these in your completed pile, so I thought I’d file them.” My office was on the other side of the shop. I was probably going to have to look into working from my house for a while, until everything settled down.
I waved her off and started for the door. “It’s okay. I’m leaving.”
“Kassidy, wait! I’m not done,” my father hollered.
Stopping at the door, I took a deep breath. “For now, you are. I don’t think I can handle anymore today.” I hurried out, drawing the attention of everyone in the shop. The last thing I wanted was to be childish, but I couldn’t handle Levi’s death, Logan’s return, and my father’s lies all in one day.
Sean looked up from his motorcycle and he knew I was pissed. After being friends for so long, he knew to leave me alone. I bolted outside and closed my eyes, taking in the fresh mountain air.
“Kassie,” Logan murmured.
His voice startled me and I jerked around. He leaned against the building, his arms crossed at his chest. I got a good look at his motorcycle, and realized why it looked so familiar. It wasn’t the same one he had years ago, but the paint job was the same. What made it hurt worse was, it was the design we had fabricated together. It was different from everyone else’s. The blue wasn’t just metallic, but iridescent.
“Don’t ever call me that again,” I snapped.
He held up his hands and stepped forward, his striking blue eyes full of regret. “Okay, I won’t. All I need is five minutes of your time. Will you please give me that?”
Eyes burning, I had to leave before the tears fell. “Sorry, but I don’t have the time.” Hurrying to my car, I got in and sped away. I wasn’t ready to hear him out.
Logan
I t was beginning to look like I would have to make her listen to me by force. Kassie was a stubborn girl and I knew how to handle her, only I couldn’t see her enjoying me wrestling her to the floor like I used to do. I’d get a swift kick to the nuts if I did that now.
Walking into the Bennett Racing shop, everyone turned my way. I’d met the other Bennett racers at the track and they seemed like cool guys. Sean glared at me from where he sat, but that was to be understood. If Kassie hated me, then I had no doubt he would too, even though we were friends back in the day.
Ben slid away from the bike he was working on and smiled. “How ya been, Chandler? I would shake your hand, but I’m covered in grease.”
Ben was a good guy, always on top of things when it came to work. I wasn’t surprised to still see him working for Bennett. “No worries, man. I’m sure we’ll be seeing a lot of each other.”
“I hope so. The boys said you were on fire today.”
“Hell yeah, he was,” Trey shouted. “I’m ready for him to teach me a thing or two.”
I pointed at him and smiled, even though inside, all I could think about was mentoring Levi. “You got it.”
“Logan,” Richard called, nodding toward the door. “It’s time.”
“See ya later, boys,” I said, following Richard outside. We hopped in his truck.
“I called Ethan and told him we’re on our away.”
“Did he sound angry?” I asked.
He shook his head. “I think shocked, especially when I told him you were with me.”
“I’d say so. I showed up out of the blue after eight years. I’m sure a lot of people are going to ask questions.”
“You have that all figured out, right?”
“I’ve done this a thousand times, Richard. I know how to do my job.”
“Yeah, but you’ve never had to investigate the people you know. It complicates things.”
“That it does.” I sighed, focusing my attention out the window. He had a point; it was hard to keep emotions out of the way when it was people you knew. “So I researched those three gamblers on your list.”
“What did you find?”
“Nothing out of the ordinary. One of them died about a year ago, and the other two aren’t living in the area anymore. I think I’m going to focus more on the people
Brian Peckford
Robert Wilton
Solitaire
Margaret Brazear
Lisa Hendrix
Tamara Morgan
Kang Kyong-ae
Elena Hunter
Laurence O’Bryan
Krystal Kuehn