Drive

Book 1: Hot Rides

by Sidney Bristol

Genres: Action & Adventure; Action & Adventure Romance; Contemporary Romance; Romantic Suspense

Synopsis

Blazing Miami sun. Cool classic cars. Dangerous undercover assignment. In Sidney Bristol's scorching new Hot Rides series, the cars are fast and the romance is furious... Aiden DeHart has a history--and secrets. His classic car garage is a front for an FBI operation. His current mission: get some evidence from a drug dealer's ex-wife, then get out. Madison Haughton sending his engine into overdrive isn't part of the plan, though, especially considering she might not be as innocent as Aiden thought... Since her divorce from her sleazeball ex, Madison has sworn off bad boys, gotten some sweet tattoos, and become a star of Miami's roller derby scene. But however fast she skates, her ex is always on her tail. When the sexy guy in the muscle car offers to help, he could be her ticket to safety--or a detour down a deadly road...

Release date: March 1, 2016

Publisher: Zebra Books

Print pages: 384

Sample

There was a good way to start a week, and there was a bad one. Aiden DeHart figured the jury was still out on this one.

“DeHart, microphones are live. Keep Ross near the car.”

“It’s a Chevelle, Kathy,” he replied to the disembodied woman’s voice only he could hear. He hated this, working with the FBI, but they had him by the balls.

“Yeah, whatever. Keep him near the Chevelle.” Kathy chuckled.

Aiden tapped the steering wheel of his Chevrolet Chevelle and rolled his eyes at the FBI agent chirping more reminders in his ear. Kathy was a good agent, a little too motherly for his tastes, but a good woman.

He tuned her out and cleared his mind, inhaling the scent of the beach. The simple truth was that every word he said needed to be carefully chosen. Microphones were all over the damn car, which irritated the hell out of him that his classic restore was getting adhesive all over the leather. He wouldn’t normally allow it, but if this job led to taking down Michael Evers, it was worth it. The son of a bitch had murdered Aiden’s sister and her cop husband to make a point to the Miami-Dade PD. His brother-in-law had been a good cop. A bit too good, unfortunately, and it had gotten both him and Andrea killed.

“DeHart, we’re in place.” CJ’s voice echoed in Aiden’s ear. Great, he had not one, but two Feds in his head.

CJ and his wife, Kathy, were FBI agents undercover in Aiden’s garage, and often worked support for him and his crew. He hadn’t known FBI agents could be married to another agent in the field, but he had the proof under his roof. Hell, there was likely some extensive study with all sorts of data to justify the work/wed arrangement. He could imagine CJ spouting said data as he got down on one knee. Kathy and CJ were a . . . unique couple. He overlooked their uniqueness because they knew their shit.

“Try not to break too many laws,” CJ warned. They might be FBI, but the deep cover operation had them bending and breaking laws. Which was why it was Aiden doing this gig instead of his co-owner and best friend, Julian. While Julian was a full-fledged undercover FBI agent, Aiden was a contracted employee, or asset. He could break rules Julian couldn’t, though that line had begun to blur as of late.

“No promises there. Going silent.” Aiden sucked in a deep breath and blew it out.

It was time.

He emptied his mind of the two people on the other end of the radio, of all the little things he needed to do today and simply—let go. The road stretched out ahead of him, a path to anywhere.

He hit the accelerator and shifted gears. The old muscle car roared to life. He blazed down the well-kept street, mansions sprawling on either side of him. His awareness narrowed to the bend in the road ahead and the gate leading to their target’s home.

The humid Miami air rushed through the windows, beating him in the face and carrying with it the cry of seagulls. The scents of freshly cut grass, salt water, and flowers drifted on the wind. Here, there was no Latino hip-hop music breaking up the pristine silence. It was all opulence and wealth.

The gate yawned open to his right. He grabbed the hand brake, turned the wheel, and let the Chevelle drift sideways through the space. The whole car vibrated, tires squealing with the maneuver. A security guard in the gatehouse dropped a magazine out of the window and yelled something, but Aiden was already through and accelerating up the drive. Palm trees lined the quarter mile to the two-story mansion. The drive circled around a fountain. Several sleek sports cars were parked around the bend, like some fancy magazine spread. Those cars might have the flash, but his Chevelle had double the horsepower.

