“Holy fuck,” I gasped. Ethan Landis was an honest man and had been a mentor of mine when I rode for Bennett Pro Racing. He wasn’t the type of person to steal anything. If he wanted that tire changer, all he had to do was go out and buy one. “That makes no sense,” I said.
“Exactly. Richard fired him and it’s been a huge mess. Kass confronted him and he said some things to her, things that have me concerned.”
“Like what?”
“Like your accident. Ethan seems to think it was intentional, just like him getting framed.”
My blood boiled. If someone had tampered with my bike, I’d kill them. That wreck fucked my entire life up. “How does he know it was intentional?” I growled.
“He said there were other things that had happened over the years. When Kassidy demanded the truth, Richard wouldn’t tell her . . . but he pulled me aside and told me. Someone is seriously trying to drag Bennett Racing down.”
I leaned against the wall and ran a hand through my hair. “What exactly do you and Richard want me to do?”
“We want you to come out here and race again, undercover. No one knows you’re an FBI agent, other than me and Richard.”
“Are you fucking kidding me?” I exclaimed. “I can’t come out there. The best thing for me to do is work from a distance. Richard can give me names and I’ll investigate, but I’m not coming out there.”
He huffed. “Why not? This is what you do. We need your help, Logan. Maybe you and Kassidy could even make up.”
“That ship sailed a long time ago, my friend. I don’t want to come out there because it doesn’t make sense. I don’t race anymore.”
“That’s bullshit and you know it. Your riding is probably better now than it ever has been. Don’t you want to find out if someone did try to fuck you over? You almost died, man.”
Micah pulled into the driveway and came to a halt when he saw me. My fists shook, as the rage overtook me. “If someone messed with my bike on purpose, you better believe I’m going to find out who did it. And when I do, nothing’s going to keep me from going after them. Have Richard call me with the names.” I hung up as he shouted my name. I’d left that part of my life a long time ago, and even if I wanted it back, it was too late.
Kassidy
The wind was warm as it blew across my skin, letting me know summer was here. I thought a ride at Deals Gap would soothe my frazzled nerves, but it only made things worse. All I could think about was what Ethan had said and how, after a week, I still had no answers.
“Has your dad said anything to you?” Sean asked, taking the seat across from me. He handed me a bottle of water and I guzzled it down.
After riding through the Tail of the Dragon, we’d decided to take a break at the Deals Gap shop, where all the bikers congregated after surviving through the curviest road on the east coast. The first time I’d gone through it was on the back of Logan’s bike, many years ago.
“Nope.” I huffed. “He continues to avoid me like the plague. He probably thinks if enough time goes by, I’ll forget. But I’m not going to let up.” It’d been a week now and my dad had basically disappeared. When I tried to call, he explained it by saying he wanted Sean and I to get used to handling the business on our own. What made it worse was, I knew he was talking to Levi behind my back. I had no clue why or what was going on. Even Levi had managed to avoid me.
“Hey, Kass,” a voice called out. I turned and smiled as my old high school friend, Janie, hopped off what looked to be a new sport bike and sat down beside me. We’d lost touch when we went to different colleges. Now she was back, working as an elementary school teacher. “How are you? I haven’t seen you around much in the last month.”
Her gaze found Sean’s and her cheeks flushed. She was a beautiful woman with bright blonde hair and gray eyes. I kept hoping he’d transfer his feelings for me onto someone else. Maybe there was something to work with here.
“I wasn’t in town much,” I said. “After my mom died, I spent most of my time at her house, cleaning it out.”
She rubbed a hand down my arm. “I heard about your mother. I’m so sorry for your loss. She was the best.”
I shrugged. “Thanks. We knew it was going to happen, but it was still a low blow.” Glancing over my shoulder, I nodded at the shiny new, silver Yamaha R6. “Is that new?”
Her face brightened. “Yep, got it a couple of weeks ago. It’s so much better than my last one. We should go riding together sometime. I’m meeting my brother and his friends here.”
I knew who they were, and needless to say, there was bad blood. Her twin brother, Brandon, was a good guy, but it was his friends who were the problem. A couple of them had tried out to race for my father, but he’d turned them down, leaving a bad taste in their mouths.
“Sounds good,” I said. “But you know I can’t ride with your brother’s friends. They don’t exactly care for my family.”