Flagger Read online

  “He’s not your responsibility.”

  Cash got up from the couch and went over to where his keys sat on an end table. “The hell he’s not. Don’t think I’m sayin’ this to hurt you, but that kid is never gonna wonder where his next meal is coming from, and he’s never going to get made fun of at school because he has holes in his shoes. Not while I have the means to make sure he doesn’t.”

  Irritated and a little pissed off, he walked to the front door and slammed it on his way out. Sitting in the driveway was the one thing that settled his moods, no matter how annoyed he was. Popping open the driver’s side door, he had a seat behind the wheel and breathed deeply.

  Nothing that happened in his everyday life could compare to the way he felt when he sat in this seat. Anything that bothered him, made him sad, or pissed him off, faded when he sat here and started up the engine. He could put it in gear, take off down the road, and forget everything for at least a few hours. He did that more often than he cared to mention.

  Looking back up at their house, he saw Janet standing in the doorway. He waved as he started the car and backed out of the driveway. He couldn’t take her look of guilt. He did what he’d been doing since the day he’d turned eighteen, provided for his family.

  *

  “You weren’t kidding when you told me to wear something sexy, huh?” Harper mumbled as she and Natalie got out of Nat’s car and joined the group of people waiting for the race to start.

  Around them, girls their age and women probably old enough to be some of these boys’ mothers were milling around in pieces of dental floss and band aids. She felt overdressed in her jeans and tank top, which showed a lot more skin than she normally did.

  “Told you.” Nat had a seat on the hood of her car, popping the tab on the can of Coke she’d brought with her. “They all think one of these dudes is gonna take one look at them and take them home.”

  “I’m sure that’s happened to some of them,” Harper mumbled as she had a seat next to Natalie, grabbing her own drink.

  “Oh, I am too, but it’s sad really.”

  Harper opened her mouth to answer, but stopped as a loud cheer went up from the crowd. Coming towards them was the car that had stolen her parking spot earlier in the day. The car was sexy, and it sounded even more so. She could feel the rumble of the engine through the vibration of the hood she sat on. It was red, but not flashy, with a black pin stripe down the side and on the hood. The windows were tinted, and the tires looked like they cost more than her tuition for this semester.

  “Who is that?” Harper asked her friend as she nodded towards the car. “That guy cut me off and stole my parking spot this morning.”

  “Cash Montgomery.” Natalie sighed as she said his name and then giggled as the last syllable left her mouth. “He’s hot.”

  “Oh dear Jesus, Nat.”

  “He is,” she argued. “And you’re in for a treat. There’s nothing sexier than his face when he’s ready to race that quarter mile. He gets this intense look, and to be honest, I can’t help but wonder if that’s the way he looks when he’s fucking. I would love to find out.”

  “Oh my God, you’re worse than these chicks wearing no clothes.” Harper dropped her head in her hands.

  “No.” She shook her head. “You’re gonna get it. As soon as he hashes out the terms of the race and they get into race mode, you’re gonna see it. It’s why all these women come to the Trail. They want to see the intensity of this guy.”

  Harper wasn’t sure she’d ever understand what Natalie was talking about. Sure, the guy was hot, but he’d not left a good impression when he’d taken her parking spot. She wasn’t sure if she’d forgive him for that. That had “entitled” written all over him.

  She watched with curiosity as he walked over to a guy who looked like he was of Hispanic descent and slapped hands with him. They did a handshake and talked for a few minutes before being joined by two or three more guys whom she recognized from school. Papers were exchanged, and she saw money changing hands.

  “Place your bets,” someone called out.

  Harper watched as people started shoving money in the Hispanic guy’s hand. He stopped in front of her. “You wanna bet, Amiga?”

  Quickly she shoved her hand into her jeans pocket, pulling out a twenty-dollar bill. “Here, on the red car.”

  “Cash?” he questioned, amused.

  “Yeah.”

  “He’s a good one to place your first bet on.”

