committal grunt, feeling overwhelmed. Was Gray really doing stuff like that? It just reaffirmed her belief that she needed to get away from him. They were on two different paths in life. It wouldn't work out between them at all. Even if he could justify his actions, it still wouldn't go well.

"Anyway, on top of that, they have that stupid rivalry with the Infernos. I don't even have to tell you about them. You met them already."

Kristie nodded but her mind was elsewhere. She suddenly wished she were here with Gray. Maybe in another life this could have been us.

The waitress came over. "Ready to order?"

John smiled. "Yes, I'll take the chicken parmesan and my lovely date will be taking the Cobb salad with chicken added."

Kristie smiled weakly back.

<<<>>>

The nighttime sky opened up before Gray and the gang. They roared like a dragon across the highway. The wind whipped through his thin jacket, slicing him to the bone. His cheeks were flushed from the wind smashing against him. The snow fell in thick flurries across his vision, but he didn't care. His mind was a clean slate. That was all that mattered - the thrill of the ride.

The ride took them off the main highway toward the slums of the town. The bar and Gray's apartments were their most common meeting spots but when they were doing something that required no law involvement, they came to the slums. There was a burnt-out warehouse here that they had claimed as their own and would use to fix up the cars they stole. Gray was good at fixing them up. They'd either race in them or sell them to people - it didn't matter. Both brought in money. Tonight, Armand had boosted a car that he wanted to race and Gray wanted to check it out.

As he slowed his bike down, the club turned along with him toward the warehouse. They passed by dilapidated buildings and rundown nightclubs with music blasting out onto the street. The warehouse had burnt down over ten years ago and now only the skeletal remains were left of the building. Technically no one was even supposed to be inside of it, but the cops didn't care about this part of town because it was so neglected by the city.

Gray pulled into the parking lot in front of the warehouse. His motorcycle went silent as he shut it off and headed inside the warehouse. Armand was already there, admiring the car he had boosted. When he saw Gray, his eyes lit up.

"Isn't she beautiful?" he said, touching the hood of the sleek sports car.

"She is." Gray had to admit it - sleek and well-polished, the Corvette looked almost brand new.

"There's a race in two nights. Think you guys can work on her? I'll help. We'll spruce her up."

"Two nights from now?" Gray frowned. "That isn't long enough. Plus, we have John riding us because of the fight in the bar."

Armand's eyes shuttered close, and Gray recognized the cool tone he used. "Are you saying not to enter the race?"

"It just seems too dangerous. I thought you meant a race three or four weeks from now. But two days from now?"

Armand turned to look at Gray. "Fine. I won't do the race in two days. But you're still going to help me fix up the car?"

Gray agreed, but as he did so, he couldn't help but catch a glint in Armand's eye that he didn't like.

|  |

---|---|---

# Chapter Seven

Kristie scribbled out the mistake she had made on her notes. When she got in the zone, she tended to write too quickly and all her words blended together, making it too hard to read later. She sighed. She had been studying up on things for her English course because it was the only time her head stopped overthinking things.

Two days ago, she had enjoyed her date with John, for the most part, and knew that he wanted to see her again. She had managed to dodge any future requests to see him, all because she still didn't know what to do about Gray. They hadn't spoken since the night of the date, and she couldn't help but feel as if things had been handled poorly.

Her phone suddenly lit up with a text. Kristie looked over at it and saw that it was from Kass, who had vanished after she had met Gray's friend that night. She clicked open the text and read: Out with Rick. Gray and his friend Armand are here. You should come! The text finished with the address of a quieter, older bar on the main street of town.

Kristie bit her bottom lip. There was no way to know if Gray actually wanted her there or not but it would be a great way to actually talk to him about everything going on. They couldn't do this forever. Before she could talk herself out of it, she texted Kass that she would be coming and got ready.

<<<>>>

Kristie was there in less than thirty minutes. There was a heavy snowfall tonight that made her want to crawl into her bed and go to sleep. But she needed to get through this and put an end to all the confusion. She steeled herself for the cold and then stepped out of the car, glancing over her shoulder to make sure Gale and his thugs weren't there. The bar was tucked behind a coffee shop and a guitar store, meaning business was usually locals only. Kristie had used her fake ID here a few times when she was still in high school, but it had been ages since she had been back.

As she stepped inside, it looked unchanged. The decor was still aiming for an old cigar bar vibe but failed and seemed more like an old man trying to fit in with the cool kids. Limp college flags hung off the walls and two old TVs were above the bar. The bartender looked ancient - Kristie was pretty sure it was still the same owner. The jukebox was playing an old 80's hair metal song next to an air hockey table. There were two pool tables in one corner that had seen better days along with five booths where Kristie had used to sit with her fake ID snug in her pocket. It was there that she saw Kass and the others.

"Hey!" Kass called out, waving her over.

Kristie walked over, heart hammering in her chest, past an old man who was slouched over in one booth, blinking as if he wasn't sure how he had gotten there. She stopped in front of the booth Kass was in. Rick had his arm slung around her and was smoking a cigarette. The man who had beaten up Ben, Armand, was sitting behind Rick, with three empty beer glasses in front of him and a glazed look in his eye that made Kristie nervous. Across from them was Gray. He was smoking a cigarette and looking at Kristie with no expression on his face.

"Have a seat!" Kass said loudly - she was obviously drunk.

Kristie slid in next to Gray, trying to avoid any physical contact with him at all to avoid him having the wrong idea.

"Didn't think you'd show up," he said and slid a beer toward her.

She took a swig and eyed him evenly. "Here I am."

The conversation flowed easily. At first, Kristie was silent, listening to Kass tell her silly stories. Rick was obviously taken with her - it was almost funny to see such a large man so interested in such a tiny woman - but there was no denying it. Armand kept looking at Kristie in a way that made her realize he was liking what he was seeing as well. She tried not to meet his eyes. The last thing she needed was yet another man in her life vying for her attention.

By her third beer, however, even Kristie was engaging in the conversation and laughing at some of Gray's stories. The more she laughed, the more relaxed he seemed to get. Soon she was telling him about her classes at college. The booze had loosened her up. Kristie switched to water after she finished her third beer when Armand suddenly stood up.

"Well, I'm tired," he said. "Going to head out."

Rick and Kass said good-bye but Gray barely noticed - he was looking at Kristie in a way that was going to make her blush if she didn't turn away. Armand left, throwing some money on the table to pay for his share. After that, Kass challenged Rick to a pool game. Kristie watched them go, aware now that she and Gray were alone at the table. He had switched to drinking water when she did and looked at her with clear, sober eyes.

"I need to use the restroom," she said suddenly, her face hot as she stood up to go.

"Me, too," said Gray.

Kristie stepped inside the restroom, checking the stalls to see if she was alone. Once she realized she was, she went over to the sink and splashed some water on her face in an attempt to cool down. The mirror was cracked down the center. The entire restroom seemed ancient. She couldn't remember a time where this tiny bar hadn't been such a dive. She took a deep breath and let it out slowly when the door to the restroom opened. Kristie turned to see Gray walking toward her. She opened her mouth to speak but before she could say anything, suddenly he was kissing her.

<<<>>>

Gray felt Kristie let out a gasp of surprise underneath him as he kissed her. He didn't care. She didn't push him away or tell him to stop. Instead she took a step back before tilting her face down to be able to kiss him better. Gray let out a grunt and pushed her backward into one of the stalls, shutting the door behind them. He doubted anyone would be coming in but Kass could come looking for them. Kristie's lips tasted like the beer she had been drinking as he pressed her against the side of the stall, his tongue probing into her mouth.

She let out a soft whimper and kissed him back with tongue, her body shaking with desire as she wrapped her arms around him. Gray pressed against her, his hands roaming up and down her sides. This is so wrong. Anyone could come in, you need to stop.

Instead, the risk of possibly being caught just enflamed his desire. Gray let out a moan and pressed himself harder against her, kissing her hard and nipping gently on her bottom lip. Then he pulled back and looked at her. Her face was flushed and her hair was falling over her shoulders in soft waves. Her lips were gently parted as she tried to catch her breath, her chest rising hard and fast with each breath.

"This is wrong," she whispered, echoing his own thoughts. "Anyone could come in and...and see us."

"Guess we'll have to hurry then."

Gray waited for her to say no but instead she paused a moment and then nodded. That was all he needed. He turned her over, and Kristie put her hands down on the toilet seat, her ass high in the air. He tugged down her leggings, and they fell around her boots as he yanked her skirt up around her waist. He unzipped his own pants and yanked her underwear to one side. She was soaking wet. With relish, Gray slid inside of her. Kristie let out a gasp and her legs buckled but Gray wrapped his hands tightly around her thick waist. Not a lot of time. He thrust inside of her, bent over the toilet, in the dingy stall of the bar.

<<<>>>

Kristie's mind was so muddled with pleasure she couldn't even fully take in what she was doing right now. Here she was, letting Gray fuck her in this bar restroom, bent over the toilet as he pounded into her. At literally any moment someone could come in and see them like this. There would be no possible way to explain it. Instead of scaring her off, it just seemed to make her want him even more. She could feel how big he was as he moved inside of her, hard and fast. Her knuckles were white as she gripped the side of the toilet, her eyes shut tightly as she tried to control her moans.

Gray let out one soft moan, "Kristie..." Her name had never sounded so delicious before.

She bucked her hips against his cock, on the brink of orgasm. She wished she could tell him she wanted more, she wanted everything, but she had enough sense in her head to remain silent. Gray slammed into her and grunted. She could feel his seed start to empty inside of her. Kristie let out a gasp as her own orgasm exploded through her. Her eyes rolled into the back of her head, and she clutched to the toilet seat as much as she could as her legs rocked against him. All of it, all of it. Kristie let the orgasm roll through her.

They both slowly came down from their high. Hurriedly, Gray zipped up his pants and Kristie yanked up her leggings, underwear and skirt. Gray looked at her, his face flushed and chest heaving.

"I'll go first. Wait a couple of minutes. Will you come to my apartment tonight?"

"Yes," she said automatically, without even considering no for an answer.

Gray relaxed and left the restroom. Kristie leaned against the stall, trying to calm her heartbeat. Her head was swimming. She couldn't believe what she had just done. All the promises she had made to herself had gone down the tubes instantly. The easy conversation with Gray, the way he had been making her laugh and was interested in what she was saying - all of it had felt so amazing. Her desire for him just wasn't going to go away on its own. And now she had sex with him in a restroom stall, of all places.

She washed her hands, hoping that what had just happened wasn't written all over her face. Then she left the restroom. As soon as she left, she realized she hadn't needed to worry about Kass trying to find her. Rick and Kass were in a corner booth, making out as if they were teenagers. An older man was shooting them dirty looks. Gray was walking over to them, trying to tell Rick that he was leaving. He then looked over at Kristie and shrugged.

Kristie sent Kass a text saying she was leaving. Watching Kass making out, Kristie wondered when that text would even get read. Then she grabbed her jacket and paid her tab, heading out after Gray. Her heart was beating so fast that it felt as if her chest might burst. Every logical part told her that going with Gray to his place was a mistake, but she didn't care.

Out into the snow she bounded. Gray was walking over to his bike, his boots crushing the snow. He looked back at her and Kristie walked faster.

"I'll get my car later," she said, and he gave a curt nod.