Aiden brought the car around the fountain, breaking and letting the tail end swing around. It made for a jarring, flashy stop.

Flash was what he was going for.

“Fuck, Aiden. Did you have to burn so much rubber?” CJ whispered in his ear.

The agent was a stickler for following the rules, and one of their biggest ones was: stay under the radar. The Feds didn’t want to have to cover up their shit if Aiden got in trouble, which was bound to happen on occasion. CJ had proven to be an invaluable member of their team. Between his experience in the field and his wife’s quick thinking, they’d saved Aiden’s ass more than a few times.

He snorted and climbed out of the car. A trio of men in suits stood on the stairs leading to the grand double doors. It might have been impressive, except the whole community was one mansion trying to outdo its neighbors. At least a half dozen guys in suits hung around, hands poised on their barely concealed weapons. The whole setup was a little pretentious, but then again, men like Dustin Ross weren’t exactly classy folk.

Two years ago, Dustin barely registered on the low-level crime scale. He’d climbed the ladder fast thanks to his greed, and he liked to show it off, unlike his boss, Michael Evers. What Dustin probably didn’t know was that Evers ran through guys like Dustin every two years, using them up and spitting them out to save his own ass. Dustin was just the latest in a string of dummies stupid enough to get into bed with the Evers operation.

Aiden pushed his sunglasses up on his head and leaned against his car.

“Aiden DeHart.” Dustin shook the hand of one of the men he was standing with before heading down the stairs toward him. “Wasn’t expecting you so soon.”

“I drive fast. You said you wanted to see me?”

“Yeah, why don’t you show me what this baby can do?” Dustin didn’t wait for permission. He climbed in the passenger side and settled in.

Well, that was easy.

“Sure. Whatever you say, boss.” Aiden sank into the driver’s seat while CJ snickered in his ear.

Aiden didn’t punch it hard out of the driveway. He did want to hear what the other man had to say, after all. And they needed a clean recording. Dustin suggesting they leave his property—without security—confirmed Aiden’s suspicions. Whatever this job was, Dustin didn’t want his boss to know about it.

In the grand scheme of things, Michael Evers was the real target. Dustin was just a stepping-stone to taking down the criminal mastermind. Jobs like this should never be personal, and yet here he was. Driving an asshole around one of the ritziest areas of Miami, neither speaking. Which was fine with him. Conversation with Dustin was about as stimulating as watching oil drip out of a car. He took his time, winding through the houses, around the properties and eventually out onto the highway.

“How fast does she go?” Dustin asked.

“One-eighty if I’ve got the distance.” The Chevelle wasn’t a race car, though he liked its speed. It could perform, but he didn’t like to push the car too much. It was a classic that deserved the respect of the road. He had a few newer, American muscle cars tricked out and outfitted for racing.

“Nice.” He cleared his throat. “I really appreciate that job you did for me. The guys were right when they said you were the person to go to if I wanted something done quiet—and right.” Dustin peered at him through tinted glasses. For someone with so much money, he still seemed sleazy. Maybe it was the off-the-rack suit with the Rolex watch and store-bought tan.

“Glad I could be of assistance,” Aiden drawled. Thanks to a few dings on his record, the FBI had been able to embellish the truth a little. Between their additions and what came naturally due to racing, he had plenty of street cred and the experience to back it up. He doubted old Uncle Sam had intended him to put the skills he’d learned in the service to use chopping cars and pretending to be one of the bad guys.

“That street gang, they don’t want to mess with us.” Dustin acted like he were the one who’d chopped six cars of the rival gang.

“They’re punks. Kids. They don’t have any business playing with the big boys. Just let them drive their toy cars in circles.”

Dustin approaching Aiden out of the blue like that had shocked him and sent their entire operation into chaos. While they’d had their heads shoved up Evers’s ass, Dustin had begun a little war with one of the street gangs. One Aiden knew all too well because he raced against them regularly.

