Aflame (Fall Away #4) Read online

  “What’s that, little brother?” Madoc inquired.

  Jax smirked at me as he spoke to Madoc. “Well, he could just get over it and ask her to marry him already.”

  I instantly froze, staring out the front windshield.

  Marry. My fist tightened around the steering wheel, wondering how my brother thought that either of us was ready for that. Or was he just tossing any crazy idea out there?

  I never thought I wouldn’t marry Tate. But it still seemed far off.

  Madoc was looking at me, and I knew Jax was waiting for a reaction, but this was none of their business. I wanted Tate forever, but first I needed to get her back. Why the hell would she say yes now?

  Jax cleared his throat. “You two have loved each other the longest,” he said softly. “Doesn’t seem right that you’ll be the last to get married.”

  My eyes shot up, locking with his in the mirror. “What?” I blurted out.

  “You little shit.” Madoc twisted his head, regarding Jax with shock.

  The last to get married? Meaning . . .

  Jax’s eyes dropped to his lap, and I’d never seen him so vulnerable. “I can’t sleep without her next to me,” he almost whispered about Juliet. “I love coming home and smelling her cooking. Seeing how warm she makes the house.” He still wasn’t looking at either of us, and my chest felt tight.

  “She gives me everything,” he continued, looking up at both of us. “I want to give her my name. I’m going to ask her.”

  “When?” Madoc asked, and I was surprised he could talk, because I was still trying to wrap my head around it.

  Jax was going to ask Juliet to marry him.

  “After Zack’s bachelor party on Friday,” he answered. “I’m guessing that after she becomes my fiancée, going to strip clubs will probably be on my list of don’ts.”

  Shit. The bachelor party. The one I wasn’t planning on attending, since I didn’t think I’d be in town.

  I’d forgotten about that.

  Zack, Jax’s partner at the Loop, who helped run races, had been engaged for as long as I’d known him. Finally ready to take the leap, he’d sent out a mass e-mail, inviting every guy in town over the age of twenty-one to Wicked, a high-end club about a half hour away.

  I was surprised Fallon and Juliet were letting them go at all. Well, not Fallon, actually. She never struck me as the jealous type.

  I gave a casual glance behind me, trying to hide the doubt I was feeling. Not that my brother wouldn’t make a good husband or Juliet a good wife, but he was still only twenty-one.

  “Jax,” I started. “Are you sure—”

  “Hey,” Madoc cut in. “What the hell?” He peered out through my open driver’s side window.

  I followed his gaze, my eyebrows instantly pinching together.

  What the . . . ?

  Tate pulled up on my side in her G8, with Fallon riding shotgun, and Juliet and Pasha in the back.

  She sat in her seat, looking comfortable and casual, and I shook my head at her, because she was in the oncoming lane.

  “You’re in the wrong lane!” I shouted to Fallon’s closed window.

  She stuck her hand behind her ear, mouthing, What? and then turned to Tate, both of them smiling.

  “What the hell are they doing?” Jax sat up, resting his arms over the front seat.

  I glanced ahead, noticing the stop sign, and shot out my foot, coming to a screeching halt.

  Shit.

  Tate stopped, too, and she and Fallon bounced forward with the sudden movement.

  I darted my head out. “Roll down your window!” I shouted, shifting my gaze past the stop sign to watch for oncoming cars.

  Was she trying to get them all hurt?

  Tate’s mouth curled in amusement, but Fallon was full-on smiling as she rolled down the window.

  “Where are you guys going?” Madoc shouted before I had a chance.

  “Doesn’t matter.” Fallon shrugged. “We’ll be going too fast for you to follow.”

  My eyes widened, while Madoc and Jax laughed, feigning insult. “Ohhhh.”

  Madoc nudged my arm. “They’re talking shit, Jared,” he egged me on, and I bit back the smile as I felt the rush in my muscles.

  Stepping out of the car—since the street was dead anyway—I walked to Tate’s car and leaned down to Fallon’s window.

  “Is that a challenge?” I asked Tate.

