Page 57 of Played

“I can hang out… for a minute.”

“Don’t get cocky, kid.” Riot stepped out of the office and found Michael and Jason going over plans for the new company. “Sorry to interrupt. I have Archer Morgan in my office.” That was all he had to say for both men to desert what they were doing and follow him down the hall.

The three men stepped into Riot’s office to find Archer looking through the folder. There were things in it that pertained to his brother and his sister-in-law. Riot could understand the guy’s apprehension about turning it over. Archer closed the folder, tossing it back on the desk, and eased out of the chair. He turned and faced men that were his brother’s friends at one time. None of them could escape that moment; they all felt it. Loss—it was a living reaching thing and it lived within all of them.

Riot knew he could help Archer. He knew the look on the younger Morgan’s face; he had worn for way too many years and Archer was too fucking young to carry it on his. “Archer, you didn’t get to meet Jason and Michael at the track.”

Archer nodded in agreement. He had only seen the two men for a minute before River’s crew chief barked orders at him over the bike. Seven years ago, he had been fifteen and idolized his older brother, wanting to be exactly like him. Somewhere along the way, he went a different direction. If he was honest with himself, he had set his eye on someone to blame for his loss, his heartache, and that someone had been a beautiful woman defying the rules as she blasted down the straightaway on the back of a super-fast fucking bike.

He had taken up bikes later in life than most racers because all he wanted had been to punish River Wile for her brother killing Fisher. Now, he wanted to earn her respect and step back on the track as a rider that others took notice of, not because of who he associated with but because of his talent. Sticking out his hand, Archer made the decision right there. Whatever they offered; he was taking. “It’s nice to meet you both, again.”

“All right, let’s get down to business.” Riot clapped Archer on the back, as he pointed to the new conference table in his office. In the hopes of having Archer come in for a meeting in the next week, Riot had contracts written up and waiting. Taking a seat Riot asked about other riders from DD that either didn’t sign with Canyon or that Canyon didn’t renew with. Jonesy Walker and Devon Marquez were two River had suggested as far as holding pro licenses. Archer said both walked away, and as far as he knew, no one had picked them up yet. That sounded good to Riot.

They presented him with the best possible offer, knowing if Archer were smart he would sign on the line—which he did without hesitation or reservation. At the end of the meeting, Riot swore he would keep Archer out of any fallout from the folder contents, and if possible his family as well.

***

The pool and a workout hadn’t curbed River’s need to busy herself. She needed the track this week to keep her mind focused somewhere other than on the anniversary coming up. Riot had made it clear, no racing, no practice without approval. But that did not mean no running the dirt bikes she had in the garage. A sly grin grew into a full smile as she grabbed her phone and called Mal. “Damn voicemail.” Shrugging it off, she headed for the garage and some fun.

Her butt vibrated, making River laugh, Mal never could resist giving her shit about not leaving a message. “Hey Bitch, I’m pulling the bikes out of the garage for some fun. Get your sweet ass over here and let’s tear it up.”

“River.”She better not be doing what I think she’s about to do.

Her mouth dropped open as her feet came to a screeching halt. “Riot, hey.” Stifling a laugh so as not to piss him off, she waited for the bitching out that surely was coming.

“What are you doing?”

“You know, bikes, riding, getting some wind therapy.” The laugh came too easily.

“River.”

She really should not get him going today. But what was the fun in that? “What?”

“I do not have time today to drive three hours to give your ass a beating. So, don’t make me.”

“But it’s so tempting.” She waited one heartbeat, then two before laughing at him. “Relax, I’m dragging out a few dirt bikes for me and Mal to take out in the backfield.”

“Please don’t get hurt. We have trials coming up next week and then the season starts.” Riot wished they were lounging around the pool, soaking up some sun instead of being three damn hours away from each other.

“You know you used to be so much cooler before you got all caught up in the business side of things.”

Flirty River was a fun River. “You said you liked me in a suit.”

“I also said I like you out of it, doesn’t seem to be getting me anywhere with you this week.”

Oh yeah, she was in a mood, which only made him miss her more. “Maybe tomorrow evening I could make it out there.”

“How’s work been?”

Damn that was a hard mood switch. Why couldn’t they keep flirting instead of discussing the subject of work. Sucking up to big corporations to get minimal sponsorships had him wanting to hit something. He wanted to tell her about the folder and the SIM cards—just not yet, not until he knew what he had and what he wanted to do with them or how to go about using them against Laurel. “I signed Archer Morgan today.”

Yes, that would give the kid something better.“That’s good. He needs a good team behind him.”

River listened as Riot talked about the things she could teach Archer on and off the track. When she laughed at his idea, he reminded her she was older and more seasoned as a rider than the boy. The conversation moved from Archer to her opinion on Jonsey Walker and Devon Marquez. Both were solid riders; they were with DD before Canyon. And she had a great relationship with both men. Riot felt a twinge of jealousy when she spoke highly of the two racers and told him about traveling with them and the entire team for DD over the years. She had had a good thing going with DD before Canyon came along with a big fat offer.

Riot explained they had walked away from the offer from Canyon. River suggested he stop wasting his time with her and call those boys in for a meeting. The conversation eased into making plans for the next night. Both were more interested in staying in rather than going out. River offered to drive out to see him to make things easier for him. Riot wanted them to be in one spot without a three-hour drive between them. They would figure it out. Soon she hoped. Riot was counting on just that.

“Hey sweetheart, Michael just stepped in, and by the look on his face, I need to be somewhere else.”

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