The Eleventh Street Gang was a group of wannabe gangsters for the most part, except they were getting a handle on their criminal lifestyle and were no longer quite so wannabe. Under the leadership of a new crew leader named Raibel Canales, their drug trade was starting to compete with what Dustin had going on for Evers. Typically Aiden and his partner, Julian, opted out of jobs that touched their racing community, but they’d made an exception this one time. If the Eleventh knew they’d intentionally scrambled a drug deal it could make their street races dicey. Except chopping the cars had also meant sidelining several new, teenage members. Hopefully they got kicked out of the gang lifestyle before they’d begun. It was a long shot, but they’d taken the job.

“I bet you’d teach them a thing or two in this beauty.” Dustin stroked the door as if he had any clue what was under the hood.

“If they had a brain cell between the lot of them, maybe.”

Dustin laughed. “I like you. You sure you don’t want to come work for me? I could make it worth your time.”

“Sorry, man. I like being my own boss.” Aiden would rather give up his left nut than work for Dustin. He eased off the accelerator and onto the service road. They wanted everything Dustin said on tape without the rustling of the wind. “You wanted to see me about a job? I take it this isn’t about cars.”

“Yeah. My ex-wife took some things that don’t belong to her during our divorce proceedings. I want you to get them back.” Dustin tapped the door and tipped his head back, the breeze rustling his hair.

That was it?

“This sounds like a job for the cops.” He scowled, trying to remember who Dustin had been married to and when. It wasn’t recent.

“Madison Ross,” CJ said in a low-pitched voice the rumble of the car almost drowned out. “They’ve been split for almost three years, divorced for six months. Dustin hadn’t been the faithful type. Madison’s clean. Seems like he did stuff and kept her out of it. She’s filed a restraining order on him, looks like he’s sent people after her in the past and they haven’t been too successful. She must have been a real slugger, used a baseball bat on one of his thugs. There’s a note in her file from the PD that they’ve been putting pressure on her to turn witness, but she’s pushed back, citing fear for her safety. From all the notes, I think either there’s someone keeping a close eye on her, or she’s got an admirer on the force. We’ll check it out. Could be why they need you.”

“I bet the detective’s got a boner for her. I just found her online. She’s a looker. Aiden’s type.” Kathy and her sleuthing. Between her and their resident geek, Emery, they could uncover anyone’s secrets. Except Michael Evers’s. He had someone on his side that covered the man’s trail like a pro.

“I want the cops as far away from me as I can keep them. Got me?” Dustin turned toward him once more.

“Yeah, I got it. What are you looking for?” This might be an easier job than he anticipated.

“A box of stuff she took from my office. There’s an external hard drive I particularly want back.” The gig had to be more complex than that, but Dustin wasn’t offering up more information.

Call him old-fashioned, but Aiden didn’t like the idea of Dustin harassing a woman. He found it hard to believe Dustin’s ex-wife would be a complete innocent. Something about the situation wasn’t firing all cylinders. There was more to it.

“Aiden, we need him,” Kathy whispered. It was as if the woman could hear his thoughts. He wouldn’t put that beyond the Feds someday.

“I just want the hard drive,” Dustin said. “It’s about this big.” Dustin held up his hands. Going by his estimates, the drive was about six-by-eight inches. “Gray. It has a label that says Racing on it.”

How had Madison come by the drive? If it was so important, why had Dustin allowed her to snatch it? And how come he couldn’t just get it himself? Who was stopping Dustin? All questions he couldn’t ask. To Dustin, he was a resourceful street tough. That was it. Too much interest would show his hand.

“What about your ex?” Aiden gripped the steering wheel harder. If Dustin wanted her roughed up or made to disappear, perhaps Aiden could work with it. Makeup and Photoshop could do wonders in this day and age.

“I don’t fucking care about that cunt. Get the drive any way you can, but don’t mention me. That’s why I’m hiring you. I’ll take care of Madison in time. I’ve got her right where I want her.”

Aiden’s vision hazed red. Violence toward women was something he couldn’t stand. Not even when he’d been deployed. There was a scar on his thigh from where a woman had attacked him. Julian had saved his ass that day.

