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“He saw you, but he has doubts now. Dust yourself off before we get back to the house.”

“We have two bikes to get back.”

“That’s your problem, unless you want to leave one here for the night.”

River thought about it for a minute, trying to decide which would be worse—Riot bitching at her about being on the bike or leaving it for him to find it missing then bitching at her. “I’ll ride it back up… slowly.”

“You do that.” Mal laughed as she got back on the bike.

When the two finally walked back on to the back patio, River saw Riot looking through the papers and pictures they had left on the table. She cringed at the thought of him being pissed at her for more than the bike. Technically it was Mal that had dug up all the shit on Kevin and Laurel, aka Vicky. She had been out running the dirt bike, which would not get her out of trouble.Not one bit.

“Riot.”

“Don’t ‘Riot’ me.”

“What’s crawled up your ass?”

“I know you were riding today.”

“Did you see me riding?”

“Yes, just now bringing the bikes back to the garage.”

River dropped into a chair. She didn’t want to fight with him. She was happy he had come back sooner than they both had expected.

“Babe.” She reached out and took his hand, tugging him to her. When he finally relented, she told him she had only run the track, no jumps. Just a couple times around before Mal came out, and she was the one cutting up on the jumps. River wouldn’t say anything about the stuff on the table unless he asked, which he would eventually. But for now, she tugged at him until he leaned down, kissing her smartly on the mouth.

When he broke the kiss, he smirked, letting River know as much as he loved to kiss her, he had not forgotten about the papers and pictures on the patio table. He took a seat and waited for one or the other to explain all of it. Reluctantly, Mal explained she had been looking into a woman named Vicky Brown, the sister of Keith Brown, who at one time ran with River’s team.

Riot remained quiet as Mal showed him pictures of Keith from the old days when he and the others were racing. He recognized both Keith and Laurel. Riot explained Keith had been a troublemaker that they tossed off the track circuit for causing problems between some of the drivers and teams. “Nothing but drama.”

“Listen, Riot. I know you think River is looking for something that isn’t there, but Laurel’s real name is not Laurel. We think she’s Keith’s sister, Vicky.”

“I’m done. You two can keep digging into people’s lives, piecing things together to make them into something that isn’t there. As for myself, I’m tired of living in the past.” Riot shook his head at both of them. He had hoped surprising River with coming in town and taking her to dinner would lead to a nice evening for the two of them, but now he wanted to go back to Santa Maria. He had meetings to deal with and new riders coming in town. He did not need any more reminders of the past. The dreams were eating him alive as it were. Planting a kiss on River’s head, he told her he would call her later when he got back to his hotel. Then he walked away, not waiting for an argument.

Deciding that she couldn’t let him leave like that, River followed Riot through the house and out the front door. “Why are you running away?”

Whipping around, Riot glared at her, fury in his eyes over the whole thing. Why couldn’t she just let it go? It was like bad grass; you couldn’t get rid of it, it kept popping up everywhere. She stood there, glaring back at him, the storm brewing in her beautiful eyes. He loved her, damn it, but he just wanted to let things be. “I’m not running. I’m trying to fucking survive.”

She didn’t know if it was the look on his handsome face that broke her heart or the fact that she knew he was telling her the truth. Sometimes you have to be the one that breaks. Walking to him, River took his hand and slipped the keys from him, tucking them in her pocket. Raising on her tiptoes, she kissed him softly.

“Stay,” she told him. There would be no talk of the past unless it was positive things. Mal would pack up all the stuff from today. “Please stay.”

Riot looked down at her, weary from the thought of all of it. “That had to hurt.”

“You have no idea.” She smiled, hoping he would stay. “Stay the night. I have steaks we can grill. We could do a little skinny dipping later. I want you to stay.” River refused to take no for an answer. Tugging him along, he went almost willingly into the house.

Mal met them inside with folders in hand. She hugged River, whispering she would connect the dots. River kissed her cheek and said thanks. When the door closed, leaving River and Riot alone, she gave him a coy smile as she turned and walked towards the back patio. She knew he would follow as she started stripping. When she got out to the edge of the pool, she had just toed off her boots when Riot grabbed her around the waist, making her scream as they both went flying into the pool.

Bursting through the surface, River coughed up water, trying to catch her breath as Riot laughed and swam towards her again. Splashing water at him, she swam away—just not fast enough. He grabbed her foot and pulled her back. She floated on her back as the fool pulled her foot out of the water to kiss her ankle. Oh yeah, this was gonna be a fun night.

Chapter Twenty-Three

River leaned against the open door of the pit area, waiting for Keith to step off the track. He had been a trusted friend once. Turned out you really should be careful who your friends were. A lot can be identified when you have your eyes wide open. As he walked in, he waved to her and asked, “What brings you down to Fontana in the middle of the week? I didn’t realize you had track time booked for the day.”

She wanted to throat punch him as he came closer. “Just checking out the track.”

He shrugged. “The track is good. Things have been quiet.” Wanting to get things done, she smiled.

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