  Just as quickly as he appeared, he was gone, and now her stomach was in knots. Twenty bucks was a lot of money for her these days. She could only hope she made her money back.

  ‡

  Chapter Three

  Cash leaned up against his car, taking in the group that had gathered to place bets on and watch the race. His gaze traveled amongst the crowd, taking note of people who showed up every time and a handful of newbies who were interspersed here and there. One of them in particular caught his eye. It was the girl he’d seen that morning, the one he’d stolen the parking spot from. Damn, he wished he’d gotten her name.

  “Why does she look familiar?” Slim motioned over towards the girl and the chick she was sitting with as he walked to stand next to Cash.

  “They go to school with us. I stole the blonde one’s parking spot this morning.”

  “The dark-headed one is the one I’m talking about. I know who the blonde is.” Slim got a glimpse at both of them as they faced the crowd again. He whistled between his teeth. “Nice first impression, my man. Harper is Grade-A, want-to-get-to-know-her, possible life-changing pussy from what I’ve heard.” Slim laughed, shaking his head.

  “I was running late,” he defended himself. “You know they’re on the verge of kickin’ me out as it is.” He scowled. “And don’t call that chick Grade-A pussy. Do you kiss your momma with that mouth? By the way, the dark-headed one is named Natalie. She and I have a class together. She’s quiet, too quiet for you.”

  Slim ignored the comment about Harper and forged on. “Which is fuckin’ ridiculous. You’re one of the best mechanics I’ve ever met in my life.”

  That was high praise coming from Slim, and Cash took a moment to bask in the limelight. He’d never been one to need that kind of praise, had never gotten it as a child, but the conversation with his mom had left him feeling more raw than he cared to admit. “Thanks, that means a lot coming from you.”

  “Last call for bets,” Rodrigo yelled, turning around in a circle.

  “What I wouldn’t give to win all the money people place on us,” Cash mumbled, seeing the wad of bills in Rodrigo’s hand.

  “No shit, but you have to admit, Rodrigo’s a star when it comes to gettin’ people out here. I mean, if it wasn’t for him, we’d still be racin’ just for pink slips.”

  He and Slim shook hands before Slim made his way back to his car. Left by himself again, Cash once again let his gaze wander. It went straight back to the blonde. He wondered what had made her decide to come out tonight, of all nights. His hazel eyes did a quick sweep of her body when she hopped off the hood of the car and walked to the passenger side, opened the door, and leaned in to grab something out.

  She wasn’t his normal. He could tell that right away. His normal was usually thin, had huge tits, and small hips. This girl…was built like a brickhouse. She was strong, her ass was high and tight, and she looked like she could handle the headboard banging against the wall for more than two minutes. His body responded to his thoughts, and he shook his head. He needed to get his mind into the race he was about to run. Money was more important than sex to him at this juncture of his life, as much as it pained him to admit.

  *

  “He’s staring at you.” Nat smacked her on the shoulder as she came back around to sit on the car again. She’d grabbed some gum to chew and a hoodie to sit on.

  “Who?”

  “Cash Montgomery. He’s looking at you like you’re naked and writhing beneath him while he gives you the pounding of y
our life.”

  Harper’s eyes widened, and she glared at her friend. “You’ve been reading too many romance novels. The pounding of my life? That sounds painful, like he’s beating the shit out of me.” She laughed.

  “That guy is walking sex, and he’s looking at you like you’re an ice cream cone he wants to lick up,” she mumbled. “Lucky bitch. Not only does he drive fast cars, but he’s affiliated with the Heaven Hill MC. That’s a whole lot of bad boy right there.”

  It took everything Harper had not to turn her glance towards the man they were talking about. She could feel his eyes on her, could feel it in the way her skin rose with goosebumps, the way her nipples tingled against her bra. The vibes he was sending her way were as much palpable as they were sexual. Sexual awareness was rolling off of him in waves, and she had never felt that before.

