King Cobra (Hot Rods) (11 page)

Sally had completed the masterpiece by imprinting the back of the headrest with a King Cobra logo and script with some fancy scrollwork he’d never get tired of looking at. In fact, it might have to be his next tattoo. Either that or Alanso’s name.

Damn, one day into this crazy turn they’d taken and he was already dreaming like a thirteen-year-old girl. Might as well doodle some hearts on his classic car blotter.

Admitting to himself that detailed office work like the statement reconciliation he’d been attempting was futile, Eli reached for the mail overflowing his inbox.

Bryce handled customer service. He kept urging Eli to hire a business manager. Maybe he had a valid point.

Eli grimaced as the stack of envelopes spilled onto the industrial carpet.

He gathered them up, glancing at the return addresses, until one crisp letter caught his eye. The staid font declared it was from the
National Archives, Records of Immigration and Naturalization Service.

Was it a coincidence he’d found this today? He’d mailed his inquiry months ago. Did he want to ruin the glow surrounding him and—hopefully—Alanso? He felt like they’d made some progress this morning. Maybe Alanso would finally believe he’d never shake Eli.

Unless something inside the envelope gave him reason to doubt again.

Eli cursed and ripped the letter open. He didn’t
have
to share the contents, though he didn’t believe in withholding info as a form of protection. Secrets always came back to bite you in the ass. Alanso had a right to know whatever was in this damn envelope. Maybe it was nothing. No news. Records were spotty at best in the government, right?

As he scanned the documents inside, his heart cracked.

It wasn’t nothing. It was something.

He knuckled moisture from the corner of his eye. Too many times lately, he’d resorted to that gesture. This was going to suck.

Fortunately the gang had made a lunch run, all but him. He’d told them he’d watch the pumps and deal with any walk-ins while they were hitting the diner downtown. Alanso had offered to stay behind, but neither of them wanted to act differently around the Hot Rods.

Even Tom had joined his “kids”.
Shit.
Eli could really use a sounding board right about now. Since it wasn’t possible, he did the next best thing.

Abandoning his desk chair with a loving pat, he made his way toward the garage. He couldn’t go for a drive, but he could sit in his car and devise a plan for how to break the news. In the garage, his fingers trailed over the high-gloss finish Sally had applied to his Cobra. The new product seemed almost like a thin coat of glass. The deep blue of his classic paint job shone even in the interior space and the contrast of the pearly white racing stripes made him sigh.

He loved this car.

Had since the moment he’d first seen one at a show his dad had taken him to as a kid. He’d sworn then and there he’d have one just like it someday. Once he made up his mind about what he wanted, he didn’t change it very often.

This Hot Rod was his for life.

“Cobra?” Sally startled him when she knocked lightly on the passenger window, though he could hear her just fine considering the topless car. “Can I join you?”

“You didn’t go with the guys?” He raised a brow at her.

“Nah. Wasn’t feeling up to all that commotion. Thought I’d enjoy some peace and quiet for a bit.” Her soft admission echoed in the emptiness of the usually bustling space.

Very unlike her to seek out solitude. She’d grown used to activity all around, being raised in a polygamous commune. Lack of company had never been an issue with untold brothers and sisters. When she’d first come to them, she’d often ended up sleeping at the foot of Alanso’s bed or on the futon in Cobra’s room because being alone frightened her.

Neither of them had minded.

The handle clicked as she pulled it and tucked inside, shutting the door carefully.

“You okay?” Eli scanned her from the Louis Vuitton bandana she tied her hair back with to the shit-kicker boots encasing her guaranteed-to-be-prettily-painted toes. She looked all right. Maybe a little flushed, but sexy as ever. Then again, the tough lady could be sitting there missing a limb and she wouldn’t let her pain show. “Need me to take you to the doctor’s this afternoon?”