Gray slid on the bike and handed his helmet to her. She put it on and sat awkwardly on the motorcycle. Kristie had never been on one before. It must have shown, because Gray gave her a small smile and moved her arms around his. She held on loosely, feeling shy by the sudden proximity. Stupid, after what just happened, now you're feeling shy?

"Hold on tightly," he said and then the engine kicked on.

Surprised, Kristie wrapped her arms around his waist tightly, gripping onto him. The fear of falling off was stronger than being so close to Gray. The bike roared out of the parking lot onto the street. Kristie held onto him, marveling at how fast they were going. He weaved in and out of cars, which she was pretty sure was illegal, going much too fast but her fear lessened with each second. Gray knew what he was doing, and she was in capable hands.

She was surprised by how close Gray lived to the bar. It was only about a five-minute ride until he pulled into a small apartment complex behind a gas station. It looked rundown with loud booming music coming out of one of the apartments. He shut off the engine, and the music seemed louder. Kristie yanked off the helmet, feeling windswept from the ride, every nerve in her body humming. The snow was falling again, swirling underneath the street lights, as if they were dancing.

Gray moved off the bike and held out his hand to her, which she took. "Come on."

Kristie followed.

|  |

---|---|---

# Chapter Eight

Gray opened the door to his apartment and let Kristie step inside first. He watched her face closely as her gaze flicked around the tiny place he called home. He hadn't been expecting to bring her here tonight, so the place was disorganized and messy. But Gray hadn't been planning on fucking her in the restroom stall either. She showed no surprise at how small the place was. The thumping music they had heard in the parking lot faded and the place was silent. Gray had gotten lucky that all his neighbors on this hallway were seemingly old or non-existent. It was usually very quiet here.

"It's nice," Kristie finally said.

Gray laughed. "Don't pretend."

Kristie blushed. "It has character."

"That's one way to describe it."

Kristie trailed through the tiny apartment. There was a living room with his bed in a corner. The dining room table was across from it, next to the small kitchen that could barely hold one person. There were still beer bottles from the last time he had had Rick and Armand over. His one window overlooked part of the parking lot, which was quickly being blanketed in a heavy snowfall.

"Different from the college dorms," she said. "You never get any privacy there."

"I can imagine," Gray said, suddenly nervous.

Kristie must have felt nervous as well because she fell silent and turned around to look at Gray. She looked beautiful with the snow falling behind her. His heart constricted. He took a step forward and reached out for her hand and pulled her toward him. They fell into a kiss. Unlike their kiss in the restroom, this was softer and spoke of a deeper meaning than just sex. Gray had never had a kiss like that before.

Their kiss broke apart, and Gray looked into her eyes. She was shaking slightly from nerves. Now that they were alone, what they were doing seemed to be settling down upon them. Gray knew it wasn't something either of them could erase. But he didn't want to. He kissed her again and hoped that it was soothing her nerves. He tugged off his own T-shirt. Kristie ran her fingers along his chest, slowly over his tattoos. Her mouth was parted slightly and her lips were bright pink from all the kissing. She marveled at him and then leaned forward and kissed along his neck. Goose bumps popped up along his body. His fingers trailed up her back.

Gray moved his hands to take off her jacket. It fell down to the floor. He kissed her again as he removed her T-shirt. Her breasts were in a tight bra and her cleavage made him moan gently. He moved his face in between her breasts, holding them in his hands as he kissed along them, moving her bra down slowly. Her breasts were soon exposed, and Kristie let out a small gasp as the cold air touched them. Gray held them in his hands and sucked gently on her nipples. She took a step back and soon she was lying down on his bed. Gray draped himself over her, his hands on her breasts as he kissed her passionately.

Gray moved down her skirt slowly. He wanted to move faster and take her completely, but part of the pleasure was teasing her. Her face showed that she wanted it just as much as he did. As he moved her skirt off, leaving her just in her leggings, Kristie moved against him, kissing him hard. Every nerve of Gray's seemed to be wide awake, yearning for her.

They took their time undressing each other. When both of them were fully naked, Gray looked down at Kristie, admiring her body.

"You're beautiful," he said, and he meant it.

Kristie blushed and didn't respond. Gray kissed her as he opened her legs and positioned himself to enter her.

"Are you ready?" he asked, his voice hoarse.

"Please."

That was all he needed to hear. He slid inside her, taking his time. He reveled in the feeling of her slowly wrapping herself around him. Gray closed his eyes, shuddering from the pleasure of it as he began to move inside of Kristie. She moaned gently, biting her bottom lip. Gray slid down to press his body against hers as he rocked inside of her. She clung to him, her fingernails digging into his back. Kristie began to rock her hips against him, meeting his thrusts. Gray moaned her name and thrust in her harder. As he picked up the pace, Kristie pressed her hands against his ass, trying to drive more of him into her. The bed was hitting against the wall and the noise spurred him on.

Kristie was moaning louder now. Her moans sounded delicious to Gray's ears. He moved his hands so he was gripping the headboard and used it as leverage to thrust in her harder. Kristie arched her back.

"Gray!" she suddenly said as she bucked her hips. "Gray, I'm...!"

"Come for me, Kristie," he grunted.

Her hips bucked wildly as she began to orgasm. This seemed to be even more intense than the orgasm he had given her in the restroom. Kristie was moaning so loudly that he was sure they were waking the neighbors. He didn't care. Seeing Kristie writhing underneath him, coming so hard, sent him over the brink. He grunted and thrust one more time inside of her, feeling his own orgasm rock through him. He gripped her hips as he felt the pleasure roll through him. He emptied himself inside of her until he managed to open his eyes. Gray tried to catch his breath and laid down next to Kristie.

The moonlight spilled across the bed, illuminating Kristie. She seemed to be glowing. She was covered in a light sheen of sweat and her chest was rising and falling quickly as she tried to come down from her orgasm. Once again, Gray was struck by how pretty she looked. When she let everything go and stopped worrying about everything, when all her walls were lowered, Gray thought he had never seen a more beautiful woman in his entire life.

Gray moved over toward her, holding her gently in his arms. Kristie's breath calmed down and he realized with a start that she was fast asleep. He smiled in the darkness and burrowed up to her, soon falling asleep himself.

<<<>>>

Kristie didn't feel like going home yet. She had lied and told her mom earlier that she had stayed at Kass's place last night when she had seen a worried text this morning. This morning - when she had woken up in Gray's arms.

For the first couple of minutes, the only thing Kristie felt was joy. It was impossible to deny her feelings for him. She was pretty sure that she was falling for him. As Kristie watched him sleep, she had admired the way he looked. Peaceful and undisturbed. She had never realized how long his eyelashes were until that moment.

Kristie didn't want to leave but she didn't want to ruin this moment by the terrible conversation that would have to come up afterward. She had fallen for Gray, completely and utterly. But there was no way that he could feel the same about her. She knew his reputation. What if he was just using her? Was she falling for someone who didn't think of her besides just for sex? She would have to ask him what was going to happen with them, but the more Kristie thought about it, the more she convinced herself that what had happened, no matter how happy it had made her, was a mistake.

Kristie didn't want these thoughts to occur to her. But once they did, there was no way that she was able to ignore them. As she watched Gray sleep, she became wracked by self-doubt. It became a loud chorus in her head, spurning her to get her clothes and leave. As she headed to the door, she took one last look at Gray. Please don't break my heart.

<<<>>>

Kristie pulled into the parking lot of a local coffee store. She had a slight headache from the beer last night and felt groggy. It was still early in the morning and the sun was just barely peeking through the clouds. The snow had finally stopped. It had formed a soft blanket on almost everything. Kristie got out of the car, rubbing her eyes.

"Kristie!"

She looked up to see John stepping out of the coffee shop. He was in uniform, holding a large coffee. His face looked drawn and tired. Kristie suddenly felt a surge of guilt. They weren't exclusive, but she felt that if he knew what she had spent the night before doing...

"Hey, good morning."

"Nothing good about it."

She frowned. "Why?"

He walked over to her and for a second, Kristie wildly thought that perhaps he somehow found out what she had done the night before. She knew it couldn't be possible but held her breath regardless.

"It's good to see you up and about so early."

"Oh, what a surprise to bump into you here," she said stiffly.

John looked around, as if searching for someone. "Gray here with you?"

"What?" she exclaimed, alarmed, "Why?"

"This hasn't been made public yet but..." He glanced around, "A man was killed last night. There was some illegal street race going on and one of the cars hit a man driving. It knocked him off the road and directly into a light pole. Died instantly."

Kristie covered her mouth in horror. "That's awful."

"It is. We're taking it very seriously."

"What does Gray have to do with it?"

"Kristie, are you serious?" His tone was dry. "The Devil's Advocates steal cars and put them in races all the time. This was no different."

"You're saying Gray was driving the car?"

"We need to question him."

"He wasn't there last night."

John's eyes narrowed. "How do you know?"

Kristie fell silent, unsure of what to say and if she should even be talking without a lawyer around. Isn't that what they always said in the movies? But it seemed excessive to suddenly blurt that out - almost as if she were guilty of something.

"My friend and I were with him and his other friend at a bar last night," Kristie finally said, settling on at least what other people could back up.

"Well, witnesses say that it was a car driven by a member of the Devil's Advocates. We know that Gray races often. Hopefully after he left the bar last night, he didn't head to this race."

Kristie didn't like the way that John was staring at her. He clearly thought she knew more than she was letting on - and she did. Just not the information he wanted to hear.

John finally broke the silence. "Kristie, if you know something else...anything else...it'd be the right thing to tell me. Think of the man who died last night. His family will need closure. I know you want to protect Gray but..." He trailed off, letting his guilt hang in the air.

Kristie bristled. "I don't know anything. Do you really take me as the type of person who would know about a murder and not do anything?"

"You might, out of the love you hold for your family."

Close, out of the love I bear for Gray. Instead Kristie shrugged and walked by John, stepping into the coffee shop. He didn't follow her. She watched him get into the police car. She turned away so he couldn't see her watching him through the windows.

The joy that she had been feeling last night with Gray was quickly fading. The doubts that she had in her mind from earlier this morning were back in her brain. Kristie would protect Gray, but would he have done the same for her? There was no way that he had been driving the car last night that had killed the man. But had he known about the race? If he had, then Gray would be indirectly responsible for the car accident. Maybe he had even stolen the car himself. Was that the sort of man Kristie wanted to get involved with?

Another thought hit her. She had been so consumed with if Gray loved her or not that she had forgotten the circles he ran in. He was in a gang. He stole cars. His gang had just killed a man. How could someone like her, a college student, be with someone like Gray? Why had Kristie only considered this now?

Despair filled her and for a second she worried she was going to cry. Instead she stood up straighter and moved toward the counter to order a coffee.

<<<>>>

Gray couldn't fall back asleep. After waking up to find that Kristie had left already without even bothering to leave a note, he was unable to stay in bed. The bed smelled like her and it was driving him crazy. Why had she left? He paced his small apartment, smoking a cigarette. In the morning sunlight, the romantic haze that had covered the night before was quickly vanishing, replaced with the reality of what they had done.

They'd had sex twice. The second time had been slow and almost romantic in nature. They had a strong connection. There was no denying it. But now it felt as if Kristie was running away. Did she regret what they had done together? Gray puffed on his cigarette and ran his fingers through his hair. He thought of Kristie writhing underneath him, her face full of pleasure and her eyes shining up at him.