  She shook her head, trying to brush me off. “I wouldn’t waste my time,” she taunted. “I’ve already beaten you once.”

  I smiled, arching an eyebrow. “Have you?” I jabbed back, insinuating that I’d let her win our one and only race four years ago.

  Her face fell, turning stern with pursed lips, as she focused back on the road, revving the engine.

  I walked back to my car, laughing under my breath. “Put on your seat belts,” I ordered Madoc and Jax as I climbed in and buckled up myself.

  Madoc quickly grabbed for his seat belt, his breath shaky with amusement. I revved the engine, seeing Tate eye me as she did the same. I loved the look of mischief on her face.

  “Guys,” Jax inched out. “The cops look the other way for like five minutes on Saturday nights when my crew does this, but—”

  “You have your seat belt on?” Madoc interrupted, yelling through my window to Fallon. “Get it on!” he ordered his wife.

  “You, too.” I heard Jax shout and turned to see Juliet saluting him. “Shit,” he cursed behind me, and I knew he hated what was about to happen.

  Madoc tuned the iPod to Mötley Crüe’s “Girls, Girls, Girls,” and I looked at him.

  He shrugged, looking innocent. “Don’t look at me. It’s on your iPod, man.”

  I rolled my eyes, not willing to explain that I wasn’t the one loading music onto it. Pasha liked to mess with me. Every once in a while, a Britney Spears or Lady Gaga song wound up tucked between a Slipknot and a Korn song.

  Regardless, I jacked up the volume and turned down the air-conditioning. The heat outside kept me irritable and alert. A lesson I’d learned over the past two years.

  I heard “Blow Me Away” by Breaking Benjamin spilling out of Tate’s speakers, and I looked over, shaking my head and unable to hide the smile.

  “You ready?” I shouted.

  “You sure?” she shot back.

  Little . . . Did she forget that I did this for a living?

  “Right on Main, go through two stop lights,” I dared her, “and the first one back to the houses wins,” I told her.

  Without hesitation, she nodded.

  “Ready!” Madoc shouted, and Tate and I both revved our engines again and again, looking at each other, my foot getting heavier by the second.

  “Set!” Madoc called again, and Fallon’s excitement overcame her as her arm smacked the outside of her door over and over again.

  Tate met my eyes, and then we both turned back to the road, ready.

  “Go!” Madoc roared, and all hell broke loose.

  “Shit!” I hissed.

  Tate and I shot off, but she must’ve been sitting in second gear, because she didn’t hesitate to pick up speed as she shot forward and then cut right in front of me, just in time to miss the pickup truck that sat at the stop sign ahead of us.

  “I told you she was good,” Jax said matter-of-factly, but I ignored him.

  Slamming down into second and then up into third, I punched the gas, swerving to the left, now that she’d taken my lane, and sped up beside her.

  Madoc held on to the handle above the door, glancing over at them anxiously. I shifted down into fourth, inching ahead and thankful for the deserted street.

  “Jared, get over in the other lane,” Jax advised.

  “What do you think I’m trying to do?” I barked, pushing the gas until I’d gotten up to si
xth.

  Looking ahead, I spotted a white sedan headed our way, and my heart lodged in my throat, seeing it in my line of driving.

  My neck craned to see Tate, a flash of fire in her eyes, and she shook her head at me, telling me not to even try it.

  “Jared,” Jax warned as Madoc held on.

  I floored it, staying head to head with Tate.

  “Jared!” Jax yelled, and I heard the white sedan honking frantically.

  Tate’s scared eyes flashed to mine, and I smiled. Twisting the wheel, the muscles aching in my arms, I put the front and back driver’s side tires on the curb, feeling the car bottom out before I got the angle I needed.

  “Goddamn it!” Jax cursed, and Madoc laughed.

  The white car zoomed between Tate’s and my rides, still honking. I looked over, seeing Tate turning her head nervously to look behind her, so I took my shot.

  Powering ahead, I picked up ten more miles per hour and jerked the wheel to the right, into her lane with just enough space to cut her off.

