King Cobra (Hot Rods) (7 page)

“Sometimes.” Alanso squared himself to his best friend, coming face-to-face. “But mostly I wonder what it would be like to make you forget about the world for one fucking moment. What if I could take away your obsession with the bills, worry about your dad’s loneliness, the look you get on your face any time one of us doesn’t feel well or, God forbid, has to go to the doctor? What would it be like to see you carefree?
That’s
what I wish.”

“Never gonna happen, Al.” Roman sighed.

“Prove him wrong.” The dare hung in the air. Eli knew damn well Alanso couldn’t resist a challenge like that. “Go ahead.”

Alanso didn’t recall deciding to give in. One instant he was floundering, his whole life about to change—for better or worse he couldn’t tell yet. The next, he’d stepped forward, grabbed Eli’s head between his palms and tugged until the taller guy yielded.

Before their mouths could crush onto each other again, Eli murmured, “I’m sorry.”

This time, when they met, something was different.

Sure, the urgency remained. A rough massage at the back of Eli’s skull nudged him closer. Alanso practically climbed the garage owner despite their friends witnessing his undeniable craving for the guy he groped.

Yet their lips told another story. Eli didn’t advance. He allowed Alanso to take charge of their exchange. Instead of powerful nips or the lashing of tongues, they traded swipes of soft, wet flesh against the same.

Eli fed a groan into Alanso’s open mouth. He went still and calm. His movements turned fluid. The change spurred Alanso to escalate their encounter. The hard wall of Cobra’s chest met his as they fused together full-length. And only when his hands roamed from that short, tousled hair past strong shoulders to a narrow waist and finally to Eli’s gorgeous ass did he realize the shafts trapped between them were equally hard.

Hell, it felt as if Cobra really did have a massive trouser snake if the bulge poking Alanso’s flexed abs was any indication. In the background, someone whistled.

Coming to his senses, Alanso opened his eyes. He imprinted the peace and desire in Eli’s expression on his memory before he ripped away.

Cobra stumbled.

Carver appeared from beside them to brace the garage owner. It seemed he’d elected for a ringside seat to their little show. Sally clasped Eli’s other arm, steadying him on his feet where he swayed.

“Great idea. It’s time for bed.” Their leader was back, and he had a mission.

“You think just because you rock at tonsil hockey, you’re going to sleep with me tonight?” Alanso shoved away from Eli’s chest. “Fuck off. I’m still pissed. It’s going to take a hell of a lot more than one fucking tongue tango to convince me that you deserve a shot with me.”

Eli grinned, wide and slow. “You think I’m a good kisser?”

“Kiss my ass, Cobra.
No me jodes
.” He stalked toward his room, which shared a wall with Eli’s, trying not to remember how Ronnie had done just that earlier, while Cobra observed from the shadows.

“Wow, Al. Maybe you really are a chick under all those tattoos.” Holden got smacked upside the head by Roman for his smartassery. Sally tossed in a defense for her kind too. She wasn’t a head-game player like most women they’d run across.

A double salute from Alanso’s middle fingers, without checking the rearview for reaction, marked his exit. The day had drained him. In more ways than one.

Maybe tomorrow he could process it all.

Until then, sleep sounded heavenly.

He locked his hallway door, stripped to bare-assed-naked and took a minute to brush his teeth in the bathroom he shared with Cobra. It didn’t occur to him that his mind had stopped racing for the first time in months, making it easy to crash into his pillows and drift off.

Chapter Six

“Hey, that was the most interesting weeknight we’ve had in a few years.” Holden clapped a hand on Carver’s shoulder as the guys and Sally huddled around Eli. “We’re getting old. Rusty.”

Eli didn’t even bother to level one of his shut-the-hell-up glares in Holden’s direction. Suddenly, he felt weary. Unable to fight the tide that’d been dragging him out to sea.

“You gonna say something?” Kaige took up a spot near Bryce as they closed rank. “Eli, man, you all right?”

“I just want to make it clear that if any of you has an issue with what went down tonight, you bring it to me. Don’t you dare shit on Alanso because of this.” He bristled.

