King Cobra (Hot Rods)

chapter Two


Eli punched one of the three metal supports on his Shelby Cobra’s steering wheel. The solid construction of the original part ensured it wouldn’t bend beneath his punishment. It hurt the hell out of his knuckles, though. Pain obscured some of the alarm bubbling through his gut.

This was the last of the bars in a twenty-mile radius of the Hot Rods garage. Alanso’s current crotch rocket—a Honda REPSOL 600RR with a ridiculous #69 racing decal—was nowhere in sight. The neon orange body and wheels would have been impossible to miss, even at night.

He’d hoped to sit shoulder to shoulder with his best friend and drown their sorrows together. Then they could have called Sally to pick them up and things would have been back to normal by the time they commiserated over their killer hangovers in the morning.

Wasn’t much a bottle of Southern Comfort mixed with a few drops of cola couldn’t fix. At least, that’s how they’d gotten through most of life’s disappointments in the past.

Well, once they’d been old enough. Or bold enough to sneak some of Roman’s stash. The guy was four years older than Eli and had a couple more on Alanso. They’d roped him into the group when he’d been twenty-going-on-forty. He’d spent so much time wasted he’d never seemed to mind picking them up an extra bottle from the liquor store.

Eli’s dad, Tom London, had reined in Roman and the rest of the Hot Rods, never letting their habits get them in too much trouble. He’d walked a fine line, mentoring the damaged kids while allowing them to make their own mistakes. Somehow he’d managed to keep from scaring them away from the safe haven he’d created as a legacy to his late wife, despite his own often-crippling agony.

Hell, more than once Tom had decided if he couldn’t beat ’em, he should join ’em and put down his fair share of liquid fire, bonding them closer with every drink. It might not have been a recommended approach by Parenting magazine, but it worked for them.

And now Eli had jeopardized one of their own.

He squeezed the chrome knob on top of his shifter, out of ideas. All but one.

It was a long shot, but he had nowhere else to turn.

Parking at the far edge of the lot, away from people or other cars, he withdrew his phone from the pocket of his jeans. To extricate the device he had to lift up slightly in the leather bucket seat of his restored Shelby Cobra. Damn Salome and her fashion advice. Hot or not, these jeans didn’t leave a lot of room to maneuver. Plus, he felt like he might display some coin slot when he bent over in the low-rise denim. Being a typical mechanic didn’t suit his style.

He cursed as he wriggled.

By the time he swiped open his contact list, he grimaced. Confessing his stupidity wouldn’t be easy. He gritted his teeth and poked the icon of his cousin Joe smiling like a lunatic next to his gorgeous wife, who cradled their son.

The picture was a few months old. Eli took a second to wonder at how much the little guy had grown in even that short period of time. Like a weed, and bulkier every day. Hopefully the kid liked football. It’d be a shame to waste a build like that. They had a pretty good idea of how gargantuan he’d turn out to be.

After all, their friend Dave was the largest of Joe’s crewmates. Considering baby Nathan’s dove gray eyes and the shade of his dark hair—which exactly matched his honorary uncle’s mop—it was pretty clear who’d contributed the winning swimmer to the crew’s effort to give Morgan a baby when Joe hadn’t been able.

The crew had survived some serious issues, navigating tricky waters. Nothing had been handed to them on a silver platter. Maybe Eli should pull his head out of his ass and quit moping long enough to formulate a roadmap to his dream destination.

Lost in thought, it wasn’t until the third ring that Eli considered the time. F*ck!

They’d been working the later hours their customers loved when Alanso had split. It had to be… A glance at his watch confirmed—after eleven o’clock. Add another hour for the time difference and he winced.

About to hang up, Eli jumped when Joe’s voice came across the line.

“Hey.” His cousin’s answer sounded a little gruff.

In the background, a baby cried.

“Oh shit, sorry.” Eli let his head fall back against the leather rest. “I didn’t think about how late it is. Did I wake Nathan up?”

“Nah. He’s being fussy tonight. The last few days, actually.” Joe groaned. “It’s not like him. He’s usually so quiet, perfect. It’s making Morgan nervous that he’s not feeling well. Kay and Dave are here too, calming us down. Or trying, at least. Their theory is Nathan’s getting his first tooth. Dave said his little sisters got theirs around six months too.”