He cleared his throat and banished the memories. “Sounds simple enough. Do you care how I get it?”

“Nope. I don’t care. Just get the job done.”

Aiden nodded, though he had no intention of that sort of ending. If Madison was living above the law, she would stay alive and breathing. If not, well, the Feds could be very useful motivators in times of need. He was proof of that.

“How much trouble can one woman be? I’ll do a soft meet, something she won’t see coming.” He was spitballing a plan, hoping CJ and Kathy were already working on the bigger picture.

There were a few ways he could play the situation with this Madison, but he hadn’t made up his mind yet which might yield her cooperation. He couldn’t get a feel for what kind of woman would marry and stay with a crook like Dustin. He’d have to play this one off the cuff, and that was something he didn’t like. After a couple years doing under-the-table deals for the FBI, he’d learned to have contingency plans for his contingency plan.

But first, he needed to get Dustin out of his car and find out a little about this Madison Ross.

Madison gritted her teeth and forced herself to smile. She rolled past the line of bikers taking up the front row of Stoke’s Bar & Grill, staring straight ahead. The latest pop-Latin mix hit played over the loudspeakers, the beat making her itch for some speed. The grill was a red, T-shaped building, with limited dining in the front and the kitchens in the back. Most people who came parked under the metal awnings to take advantage of the sound of the nearby surf and carhop atmosphere. Since old man Stoke was a biker himself, there was an area designated for motorcycles. The paint might have changed, and the building was different, but it was one of the few places that harkened back to Madison’s high school days.

“Oye mami,” one of the bikers called. She blocked out his voice and clenched her fist.

If Stoke’s didn’t give so much money to her roller derby league in exchange for one night of carhopping, she’d never stand for the kind of lewd comments the rough motorcycle types liked to throw her way. Then again, she was skating around in crash pads, a black pleated miniskirt, and a bikini top with the league’s alligator-on-roller-skates logo over each breast. She got better tips this way, and the league was hurting for cash this season.

“Hey.” Lily, her best friend and teammate, screeched to a halt on her toe stops. Her frilly skirt flipped up, exposing her Talk Derby to Me booty shorts underneath. She probably meant to do that. Lily was a tease, but that was because she could afford to be one. With her Greek goddess looks, men were always interested in her curves. It was one reason why on the track she was known as A’thing’a Beauty.

“If those assholes touch me, I’m going to bash them over the head with a baseball bat.”

“You say that every time we’re here. Besides, your cop buddies wouldn’t let that happen.” Lily pivoted neatly and rolled with Madison toward the ticket window, wiggling her fingers at the cop car sitting in Madison’s section.

“They’re not my friends.” She refused to look at the two off-duty patrol officers. They weren’t bad people. Some of the cops Detective Matt Smith sent to “protect” her were even nice. But that was because they wanted something she couldn’t give them. Evidence her ex-husband was a drug dealer.

“I’ve got a guy in my section, and he’s been eyeing you since he got here. I swear he’s got a thing for you. I think we should switch.”

“What?” Madison almost tripped over the curb. Lily never gave up the section behind the grill. The concrete wasn’t busted up and it made for good skating. Besides, the bikers didn’t park back there.

“I tried flirting with him, but he didn’t pay me any attention.” Lily rolled her eyes. It was crazy to think a man wouldn’t notice her. She was athletic and curvy, with perfectly sun-kissed olive skin, long, curling hair braided into pigtails, and her makeup never ran because of sweat.

“Who is he?” Madison peered toward the back lot, but had no idea which car was his.

“Orange muscle car, black stripes. Here. Take this to him.” Lily handed her a banana split with two spoons. “Don’t ask. Just go.”

“No.” Madison shook her head and pushed the frozen treat back at her. “I don’t do bad-boy types. Not anymore, remember? If he doesn’t have a pocket protector or a suit, I’m not interested.”

Lily rolled her eyes. “Honey, have you looked in the mirror? You don’t exactly scream ‘nice guy material’ anymore. Neither of us do. Besides, it’s not like I’m telling you to go marry the guy, just flirt a little. You’ve got to learn how to do it again. Please?”