“I think the only guy here who’s got a problem with it is you.” Roman’s stern tone didn’t surprise anyone. As the oldest of their group, he had lived the hard life longer than most of them had, since Eli’s family had given them sanctuary one by one as they’d wandered into the youth shelter Eli’s mom had worked to build.

Roman had been a different matter. To this day, he worshipped Eli’s father—Tom—for not calling the cops on him when he’d caught the young man trying to hotwire his truck. Instead, he’d offered a loan he never expected to be repaid and a job pumping gas at the garage and service station so Roman wouldn’t have to stoop to petty theft ever again.

He’d busted his ass to fulfill his debt in record time, and he’d been there ever since.

The deep grooves around his mouth, his calculating eyes and the smell of hard liquor on his breath all combined to make him someone you didn’t want to mess with in a dark alley.

“What are you planning to do now?” Sally patted Eli’s chest, snapping his attention to the situation at hand. The fire in her eyes guaranteed he’d better answer this one right or risk her knee meeting his balls. She was quick and fierce. It’d hurt like hell.

“I—I have no idea.”

Stunned silence echoed around the cavernous room, designed to hold them all comfortably.

“You’ve always got the roadmap.” Carver’s jaw hung open wider at Eli’s indecision than it had at Alanso’s dramatic declaration.

“Not for this.” Eli scrubbed his knuckles over his eyes. “I don’t have a fucking clue what to do. I know what I want, but I don’t know what’s right. Not for Al or for any of us. I realize this is all new to you guys, so I think you should take some time to really think about the implications.”

Most of the Hot Rods nodded. Sally shook her head. “All I want to know is—do you plan to keep things between the two of you or expand like the crew did?”

“I can’t say, Sally.” He shrugged. Partly it depended on what the rest of the gang thought. He owed them time to process what they’d just witnessed. The lack of direction made him feel like his internal compass had crapped out. He’d always known where he was headed and marched toward his goals without pause. Now…he spun in circles. Changing his mind every five seconds.

Go to Alanso.
That voice screamed loudest, but he resisted.

Back off.

Test the waters with the Hot Rods.

Leave them alone.

Show them how much you love them.

Don’t fuck up what you have.

Indecision was driving him insane. Oscillating between two polar opposites, he felt like a piston moving back and forth at an ungodly RPM. He hadn’t been this stuck since the time they’d attempted to drive one of their finds down the muddy, unpaved driveway leading from the estate sale they’d snagged the bargain at. It’d taken all of them pushing together to break free of that mire.

“Cobra, go talk to your dad,” Bryce suggested.

“About this?” He backed up a step, then another. “No way. What am I going to tell him? That I think I’m into guys now? That I’m having some early midlife crisis? Jesus.”

“You’ll know what to say when you get there.” Sally closed the gap between them and put her hand on his forearm. He studied her nails. She’d redone them again tonight. Now they were a hot pink color in two finishes—matte on the bed and glossy on the tip. Subtle yet not. Always interesting. Just like the paint jobs she designed and applied to the cars they restored. “He’ll help you think it through.”

Rather than argue those points, Eli picked something simpler. “It’s after midnight. He’s in bed by now, I’m sure.”

“Nah,” Kaige disagreed. “He stopped by for a few beers before. We told him something was up with you and Al. Actually, he kind of insisted that you come see him when you got home. Sorry, dude.”

Holden jabbed his fingers into the mini-blinds and separated two of the slats to peer into the night. “The porch light is on. He’s staying up for you. Better not keep him waiting any longer. Don’t waste the chance to lean on what you’ve got. None of the rest of us are that lucky unless we borrow your dad.”

“Crap!” For the first time since his curfew days, Eli suffered a moment of panic over walking through that door at this ungodly hour. “Fine. Fuck. I’m going. Who’s opening with me tomorrow? Shit…today. Kaige? Carver? Get your asses to bed. Nobody should be dragging when we’re working with the lifts and equipment. We’ll talk about this more this weekend.”

