Total pages in book: 44
Estimated words: 40297 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 201(@200wpm)___ 161(@250wpm)___ 134(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 40297 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 201(@200wpm)___ 161(@250wpm)___ 134(@300wpm)
“Yeah.” I sank onto my chair and pulled up the race files from earlier. “Let’s start with one of the regular racers who hasn’t been showing up. Someone solid we can dig into deep instead of wasting time on a hundred different angles.”
Jax nodded, taking the chair opposite me, tablet still in hand. “Good call. I was thinking the same. Lenny would probably be my first choice. Well liked, so he’s in contact with a lot of other racers. Missed the last three races where we’ve tagged the discrepancies.”
“Lenny, it is.”
We worked in silence, combing through files, financial records, race histories, payout logs, and betting slips. Jax also dug through call histories, online chatter—anything digital that we could get our hands on. We moved methodically, looking for any thread that would unravel the mystery behind the subtle dips in the betting pools, the missing regulars, and the ghost races we’d caught wind of.
Thirty minutes in, I leaned forward, my pulse kicking up when I saw the pattern emerging in front of me. The regular racer we’d picked was one of the best. He was reliable, known for big bets and bigger payouts. Except the deposits in his bank accounts were suspiciously timed—large cash deposits made the morning after the races he’d missed.
I glanced up at Jax and found him already watching me with a knowing eye. “You find something too?”
“Found a trail,” I confirmed without preamble. “Big cash deposits hitting his account. Same timing as the races he skipped out on.”
“Fits perfectly with what I have.” Jax nodded. “I dug into another driver’s texts, found mention of Lenny. Seems Lenny invited him to a more lucrative ‘off-book’ race. Lucky for me he shared the pertinent information with the driver he was texting. Followed the thread, and now I have details on how to find the drop.”
I raised a brow, rather than asking.
Jax smirked. “Course I found it. Exact coordinates, date, and time for their next ghost race. Four nights from now.”
My jaw tightened with grim satisfaction. We weren’t guessing anymore. “Perfect. I’ll tell Kane.”
I fired off a quick text, and within seconds, Kane responded, directing us to meet in his office. When we walked in, Kane was sitting behind his large wood desk, Edge was just beside him, his arms folded across his chest.
They were facing toward the seating area in the corner, and whatever Kane had been saying was cut short as he looked over at us. My eyes darted to the couch, and I flicked my chin up in greeting when I spotted Racer, a friend and enforcer from an allied club, the Iron Rogues.
Racer stood and met me halfway across the room, clasping my hand firmly, a smirk tugging his mouth upward. His blond hair was tousled, his green eyes glinting with wry amusement. “Heard you’ve been busy chasing a woman.”
I snorted, shaking my head. “Shut the fuck up.”
Racer laughed, the sound deep and easy as Jax asked, “Emily and the boys doing good?”
“Real good.” His expression softened just slightly as the mention of his family. “Left ’em with the old ladies. Heard something about the pool…and a pretty swim instructor?”
Edge chuckled, leaning back against the bookshelf behind him. “You can give him shit later, brother. Let’s get business done first.”
Racer turned back to Kane and Edge, settling into one of the chairs near the desk. Kane leaned forward. “We’ve already filled Racer in on what’s going on with the ghost races. Edge, lay out the new plan.”
“We brought in Racer to be the scout once you find a race. He’s not Redline Kings and has a reputation for showing up at underground races unannounced and smoking cocky drivers for fun. He’ll blend into that world better than any one of us right now. He can gather intel without drawing suspicion.”
“Smart move, Prez,” I murmured.
Jax nodded.
“Racer and Midnight will go in first,” he continued, referring to another Iron Rogue and nodding toward Racer. “Having Midnight along makes it less obvious than if he shows up alone, and the Redline Kings will be close enough to respond if necessary. Racer’s primary job is to observe, identify who’s running this, and figure out their endgame.”
Racer smiled with a nod. “Always up for making idiots eat dust, count me in.”
“You’ve got good timing,” I informed them. “Jax and I just nailed down the next race.”
Kane glanced at me. “When?”
“Four nights.”
Kane leaned back with satisfaction. “Good.”
Edge nodded, his lips curved up and his eyes a little wild. “Let’s get what we need so we can shut this shit down. I have some fancy new toys in the armory to test out.”
Edge wasn’t just our VP, he was also our arms specialist. He was fucking brilliant with weapons, knew them inside and out and could build stuff people would kill for. But he only created shit for the club.