The reality of day just made it clear to Gray that they couldn't be together. She would be going back to college soon. She had a degree she was studying for her and her own life to return to. Gray had a life of his own, running the Devil's Advocates. Kristie had no place in it. And he had no place in hers. Why had it taken sleeping with her to realize that it wasn't going to work out? How fucked up were the two of them that they needed to fuck to come to grips with things?

His phone rang again. Armand had been calling him all morning. Gray had no interest in talking to him. He was probably still drunk from the night before. But this was the fifth time in ten minutes that Armand had called, and it was pissing Gray off. He snatched up the phone.

"Armand, what?"

"I need to see you," Armand said in a tone that broached no argument. "I'll be there in five minutes."

The line clicked. Puzzled, Gray could only wait for Armand to show up. When he did, Gray let him in and Armand walked in quickly, looking over his shoulder. His skin was colorless, and he looked exhausted. He had a long gash on the side of his face and was walking with a limp.

"What the fuck happened?" Gray asked, shutting the door.

Armand grabbed a beer out of the fridge, even though it was only a little past eight in the morning and sat down at the table across from Gray.

Armand told Gray that he had ignored his request not to race the newly stolen Corvette. "I raced it last night, Gray," he said, avoiding his gaze. "I had been working on it and couldn't pass up the chance to try it out. It was against a newbie rider of the Infernos. It would be stupid not to."

Gray could only stare.

Armand kept speaking, detailing the work he had done on the car and how he had left the bar last night to go race. "Everyone was so drunk that no one really noticed," Armand said. "So I was able to make it to the starting point on time. The first half of the race - no problems. I was winning."

"I'm guessing you wouldn't be here so early if the second half of the race went as smoothly as the first," Gray replied stiffly.

"I turned this corner. But it was snowing so badly last night that the car...skidded. It swerved into another lane and...I barely remember what happened. But I smashed into this other guy's car. He went spinning off the road and into a light pole." His breath caught but then he went on, "I got out of the car but I fucked up my ankle or something. I don't know. The Infernos driver...he just drove by...grinning at me. Asshole. I cut my face..." He motioned to the gash on his cheek.

"What about the guy you hit?" Gray asked, not caring about Armand's wound.

"I don't know. It looked bad. So I bailed. I just left the car there and I bolted. Kept to the alley. Made my way back to the warehouse to my bike and rode off. It wasn't until this morning that..."

Gray narrowed his eyes. "That what?"

"That I found out the guy was dead. I killed him."

Gray felt as if the ground had moved from underneath his feet. He was toppling over from the sudden impact of Armand's words. A guy had died all because Armand had refused to listen to him and instead had decided to race.

"I don't know what to do," he was saying now, looking to Gray for help.

"How did you hear he died?"

"It was on the news this morning. The info linked up. I just knew...Gray, I can't go to jail. I'm already on probation."

"I don't give a fuck about your probation, Armand. You disobeyed me."

Armand bristled at this. "I'm not your damn servant, Gray. You can't just order me around and expect me to do whatever you want like some god damned puppet."

Gray's phone went off but he ignored it, focusing on Armand instead. "So what the hell do you want from me? I can't make a murder vanish, Armand."

"You have to cover for me. I was with you last night. Say I came here last night with you. Get Rick to go along with it. Even Kristie, if she feels like she wants to say anything differently."

Kristie. The thought of her suddenly took Gray to last night but he tried to shove her out of his mind. He didn't want her getting roped into this. She was already at risk because she had been hanging out with them last night. What if John had already gotten to her? Gray suddenly wanted to check his phone and see if she had been the one calling.

"Gray, you gotta cover for me. Tell the cop I was with you. If the Infernos guys tip them off..."

Gray rubbed his eyes, feeling suddenly exhausted. "Get out of here, Armand. Lay low. Keep your phone on you."

Armand stood up, nodding and taking off, shutting the door loudly behind him. Gray looked down at his phone and saw that it had been Kristie calling him. He called her back, looking through his window. If that man had died last night, he was sure that cops would be here to question him.

"Gray." Kristie's voice came through and by her worried tone, his heart dropped. "Gray, I just ran into Officer John -"

"You know I didn't have anything to do with it, Kristie," he said, itching for a cigarette.

"I know that. But he is convinced that you did it."

"That I did it?"

"I told him we were at the bar but he says you must have done it afterward. I didn't know...how to...you understand."

"Yeah, I know."

Kristie cleared her throat. "Gray...stealing cars? Racing them? I didn't know that your club did that."

Something in her tone irked him and he felt his defenses go up. "What did you think we did, Kristie?"

"I know you guys went on rides around town. I just didn't think it meant you could kill, too."

"Are you serious?" he snapped.

"You know what I meant -"

"No, I do not know what you meant. You make it sound as if we go out and murder people on a regular basis. This was an accident. Armand's car lost control -"

"Armand?"

Shit. Gray barreled on, "You can't cherry pick what you approve of with me, Kristie. It doesn't work that way."

"But, Gray, you don't have to be part of this gang. You don't have to do things like this. You can do more than just this."

She sounded exactly like Lionel. He realized that Kristie had been thinking this over like he had. They both couldn't ignore the fact that they were from two different worlds. Kristie would go back to college. Gray would always be with his gang. Last night their worlds had blended together perfectly for one night - but that was it.

Now Kristie wanted Gray to change, and Gray would never change. He needed someone who could accept that. She clearly couldn't.

"I'm not talking about this. If you hear from your boy toy John, let me know, okay?"

Gray hung up on her.

<<<>>>

Kristie stared at the disconnected call, different feelings swirling inside of her. Armand had done it. Gray is innocent. Yet it was a small comfort when she thought of Gray helping steal cars and race in illegal races. She knew they were from different worlds. But Kristie couldn't imagine ever doing something like that. Not to mention now a man had been killed because of it.

Kristie drove home, her mind muddled and thoughts hazy. The coffee was giving her the jitters. When she got home, both her mom and Lionel were still asleep. She made her way up to her room and collapsed into bed. She thought for sure that she wouldn't be able to sleep but before Kristie knew it, she was fast asleep.

Kristie didn't dream. When she woke up, it was as if she was being pulled out of a swamp. It was murky and the sun was pouring through the window she had left open the day before, making her head ache. Something was vibrating close to her head and it took her a moment to realize it was her phone. Her mouth felt dry, and Kristie suddenly wished she could go back to bed. Instead she looked at her phone and saw that it was John calling her.

She hesitated for a brief moment but then picked up the phone. "Hello?"

"Hi, Kristie, heard from Gray at all?"

"No." Her lie came automatically, before she could rethink it.

"We really need to bring him into the station. I know you are prone to protecting him, but I really need you to do your civic duty here, Kristie. You need to do the right thing. Bring Gray in."

She wanted to scoff but remembered that John was still a cop. Even if Gray was doing things like stealing and racing, there was no way that she would be able to bring him into the station or give him up to admitting that Armand was involved. She loved Gray too much.

The way that he had spoken to her on the phone had pissed her off. He had gotten defensive and shut down on her, as if she was treating him like Lionel did. How could Gray not see that she wanted him to improve as a person? Kristie wasn't trying to change him. But instead Gray had mouthed off at her, making it clear that they were on two different paths.

Kristie wished she could go back in time to the night before, when everything was perfect and their differences were gone. In that night, it had been just the two of them. Second thoughts hadn't hit her until the morning had come. And now in the stark light of day, everything was messed up and ruined.

"If I hear from Gray, I'll let him know you're looking for him," Kristie said, about as honest as she could be.

"Okay," John replied, although it was clear that her answer didn't please him. "I need you to help me out, Kristie. Then maybe we can hang out again."

The fact he was holding a date over her as if she was that desperate for one rubbed Kristie the wrong way. She curtly said good-bye and hung up. In a swift movement, she leaned over and shut the blinds on her window, letting darkness over take the room. Kristie wouldn't mind if she ended up sleeping forever.

<<<>>>

Gray decided to leave his apartment. It would only be a matter of time until the cops came to see him, and he didn't feel like talking to them. He was in a foul mood. Armand had fucked up everything by having to go off and take that stupid Corvette out. Gray grabbed a small bag of things in case he had to skip town. He took one long look at the bed. Was it really just last night that he had been able to spend it with Kristie? Now it felt like everything had been trashed.

He shut the door behind him and made his way to his bike. The snow crunched under his feet but was already starting to melt in the oddly warm morning sun. It was close to ten in the morning now and the stillness of the previous night was gone. He could hear cars off in the distance and the low hum of conversation from two people heading to their cars.

Gray felt oddly comforted by the feel of the helmet going over his head as he got onto his bike. The engine came to life, and Gray roared out of the parking lot of his apartment complex. Normally he would go much faster than the speed limit, not caring if any cops saw him, but that was the last thing he needed right now. Instead, he followed all the rules, as much as it killed him to go so slowly.

Gray made it to Rick's apartment without incident and parked his motorcycle away from the sight of the busy street nearby. Maybe he was being overly paranoid, but he knew that John would be heading his way. Rick's apartment was on the third floor in the back of the building. The building used to be nice but that had been over twenty years ago. Unlike Gray's apartment complex, where he had to walk outside to get to his building, Rick's was all inside. But the complex had seen better days. Rick was on the third floor, and the carpet in the hallways was dirty and torn. The paint was chipping and some of the lights were burnt out.

Rick's apartment door had almost all of the paint chipping off of it, exposing the old wood underneath. Gray knocked once and then he heard three locks being unlocked to let him in. Gray stepped inside and looked around the apartment. They were alone. He had told Rick not to ask Armand over.

Rick looked at Gray, his eyes looking tired and mirroring Gray's own emotions back. Gray went into the living room and sat on the couch, letting out a long sigh.

"Fill me in. I only know a little from Armand. He said to ask you."

"Of course he did," Gray mumbled and when Rick looked puzzled, Gray began to explain what had happened.

When he finished, Rick was shaking his head. "Gray, you gotta get out of town."

"Out of town? Why the hell should I get out of town?"

"They're looking for you. That cop has it out for you. And you said Kristie was already getting grilled by him."

"There isn't any proof."

"You have a strong alibi?"

Gray fell silent, chewing the thought over in his head. An alibi - technically, yes. One that he could use, however, no. There was no way that he could ever say Kristie had spent the night with him.

"Leaving town just makes me look guilty." Gray said, changing the subject.

Rick shrugged. "Then stay. But you'll end up regretting it."

Gray couldn't help but wonder if Rick was right.

<<<>>>

It was after noon by the time Kristie padded downstairs, stifling a yawn. She still somehow felt tired even after all the sleep she had gotten. It could have been because none of the sleep had actually been good. Kristie had bad dreams the whole time. One of Gray smashing his bike into a car and spinning through the air. One of the two of them driving in her car and crashing off a bridge, sinking below the water, gasping for air. Each one was more vicious than the last.

Her mom had the tiny TV on in the kitchen and was eating lunch when Kristie made her way downstairs.

"There you are! I heard you come in but I figured you would be tired."

"Still am. Didn't sleep well."

"Did you have fun with Kass?"

Oh right, the lie. Kristie poured herself some cereal. She gave a non-committal nod as she sat next to her mom at the breakfast bar.

"Did you hear about this?" her mom said and turned up the TV.