“Ah, damn. I’m sorry to hear that.” Eli ran his hand through his short hair. “I’ll let you get back to your family, then.”

“Honestly, I’ll give you ten bucks if you don’t.” Joe sighed. “I need a minute to myself. Besides, you are family.”

“If you’re sure—”

“Don’t make me beg, a*shole.” His cousin raised his voice a bit. “Hey guys, it’s Eli. I’m going to step out on the landing for a few.”

“King Cobra!” Dave rumbled a hello while two feminine greetings mingled in the background. “Hey Nathmeister, tell Uncle Eli his truck’s running great.”

“Of course it is. We don’t build shit at Hot Rods.” And Alanso had personally attended to every detail of the project after that night. The night they’d seen how badly Dave’s injury impacted the rest of his crew. The night they’d watched the guys and their female soul mates comfort each other in their friend’s absence.

“Are you going to pay his speeding tickets too, Cobra?” Kayla sounded half-annoyed, but even the chastisement couldn’t hide her affection for her husband. Not since a freak accident had nearly stolen him from her.

“I can’t be held responsible for his actions. Though I heartily approve.” His soul lightened in seconds. Tough times are temporary. That’s what he’d always told himself and the rest of the Hot Rods when someone had a bad night.

“All right, Eli. I’m heading outside.” The ambient sounds got less amplified. “You’re off speaker. What’s up?”

“Maybe I called to see how you’re doing.” It didn’t seem fair to add to Joe’s burdens.

“Eh, we’ll be fine. It’s just the joys of parenthood. Thank God for the crew. I don’t know how Mo and I would do this alone. We’re spoiled, I know. Stronger together in the group. But even still it’s a lot sometimes.” Joe paused. “It’s a ton of responsibility to care for another person. An innocent. Seeing Kate and Mike going through the same helps some. Hell, Mike carries all of us on his shoulders sometimes, like you do for your gang. But every once in a while I have to take a step back or I’ll drive myself nuts, you know?”

“Of course. You worry so much because you love them.” Eli was suddenly glad he’d reached out tonight. He should do it more often. For both their sakes. Why couldn’t the crew live closer? “If you didn’t you wouldn’t deserve them. We both know the world isn’t always perfect. Shitty things happen to good people. Look at Dave.”

“And your mom,” Joe’s voice was low, but it carried across the two states between them.

“Yeah.” Eli silently added Alanso to that list as well. He had to make this right.

“When I think back on that summer—” Joe didn’t need to spell out which one. Eli would remember it for the rest of his life. In grotesque detail. “It’s still not quite real to me. Sort of like a movie. I can see myself, you, your dad. Like zombies. Staggering around, trying to figure out how to make it to the next day and the next. And then the shit with Dave last year… Well, it made me not want to f*ck around ever. I tell my family, all of them, how much I love them. Every day. I’m terrified of losing them.”

“I hear you. The ache never goes away.” Eli rubbed his chest. “But what can you do? Lock yourself out of life to spare yourself the pain?”

“Personally, I wouldn’t advocate that plan, no.” His cousin bit the statement off.

“Am I missing something here? We’re talking about you, right?” Narrowing his eyes, Eli stared into the darkness.

“Not anymore.” A sardonic chuckle rang across the airwaves. “You do realize Alanso’s been videochatting with us a lot—almost every night for the past month now, right? Hell, I think him and James talk more than a couple of teenage girls.”

“What?” Eli sat up straighter. “Why?”

“I’d assume because his best f*cking friend is making him uncomfortable with sharing too much. Or maybe refuses to discuss certain issues at all. Probably because the one guy he should be able to trust with his insecurities and hopes seems to have forgotten that not everyone gets a tomorrow. And there’s no going back.”

“Son of a bitch!” Eli’s heart pounded as he took the lashing from his cousin. Sickness washed over him as he recalled the last time he’d seen his mother. Surrounded by flowers from the uncounted people she’d helped in her social work, she’d cautioned him to always lead with his heart before slipping peacefully from the world.

Would she respect him for keeping his hands off the guy he was closer to than a brother? Or would she shake her head at his callous treatment of another human being? Deep down, he knew the answer. Failing her shredded his insides.

“Even Kate said she’s disappointed in you, Cobra.” Refusing to pull his punches, Joe let him have it. “Are you that f*cking scared?”