Madison glared at her. Roller derby had given her the kick in the pants to get her life together when she’d had nothing. But most of all, she’d found a family, something she hadn’t had since high school, which was more depressing than she wanted to think about.

“Fine,” Madison grumbled, and took the banana split back.

“Yay!” Lily gave Madison a little push and slapped her bottom.

She peered over her shoulder at her friend, nerves clamoring inside of her. Her? Flirt? She hadn’t done that in ages. Wasn’t even sure if she knew how to anymore. She’d have to trust that if she got into any kind of awkward exchange, she could count on one of the other derby girls to pull her ass out of the fire. That’s what derby sisters were good for, right?

The orange muscle car sat under a long, tin awning, shielding it from the afternoon sun. She couldn’t tell anything about the man sitting in the car except he had wide shoulders, the kind of big muscular arms she could dig her nails into.

Those thoughts needed to stop—right now. She hadn’t had sex in ages and her hormones were in overdrive. At this point, she’d have fantasies about anything with a pulse. Which was probably why Lily was shoving her at this man, but was she ready? Were there rules for newly divorced women about when they could date? How was she supposed to act? Did she need to tell the guy up front?

“Right, because nothing is sexier than saying, ‘Hi, my name is Madison and I’m newly divorced after being separated for three years,’” she muttered to herself. Then again, leading with Hi, want to give my lady parts a tune-up? probably wasn’t a good idea either.

Time to put her customer service face on and stop thinking about s-e-x.

The driver slowly came into view, one delicious inch of muscular arm at a time until she could see the rest of him. He had one arm hanging out of the open window, with a black-and-gray tattoo peeking from under his shirtsleeve. He had short, sandy brown hair and a strong jaw with generous lips she wanted to see smile for some crazy reason. Sunglasses hid his eyes, but she felt them crawl over her body. Madison smiled at the man and felt her pulse in her throat. Why did she have the sudden urge to trace those inked lines with her tongue?

She’d become something of an ink addict since her divorce, as evidenced by the tattoos she’d accumulated in the last few years. One glance at her customer and she shivered despite the heat.

Hot wasn’t a strong enough word for him. Panty melting might be more accurate. She was out of her league here. He’d chew her up and spit her inexperienced ass out. Lily could have this one all to herself.

Madison slowed to a stop, careful to not spill the quickly melting ice cream. “Hey, I’ve got one banana split for you.”

His lips curled downward a bit. “I didn’t order one.”

That voice. It rumbled across her senses, straight to her core, setting off her internal alarms. Danger!

“Oh, you didn’t? They told me to bring it out here.”

Shit. Shit. Shit. This is all Lily’s fault!

“Give it here.” He gestured for her to bring the ice cream closer while he dug in his pocket. “Two spoons, huh?”

“That’s what they gave me.” She shrugged and handed it over.

Madison hadn’t even noticed the plastic silverware stuck neatly in the sides. Now, if he would just take it so she could skate her happy ass away, she wouldn’t complain about the bikers for the rest of the afternoon. She could only assume he was studying her. His gaze was hidden, but she felt it drift across her shoulders, down her breasts and stomach to her legs. She’d toss on a shirt, too, no matter that it was ungodly hot. She was not ready for this kind of attention, even if her body screamed something else.

“You look like you could use a cooldown.” He pulled his sunglasses off and she nearly stopped breathing. He had the bluest eyes she’d ever seen. Like the sky on a clear day, or the bluest of ocean lagoons. “Want some?”

Nope. Nothing from you.

“It looks really good.” He spooned a bite of the slow-churned vanilla into his mouth. The way his lips wrapped around the spoon was completely fascinating. Where had he learned that? “There’s plenty for two.”

“Uh, sure.” Was that breathy voice really her?

He offered her a spoon and held the treat for her to scoop some. Stoke’s might be known for their beer-battered fries, but they made a mean homemade ice cream. It was one of their better-kept secrets. She greedily dipped her bite into the fudge, making sure it was dripping with chocolate.

“You want to sit down?” He gestured to the passenger side of his car.