Kristie's stomach felt as if it closed tightly shut and the cereal in her mouth turned to ash. The local news was on, and they were talking about the death last night. The reporter was standing in front of the crime scene, looking into the camera seriously.

"Police have said that they believe the crash was caused due to an illegal street race that was taking place last night..."

"Illegal street racing!" her mom exclaimed. "Can you believe such a thing?"

Kristie shook her head numbly as the reporter went on, "Police are suggesting the race may have to do with the heavy gang activity in the area."

Her mom looked at her. "Have you heard from Gray?"

Kristie's body froze and she shook her head. "No."

"I'm worried about Gray. If the cops think the gangs were involved..."

"You don't think Gray had something to do with it, do you?"

Her mom's eyes widened. "No, Kristie! No, I don't think Gray had anything to do with the death of that man. I just...the circles he runs in, you know? He takes that Devil's Advocate club very seriously."

Kristie felt relieved that her mother didn't think Gray was a killer. She suddenly had the crazy urge to spill everything to her but stopped herself. It wouldn't do any good and besides, she couldn't bear how her mom would look at her afterward.

Instead, she ventured a question, "Has Gray always been like that? He seems quick to anger as well."

Her mom sighed and looked out the window where Lionel was helping out in the garden. "Gray lost his way after his parents died in a car crash. You know how hard things were for us when your father passed away."

Kristie did. The pain of losing her father still felt vivid and hard to deal with on some lonely nights. Kristie had been nearing thirteen years old at the time. She could still remember her father saying to her mom that he was coming home from work and would stop and get some milk. Then there was another phone call. But this one had been from the hospital. Her father had gotten caught in gang crossfire and they needed her mom at the hospital right away.

If Kristie thought back, she could still perfectly picture the mad dash to the hospital. Her mother, in a blind panic, waking Kristie up from one of her naps that seemingly went on for hours. At thirteen, Kristie had just been kicking up her angst phase and liked to nap all evening after she got out of school. She was always upset about something. The drive to the hospital was silent, the tension filling the car. Not my dad, it can't be my dad.

By the time they had arrived, the doctor was waiting with the terrible news. He has succumbed to his injuries. Kristie's entire world had changed. Her mother was sobbing. It is my fault! I asked him to go get milk! This is all my fault!

"Kristie?"

Her mother's voice snapped Kristie back down to earth. She shook her mind of all the terrible thoughts.

"Sorry, just tired. A little hung over," she lied.

"Let me get you some aspirin."

Kristie watched her mom leave to get her some, all conversations about Gray forgotten. She tried not to think of the night her dad had been killed. But now she couldn't shake the cold, clammy feeling that worked its way around her body. Her father had been killed in gang crossfire. And yet here she was, trying to defend Gray and his own gang. An innocent man was now dead. Somewhere in this town, a family mourned for a father and husband lost. And Kristie was so busy wrapped up in herself that she didn't even wonder how she could care so deeply about someone who worked in a gang that only hurt people.

<<<>>>

It didn't take long for the cop to find Gray back at his apartment. He had given up trying to run away from John and had settled in, watching bad daytime TV as he muddled through his thoughts.

After seeing Rick, Gray had gone home, chain smoking and thinking over what Rick had said. It was true that he had no solid alibi that he could use. John had always had it out for him, too. The idiot cop seemed to think if he could get Gray behind bars, he'd be in line for a promotion or something. If he knew that Gray had slept with Kristie, that probably would have just made things worse.

The knocks came around one in the afternoon. Gray opened the door, not surprised to see John there in full uniform.

He smiled upon seeing Gray. "Came here earlier today but you weren't here."

"Nice to see you, too," Gray replied, not letting him in the apartment.

"Mind if we talk?"

"We're talking now."

John eyed Gray carefully, as if he would have a big neon light saying that he had killed the driver last night.

He cleared his throat. "I'm sure you've heard about the accident on Wayfar Street."

"Yes."

"We had a tip come in that it was you behind the car that caused the crash."

"Wow, doesn't take much for you to just come over here and ask if I killed a guy."

Gray wondered who it could have been to call in a phony tip like that. For a second, he even considered that it could be Armand. He had never trusted him and wouldn't put it past him. But at the same time, Armand had been racing against the Infernos, who had it out for Gray after getting Ben tossed in jail. Ben had violated probation and there were now rumors he'd be heading back to jail for a year or two. He wouldn't be surprised if one of them had called in the fake tip.

"Where were you last night, Gray?"

"Out at a bar with Rick, his girlfriend and Kristie."

"Right, I know already about the bar -"

"From Kristie?" Gray interrupted.

John looked up from the small pad of paper he had brought with him. "Yes, that's right."

"Does she know you asked her out on a date just to use her for information?"

Gray had said that blindly, throwing anything he had in his mental arsenal against John. When he said it, he didn't even know if it was actually true or not. But the surprise in John's eyes made Gray realize with a sick twist of the stomach that it was actually true. This asshole had only asked Kristie out to try to find out more about Gray. His breath caught, and he kept his gaze level with John. All he wanted to do was tell this asshole off for using Kristie like that.

"After the bar, Gray," John said, ignoring his jab, although Gray could tell it had shaken him. "Where did you go after the bar?"

"I came home."

"Can anyone back that up?"

"Are we done here? I don't have any clue what happened to the driver last night. Anything I know I've heard on the news. You want to bring me down for questioning, you better serve me with papers."

Gray shut the door in John's face. He could sense John on the other side, waiting, as if thinking what to do next. Then there were footsteps as John moved down the hallway, taking the metal staircase down to the next floor. Gray walked over to his window and saw John heading to his police car, talking to someone on the phone.

Even though Gray knew he hadn't done anything, it felt as if the odds were suddenly becoming stacked against him.

<<<>>>

You can't cherry pick what you approve of, Kristie. Gray's words still echoed in her head as she curled up on the couch in a ton of blankets, watching TV. Her mom and Lionel had gone out for dinner tonight, leaving Kristie alone. She was thankful for that. It was hard enough trying to keep up normal conversation with her mom, let alone Lionel.

She had known when she had woken up next to Gray today that their worlds were too different. She had even mentally pleaded with him as she left his apartment in a hurry - please don't hurt me. What if Kristie hadn't run off like that when she had woken up? She imagined Gray rolling over to her and kissing her. The way he had looked as he had pumped inside of her, moaning her name. If he came over right now and made a move on me, I would sleep with him. I would let him have me in every way he wanted.

The thought upset her. She couldn't believe how hung up she was on him. She absolutely hated that they had fought like that on the phone earlier. How could Gray not see that Kristie only wanted the best for him? How could she be with someone who was involved in the same sort of crimes that had killed her father?

She suddenly wanted to see him. No, she needed to see him. All day long Kristie had been thinking about him and what to do. If she could just talk to him and together...together they could work out everything they needed to. Before she could second guess herself, Kristie dressed in proper clothes instead of her pajamas, left a note to her mom that she was going out to see Kass and then was in her car, driving toward Gray's.

The melting snow made sloppy puddles on the ground as Kristie walked toward Gray's apartment. The sky was dark, threatening a new round of snow. Kristie had driven past the bar that they had been at the night before, feeling as if that had happened a million years ago. She climbed up the metal staircase and knocked on his door. She knew he was home. She saw his bike as she made her way up. There was no answer. Kristie was about to knock again when finally she heard the locks turn and there he was.

Gray was surprised to see her. His eyes widened slightly but then went back into a neutral expression. "Why are you here?"

"I needed to see you. May I come in?"

"If you're here to ask me more questions on behalf of John, you can leave."

Kristie sighed. "Gray, please, I'm not here because of John. I'm here to talk to you."

"Are we going to talk or are you going to tell me why I should leave the life I live and go to college with you? Maybe major in biology or criminal justice. Wouldn't that be fun?" His tone was dry and sarcastic, and Kristie felt annoyance start to seep into her.

She moved past Gray, barging her way into his apartment. Gray grumbled but didn't tell her to get out. He shut the door behind him and looked at her, crossing his arms.

"Gray, I'm only here because I need...I wanted to talk. We need to talk. Not even about Armand and what he did. About you and I."

"There is no you and I."

Kristie flinched. She hadn't been expecting him to be so cold.

"Gray," she tried again. "We can't ignore...our connection. What we have together. I know we have two different lives. When I woke up this morning next to you, I panicked. I thought you were going to break my heart. That you didn't want me like I wanted you. That you would break my heart. And I still worry about that. I still wonder if this is all so crazy of us. If we're making mistakes. And you think I want to change you. But I just want you to be safe and happy and with me." Kristie's voice cracked and she stopped speaking, her breath catching.

She looked at Gray, waiting for him to speak. In that moment, all Kristie wanted was him to tell her that they could somehow make it work. That they could overcome their differences and be together.

<<<>>>

Kristie looked beautiful. Her exhaustion didn't hinder how pretty she appeared to Gray at all. Her eyes were wide and shining with emotion. Here she was, trying to tell Gray that they could overcome their differences and be together. That she only wanted him to be safe. That she wasn't trying to change him. She was afraid of having her heart broken.

If the situation had been a little different, Gray would have agreed. He would have told Kristie that they could try to work through everything that was stacked against them. Their relationship, the fact Kristie was afraid of rejection, how she wanted him to be safe.

But with Armand's manslaughter hovering over his head and John breathing down his neck, Gray knew that he couldn't accept Kristie. Someone was tipping off the police that Gray had committed the crime. Either it was Armand or the Infernos. Either way, it didn't bode well for him. How could he expect Kristie to get wrapped up in this? She had her future to think of. An actual future.

"I'm skipping town," he finally said.

"What?" she gasped.

"You heard me." He pointed to a sheet of paper on his table.

Kristie walked over and looked at the rough plan he and Rick had drawn together, detailing a car to steal and a way to get out of town in the cover of night before John could issue an official request to take him down to the station.

"You're going to steal again?" she asked, looking up at him.

"You need to forget about me."

"How can I forget about you? Gray, you don't need to do this with your life. I'll go with you. We'll tell John that we were together all last night. You skip town and you just look guilty."

Gray wished Kristie would stop. He wished that she would give up and just leave. He didn't want to grow irritated with her, but he could feel it. She was so stubborn. She just needed to leave. Gray had never answered to anyone in his life. He wasn't about to start now. He understood that she just wanted him to be safe and go have a normal life. But what was a normal life? A 9-5 job?

"Please leave."

"Gray, you can't do this. You can't skip town! Think about Lionel. About my mom. They'll be crushed. And John will see it as you being guilty! You didn't do anything wrong!"

Gray let out a groan of frustration. He wanted to be with Kristie. He wanted that more than anything. She was standing here, practically begging for the two of them to be together. He almost regretted sleeping with her. He had ignored all the reasons why they wouldn't have worked as a couple - their differences, their relationship, and even the cops hounding his gang. Gray had let himself fall in love with her and sleep with her.

But now Kristie was here and was already demanding changes. It seemed just like Lionel to send her here to try talk his version of "sense" into him. She was looking at him, wide-eyed and beautiful.

"Kristie, enough! I'm skipping town. If I wanted a fucking lecture about it, I'd ask Lionel personally, okay? I have the cops hovering over me about Armand's fucking crash. Now you're here, trying to convince me to change my entire life? For what? The one night we spent together?"