  “Whoo!” Madoc roared, and I caught sight of Jax in my rearview mirror with his head back, hands over his eyes.

  I shook my head and tipped my chin down, focusing in on the road ahead. Luckily, this street didn’t allow curb parking, so there was plenty of room and no vehicles hiding pedestrians.

  Coming up on Main, I braked, spinning the wheel to the right and shifting down to reduce the car’s speed.

  “Go, go!” Madoc shouted as I heard Tate’s tires screech behind me.

  I glanced in my rearview mirror and noticed that she spun out, but she recovered almost as quickly.

  “Everyone keep your eyes open,” I gritted out. “There’s going to be a shitload of people up here.”

  While Sundays were sleepy in the neighborhoods—until afternoon, anyway—the center of town was always bustling. People shopped, lunched, took in a movie, or just enjoyed the square.

  I sped ahead, while Tate weaved back and forth behind me, trying to get a look at what was ahead. I could also see the excited movements of the other three girls.

  “Oh, shit!” Jax yelled, and I jerked my eyes back to the road.

  I slammed on the brakes—seeing a company van backing out of a driveway and into the street—while Tate swerved around me, taking the oncoming lane to go around and zoom ahead of me.

  “Fuck!” I growled, jerking the wheel and following behind her.

  “Why didn’t you just go around?” Jax shouted, taking off his seat belt and moving closer to the front.

  “Piss off,” I barked and then looked ahead at her significant gain. “God, she’s good.”

  I heard Jax swallow. “Yeah, she’s got great reflexes. Better than you, apparently.”

  Shifting into fifth, I picked up speed and then punched into sixth, starting to see the first stoplight ahead.

  “Come on,” Madoc urged, and I pushed my back hard into the seat, squeezing the wheel.

  Juliet and Pasha kept turning around, checking us out through the back window. Pedestrians on the sidewalk started taking notice, and I spotted them in my rearview mirror spinning around to watch the two speeding assholes—as they were probably calling us right now—barrel down their street. Some guys went wide-eyed, pointing as both our cars raced by, and I heard a cheer through the open windows.

  The light ahead turned red, and Tate slammed on her brakes, the high-pitched screeching bringing everyone’s attention outside straight to us.

  I punched the brakes with everything I had, skidding to a halt right next to her.

  “Oh, shit!” someone outside shouted. “It’s Jared and Tate!”

  But my eyes were on her.

  She watched the stoplight, glancing anxiously at me and biting away the smile from her bottom lip. I could tell her leg was bouncing up and down, because her shoulders and head looked like they were vibrating.

  “Jax,” I said, breathing hard. “You still in good with the cops?”

  “Yeah,” he answered in a hesitant tone. “Why?”

  “Because.” And I looked up at the traffic cam perched on top of the stoplight, and glancing left to right and seeing no immediate cars, slammed my back into the seat and gassed it, speeding through the red light.

  “Motherfu—!” I heard Tate’s curse, but her voice trailed off as I sped away.

  Madoc tipped his head back, busting up with laughter, while Jax snorted close to my ear.

  People outside cheered, howling and laughing. I glanced in my rearview mirror to see Tate, inching through the stoplight, following my lead, and then taking off when she realized it was safe.

  I shifted into fourth and then fifth—the hot summer sun was nothing compared to the lava raging under my skin.

  God, I fucking loved her.

  Even being on the track—which I loved—wasn’t as good as the high I felt when she was near me.

  “Jared,” Jax warned. “Slow down.”

  I looked ahead, a smile teasing my jaw.

  “Jared,” he said again, his voice harder.

  I ignored him, shifting my eyes from left to right, looking for danger as I approached the next stoplight.

  “Jared!” Madoc shouted, and I punched into sixth, my heart racing and my breathing hitching painfully in my chest.

  “Oh, shit!” Jax howled, and we all held our breaths as the light just turned to green, and I flew through the intersection without slowing down.

  And then I let out a breath, safely getting to the other side.

  “Oh, thank God,” Madoc gasped and then looked at me. “You’re such an asshole.”