“Promise?” Sally looked up at him with wide eyes.

“Damn it, yes.” With that he spun on his heel and jogged down the stairs, across the lawn and onto the porch of his father’s home. He usually loved having the guy so close. But tonight, he wasn’t sure their proximity played to his advantage.

Was he ready to share everything? Even if he didn’t know what all that entailed yet?

He trusted his father above anyone else in the world. The death of Eli’s mom had brought them closer. Almost more like friends than father and son. They’d been there for each other, then for the Hot Rods they’d discovered and inherited in the years following.

“In here, Eli,” his dad called from the living room as if the flash of the TV, which probably aired some travel documentary, didn’t highlight the way.

“Hi.” Nothing else came to mind.

“So, you want to tell me what had you two kids peeling out of here like harebrains? Those damn engines are loud enough to have all our neighbors calling and complaining to me.” Tom London didn’t beat around the bush.

“Since when do you give a shit what Mrs. Shoff thinks of us anyway?”

“You’re right, I don’t give a damn.” Tom clicked off the TV and angled toward Eli. “But
I’ve
had enough of this sulking. I want to know what’s wrong.”

Eli sank into a comfortably worn recliner, rested his elbows on his knees and put his head in his hands. “It’s complicated, Dad.”

“I’m not stupid. I’ll follow.” Tom crossed his arms.

“Are you pissed?” He narrowed his eyes at the rare irritation his father seemed to be barely containing. This wasn’t good. Hell, was he screwing up with everyone he loved lately?

“Kind of. Disappointed, actually.”

Eli hadn’t heard that tone since a bunch of them had gotten busted racing for money on a dangerous road one night in his early twenties. He’d hoped never to earn that slimy feeling in his gut again. “Why?”

“I thought you trusted me.” The statement rang with accusation.

“I do.” Eli wasn’t lying. His dad had always been there for him. Maybe he’d been stupid not to come here sooner for this talk. “It’s just…my issue affects more than me. Not sure it’s right to drag everyone else’s skeletons out in the open.”

“Is one of the Hot Rods in trouble?” Tom leaned forward in his seat. “You’ve got to tell me if they are. I can help.”

“No. Nothing like that.” He hated the relief that washed over his dad’s face. His dad had really been worried. And without facts to go on, he’d probably assumed the worst. “It’s kind of, maybe, good news. Things are changing. There’s a relationship thing happening. But it could cause some issues in the gang. That’s what’s bothering me. I don’t want to alienate anybody. I can’t lose any of them over this.”

“Are you trying to say a couple of you are pairing off?” A smile tipped the edges of Tom’s mouth for an instant. Then his dad rubbed his temples as if he had a headache. “I’ve wondered for a while which of you was going to break up the band.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“You know, which guy was going to fall for Sally first.” He shrugged. “It was bound to happen sooner or later. She’s gorgeous, funny, tough, mysterious, a little sad. A potent combination. You kids screw around plenty, but not one of you has ever found something meaningful in a partner. Why do you think that is, son?”

“Very few people get as lucky as you and Mom.” The reminder of what they’d lost hurt them both. But it was the truth. The way his parents had looked at each other… Hell, his mom’s heart monitor had soared every time his dad had showed up to take a shift by her bed at the hospital.

“Maybe.” Even now Tom smiled when he thought of his wife. He still wore his wedding ring. Swore he’d go to his grave with the simple band hugging his finger. “Personally, I think you’ve been looking in all the wrong places. Or maybe refusing to admit what you already know. After all, Joe and the crew seem to have done pretty fine for themselves, haven’t they?”

“Yeah.” Eli cleared his throat. “About them…”

His dad didn’t come to his rescue. He waited the pause out.

“Shit. Dad, did you know they’re into group stuff?” He winced as he considered the reaction he’d get or what the guys might do when they realized he’d spilled the beans on their complex relationship.

“It wasn’t obvious?” Tom reclined in his chair, spreading his legs wider as he relaxed. “Hell, for a second there you had me worried. I thought you were going to tell me something awful.”