He regretted the words as soon as they left his mouth. He was rash but this time he had taken it too far. Kristie recoiled, as if she had been physically hit.

"I..." She stumbled over her words. "Why can't you just turn Armand in? For what he did? Then everything can go back to normal."

He scoffed, "Normal, right. You want me to turn in one of my brothers?"

"What, you'd go to jail for him?"

"I'm not going to jail! I'm getting out of town, though, to protect myself. Armand should do the same."

"How can you say it was just one night together?"

Gray closed his eyes briefly, trying to clear the anger and confusion in his head. "Kristie, leave. For the last time, I need you to leave."

"So that's it then? You don't want anything more to do with me?" she replied finally, her tone stiff. "You're just skipping town for a crime you didn't even commit."

"You're just going to steal another car and bail out? Is that it?" She stormed past Gray. "I was stupid. I was so stupid."

She slammed the door on the way out. Gray could hear her marching down the staircase. He walked over to the window, watching her head to her car. Gray realized that she was crying. He cursed loudly and slammed his fist against the wall. It had begun to snow again.

<<<>>>

Kristie had to pull over on the way home. She was crying too hard to drive safely. She pulled in front of a laundry mat and cried her eyes out. She couldn't stop hearing Gray's words. And the fact he was going to skip town! And steal another car! He was never going to change. She had fallen right into his clutches, thinking that he cared for her as much as she had cared for him.

The worst part was that she had known it. When she had woken up to Gray - had it really only been this morning? - she had known that he could just be using her. That he was just going to break her heart. She had even walked away, ready to put distance between the two of them.

Kristie would have tried to keep her distance, too, if it hadn't been for the car accident. Before she could even think it through, she had gone slinking back to Gray. He had said that she wanted to change him. Did it really come off that way? Maybe she did want to change him. Maybe she couldn't bear the thought that she was in love with someone who was in a gang, like the gang that had accidently killed her father. Maybe she was trying to absolve herself of her own guilt. Maybe, maybe, maybe.

In the end, it didn't even matter. Gray had rejected her. He didn't want her at all. That was what hurt the most. Was she that hideous? Was her personality so terrible that Gray had simply used her to get off and then leave her? She had let him take her in the restroom and then again at his apartment. She had craved it and desired it. Now Kristie's heart felt as if it had been smashed with a hammer.

Kristie sobbed for a good ten minutes before she began to slowly calm down. Her car had gotten downright chilly. She turned on the heat and sniffled as she looked blankly at the laundry mat in front of her. Kristie knew she needed to get her shit together before she got home. Her mom probably already thought she was acting weird and just didn't want to say anything.

The most Kristie could do was tell John she didn't know anything. She didn't want to know anything. Nothing about Armand or the street racing or Gray skipping town. She simply wanted to get through this trip and go back to college. She felt hideous and ugly. No man wanted a girl like her. Her mom's words came back to her about how she could stand to lose a little. Kristie ignored the sudden urge to cry again and told herself that she needed to head home. She needed to push Gray out of her mind.

|  |

---|---|---

# Chapter Nine

Rick dropped Gray off in a shitty part of town. Gray waited until Rick turned off his bike and looked back at him.

"This is your stop."

It was nearing midnight. The snow was falling again and the temperature was dropping rapidly. It was as if the rest of the week had been teasing the town about winter's arrival and now the season was sweeping in full blast in one night.

Gray didn't want to leave his bike behind. That was the last thing he wanted, actually. But the need to ditch town in the cover of night meant he had to go all the way. Taking his bike would be a tip off. If he happened to be pulled over, it would match with the warrant given. It was too risky to take his bike along when he skipped town.

Gray got off of Rick's bike, running his fingers through his hair. The neighborhood in front of him offered cars that were easy to steal. Cheap, usually unprotected, and just what Gray needed to get to take him out of town. Once he got to the city, he'd ditch the car and crash at a hotel and get his bearings.

Rick looked at Gray through the opening in his helmet. "I'll keep you updated. Let you know what is going on. When you can come back."

"Rick..." He hesitated and then went on, "I don't trust Armand. Somebody is telling the cops that it was me in the crash. It could easily be him. I don't know."

Rick nodded. "I'll keep an eye out for him."

Gray went to turn away and head into the neighborhood but stopped again. "Rick. Watch over Kristie, okay? That cop...he's up to no good with her."

"I will. Take care of yourself. You'll be back soon. You know you didn't do anything wrong, Gray."

"I know. But it is hard to prove when everyone is working against you."

"One more thing - the car you're taking...it isn't like the cars we normally boost. You understand why though, Gray. You have to blend in. A flashy car or your bike won't cut it."

Gray waved his hand. "Yeah, yeah, I know. Take care of my bike, okay? I want it in perfect condition when I get back."

They shook each other's hands, saying good-bye. Gray turned, hearing the roar of Rick's bike as he took off into the night.

Gray slunk into the neighborhood like a cat. The street was mostly silent, and the streetlights flickered in the falling snow as he kept his eye out for a good car to take. He tried to keep his thoughts busy so he didn't think about Kristie.

Of course, it didn't work. The only thing Gray had been thinking about was Kristie. There had been not a peep from her since she had stormed out. This is what needed to happen. She had to leave. She had to think you used her so she could be safe. But it didn't make him feel any better. Gray couldn't help but realize that he was falling for her. It doesn't matter. You two can never be together, you made sure of it.

Not for the first time, Gray wished Kristie had just given up on him herself. No talk about changing him or wanting him to fit a different mold. In the perfect scenario, she would have come over, saw that Gray was skipping town and realized there was no saving their relationship. They were too different.

His thoughts were interrupted when he saw the perfect car. It was an older Dodge Neon. Not his idea of a fantastic ride, but Gray didn't need something flashy. The more boring, the better. He crept over, eying it. Sometimes, in a stroke of good fortune, the idiots wouldn't even lock the cars. Gray could simply open it, steal what was inside or hotwire it and take the car out.

No such luck tonight. The car was locked. Luckily it was older, which meant the wire hanger trick would work just fine. Gray tended to avoid the newer cars because of that.

It didn't take long to work the lock. Gray opened it. The stench of weed almost knocked him over. Hope a cop doesn't pull me over on the drive. Not only would the car be stolen but he felt pretty confident the owner had a stash of weed in here somewhere. Just his luck.

Gray slid into the car and shut the door gently, getting ready to hotwire it. The car had old CDs all over the place, which he knocked out of the way. He worked the wires quickly. Gray had always been good with this. It was the way he had first gotten into the Devil's Advocates. There was always a trial to get inside the gang. His had been to steal a car. Gray had passed it with ease.

The car came to life underneath his fingertips. Gray watched the house in front of him for anyone to run out over the noise but it was quiet. He lit up a cigarette and backed out of the driveway, taking the car down the street and heading toward the interstate. It was a two-hour drive to the nearest city. Gray wanted to blend in there.

I'll be back soon, Kristie. I'm sorry.

<<<>>>

Why was it impossible to ever get any sleep anymore? As soon as Kristie did fall asleep, she'd have nothing but nightmares. And then, once she managed to ward them off, someone was always texting or calling her early in the morning. She really needed to mute her phone.

Now her phone was going off from a text message. Kristie stared at her phone, not wanting to reach for it. It was the morning after Gray's rejection, and she just wanted to sink into quicksand and vanish from the planet.

Finally, she checked her phone. It was a text from John, asking to see her for lunch. Kristie groaned. It was probably about Gray. It wasn't as if he was going to ask to see her because he had feelings for her. She became suddenly hyper-aware of her body and closed her eyes again. At least when she was asleep, she didn't feel disgusting and gross.

In the end, Kristie agreed to see John. If she didn't, he was only going to bother her more until she caved. At least if she agreed to see him now, she could get him out of her hair for good. She was going to tell him she knew nothing about Gray or the car accident. She wanted him to leave her alone and let her live her life.

Kristie dressed casually, mostly in baggy clothes in an attempt to hide her body. All the confidence she had been feeling from Gray had vanished the moment he had told her that he was using her. Now she wished it was socially acceptable to wear blankets and multiple layers of clothing. Her mom and Lionel were up, talking in low voices in the living room.

"I'm going out to lunch," she announced.

"With Gray?" Lionel asked.

Kristie was taken aback. "No. Why?"

"I can't get a hold of Gray. I was hoping maybe you had heard from him," Lionel said, sounding tired.

Kristie shook her head. "No, sorry. I'm going to lunch with John."

Her mother's lips went into a thin line. "The cop? Is it about Gray?"

Kristie pretended she didn't know what her mom could mean. "No, just another date. Why, guys? What is going on with Gray?"

"I'm not sure yet, Kristie. There are just rumors going around...about that accident. That Gray's club was involved. I'm just concerned. I wanted to get in touch with him but he isn't returning my calls," Lionel replied.

"I'm sure it's fine." She hoped no one noticed her voice going an octave higher, which she tended to do whenever she lied point blank to her mom.

"Will you tell us if Officer Fuller asks anything?" her mom asked.

"Yes, mom." Kristie needed to get out of here. If her voice got any higher, she'd sound as if she took in some helium.

She quickly grabbed her jacket and stepped out of the house before anything else could be asked. Kristie got into her car and drove off, heading toward where John was waiting for her. The diner was almost empty of patrons due to the snow swirling around. It was freezing, and Kristie wished she had remembered her gloves on the way out. She watched the diner for a moment. Normally she would think that Gray was just ignoring Lionel's calls but this time she knew better than that - he had skipped town. She exhaled slowly and closed her eyes. The heartbreak over Gray returned full force and caught her off guard. It felt as if she had been stabbed. She couldn't let John know how upset she was.

Kristie hurried up to the diner and stepped inside, shaking the snow off of her jacket. John was waiting at a booth near the front and waved her over. She sat down across from him. There was only one other couple in the diner and the waitress came over instantly. The two of them ordered coffee and the waitress left.

"So," Kristie began, "I'm going to guess this isn't just a social call."

John gave her a small smile. "I wish it were."

Kristie looked down at the menu. She wasn't really hungry but knew she should probably eat a little something. She could feel John's eyes on her. Neither of them spoke until the waitress came back.

Before Kristie could speak, John ordered again for the both of them. "We'll take a house salad, hold the dressing. Two fruit cups as well. And water." The waitress walked off and John looked up at her. "You're still watching your figure, right?"

The irritation Kristie suddenly felt almost knocked her out of the booth, followed immediately after by shame. She remembered how he had ordered a salad for her the last time they had been on a date. Kristie had never said anything about watching her figure. It was clear that John, like her mother, thought she could stand to lose a few. Kristie felt her bottom lip tremble and then told herself to stop. There was no way she was going to cry over how ugly she looked here in front of John.

"No," she said instead. "What did you want me here for?"

"You talk to Gray recently?" He asked as he poured some sugar into his coffee.

"There's Splenda over there," Kristie quipped, and John looked up in surprise. "You know, since we're watching our figures."

"I can afford to indulge," he replied, completely clueless to Kristie's jab, which just irritated her more.

"And no, once again, haven't heard from Gray."

"We think he skipped town." His tone was light but he was keeping his eyes glued on her face.

Kristie shrugged. "Okay? Listen, John, I just met the guy. He wasn't at the wedding when my mom got remarried. I know almost nothing about him. I don't know what you want from me. But if you're looking for some amazing information about Gray and the accident, I have none."