  I sucked in air. “What?” I acted innocent. “It was green.”

  Tate gained on my ass, but then I saw her skid into a left turn behind me.

  “What?” I said more to myself than to the guys, watching her in my rearview mirror.

  “She’s cutting through the school,” Jax guessed, looking out the window behind him.

  “Shit,” I hissed, remembering the gates were open for Sunday track practices. She could drive into the front parking lot, go around the side of the school, and out the back gate with almost no traffic or interruption.

  “You didn’t say what path to take home,” Madoc pointed out.

  Yeah, I know. Why didn’t I think of that?

  I rounded the square, cutting into a side street and racing through the less busy area where smaller businesses were closed on Sundays.

  I kept up on the gas, my nerves firing with the need to go. I didn’t care about winning.

  Winners usually don’t.

  I wanted this, right here, right now, with her. I needed to see her. It was frustrating not knowing where she was.

  Rounding two more corners and inching through a stop sign, I sped around the corner to Fall Away Lane just as she was rounding the corner from the other end.

  “Go!” Madoc shouted, and I was about ready to punch him. What did he think I was doing?

  Full speed ahead on the empty street, we both raced forward, and I screeched to a halt at the curb, followed by Tate not half a second later, the loud scream of our tires filling the whole neighborhood.

  “Yes!” Madoc shouted, howling out the window. “Woo-hoo!”

  I let my head fall back, my chest expelling every ounce of breath I’d been holding. Jax patted me on the shoulder, squeezing tight once, and climbed out of the car after Madoc.

  Tate and the rest of the girls climbed out of the G8, smiling and laughing as Madoc and Jax wrapped their arms around them for a kiss.

  Rubbing my hand down my face, feeling the thin layer of sweat, I climbed out of Jax’s car and looked over at Tate, her arms crossed as she leaned on the hood and peered over at me.

  Her chest rose and fell—she was still catching her breath—and the heat in her eyes was . . .

 
Jesus.

  I took in a deep breath, knowing what she wanted. Knowing everything she still held hostage in her brain and heart that she wouldn’t let past her lips. She was still that innocent and timid girl who let me put my hands on her in the chem lab four years ago, but with the armor of a woman who still didn’t want to trust. Not that she trusted me completely four years ago, either.

  I gave her a half smile, telling her everything with my eyes that she already knew.

  Nothing had changed. Especially not our foreplay.

  ***

  “Do you need anything?” I asked my mom, holding the phone between my ear and shoulder as I fastened my belt. I’d just gotten out of the shower, while Jax, Juliet, Madoc, and Fallon took Pasha and joined some friends at Mario’s for dinner.

  Tate stayed home to work through her reading list, and I had e-mails, budgets, and a ton of little shit that Pasha had left me to look over, which I’d finished just before I jumped in the shower and my mom called to check in.

  “Well, since you ask . . . ,” she hinted, sounding cheerful. “Jason has to miss my checkup tomorrow at the doctor. Would you like to go with me?”

  I stilled. She wanted me to do what?

  “To the gynecologist?” I cringed, grabbing my watch to put it back on.

  I heard her snort. “He’s an ob-gyn. Don’t make it weird.”

  Taking the phone in hand, I dug out one of Jax’s black T-shirts, since I still hadn’t gone to claim my stuff left at Madoc’s. “Um, well . . . I’d really rather not, but if you need me . . .”

  I heard her quiet laugh on the other end. “You’re precious.”

  I rolled my eyes, taking the phone away from my ear to slip on the shirt. “What time should I pick you up?”

  “Noon,” she shot back. “And thank you.”

  I nodded, even though she couldn’t see me. I was trying to be nicer. I thought she’d earned it. But it was damn hard trying to change our relationship when we’d been the same way for so long. How do you go from not liking and not respecting someone to doing both?

  It wasn’t going to happen overnight. Not even close. And it felt like there would always be bad blood between us.

  But Quinn Caruthers—my soon-to-be little sister—was going to have it all. No one would stand in her way, least of all me.