  “You’re safe now; you can stop looking everywhere but at him. They’re getting into their cars.” Nat laughed.

  “I was not doing that.”

  “The fuck you weren’t.”

  Having been friends for so long, they knew each other very well, and Harper couldn’t help the giggle that escaped her throat. She was so right.

  “C’mon.” Nat grabbed her hand and pulled her off the car. “Now that they’re lining up, we wait for them at the finish line.”

  *

  Cash listened to the loud drumbeat and guitars of the rock song blaring over his speakers. Some drivers listened to hip hop, some listened to nothing, but there was nothing like a good rock song to make him want to drive fast. He faced forward in his car, waiting for the flagger to start the race. He couldn’t jump it, but he couldn’t lay off either. A good start was what made the difference between a winner and a loser. Tonight, he didn’t plan on being a loser. He had plans for this money, and he needed it in a big way.

  It was an effort to blank his mind, to take everything out that worried him, to take everything out that he wondered about, so that he could concentrate on nothing besides the road in front of him and the steering wheel in his hand. Almost in slow motion, the flagger dropped the bandana and it was on.

  He accelerated, shifting through the gears, grinning when he saw he’d gotten a good start; he switched lanes, effectively blocking Slim. Slim was his main competition. Once in a while, one of the other guys who sometimes ran the Trail got lucky, but mostly it was him and Slim. They were the real stars.

  He cursed when he saw Slim switch lanes and accelerate towards him, almost catching up. He may be a friend, but tonight, for these few seconds, he was foe. Cash’s eyes took in the road they raced on, mentally calculating how he could work the sparse traffic to his advantage. It wasn’t particularly safe for them to race on public roads, but they did what they had to.

  He saw his shot when a slower car moved into the lane Slim was in. Shifting, Cash merged in front of that car, effectively using them as a block, while Slim had to scramble to figure out how to regain momentum. Cash could see the finish line and knew as long as he kept it in a straight line he would be the winner.

  He crossed the line first, feeling relief even as his hands shook from the adrenaline. Pulling his car back around to the crowd, he drove up to Rodrigo.

  “How was that?”

  “You are insane, my friend, but you’re what brings me my money.”

  Rodrigo opened his mouth to say something else, but he was interrupted by blue lights flashing in the distance and the sound of sirens.

  “Fuck.” Cash glanced in his rearview to see how close they were. What he saw he didn’t like.

  “Catch you tomorrow,” Rodrigo yelled as he made a mad dash towards his car.

  *

  The crowd went insane as they saw the blue lights flashing towards them. Harper and Nat held hands as they tried to make their way back to Nat’s car, but the crowd jostled them, breaking them apart.

  “Nat,” she yelled, not able to see her anymore in the throng of people. If Nat left her, she was done for; she’d definitely be going to jail. This fucking sucked.

  “Get in,” she heard a voice yell at her.

  She stopped short, realizing that voice belonged to Cash. He’d parked the car next to her and opened the passenger side door for her.

  “Get the fuck in; we don’t have much time.”

  “Why?” she couldn’t help but question.

  “I owe you for the parking spot. Now come the fuck on.”

  Glancing up at the cops and then back down at him, she knew her best bet was to go with him.

  “Fuck me,” she mumbled before she got in and shut the door, hurrying to buckle up as he sped off.

  Definitely not how she’d planned for her night to end.

  ‡

  Chapter Four

  “Do you think they’ll follow us?” she asked, glancing over her shoulder as he took her out into the county, using Highway 526 to get off the main roads.

  “Not out here, but we have to make sure we get far enough away from the scene,” he told her as he slowed and downshifted to go around a particularly sharp curve.

  She held on tightly as they came out of the curve and he accelerated sharply again. She’d never been in a car like this, never ridden with someone who drove with as much abandon as he did. Her eyes landed on his hands, which rested lazily on the steering wheel. She knew their speed was approaching three digits, but he wasn’t white-knuckling the way she would be. No, Cash was completely comfortable in the driver’s seat.