"You seem loyal to your family. I just wanted you to know hiding anything is illegal. It can be used against you. It can land you in jail."

"Is that a threat?"

"Of course not."

As Kristie looked at him, she realized that, like Gray, John had been using her. She was simply fresh meat. Someone he could pump for information about Gray to try to land him behind bars. And Kristie, always so flattered when men took interest in someone like her, had fallen for it yet again. They don't want you, none of them want you. And you keep falling for their bullshit. She couldn't remember a time that her self-esteem felt so low.

"I don't know where Gray is. If he skipped town, then so be it."

"All right, all right. I can see you truly don't know," he replied, holding his hands up in a gesture of innocence. "If he skipped town, it just proves his guilt. On top of all the tips we are getting that puts him at the crash."

The waitress came back, delivering the salad and fruit cups. When Kristie had said she wanted something small to eat, this hadn't been exactly what she had been thinking. She poked at the salad as John ate.

"Listen, I don't know much about gang relations. You said it was a street racing crash? Why even do something like that?"

John looked pleased that Kristie had asked a question and she almost regretted it. "Thrills. They have nothing going on in their own lives and they have to fill in their lives with something. So they race. For money and bragging rights."

"The man who died...did he have a family?"

"He did. A wife and child."

Kristie poked her salad, feeling sick. She suddenly didn't even want to force herself to eat the salad. Her stomach felt as if it were in knots. Gray had skipped town, but Armand had left a man dead.

"If you know anything, Kristie, let me know, okay?" John repeated, as if he could sense her weakness.

Kristie nodded.

<<<>>>

After lunch, which was terrible the whole way through, Kristie didn't want to go back home. She found herself taking a walk, letting the chilly air sink into her skin. She wasn't sure where she was going. She just wanted to be outside. She found herself going through everything in her head. Was it true that someone was trying to pin Gray for the murder of the man? Would Armand do something like that?

As if Kristie merely thinking about him conjured him up, she saw Armand stepping out of a liquor store, face bent down to light up a cigarette. She stopped in her tracks, wanting to turn around and go back to her car when he seemed to sense her and looked up. Armand's eyes fell on her and he broke out into a grin, walking over to her. Shit. This was the last person she wanted to be seen with or speak to.

Armand was handsome in an intimidating way. He was bold and reckless and, in another world, Kristie would have been attracted to him. Even now, if she ignored everything she had gone through, she would have flirted with Armand. But now all she wanted to do was back away from him and hide.

"Kristie!" he exclaimed, as if they were old buddies. "Fancy seeing you here."

"Hi, Armand."

"You look pretty."

The compliment took her by surprise and she smiled meekly. "Thanks. What are you up to?"

"Just hanging out." He lowered his voice. "You hear from Gray at all?"

Kristie shook her head. He scanned her up and down and seemingly liked what he saw because he smiled. "I'm hearing he skipped town."

Kristie shifted uncomfortably, wishing she could just walk away. "Officer Fuller has been asking around. I don't know anything more than that."

"Officer Fuller is a jackass."

"He says people gave him tips that Gray was at the scene of the crime and caused the death of that man."

Armand looked at her, as if he was trying to get a solid read on her before finally shrugging. "Well, we know that wasn't the case."

"Then why aren't you trying to fix it? John is going after Gray now over what you did."

"Whoa, baby, slow down." He leered at her, moving closer, his eyes locking with hers. "You seem awfully concerned with someone who you just met."

"No. I mean, yes, because he's someone my mom cares about." She felt flustered. "But you should own up to what you did."

A slow smile spread across Armand's face, and he took a long drag off of his cigarette. He began to walk past her but at the last moment he stopped and looked at her. His eyes were brown, with flecks of gold in them.

"I like you," Armand suddenly said. "I'll come by to see you later, okay?"

Kristie could only watch, taken aback by his words, as Armand headed toward his bike.

|  |

---|---|---

# Chapter Ten

Gray stared at the TV in the shitty hotel room he was cooped up in. The picture was terrible and was showing some daytime talk show. Gray took a puff of his cigarette. He had gotten into the city in the middle of the night, found this dump of a motel and crashed. He had been sleeping on and off all day, trying to figure out what he wanted to do next.

He didn't know. Gray still wanted to know who was tipping off the cops that he had been at the accident. If Kristie backed him up through the alibi, Gray knew he could get off. But that would mean telling everyone that they had slept together, and Gray wasn't ready for that. He had already dragged Kristie through too much.

He found himself thinking back to the night they had spent together. He thought about their frenzied kisses in the restroom and taking her right there. The thrill of possibly getting caught. Riding through the cold to his apartment and having her again in his room, hearing her moan and rock against him. It had been unlike any other time he had spent with any woman.

Gray couldn't hide out here the whole time. He needed to find out who in the Infernos was fucking him over. If it wasn't one of them, then he needed to deal with Armand personally. He thought of Armand's previous interest in Kristie. Now that Gray wasn't there to fend him off, what was to say he wouldn't go after her? He didn't trust Armand with Kristie. He would break her heart. Could he break it worse than you did?

Gray might not be able to have Kristie and the life he wanted with her. But he sure as hell wasn't going to let Armand take her away from him.

<<<>>>

Kristie was sneaking a cigarette. Her mom was working a night shift and Lionel had fallen asleep on the couch. Kristie sat outside, at the side of the house, like a teenager, taking a long drag off her smoke. Her nerves felt wrecked. She missed Gray. She kept thinking about the way Armand had stared at her. She even thought about John and what a jerk he was. Not to mention, college loomed in the back of her head, a constant worry for her. Everything felt messy, as if a child had splashed paint all over a canvas that represented her life.

She wondered what Gray was doing right now. Was he thinking about her at all?

Kristie raised her head at a sudden noise. It was the hum of a motorcycle engine. For a brief moment, she foolishly thought it could be Gray. But the bike came into view and with a jolt she realized it was Armand. He parked down the street. He's coming over here. Kristie put out the cigarette, standing up straighter.

"Waiting for me?" he called out to her.

Kristie didn't reply. She was sure even if she attempted to explain what she was doing, Armand would brush her off. He was wearing a leather jacket and boots, crunching through the snow to get to her.

"What are you doing here?"

"I told you. I wanted to see you."

"Why in the world do you want to see me?"

Armand stopped in front of her. "You interest me."

Kristie's heart skipped a beat but she crossed her arms, staring him down. "I have to get inside soon."

Armand put one hand against the side of the house, leaning close to her. They were almost touching, she realized with a start. God, this guy was forward. Their breaths mingled and Armand grinned at her.

"Don't want to hang out at all?"

"I barely know you."

"Correct. But I want to know more of you, Kristie. You interest me. It's clear you have a dangerous side. You were at the bar we go to. You hung out with us the other night. You wonder what our lives are like. The things we do. You want to ask Gray but you're afraid. I get it. I can show you. I can make your life very interesting."

"Wow, you're so modest, too," Kristie replied dryly.

"Aw, don't be that way. I was right, wasn't I?"

Suddenly flashing lights reflected off the snow. Surprised, Kristie shoved Armand away, trying to see where they were coming from. A cop car drove by and with a jolt, she realized it was pulling into their driveway. Armand paled.

"Stay here," she ordered and took off into the house.

Lionel was awake, rubbing his eyes sleepily, walking toward the front door. Kristie stood behind him, her heart pounding in her chest. He opened the door and John was there. His skin was pale, and he looked cold from the weather but was clearly trying to keep a smirk off his face. Kristie's heart skipped a beat.

"Officer," Lionel said in surprise.

"Is Gray here?"

"No. We haven't seen him in a while," Lionel replied, looking at the flashing lights of the cop car. "Is there a problem?"

"I need to bring Gray down to the station for questioning." John stared Kristie down as he said this, and she tried to keep her expression blank.

Lionel was alarmed. "Officer, he isn't here. We haven't seen him."

"We have reason to believe that he has skipped town. If you hear from Gray, tell him he needs to come to the station right away."

Lionel looked panicked and started explaining how he hadn't seen Gray in a few days. Kristie was silent, her heart thumping in her chest.

John held up one hand. "Fine. But we'll be looking for him. Try and get in touch with Gray. Have a good night."

Kristie watched John head back into the car before he drove off into the snow-covered night. Lionel stared out at the driveway in shock. Kristie couldn't imagine that John really had enough evidence to get Gray sent to prison. If only Gray hadn't left town. He wouldn't look so guilty.

"Lionel?" Kristie asked gently.

Lionel snapped out of his trance and looked at her. "I'm going to call your mother. See if you can get a hold of Gray." He was distracted and walked off.

Kristie waited until she heard him speak in a low tone, and she headed back outside.

Armand was still waiting, smoking a cigarette. When he saw her, he grinned. "What was that about?"

"They wanted Gray down at the station for questioning."

"Really?"

Kristie snapped. "How are you not upset at this? This is your fault! You need to fix it!"

"All right, all right, don't get your panties in a twist."

"Don't talk to me that way," she snapped.

Armand walked over to her, again leaning close to her, his smile wide. "You're feisty."

Kristie didn't reply.

Armand was close to her now and his voice was low. "Are you that worried about him?"

"Of course I am. The police wouldn't want him to go down for questioning if they didn't suspect him of anything."

"Where is he?"

Kristie narrowed her eyes at him. "You don't know? Isn't he the leader of your club? He's gone because of what you did, Armand."

"I know and I feel terrible about it." He ran a lone finger down an exposed part of her arm, causing goose bumps to pop up along her skin.

Kristie didn't believe for a second that Armand felt bad about Gray getting sucked into the mess he had caused. For a second, she considered demanding that Armand go to the cops and confess. But one look at his eyes made her swallow her words. She didn't believe that he would, anyway.

"You have to try to reach out to him," she said, shifting tactics. "See if he'll answer your calls. Tell him to come home. He didn't do anything wrong. The cops can't arrest him for anything."

"I could do that, I suppose," he mused.

A surge of annoyance raged through her. "Then why are you even here?"

"I told you already. I want to get to know you. Is that so bad?"

"Right now? Yes! With everything going on, yes, it is bad. I don't have time for this."

She turned, planning to head back into the house. Her heart was hammering in her chest. She had to get hold of Gray somehow. Convince him to come back. Kristie wanted everything to go back to how it was when she had woken up in his arms. They were supposed to make things work. Now it was all crumbling in front of her.

Instead, Armand's arm slinked out and his hand wrapped around hers, stopping her. The sudden touch sent a spark up her back and she hesitated, stopping to look back at him.

"I'll go but I want your number." When her eyes narrowed, Armand said, "To let you know if I hear anything about Gray."

Kristie paused for only a moment before rattling off her number. Armand put it in his phone.

"Only call me if you have news about Gray." she said.

He looked up at her and nodded, a small smile on his face. "Of course."

As Kristie turned to head back into the house, she hoped she hadn't made a mistake.

-To be continued in Book 2-

If you enjoyed this title, I would appreciate your leaving a review of the book. Good reviews encourage an author to write as well as help books to sell. Good reviews can be just a few short sentences describing what you liked about the book without having a spoiler. If you could spend 30 seconds writing a review, I would appreciate it: you can review this title right now at your favorite retailer.

