“They were racing for pink slips. You know I’d never risk my cars like that. Besides, I know how those races work. You’re either in them all, or not at all. I was watching the fights when this shit happened tonight, so obviously I wasn’t there,” I said confidently, hoping she wouldn’t call me out on my bullshit.
She snorted before turning to Raven, dismissing me. “How is he?”
I left them to talk and headed back inside to find Luna, not surprised to see her talking to Logan quietly. Zavier sat on Logan’s other side, his arm dropped around his shoulders for comfort as he silently listened to wherever Luna was saying. Kids that grew up in the Heights together were usually more like family, so I knew just how badly this was tearing them all apart.
I knew their pain all too well from Lloyd’s accident.
“Where were they racing? And how come you weren’t in the car?” I asked as I joined them, sitting cross-legged on the floor in front of them. “I assume the Challenger’s still at the crash site?”
Logan nodded, raking his fingers through his hair. “Yeah, it’s still there. Slick argued and tried to say having a passenger was cheating because I could help navigate, so Turbo suggested I stayed behind while they raced. It was short, and it was only one on one, so I hung back with Blake and some of the others. He wrecked on the edge of Rawson Grove and the Heights. The car flipped and rolled, it’s a fucking mess.”
“Cops investigating?”
“Majorly. They know it was street racing,” Zavier murmured, flicking his gaze to me. “They’re going to come down on Ander hard after this.”
Logan glanced at him with confusion. “You know Turbo?”
I steered the subject away from Zavier’s business deals with Turbo, not needing that problem to come to light yet.
“I can get the cops to hurry it along so I can get the Challenger towed. I don’t want it left there for people to steal parts off. I’ll see what I can salvage from it,” I offered, his face pinching with discomfort.
“That sounds expensive.”
“Don’t worry, I’ve got it,” I said as I waved off his concern. “I’ll help with his medical shit too. Then again, I should force Slick to pay up since it was his fucking fault.”
“It’s not your problem, Donovan,” Logan replied tiredly. “But we appreciate the offer.”
“Put your pride aside, asshole. I’ve got money, so take it. You don’t owe me shit,” I huffed. “I don’t mean this in a nasty way, but do you even have the money to cover it?”
“We’ll figure it out. We always do.” He scowled but relaxed when I reached out to give his knee a friendly squeeze before dropping my hand again.
“And I figured it out for you. Let me help.”
“Reid will appreciate you saving what’s left of his car. I’ll be sure to tell him,” he said quietly, glancing at Luna. “And thank you. You’re sweet.”
Her face heated at his praise, and I fought not to roll my eyes. She was way too innocent to fit in with anyone in our circle, but I wouldn’t want her any other way.
“Stop flirting with my girl, Donahue,” I teased as a small smile tugged at his lips.
“You don’t think I could steal her if I wanted to?”
“Not after I showed her just how much better women can be. Keep your useless dick away from her,” I threw back, giving her a wink. “Right, baby?”
“Oh my God, stop,” she whined, her face burning even more. “How are you guys so open about this?”
“About sex?” Logan chuckled, leaning back in his seat. At least he was smiling for five minutes. “Because sex is good. We like to swap tips and tricks and compare dick sizes.”
“Mine’s bigger.” I laughed, and he flipped me off.
“You wish. Mine’s magnificent.”
Zavier snorted, eyeing us like we were crazy. “You guys are fucking weird. Stop making Luna uncomfortable.”
I got to my feet, dusting my pants off. “Yeah, we should get going if we’re going to sort out Reid’s car. Text me with any updates, and when the asshole wakes up, tell him to call me.”
Logan nodded, and Luna stood to follow me out. We didn’t get far before Zavier appeared, stopping us. He winced, flicking his gaze to Logan who was slumped in his seat again.
“Thank you,” he said softly, looking back at me. “I could pay for some of it, but it’s going to use all of my savings and I don’t want them asking questions about where it came from. That’s our ticket out of the Heights, you know? I’ve worked my ass off to try and make our lives better, but…”