She was taking her life in her hands each time she accepted a job, which was why Hammer had decided not to try out for the unit again. He was placing Killyama over the job he loved, afraid Jonas couldn’t do it alone.
He wanted to know what tied the three of them together. Even Shade couldn’t figure it out. Shade was a member of the same team, except he was given special consideration over which jobs he took and how. He was the lone wolf in the unit; often sent out without other members’ knowledge.
Stud gave Train a thumbs up as he started his bike. Train tightened his gloved hands on the bike he would ride in the race, one Rider had loaned to him from his personal collection. He was going to have to get one of his own if he was going to continue to compete to impress Killyama.
He took a quick look around while he waited for the race to start. Killyama was sitting in the front row on the second floor of the stands next to Sex Piston, who was sitting next to Beth and Lily. Crazy Bitch was sitting on the other side of Killyama, with the rest of the bitches seated down the rest of the row. The women looked excited as they waited for the race to start.
The men seated behind them didn’t exhibit the same of air of excitement. Their set faces showed how much they wanted to be anywhere else. That was, everyone except Rider, who was munching on popcorn, drawing killing gazes from Shade and Razer.
Train readied himself for the race. He would focus on the man in front of him—Stud—whose racing suit was black and covered in sponsors’ logos. His bike was also black, sleek, and made exclusively for him. Stud’s reputation building motorcycles was only eclipsed by his racing.
The suit Train was wearing was one of Stud’s practice suits. It was black without the logos. Stud had told him he usually wore it when he didn’t want others to know he was practicing.
From the yells coming from the stands, Train could see Stud’s problem. The man had a huge fan base, including Killyama, who was decked out in a T-shirt with Stud’s name embossed across her tits.
Train got Rider’s bright red bike in position, waiting for the flag to drop. As soon the leggy blonde dropped it, Train took off, letting the riders in front fight it out for the lead position.
The course had one long turn before leading to a straightway that turned into a series of four intermittent curves. A racer had to repeat the course four times and come in first to win.
Train took the first curve easily, still staying behind the other riders. Taking the rest of the curves, he let himself become more familiar with the track.
As he passed the stands where Killyama was, he shot a quick glance to see that her head was turned to the side, talking to Crazy Bitch. He was risking his neck for a woman who wasn’t even watching him. Meanwhile, Sex Piston, Beth, and Lily were leaning over the rail, shouting Stud’s name.
When Train came out of the first turn again, he hunched over his bike even further, setting his sights on Stud. It took another lap to bring him even to Stud, the two riding side by side through the series of turns.
Leaning into the curves, Train felt his kneepad ride the track due to making the last turn so fast. He expertly righted himself, preparing for the next turn.
This time when he passed Killyama, he didn’t have time to look, the danger and the thrill of the ride taking over.
As they passed the first turn again, they saw one of the racers had crashed. Train skillfully went one way, while Stud went in the other direction to miss the wreck, adroitly handling the bikes until they rode side by side again.
When they passed the stands for the third time, Train accelerated again, increasing speed to pull away from Stud. Stud wasn’t giving the race up without a fight, though, accelerating until they rode at the same dangerous speed.
When they reached the last turn, Train was hanging so low to the ground it wasn’t his kneepad riding the track; it was his elbow pad. The forward momentum gave him the extra inch he needed to win the race.
Using his boot to right himself, he managed to stop his bike before crashing into the stands.
When he took off his helmet, he grinned at Stud, who was there to shake his hand.
Getting off the motorcycle, he pushed it into the winner’s circle. He waited for third place to be given before Stud stepped up to accept his second-place trophy. The screams had Train turning to see Killyama and all the others standing as his name was called.