Here is a preview of the next story you may also enjoy:

KRISTIE LOOKED at herself in the mirror, doing a last-minute touch up before she walked out into her party. Her mother and Lionel had rented out her favorite place to eat, and the guests milled around outside, talking in low tones. She was ten minutes late for her own party. It all boiled down to one guest she was dreading to see.

Her graduation had gone off without a hitch, and her heart had raced with excitement the entire time. This was what she had been working so hard for. It had been a long journey, but she had done it. Kristie couldn't believe that she was now an English graduate.

The last semester had been touch and go. After a holiday filled with nothing but tense moments and one stressful event after another, Kristie had come back to her dorm in a state of mental anguish. Even though she had a new boyfriend, she still couldn't help but think about Gray.

Always Gray. The final semester, Gray had kept floating into her mind. How could she still feel this way about him? Upon meeting her mother's new husband, she had also met his former ward, Gray. Her connection with Gray had been immediate. She had felt something with him that she had never felt before. And he felt it as well.

The two of them had slept together twice and fooled around once. Kristie had wanted to be with him and pushed aside any negativity that could be in their way. She wanted to make it work, ignoring their vast differences, since Gray was the leader of a motorcycle gang.

But ultimately, their lives were too different. Armand, a member of Gray's gang, the Devil's Advocates, had accidently killed someone in an illegal street race. Officer John, a cop Kristie had briefly dated, wanted to arrest Gray, who had skipped town once he had gotten wind of the impending arrest. The two of them had parted on bad terms.

But now, summer was upon them. In a twist of fate, Kristie had found comfort in Armand. In Gray's absence, she had grown fond of him and the two of them had been dating steadily since she had gone back to college. The long distance had been hard, but Armand would come up to visit whenever he could.

A sudden knock at the door jarred Kristie from her walk down memory lane.

"Kristie? It's Kass."

Kristie let out a sigh of relief and opened the door, letting her friend in. Kass had fallen hard for Rick, Gray's second in command at the Devil's Advocates, and the two of them were now engaged. Her engagement ring sparkled under the dim lighting of the restroom. They had barely been dating for six months. Kristie thought it was too whirlwind for her liking, but Kass only looked happy when she was around Rick.

"Hey, you're taking forever. You look great. What's the hold up?"

Gray and Armand being in the same room together. "Just nervous. A lot of people. Not a huge fan of crowds."

Kass nodded as if she understood, even though Kristie knew she was a social butterfly. "Well, it's all people who are thrilled with you. Even Gray showed up. I haven't seen him since he skipped town when everyone saw John gunning after him."

Kristie went to run her fingers through her hair, but at the last moment remembered it was up in a fancy bun. "Yeah, well, John took a leave of absence after that mess."

There were rumors that the leave of absence was forced because John had gone after Gray with no real evidence. Kristie didn't know. She tried not to think about the whole thing.

"So come on! Armand is waiting too."

Kristie gave one final glance in the mirror, knowing that she couldn't put it off any longer. It was time. She followed Kass out of the restroom and down the hallway leading to the main floor of the restaurant. Her mother had invited what seemed like half the town because she was so excited. Kristie didn't see them as she stepped out onto the main floor. Her eyes scanned for one person and one person only.

Her mother and Lionel swarmed her first, congratulating her. Lionel would never replace her father, but she knew her mom was happy with him. He was a hard-working man, gentle and kind, and Kristie had warmed up to him over the last few months.

Her mother was the same as always. Overly excited, trying to smooth out part of Kristie's dress as she shielded her from the crowd.

"A little snug," she commented quickly before moving to announce her to everyone.

Kristie felt her face flush. The last thing she wanted to hear was something from her mom about her weight. The small comments here and there, reminding Kristie that she wasn't super model thin, always stuck beneath her skin like tiny needles.

Everyone swarmed around her, people she knew and some she had never seen in her life. They shook her hand and asked a few questions. Must be proud of yourself, right? Are you going to be an English teacher? I personally wouldn't have gone to college for English, but I'm glad you found your niche. Settling down after this, I presume? All the comments made her skin itch.

In the midst of all of this, Armand found her. People tended to give her boyfriend a wide berth. He was burly and bulky. Kristie could imagine him being a gladiator back in the olden days, swinging a sword around and taking people down. But in this day and age, he was just a biker.

Armand had dressed up a little today for her. His clothes were faded and clearly old, but the effort counted for something. She smiled when she saw him, and her heart skipped a beat. Almost everyone she knew disapproved of her dating Armand. Even she didn't understand the connection that she felt with him. They were part of different worlds, like she and Gray had been, but there was one less obstacle with Armand - he wasn't Gray.

Besides, many times, late at night, Kristie told herself that she wouldn't ever settle down with Armand. He works for where I am in my life right now and nothing more. But Armand had no idea she thought such things.

Her thoughts were cut off by Armand pulling her into a bear hug, pressing his lips against hers. Kristie kissed back and quickly pulled away, always too shy to show too much affection in public. Armand pulled away but kept his arm wrapped around her waist. There was something different in the way that he was holding her. She knew why - Gray. Everything boiled down to Gray.

Almost as if Kristie thinking about him had conjured him up, the crowd parted and Gray stepped forward.

If you enjoyed this sample then look for Devil's Advocate: A BBW MC New Adult Romance Series - Book 2.

Here is a preview of another story you may also enjoy:

"I THINK it looks nice."

"Are you crazy? It isn't even at all."

"Well, you do it then, April."

I sigh and take a step forward, looking at the photo that Emily had hung up in the living room. It looks crooked to me. Okay, maybe just a little off center. I lean forward and nudge it slightly with my finger. It slides just over enough to look perfectly center to me and I look back at her.

Emily is wearing an amused expression on her face. "Oh, yeah, massive difference."

I know she is teasing me. I roll my eyes and look back at the photo. I hear Emily leaving the room to go finish unpacking in her own bedroom. I look around the living room. The big things seemed to be unpacked. I sit down on the couch and sink into it, relaxing my feet for a moment.

Moving felt as if it had taken ages. I am glad to see that the big things are all unpacked. Now I can try to relax for the night. Even though it is hot outside, part of me wants to bundle up underneath a pile of blankets and go to sleep.

But I get up and make myself walk to my own bedroom. My own bedroom. It sounds foreign to me. Not that I haven't ever had my own bedroom. Of course, I had my own bedroom when I lived at home. But I shared a dorm room in college so I wasn't exactly dealing with the utmost of privacy.

Now, however, I have a space all to myself. The only other person in this apartment is Emily, my best friend since I was little. Finally, it feels as if life is falling into place.

I sit down on the floor and start going through one of the boxes. I have always been terrible at packing. I usually end up shoving everything in boxes without any sort of organization at all. I never learn, apparently, because this current box has everything from clothes to my laptop. At the bottom, I yank something out. It is a photo album. This is weird... I didn't put this in here.

I flip it open to a random photo and see myself at age six. My skinny arms are wrapped around my sister, who is beaming at the camera. Behind her is a water slide. We must have been at some water park.

I scowl. My sister, Spencer, must have slipped this in the box. It was most likely a last ditch attempt at getting me to reach out to her.

"It isn't going to work," I say out loud and shove the photo album back in the box.

Emily sticks her head in inquiring, "Did you say something?"

"Yeah. Not to you though. Just..." I bite my bottom lip, "... just that Spencer shoved this stupid photo album in one of the boxes. I didn't notice it until now."

Emily is staring at me, clearly trying to figure out what to say next. She, of all people, knows the relationship I have with my family and that it isn't the best. But I don't want to ruin our day of getting our own place with mention of them so I quickly shake my head.

"No, it's cool, really. I'm just going to finish unpacking in here."

"Okay," she replies and turns around to leave before hesitating. "Listen, April. You know if you need to talk about them, you can. You don't have to lock it all up inside."

"I know. Thanks."

Emily nods at me and leaves me alone in my bedroom again. My earlier zest at having my own space is now slightly dulled. I sit on the floor and run my fingers over the cover of the photo album. I don't know when Spencer would have snuck this in. Did she really think this would do anything? Knowing her, she probably thought I would see it and decide to move back home.

Well, she is wrong. I stand up and decide to go through another box. If I find another surprise from her in any of these boxes, I am going to lose it on her. But I then think quickly, maybe that is what she wants me to do.

I decide I'll unpack something I like. The big box holding my photography equipment is stacked up against the wall. I yank it over and sit down on the floor again, opening it up and slowly pulling everything out.

Once I am holding my camera, I feel myself calm down a bit. It is state of the art. All my equipment is expensive - and I had purchased it all by myself. No hand-outs from Mommy and Daddy, no matter what anyone may think. I go through the box and organize everything. I was itching to take photos of my room and I took some spontaneous shots. I want to start a photo album of my life beginning with moving out on my own and continue on as I get my career going.

After I finish taking some photos of my room, I grab clean clothes and head into the bathroom for a quick shower. I can hear Emily talking to someone quietly on her phone in the kitchen. It is probably her boyfriend. Ever since Matt and I broke up, she is worried that if I hear her talking to her boyfriend, I might start crying over my failed relationship.

Maybe I would have a couple of months ago. But I am working every day to get over Matt and everything we went through. I tell myself that what we had was just a college romance. Of course it was going to end after graduation. That was what I told everyone after we broke up. I downplayed how serious we were. I felt like a fool for not seeing it before it happened.

Only Emily knew how hard the break-up hit me. Better not to think about Matt now. I have other things that I need to focus on. Whatever I went through with Matt is in the past now.

I step into the shower to clear my mind. I have things to get arranged. No use in thinking about the past.

If you enjoyed this sample then look for Torrid Exposure - Book 1.

Here is a preview of another story you may also enjoy:

"Breaking news: A body has been found in the woods outside the town of Lancaster over the weekend. The county coroner has noted the cause to be what looks like an animal attack.

Sources say there have been sightings of 'wolf-like' creatures found in the area that may or may not be responsible, according to investigators. This is the third unsolved case of this nature that has been reported in the region."

<<<>>>

ELIZA TUGGED at the zipper of her wind poncho in an attempt to cover her exposed skin. The wind was getting more fierce and it was still raining, but her network manager believed that rain added to the 'drama' of a broadcast. Drama? What kind of 'drama' could there possibly be from covering a livestock contest?

Of course, Eliza would never challenge her boss's choices to his face. Jim was a well-respected man in their town and, in fact, could be regarded as the biggest local celebrity. Jim used to work as an anchor in a major Los Angeles broadcasting station, but had chosen to return to Birkbridge and start his own broadcasting company. They had started off small but had managed to accumulate a decent following of loyal viewers and had therefore been able to expand into a full-fledged TV and radio station.

Under Jim's influence, Eliza had lived for a long time in a state of bedazzlement. After all, she had, once upon a time, fallen in love with the world of Jim's creation. Jim and his television station - Birkbridge NewsLine - had brought some sense of excitement to the otherwise boring little town. The problem was that, after five years of working for the man, she'd learned to see through the sparkly shades of spectacle. Once the illusion had shattered, the outcome was quite depressing; Eliza was, once more, living in the real world.

For people like Eliza's boyfriend, Andrew Freelander, 'normal' was not synonymous with boring. He was a man of simple pleasures and routine; he enjoyed his black coffee in the mornings and his beers in the evenings. Every other day, he went to shoot some pool at the local pub with his friends and colleagues from the weapons factory. Sometimes Eliza joined, sometimes she didn't. She didn't plan ahead most of the time, because she didn't want her entire life to be dominated by routine. Thanks to Jim, she felt as if her life might change for a while and become at least a little less monotonous. However, after many years, Eliza's new and 'exciting' life became its own routine.