First Sally, now Joe. Screw them. “I’m not—”

“Yeah, you are.” A snarl from the usually laidback man surprised Eli. When Joe broke their mutual silence, he spoke with a hell of a lot more kindness. Eli might have preferred poison to the pity he sensed now. “You don’t have to lie to me. I was there. I know what it did to you when your mom died. But I’m telling you now, you’re making a mistake. If you don’t fix this, you’ll be saying goodbye to Alanso too.”

“Fine. I hear you.” The phone trembled in his hold. “I just don’t see how this can work. If I f*ck it up, he’ll leave. We won’t have even what we do now. How can I take that chance?”

“He can’t settle for friends without lying to himself. Hell, to you both. Don’t make him do that. He won’t last. Neither of you will.”

“But Joe…”

“What, E?”

A deep breath delayed his response. “It’s not just Alanso. I want what you have. F*cker.”

Joe laughed. “I don’t blame you. And I think you’ve got a shot. I remember those stories you told about the wild nights some of the guys have had. They’re open to unconventional. Plus, you know your Hot Rods. Deep in your gut, you understand what they need. I can’t imagine how your pasts affect you individually, let alone together, but I gotta think you wouldn’t have stuck together so long if you didn’t rely on that bond to make it through.”

“Yeah, the Island of Misfit Mechanics. That’s us. So how the f*ck do I deal with seven guys and one chick in some crazy-ass relationship? I’ve never even had a steady girlfriend for Christ’s sake.” He might grow his hair longer just so he could pull it out. He had a feeling he might find the option handy in the coming months.

“I’d recommend starting slow. Walk before you run and all that shit. Go get Alanso out of that hellhole. Make things right with him. In the crew, it all began with Neil and James. They showed us what we were missing. It didn’t take long to catch on, though. Start the fire, Eli. Let it burn.”

“Wait.” Hope rose in his soul. “You know where Alanso is?”

“I might.” Joe laughed. “Depending on if you’re going to keep being a toolbox or not.”

“You said ‘hellhole’.” No more kidding for Eli. “Is he in trouble? Damn it! Don’t f*ck around if he is.”

“Nothing he can’t handle…probably.” A hint of unease colored Joe’s statement. “Promise you won’t march in there and drag him out just because you think it’s the right thing for him. He didn’t make this decision lightly. You have to support him. As long as he’s not being hurt, you can’t get your tighty-whiteys all in a bunch over his little experiment after you refused to play along.”

“You mean there’s a chance he is being hurt?” Eli pinched the bridge of his nose. “What the f*ck, Joe? You know I’d do anything for my guys. And Mustang Sally. Tell me where he is. I’ll go to him. I’ll…try.”

“About the best we could hope for, I suppose.” A door shutting was followed by Nathan’s sobs. They’d slowed and muted but hadn’t disappeared entirely. Eli could relate. “Mo, what’s the name of the park I wrote down over there?”

A park? What the f*ck—?

“Chestnut Grove.” Eli didn’t hesitate. He fired up the engine with a flick of his wrist and slammed the shifter into reverse. “He went to a pick-up spot? Sex with strangers? Jesus.”

Morgan echoed the name, confirming his fears.

“Go gentle on him.” Kayla called in the background. “He needs you.”

“You’ve got this, King Cobra.” Dave added his support.

“We love you,” Morgan called.

“And so does Alanso,” Joe added. “Don’t let him down tonight.”

“It’s going to take me at least twenty minutes to get there. He left hours ago. What if I’m too late? What if someone’s taking advantage of him?” Eli fishtailed as he zipped onto the road and gunned it.

“More likely he’s having a helluva good time.” The smile coloring Joe’s tone faded a bit. “But just in case, maybe you’d better drive it like you stole it.”

“I got that.” Eli short-shifted into fourth and pressed the pedal to the floor. His Cobra cornered like a champ on the new suspension Kaige had installed last week.

“Right. So time to hang up. Keep calm, lead with your heart and have fun.” Joe’s smile rang through his tone. “Call us when you can, so we know you’re both all right and we can say we told you so.”

“Hey, Joe.” His cousin surely expected an insult. “In case this is my last day…I love you too. Thanks.”

He disconnected the call, tossed his phone onto the passenger seat and watched the speedometer climb.