His smile faded and he huffed when he glanced at Richard. “Sure. Come on in.”
We walked inside and he sat down at the kitchen table, clasping his hands on top. “You’re not going to accuse me of stealing something else are you?”
Richard closed his eyes and took a deep breath before opening them. “No. I’m here to offer you your job back. I was wrong, and I’m sorry, Ethan. You’ve been nothing but a loyal friend to me.”
His face brightened. “Did the cops figure out who did it?”
“No,” Richard said sadly.
Ethan glanced back and forth between us. “I don’t understand. If you don’t have proof, why are you asking me back? You were pretty adamant on kicking my ass the other day.”
“That was until Levi was killed,” I spoke up. “Listen, he told me what you said about my crash not being an accident. After his death, Richard knew it all didn’t add up. There’s someone who wanted you both out of the way. Why? I don’t know.”
His gaze narrowed. “So what is bringing me back going to do? If I’m wanted out of the picture, don’t you think whoever it is will strike again?”
I nodded. “That’s what I’m hoping. That way, we can catch them.”
Ethan chuckled incredulously. “The police aren’t having much luck. So, how the hell are you going to catch them?”
I pulled out my FBI badge. “Because I’m not the police. I want to find who killed Levi, and who tampered with my bike. They could’ve killed me too.”
His eyes went wide and he smiled. “You actually did it?”
There weren’t many people I’d told about my dream to become an FBI agent; he was one of them. I had family members who laughed in my face when I told them because they thought I would never make it. Being an FBI agent was hard work and took a lot of discipline, but I’d done it. It felt good to prove everyone wrong.
“I did,” I responded. “And that’s why I’m back. Whoever these people are, they don’t need to win. Having you back will stir them up. I can’t say it won’t be dangerous, but I have plans to keep everyone safe. Bennett Racing needs you.”
Ethan lifted his brows and stared at Richard. “Is that true? Do you need me?”
Richard nodded. “Not only as an asset to the company, but as a friend—someone I can trust. Please say you’ll forgive me. I was being a jackass.”
Ethan stared at us both and blew out a heavy breath. “All right, I’m in. I’ll start back tomorrow.”
Kassidy
For the past two hours, I sat on my back porch and did nothing but stare at the mountains. If I went back to the shop, I’d no doubt see Logan again. I couldn’t risk being cornered by him. The only problem was, I couldn’t evade him forever. Sooner or later, he’d come after me. He was relentless when he wanted something.
My phone rang and I groaned, thinking it would be Logan. It wasn’t. “Hey, girl,” I answered.
“Hey, how are you?” Janie said.
“Tired,” I replied. “It’s been a bad week.”
Her voice grew softer. “I know. I just wanted to give you an update about Hendrix.”
“Go for it,” I said, sitting up straighter in my chair. Any news was better than nothing.
“As you know, I’ve been hanging around Mark a little more. And let me tell ya, you owe me. Big time. He can’t seem to talk about anything but himself and racing.”
Mark was an arrogant douche, so that didn’t surprise me. “I’m so sorry, Janie.”
“No worries, I’m happy to help. I don’t think Hendrix wants Ethan though. I know you had a theory that Hendrix wanted him gone from your team, so he could snag him up.”
“Yeah.” It was one of my thoughts, but there was no telling what was going on.
“I heard through Mark that Hendrix has no plans of hiring another mechanic or anyone on their pit crew.”
Sighing, I leaned back against my seat. “I’m stumped then.”
“But,” Janie blurted, “they are going to hire another rider. Apparently, word got ‘round that some new riders came into town. Hendrix is looking for new blood.”
“Great,” I grumbled. “More asshats to add to their ranks. Why does your brother even hang out with them?”
She huffed. “Good question. He seems to think they’re good guys.”
“I beg to differ.”
“I totally agree with you.” The line grew quiet, then she cleared her throat. “If you don’t mind, I want to ask you a question.”
“Go for it.”
“Is Sean single?”
I couldn’t help but giggle. “You like him, don’t you?”
“I don’t really know him, but he’s definitely easy on the eyes, and he seems like a good guy. You always had a way with the nice ones back in school.”
“Sean is a great guy. I don’t like to waste my time with douches. To answer your question though, yes, he’s single. Maybe we can all go out to dinner soon.”