“Oh. Nah.” She smiled as she angled herself toward him. Only someone as petite as her would be able to manage folding their legs into that pretzel shape, while keeping her boots off the upholstery, in the tiny enclosure. “I’ll live. I’m probably faring better than you, anyway. You only think in your car when you’ve got a big problem. This baby’s for driving, not moping. Please tell me Alanso isn’t the trouble. You’re not going to dump him, are you?”

“What?” He shook his head. “Hell no. You know me better than that, Sally. Don’t you?”

A ghost of sadness crossed her face, making him tilt his head when she answered, “I do. Yes. I’m betting you two are forever. You’ve been besties since the moment you met. Throw in good sex, and what more could you need? I’m happy for you.”

“It doesn’t seem like it.” It was a statement, not an accusation.

“A little jealous, I guess.” She shrugged and looked away. “I’m not getting any younger, Cobra. I want a guy that looks at me like you two drool over each other. Even if you were trying to deny it these past few months.”

“I don’t think that’s going to be a problem, Sally.” Eli wished Alanso were here now or that they’d had just a little more time to discuss their long-term game plan. Too many things swirled in his mind. Big things. Things he couldn’t afford to fuck up by rushing.

One at a time, he cautioned himself. Slow and steady.

“Yeah. Right.” She sniffled.

“You sure you’re not coming down with a cold?” Eli lifted up to withdraw a rag from his pocket. He shivered when a slight ache reminded him of how he’d started his morning. “It’s clean, I was just going to make sure I didn’t get any bug guts on the car last night.”

“Thanks.” When she accepted the soft cloth, she noticed the paper in his fist. “What’ve you got there?”

“Bad news.”

“Ah, shit.
That’s
why you’re out here.” She wiped her nose daintily then held out her hand. “Well, let me see what’s got you all knotted up again. I liked seeing you relaxed this morning. It’s been a while.”

He nodded, both permission and agreement, before handing her the letter.

Being smart, she read it faster than he had. Then she clutched the paper to her chest and raised the cloth to her face again. Dabbing her eyes, she managed to preserve most of her elaborate makeup. He loved seeing what creative work she did on the canvas of her already-gorgeous features each morning.

“His poor mom.” She let out a tiny sob.

Eli reached over the gear shifter to hold her hand. He considered dragging her into his seat but didn’t want to risk tempting himself. She didn’t need him mauling her now. Under the weather and heartbroken weren’t conditions conducive to getting it on in a sports car.

Hell, not much was. But he’d make do, if he ever got the chance.

“I have to tell him, right?” He wished there was another option.

“Of course you do.” Her wobbling lower lip firmed as she found her legendary determination. “If you don’t, I will.”

“Will what?”

Eli jumped at the sound of Alanso approaching. The guys must have dropped him off outside so he could walk his bike into the shelter. He’d been upset enough last night to ditch the glowing neon motorcycle at the bottom of the staircase to their apartment.

Not far behind him, the rest of the men marched toward the shop.

In his rearview mirror, Eli spotted them joking around. Bryce punched Holden in the shoulder as wisecracks were doled out like candy at Halloween. Staggered in an uneven line, their forms were impressive. And reassuring. Together they could survive this like so many other devastations before.

He looked to Sally and nodded.

They both climbed from his beloved hot rod to greet the gang.

“Hey, guys. Come in here, would you?” Eli waved them forward and motioned for them to gather around. He was glad to see his dad bringing up the rear. Tom would make sure they didn’t go haywire.

“Oh shit. This must be serious. Let me guess…Alanso is horrible at sucking cock and you’ve decided to go back to women?”

“Kaige!” Sally glared at him.

Tom pretended to plug his ears. But he grinned while he did it.

“Just kidding,
Salome
.” The bastard knew she hated her full name. “Everyone in the fucking apartment knows how good Al is. They weren’t exactly quiet. Jesus. Could you guys at least have the decency to wait until a respectable hour to make that ruckus? Some of us need our beauty sleep.”

“Clearly.” Carver looked down his nose at Kaige and plucked one of his dreads from the bunch. “What you’re getting ain’t working, buddy.”