She froze with the spoon halfway to her mouth. Attractive man, tinted windows, sitting here watching her and now he wanted her to have a seat in his car. Shit, fuck and damn it. Why hadn’t she seen it before? Hot guys in cool cars didn’t pick girls up like this, did they? Not when your last name used to be Ross. All the desire burning in her breast went out in one poof of nonexistent smoke. This had to tie back to Dustin.

Madison jabbed the spoon back in the dish and placed her hands on her hips, glaring at Mr. I-Melt-Panties-For-A-Living. How dare he take advantage of her self-imposed celibacy with his hotness? It just wasn’t fair.

“Why are you here? And don’t tell me it’s for the beer fries.” She glanced toward the patrol car but—Shit!—the cops were gone. Could she get the attention of one of the girls in time? What if he grabbed her and drove off?

He blinked slowly at her, completely unfazed by her question. She clenched her hands to keep from trembling. Once, she wouldn’t have recognized the dark edge behind his gaze but she’d learned to identify it.

When would it end? Leaving Dustin was the easy part. She’d opened the front door and walked out. Untangling her life from his was a process of years. If she could go back in time and tell her eighteen-year-old self anything, it would be to never, ever accept Dustin’s marriage proposal. He wouldn’t give her the white picket fence or the family of her dreams. Dustin ruined everything around him, and he’d destroyed her hopes of happiness.

“Well, this isn’t how I saw this going.” The man placed the dish on his dash and pushed the driver’s side door open. He stood and kept going up. Even with her skates on, giving her a good five extra inches, he was still taller than her. She was not about to let him intimidate her. This was a public place. She was safe, right?

“Really? You thought I’d get in the car and you could drive off with me inside? Then what? You want to knock me around a little, too? Maybe rape me?” God, she was so stupid. An attractive face, some fluttering nerves and she’d let herself be blinded.

“Wow. Wow. Wow.” He held up his hands, eyes wide. “Slow down there.”

“What does Dustin want now?” She wished she still had the ice cream in her hand. She’d make him wear it.

“Madison, right?” He extended his hand. “I’m Aiden. Hi.”

She glanced from his face to his hand and back. Yeah, fat chance she’d willingly touch him. She’d rather have rink rash.

“Okay, no handshake. That’s all right.” He leaned against the door, all casual and at ease. “I can appreciate cutting straight to the chase. So, look. Dustin says you have something he wants and he’s hired me to get it for him.”

“Fuck off.” She plated her toe stop on the ground and pushed off—except he grabbed her by the wrist, stopping her in her tracks. A jolt of—something—shot up her arm. Her skin tingled where they touched, completely robbing her of thought.

“Hold on there. Can we please have a rational discussion?” he said next to her ear. His breath skated over her neck and she shivered.

She gathered enough pieces of her mind to glare over her shoulder at him and twist her arm out of his grasp. He caught her by the shoulders instead and pulled her back against the hard wall of his chest. Her breath left her lungs, and the last bit of rational thought fled.

“I don’t want to help Dustin,” he said.

“W-what?” She spun and went up on her toe stops to keep from drifting while she gaped at the man. Had she heard him right? Was her brain that scrambled that she was putting words in his mouth?

“Now, will you please have a seat and eat the sundae with me?” Aiden reached through the open window and pulled the keys out of the ignition. She stared at the ring of keys he extended toward her. “We won’t go anywhere. I’ll even give you these, how about that?”

The first time Dustin had sent someone after her, she’d broken a broom over the guy’s head on the deck of her boat. After she’d finished freaking out she’d realized just how much danger she was in, but she was done letting Dustin boss her around. The second time he sent someone to talk to her, she’d been smart enough to have a baseball bat with her at work, of all places. She’d never anticipated needing to protect herself at a derby event, but Dustin was always finding new lows to sink to. Couldn’t Dustin let her go? It wasn’t as if the creep had ever loved her.

“I’m serious, Madison. I don’t want to help Dustin,” Aiden said again.

He was different than the other toughs Dustin had sent after her. They hadn’t been much for talk. Besides, Aiden was trying to give her the keys to his car, . . .