“Kassie,” Logan murmured.
His voice startled me and I jerked around. He leaned against the building, his arms crossed at his chest. I got a good look at his motorcycle, and realized why it looked so familiar. It wasn’t the same one he had years ago, but the paint job was the same. What made it hurt worse was, it was the design we had fabricated together. It was different from everyone else’s. The blue wasn’t just metallic, but iridescent.
“Don’t ever call me that again,” I snapped.
He held up his hands and stepped forward, his striking blue eyes full of regret. “Okay, I won’t. All I need is five minutes of your time. Will you please give me that?”
Eyes burning, I had to leave before the tears fell. “Sorry, but I don’t have the time.” Hurrying to my car, I got in and sped away. I wasn’t ready to hear him out.
Logan
It was beginning to look like I would have to make her listen to me by force. Kassie was a stubborn girl and I knew how to handle her, only I couldn’t see her enjoying me wrestling her to the floor like I used to do. I’d get a swift kick to the nuts if I did that now.
Walking into the Bennett Racing shop, everyone turned my way. I’d met the other Bennett racers at the track and they seemed like cool guys. Sean glared at me from where he sat, but that was to be understood. If Kassie hated me, then I had no doubt he would too, even though we were friends back in the day.
Ben slid away from the bike he was working on and smiled. “How ya been, Chandler? I would shake your hand, but I’m covered in grease.”
Ben was a good guy, always on top of things when it came to work. I wasn’t surprised to still see him working for Bennett. “No worries, man. I’m sure we’ll be seeing a lot of each other.”
“I hope so. The boys said you were on fire today.”
“Hell yeah, he was,” Trey shouted. “I’m ready for him to teach me a thing or two.”
I pointed at him and smiled, even though inside, all I could think about was mentoring Levi. “You got it.”
“Logan,” Richard called, nodding toward the door. “It’s time.”
“See ya later, boys,” I said, following Richard outside. We hopped in his truck.
“I called Ethan and told him we’re on our away.”
“Did he sound angry?” I asked.
He shook his head. “I think shocked, especially when I told him you were with me.”
“I’d say so. I showed up out of the blue after eight years. I’m sure a lot of people are going to ask questions.”
“You have that all figured out, right?”
“I’ve done this a thousand times, Richard. I know how to do my job.”
“Yeah, but you’ve never had to investigate the people you know. It complicates things.”
“That it does.” I sighed, focusing my attention out the window. He had a point; it was hard to keep emotions out of the way when it was people you knew. “So I researched those three gamblers on your list.”
“What did you find?”
“Nothing out of the ordinary. One of them died about a year ago, and the other two aren’t living in the area anymore. I think I’m going to focus more on the people around here, mainly the Hendrix team.”
He huffed. “Makes me sick to think anyone could hurt my team out of spite. I hope you figure this out soon. Whoever’s behind it needs to pay for what they did to Levi. He was an amazing young man.”
Yes, he was.
I loathed the Hendrix racers and could definitely see them being the ones contributing to Bennett’s downfall. Unfortunately, I had to keep an open mind. I turned away from the window. “What do you say about me putting cameras up around the shop?” I asked.
His eyes widened. “That’d be great. For years, I kept saying I was going to put some up, and never did.”
“Good. Micah and I’ll do that tonight. Make sure we can get in.”
He nodded. “Will do. Did you see Kassidy when she left?”
I shrugged. “All of two seconds. After we finish up with Ethan, I’m going to her house. She needs to know the truth.”
We pulled into Ethan’s driveway and he shut off his car. “I told her about my gambling. That’s why she left pissed off.”
“She deserved to know. Keeping her in the dark will only make things more dangerous for her. She won’t know to stay on her guard.” I got out of the car and waved at Ethan. He was in his garage, working on the motor of an old Chevy truck. His dark hair had a little more gray in it, but overall, he still looked the same.
“Well, I’ll be damned,” he shouted, smiling wide and ignoring the fact that Richard stood right beside me. “How the hell are ya?” He held out his hand and when I shook it, he pulled me in for a hug.
“Happy to see you,” I replied. “It’s been way too long.”
He slapped me on the back. “That it has. What’ve you been up to?”
I glanced quickly at Richard. “It’s a long story. Do you mind if we come in and talk?”