Jackie blushed and looked away. “Maybe you will too.”
Biting her lip to repress a smile, Lana ran onto the track. She handed James the green panties he had caught in her room. “For luck,” she whispered. James tucked them into his jacket, and then he pulled her against him for a long, deep kiss. The crowd cheered and Lana’s cheeks heated, but for the first time she didn’t mind the bikers’ attention. She was Ice’s old lady and she’d done what old ladies do.
After Lana returned to the safety of the field, Portia, clad head to toe in red leather, waved the checkered flag and the race began. Rex had the inner curve. Good for psychology but sometimes bad on the knees, depending on how far he was willing to angle. James matched his speed and after one lap they’d left Dawg and Punch behind.
Ryder joined Lana and Jackie as the racers started the second lap. “Four laps to go. Winner of this heat advances to the quarterfinals. Been a long time since anyone challenged Rex. He buys a new bike for each race, but Ice’s V-Rod is heavily modded. It’ll be close.”
Lana gave him a sideways glance. “Did he ask you to watch over me?”
Ryder laughed. “No, darlin’. He didn’t have to ask.”
They watched the racers round the oval a third time. Dawg and Punch were now almost a full lap behind Rex and James. The roar of motors drowned out the excited murmur of the crowd. Lana’s pulse raced and her mouth went dry. And to think she had almost missed this.
“I’m surprised there aren’t any dirty tricks,” Jackie said.
“We don’t mess around on the bikes. We run our races with gentleman’s rules.” Ryder absently tucked Jackie’s hair behind her ear and rested his hand on her shoulder. Jackie shot Lana a curious glance and her lips curled into a smile.
Lana caught a flash of red near the track and spotted Portia, looking furtively from side to side. Portia’s arm jerked up, and the beam from one of the vehicle headlights illuminated a cluster of sparkly objects flying through the air. They hit the ground in James’s lane just as Rex and James rounded the corner for the last lap.
“Stop!” Lana bolted across the field but even as her feet pounded across the grass, she knew she was too late.
James’s front tire hit the objects and blew with a loud bang. The motorcycle somersaulted, throwing James over the handlebars and into a stack of hay bales at the corner, and then slid to a stop at the side of the racetrack. Dawg and Punch pulled their motorcycles to the side and ran over to help him.
Heart thudding in her chest, Lana reached the hay bales just as they tugged the helmet off a motionless James.
Lana’s heart skipped a beat. Nononononono.
“Ja…Ice.” She corrected herself quickly as she ran her hands down his body. “Talk to me.”
“Roxie,” he moaned. His hand waved through the air and she grabbed it and held it to her chest.
“I’m here.”
“I need…”
A crowd had gathered around them, and Ryder and Kickstand struggled to hold the concerned onlookers back.
“What? What do you need?” Her throat tightened. Where would they get an ambulance out here? If he was seriously injured, how would they transport him in a pickup truck? Did anyone know first aid?
“I need you to lie on top of me and give me a kiss.” He pulled her over his chest, cupped her face between his hands and kissed her. Hard.
The crowd cheered. Lana pushed herself up, straddling his hips and glared.
“Jerk.” Her hand sailed toward his cheek, but he caught it easily and pressed it to his lips.
“I thought you were seriously injured,” she shouted, as her adrenaline found an outlet. “You scared me half to death.”
James grinned. “I am seriously injured and there’s only one cure.”
Another attempt at a slap.
Another catch and kiss.
Lewd comments and catcalls echoed around them. Ryder and Kickstand dispersed the crowd. Rex joined them and helped James to his feet.
“What happened?”
“What happened?” Lana jumped up and rounded on Rex. “Portia threw something on the track. I saw her do it.” She let loose a string of swear words in biker slang that would have sent her mama to her grave if she hadn’t already died twenty years ago.
A hand clamped over her mouth and Jackie whispered in her ear, “If you are concerned he might have seen the tat, letting him know you can talk the talk might just jog his memory in the wrong direction.”
Jackie dragged Lana backward and away from the shocked bikers. “I’m just gonna take Roxie and wash her mouth out with soap.”