Page 69 of Unlucky You

“I didn’t know for sure but knew there was a chance.” Tali’s tone was laced with amusement. From the few interactions I had with him and how he was now interacting with his cousin, I sensed he wasn’t the type to take much seriously. He was amused by the idea of me being with Grand while he raced my ex which he confirmed seconds later. “He pissed you off at Hef’s. Now I’m going to piss him off out here and take five stacks from him when I’m first across the finish line.”

“You purposely wanted him to bring me so we could see you race my ex?” I narrowed my eyes at Tali who returned a charmingly handsome smile similar to Grand’s. Their likeness was more defined when they were smiling.

“I like to fucking win and I also like when people see me win. Who I win against doesn’t matter but knowing I get to embarrass your ex is definitely a fucking bonus.” He winked and extended a closed fist to Grand which he met.

“You’re a gotdamn idiot,” Grand growled, shaking his head, but Tali seemed unbothered.

“Let me go get this money.” He lifted his helmet, swung his leg over his bike, and revved the engine after he started it up. With his helmet tucked under his arm, he turned his eyes on me. “Wanna give me a good luck kiss?”

“Only if you want me to break your gotdamn jaw after she does.” Grand grilled the hell out of Tali who only smiled wider.

“Chill, cuz. I was just trying to see how serious this was.” He lifted the helmet and angled it on his head, then his eyes darted between the two of us, grinning wildly and shaking his head before it was completely encased in midnight blue with a matte finish that matched the body of his bike.

“Who the fuck is Tali and how is he on the roster?” someone yelled at the guy who announced the racing line up. Grand tapped Tali on the shoulder before he pulled off and motioned to the truck. Tali lifted his helmet and Grand moved closer. “You didn’t pull any bullshit to race tonight, did you?”

“No, why?”

Grand pointed to the two men again. “He just asked who you are and how you get to race tonight.”

Tali shrugged. “I earned it.

He swung his leg over the bike and began stalking toward the truck. Grand glared at me, mumbled stay here, and jogged to catch up with him.

“Why the fuck are you questioning why I’m lining up?”

“Because you haven’t lined up here before. How the fuck do you qualify?”

The guy who announced the fights jumped down off the bed of the truck and shoved the man back. “Didn’t you lose to Kessler?”

“What does that have do with anything?”

“Tali beat him.Twice, which means he qualified.”

“I’ve never seen them line up.”

“He raced in Crescent Falls.”

“But that isn’t here. How do we know that shit was legit?”

“Ifuckingknow. If you know what’s best, you’ll fall back. My race, my rules. And if you want to line up at my races, you’ll shut the fuck up.”

Even from where I was standing I could see the guy wanted to argue but another man stepped to him and gently pushed him back. “Let it go, Roc.”

When they made it back to where I was standing, Tali mounted his bike and moved closer to the starting line. Grand had my hand again and moved us closer to the shoulder of the road so we could see the race.

The first two bikes edged slowly to a guy standing between them until they were perfectly aligned then he raised his arm. After an intense pause, a light flickered above his head and I realized he was holding a flashlight which signaled the start of the race. The sound of screeching tires and revved engines followed as the two bikes darted past him.

“You and Tali have an interesting dynamic.”

“What do you mean?”

“You definitely have the sibling vibe. But if I had to guess, when it comes to the two of you, he spends a lot of time being the problem, which means you end up being the solution.”

Grand smirked and hooked an arm around my waist, pulling me into his chest. He dropped his chin on my head since I fit perfectly beneath him. “Tali acts before he thinks but he can mostly take care of himself. There wasn’t always a need for me to be the solution but if I need to show up for him, I do. Same as he shows up for me. He was here for Raiden while I was gone. I owe him a lot.”

The endearment in his voice expressed how much he appreciated that Tali stepped up for his son and it tugged at my heart.

“I’m glad you have him.”

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