Kaige took a half-hearted swipe at Carver. The bickering could easily have deteriorated into a scuffle if Roman hadn’t stepped in and separated them.

“Thanks.” Eli swallowed hard. “I’m glad we’re all together because what I have to say is going to be difficult. Especially for one of us.”

Alanso went white as a sheet, impressive given his darker skin, when Eli looked in his direction.

“Careful, son.” Tom put his hand between Alanso’s shoulder blades and leveled a serious stare in Eli’s direction. “You sure you want an audience for whatever bomb you’re about to drop?”

“Yeah. This isn’t…personal…about me and Alanso, I mean.” He cleared his throat.

“Anything you have to say to me you can say in front of them.” Al looked up and down the line of mechanics. “It’s not like I won’t tell them right after anyway.”

Despite Eli’s reassurance, the gang seemed on edge as they positioned themselves between Cobra and Alanso.

“I wish you’d all give me a little fucking credit. I’m not going to ditch him. Not today and not ever. Who could walk away from a guy who’s your best friend? And more?”

Alanso swallowed hard and nodded. “
Loco,
but I believe you.”

“Truth is, Al. No one could leave you.”

“Tell that to my mom,” he sneered.

“I would.” Eli handed Alanso the letter. “I tried, actually. But I’m sorry, Alanso…she passed away.”

“What?” He might have stumbled back if Tom hadn’t been there to catch him or the rest of the Hot Rods didn’t crowd in closer to lend their support.

Mumbles raced through the team as Alanso read the paper, which wobbled like a wheel at the end of a bent axle in his grasp.

“It says she never made it to Cuba.” Sally couldn’t restrain her tears as she related the official history in much nicer phrasing than the version Alanso digested. Those clinical descriptions would probably be branded into his brain for life.

Eli crossed to him, putting his hands on Alanso’s shoulders as he finished discovering the details of an event that was ancient history.

“I guess they didn’t believe her when she said she had a child. That she’d left her son at daycare in the morning so she could work. They thought it was an excuse because she couldn’t produce any proof. No papers or pictures. How stupid!” Sally swiped the back of her hand under her nose and sidled closer, laying her cheek on Alanso’s knotted biceps.

“They took her by van to Florida to deport her.” Eli took up when the rest of the Hot Rods looked to him for more information. “Along the way the car broke down. In the middle of the night. They said she was distraught, hysterical, about her baby. The guards didn’t listen. And when they took everyone from the vehicle on the side of the road, she ran. In the dark.”

“She fled into the highway,” Alanso finished reading in a monotone that scared Eli. He crumpled the letter in his fist, then finished on his own. “Was struck and killed instantly by a passing car. Not a drunk driver. Just some poor bastard on his way to third shift. The judge ruled no fault. None but her own.”

“Oh God.” Tom squeezed Alanso’s shoulder from behind. “I’m so sorry, kid.”

“Al.” Carver reached over and put his palm on their friend’s bald head. He rubbed it before stepping aside and letting the other Hot Rods near.

The rest of the guys followed suit, instilling what comfort they could.

Eli stared straight into unfocused eyes. “She never left you, Alanso. Not because she wanted to. All those times, you weren’t wrong. She loved you very much. Maybe now you can honor those memories, preserve and cherish them, instead of doubting.”

“Don’t tell me what to do,
cabrón
. Just because we fucked doesn’t mean you know how this feels.” He wrenched away from the helping hands on him and punted an oilcan across the garage. It clattered as it rolled before skidding to a stop.

“Fuck you.” Eli got right in his face, to hell with the guys attempting to hold him back. “How dare you tell me I don’t know what it’s like to lose your mother?”

“Eli! Alanso!” Tom cut through their rage in a second. His censure was like a hot knife through butter. “Shut the hell up. Both of you. Neither of your moms would condone this. Haven’t you suffered enough?”

“You’re right, Tom.” Alanso hung his head. “
Lo siento
. I think…I’m going to go for a ride. I’ll be back when I can think straight. I promise.”