<<<>>>

And at the moment, she stood in front of a farm, reporting on an upcoming livestock show in the pouring rain. Yippidy yay.

"And now, reporting from the Birkbridge countryside farm: a soaked and very cold cow!" Eliza shouted into the camera.

Oliver, the cameraman, rolled his eyes. "Thank God we're not filming live television!" he yelled at her through the roaring wind. "And I don't see any cows around here, but I'm so bloody tired of not doing my job today that I might just be hallucinating!"

The wind was finally dying down and Oliver was pointing his camera at Eliza again. "None of that "cow" nonsense this time, Eliza! The people of this town are paying good money to get their news from a real human woman."

"You make a good point." Eliza smiled. Oliver was a good sport; he was the only British person in Birkbridge, and he certainly knew how to have a good bit of banter. Eliza decided to cut him some slack and snap into work mode; she knew that the rain might start again in a few seconds so they needed to get the shot right then and there.

"This is Eliza Zachary, reporting from the soon-to-be Birkbridge livestock fair. As you can see, preparations are under way for the upcoming festivities..."

Whenever she did stories like this, Eliza couldn't help but wonder what it would've been like if she'd accepted the job offer in Boston. The job had initially seemed way beyond her reach, but her father had pulled some strings with a few of his contacts at the news station and managed to convince Eliza to apply. To her amazement, she had been immediately accepted for the role of an on-site broadcasting journalist. Pursuing the job in Boston would have allowed Eliza to do what she'd always wanted and follow in the footsteps of her father. Granted, she wouldn't be on any real battlefront, but she would still be in the position to make history with her news stories. However, taking the job in Boston would also have prevented her from continuing her happy life with Andrew, her loving, loyal boyfriend.

Andrew and Eliza first met in their first year of college and had been inseparable ever since. She believed that Andrew was the only person, other than her dad, who she could truly be herself around. Although they didn't exactly have an instant connection, Eliza and Andrew grew close in a very natural way, and their relationship developed with ease. Before starting her first year of Media Studies, Eliza had promised herself that she would make an effort to interact with other people. College was meant to be the best time of her life, and Eliza wasn't about to let her insecurities get in the way of that. With some life coaching and advice from her dad and some styling tips from her mom, Eliza had fashioned her very own alter ego with which she would face the world head-on.

<<<>>>

Through thick and thin, Eliza's father had always been her rock. Her mother, Jeanette, was always supportive, but she was sometimes a bit too fussy for Eliza to truly confide in her.

While growing up, Eliza had known her father as two men: the brave, effortlessly cool man who yelled over the sound of gunfire from the television screen, and the reserved, gentle man who tucked her into bed every night. Of course, the television Martin looked a lot different, since Eliza watched all his broadcasts as old recordings. By the time she was born, Martin had given up his career and settled down in Birkbridge to raise his family. He became a local historian, pursuing lengthy and in-depth projects relating to the foundational elements of Birkbridge life. These revolved around the three main industries in the town: coalmining, farming and manufacturing guns. His new book required him to research the inner workings of the Millstone Firearms factory, and he could often be found hanging out in the area, talking to some of the workers. Some of the workers didn't mind him, but others would sneer at him and ask him condescending questions. "Have you ever tried using Google, old man? You know we don't have all day to chat with you about your picture books."

Despite his seemingly old-fashioned methods and even though he was a bit of a social outcast, Martin was still unbelievably charming. Perhaps it was due to his immaculately well-preserved good looks, or maybe because of his patience and open-minded listening skills, but Martin's investigative projects usually bore fantastic results. He often took on paid projects for some extra cash. Sometimes, locals would hire him to investigate and produce their family trees. In other cases, his clients were people who wanted him to find anecdotes or even write entire biographies for their dead relatives' funerals. One thing was for sure; his clients were never disappointed.

<<<>>>

Going along with her father's suggestion, Eliza joined the drama club and after five months, Eliza had had a decent amount of interaction with the club's one and only groupie; a cute senior named Andrew. At first, she was a little annoyed with his tendency to hang around and watch their practices. Eliza was new to this scene and still felt a bit self-conscious, particularly around people who weren't even part of the theater group. For this reason, Andrew's casual presence had frustrated her a little bit. Who was this guy? Didn't he have anything better to do?

The first time that Eliza found herself alone with Andrew, she had been unexpectedly upfront with him. She was usually shy around guys, but she found him so annoying that her frustration managed to surpass her bashfulness. Although sarcasm hadn't been part of her repertoire at the time, Eliza's first conversation with Andrew was loaded with it.

"Haven't seen you in a while," she'd said with a cheeky grin on her face. "You must've been really busy lately."

Andrew had been at their practices every single day that week, so he laughed at her ironic insinuations that he had no life. And, as it turned out, Andrew had liked Eliza's direct approach to conversation. Due to her former friendlessness, Eliza hadn't really learned how to engage in small talk and empty chitchat; she was an all-or-nothing kind of girl. Andrew, as an attractive college senior, had become accustomed to empty, flirtatious interactions with the opposite sex. However, Andrew was a self-proclaimed monogamist and he quickly tired of the attention overload. Throughout college, he'd been looking to settle down, but to his dismay, all the co-eds seemed the same to him; he never found anyone amongst his groupies who really challenged him the right way. So Andrew became a groupie himself and started hanging out with the drama club. As he explained to Eliza, he was looking to find some truth in the fiction of theater. Eliza had rolled her eyes and called him a cheeseball. Then they exchanged looks, Eliza's mouth twisting into a crooked smile, and they both burst into laughter.

Andrew had been persistent, and had won Eliza over within two weeks. They'd hang out after the theater club practices, and their private meetings had escalated. At first, they met up in cafes, then bars, and eventually, Andrew's apartment. Quickly, Eliza and Andrew became in sync with one another, and there was no awkwardness in discussing their plans for the future. After she completed her sophomore year, Andrew asked Eliza to move in with him, and she gladly accepted.

Andrew had graduated three years earlier than Eliza and immediately got a job at Millstone Firearms. After five years his responsibilities had increased immensely. Despite his reputation for being late to almost everything, Andrew was nothing but exceptional at what he did, in fact, ever since Andrew received his promotion to junior head of sales, Millstone Firearms had managed to out-sell their competitors by ten percent annually, which meant that they were finally on their way to becoming the most successful firearms manufacturer in the country.

For Eliza, parting with Andrew hadn't really been an option. Since she hadn't, in her wildest dreams, expected that the Boston network would actually consider her application, let alone offer her a job, Eliza had been completely befuddled about how to act when she'd received the offer. Deep down, she had already known that Andrew would not be willing to give up his job and leave Birkbridge, and she also realized that he simply wouldn't be able to keep up with the pace of life in the east coast. After all, the only things that kept Andrew's absent-mindedness at bay were his routines and habits, but he was completely unable to adjust to changes in his schedule.

Nevertheless, Eliza had had a tiny speckle of hope when she confronted Andrew about her job offer. He had been incredibly sweet, kissing Eliza and telling her that he was so proud of her; after all, what were the odds for getting such an incredible job offer straight-out-of-college? However, the fantasy wasn't meant to last. After lengthy conversations over breakfast, dinner and weekend pillow talk, Andrew and Eliza eventually came to the sad yet inevitable conclusion that the move to Boston wasn't going to pan out. They both knew that Andrew had worked incredibly hard to achieve his current company status, and neither of them believed that he should have to start from square one again. They discussed the possibility of Eliza moving on her own, but her fully packed Boston work schedule would ultimately overrule the possibility of her flying out to see Andrew once every few months. For Andrew, given his recent promotion, the chances of taking time for visitation days were also very slim.

<<<>>>

As Eliza helped Oliver pack up his camera equipment, she told herself that she had no regrets. In actuality, the decision to stay in Birkbridge with Andrew had been a no-brainer. She had been able to get everything she wanted: a loving boyfriend and a job. Granted, this job may not have been a first choice, but it was certainly not a job that anyone in their right mind could complain about.

Arriving home, Eliza checked the time on her phone, 6:29 pm, and in the process discovered several texts from Melissa, one of her three best friends and also, coincidentally, a cousin.

5:30: Done with work, where are you right now?

5:44: Not gonna bother going home first, brought a change of clothes to work so heading to the bar now! Will see you there.

6:08: There's a hot guy here. Hurry or I'll go home with him!

6:10: Just kidding but seriously, get here already.

When Eliza walked into Nelly's, Melissa was sitting at their usual spot. There were a few empty glasses already lined up at the table, but she was still looking relatively sharp. As Eliza knew from experience, Melissa could be trusted to hold her liquor. Even on nights when she consumed triple the doses of her friends, Melissa would always be the last one standing.

Eliza took a seat opposite her friend. "So where's this dreamy guy? I was almost expecting you to be gone by the time I arrived."

"All kidding aside, if my vodka-goggles aren't deceiving me, I think there really is a somewhat hot guy here tonight. He's at the bar though, so be a doll and check him out for me while you're up there?"

Eliza rolled her eyes and sighed dramatically, but she couldn't stop herself from smiling. "Oh, all right then. But only because I love you."

"You're the best!" Melissa beamed, giving her friend an overly exaggerated wink. There was something about their weekly girly meet-ups that had spurred the friends to engage in a satirical 80's-housewife-routine.

Eliza came back from the bar, carrying two cocktails. "So, no sight of Brienne yet. Or has she also wondered off with some mystery man?"

"Yes. She's finally left boring old Tom and those dreadful kids and found herself a real man," Melissa responded, without breaking character.

At that moment, Brienne came through the door, dithering about as always. She wiped her feet on the carpet and, spotting the flaw of their seating arrangement, shuffled over to another table and grabbed a chair.

"Hey, sorry I'm so late, what did I miss?"

"Not much. Well, Melissa has spotted someone she thinks is hot, but that's about it," Eliza responded matter-of-factly.

"Ah, good, so I didn't miss anything," Brienne confirmed, slouching back on her chair and looking calm at last.

If you enjoyed this sample then look for Alpha Feud: A BBW Paranormal Shifter Romance - Book 1.

|  |

---|---|---

# Other Books by Carla Coxwell

Torrid Exposure New Adult Romance Series

Fifty Recipes For Disaster New Adult Romance Series

Star Bright New Adult Romance Series

Obsessed Bounty Hunter Romance Series

Get the latest update on new releases from the author at:

<https://www.carlacoxwell.com/newsletter>

|  |

---|---|---

# About the Author - Carla Coxwell

Carla has always been a fan of romance novels. To augment what she made waiting on tables to help her way through college, Carla also did some freelance work in the romance genre.

Now she enjoys living vicariously through her characters in her New Adult Romance books.

|  |

---|---|---

# Connect with Carla Coxwell

I really appreciate you reading my book! Here are my social media coordinates:

Friend me on Facebook: <https://www.facebook.com/CarlaCoxwell/>

Follow me on Twitter: <https://twitter.com/carlacoxwell>

Check me out on Goodreads: <https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/10691544.Carla_Coxwell>

Subscribe to my newsletter: <https://www.carlacoxwell.com/newsletter/>

Visit my website: <https://www.carlacoxwell.com/>