  “You don’t have to be scared; I know what I’m doing,” he told her as he chanced a glance in her direction. “I’ve been driving since I was fourteen.”

  “Fourteen?” Harper squeaked. “How did you manage to pull that one off?”

  He gave himself a mental slap upside the head. Telling her why would reveal something personal about him. He wasn’t one to talk about his personal life, especially with girls he picked up at races, but he was the one who had started this. He’d wanted to set her at ease, and those were the words that had chosen to come out of his mouth at that particular time.

  “My mom’s a single mom, and I have a little brother. She works crazy hours, and someone had to shuttle him back and forth, ya know, make sure he was looked after.”

  Harper let those words sink in. When he’d said he’d been driving since he was fourteen, she assumed that meant he had been joyriding. No, this boy had been taking care of his family. “Wow.” She ran her fingers through her hair and pulled it back off her neck using one hand. “I was scared to death to drive when I turned sixteen. I can imagine how you felt at fourteen.”

  One side of his mouth tilted in a grin. “Nah, I’ve always loved cars. I was excited to do it.”

  They drove along in silence for a few miles before he stopped at a stop sign and made a left turn onto Highway 185, which would take them back into the city of Bowling Green.

  “Am I taking you home?” he asked as he got the car back up to speed.

  She noticed this time their speed was much more relaxed, and he wasn’t checking his rearview every few seconds. Obviously he thought their potential brush with the law was over. “If you don’t mind, I’ll give you directions.”

  “Not a problem, but first we have to go meet Rodrigo. If I don’t get my money tonight, that fucker will spend it all.”

  In her back pocket, her phone vibrated, and she adjusted so she could get to it. Pulling it up to her face, she saw she had a text from Nat.

  I saw you hop in Cash’s car…everything good? I’ve got your purse, and I’ll bring it to school tomorrow.

  Everything’s good, he’s taking me home. She texted back quickly, not wanting her friend to worry. Although, if she knew Nat, she was more interested in whether any naked action would be going on in this car tonight.

  Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do…

  Harper could just see the look on Nat’s face, could just hear her voice. She also knew there weren’t many things Nat wouldn’t do. Shaking her head, she put the phone back in her pocket.


  “Was that your friend?”

  “Yeah, she was making sure I’m getting home okay. She said she saw me get in your car, which means everyone else at the Trail did too.” She shifted, not sure how she felt about that.

  “Well don’t say it like it’s such a bad thing, sweetheart. Most of those ladies would kill to be you, and tomorrow, they’ll be wondering if we had a go in the backseat.”

  For some reason, him saying that pissed her off. “Does that kind of reputation make you happy?”

  He was surprised at her anger and dialed his bravado down a notch. “No, and let me tell you, half the shit you hear about me isn’t true.”

  “So you aren’t in with the Heaven Hill MC?” she blurted.

  Cash smiled widely. “You seem to know an awful lot about me, darlin’, and here I just learned your name.”

  She blew out a breath. “Don’t think so highly of yourself. Everyone knows something about you. Either they talk about how hot you are, how fast your car is, or how you’re affiliated with the MC. I’ll admit, before this morning, I didn’t know your name either or what you looked like, but everyone knows of you.”

  “It’s always good to find out what people are saying behind your back. You’ve been a boon of information for me.”

  Harper cringed. Had she hurt his feelings? “Don’t tell me you didn’t know what people have been saying about you.”

  “No, I do know, but it always cracks me up just how wrong they have it.”

  Situating herself in the seat as best she could, she turned to face him. “So why don’t you tell me the truth, Cash Montgomery? Who are you really?”

  *

  Who was he?

  No one had ever asked him that question before. To be honest, he was pretty sure no one had ever cared to know the answer before. “I’m just a guy trying to do what’s best for his family.”

  Harper’s brow knitted. “Really? You’re not just a twenty-one-year-old guy looking for a good time? You’re that dedicated? You don’t want to live a little?”