High-Sided (Armed & Dangerous #3)(48)

By the time I got to practice, I was twenty minutes late. The last thing I wanted was to hear Sean bitch at me. Thankfully, when I arrived at the track, he was nowhere to be seen. But Richard was there, talking with Trey, Miller, and Daniel. Once I had my bike unloaded, I rode over to them and stopped.

“We don’t tolerate tardiness, Mr. Chandler,” Richard griped. He pointed to the start-up line. “Boys, go ahead and get ready. Logan will be out there after we have a little chat.” They rode off and he turned to face me, pretending to be pissed, even though I could see it was all a farce. “What did Gary say?”

I shook my head. “Nothing we didn’t already know. I went by his nephew’s garage and looked at Levi’s bike. There was a red scratch on it. I don’t know if it was there before, but it might be something to go on. It’s a longshot, but what else do we have?”

His shoulders sagged, a look of defeat marking his features. “Have you seen the amount of red cars and motorcycles up here? There’s no way we can narrow that down.”

“I know, but we can always keep our eyes open.”

Leaning against the fence, he rested his head in his hands. “Feels like we’ll never get to the bottom of this.”

I placed a hand on his shoulder. “Yes, we will. I’m not leaving until I figure this out.” Glancing around the track, I figured Sean would’ve shown up by now. “Where’s Sean?” I questioned.

“He said he had some things to get done around the shop today. Besides, I wanted to talk to you and work with my boys. We have races this weekend.”

“Yes, we do,” I said with a sigh. “I’m ready for it.”

He turned a sad smile my way. “I know you are, son. Honestly, I don’t know what I’ve done without you all these years.”

“You’ve done just fine. And now you have Kassie and Sean helping you out.”

“You’re right, I do.”

I waited for him to elaborate and he never did. It was now or never. “If you don’t mind me asking, why did you sign over part of the company to Sean?”

His brows furrowed. “Why wouldn’t I? He’s my stepson and he knows the business.”

“I know, but Kassie is more than capable of running the team on her own.”

For a second, he had no words, just opened and closed his mouth. Averting his gaze, he blew out a heavy breath. “I know she’s capable, Logan. I’d always hoped both my girls would fall into the family business. When Maddie went off on her own, I couldn’t lay all the responsibilities on Kassie. Besides, she was more than happy to accept Sean as a partner. Otherwise, I never would’ve done it.”

“I see.”

He squeezed my shoulder. “Why are you asking?”

I shrugged. “No reason, just curious. Takes a lot of trust for someone to hand over a part of their life.”

Richard slapped me on the shoulder and laughed. “I do trust him. He’s a good man, Logan. I love him like a son.” His gaze turned serious. “Like I love you as a son. You’re an extraordinary young man. I’m glad you came back.”

Visions of Kassie floated through my mind. “Me too.”

We stared at each other for a few seconds, before he tapped his fingers to my helmet. “All right, enough talk. Get your ass out there and ride. We have four more days before we leave for Virginia. I have to make sure you’re ready.”

I strapped on my helmet and smiled. “I’m more than ready.”





Kassidy


The week had flown by so fast, and now it was time for the race. Logan glanced back at me from atop his motorcycle, his tinted visor shielding his eyes. I waved at him and tried to smile, failing miserably. I didn’t realize how scared I was to watch him race. Levi wasn’t there to tell me everything would be all right.

My father strolled over, lifting his sunglasses. “You okay, peanut?”

I swallowed hard. “Just a little nervous.”

He winked. “Everything’ll be okay. Logan’s got this.”

Yes, he did. But it was still scary, considering the last time he raced and all.

My phone rang and I quickly reached into my pocket to see who it was. I’d barely talked to my sister all week, since she’d been back at work. “So now you decide to call me back?” I answered, turning away from my dad for some privacy.

She sighed. “Sorry, Kass. I’ve been so busy this week.”

“What are you doing now?”

“I’m at the airport getting ready to hitch a flight to New York. Got a baseball game I have to cover.”

I wasn’t familiar with that many baseball players, but there were two I always envied her for getting to meet. “Please tell me you’re not interviewing Colin Ward or Bradley Thompson.” They were two of the best players in the major leagues.

She laughed. “Sorry, sis. But hey, since your birthday’s coming up, I’ll have them say it to you on air. How does that sound?”

“You’re the best,” I gushed. “I’d love that.”

“Then consider it done.”

The line grew quiet and my smile faded. “You doin’ okay?”

“Yeah, I’m fine. I hate that men think they can take advantage of me.” Most guys only saw a blonde bombshell from TV. None of them knew how fierce she actually was underneath her perfect body.