| |
About forty-five minutes later, we arrive at the destination. The sun will be coming up in about thirty minutes or so. This motorcycle handled as I had expected, hugging the road’s curves and speeding up hills effortlessly. Impressive, given that I didn’t even open it full throttle. Lia taps my arm to get my attention and orders me to park at the second entrance.
Uncertainty is seeping in, leaving me uneasy and wondering if I made a mistake going with her. My tail should be coming up about fifteen minutes behind, but with the mobile network connection going in and out, it could be longer. Parking the bike carefully on the gravel lot, I gesture for her to get off, and I follow.
Looking at my surroundings, all I see is an abandoned parking lot with nothing much around. The only noise is from the tree branches rubbing against each other and crickets chirping.
“What’s so special about this empty parking lot? It doesn’t look like you’re late, so why the hurry?” I ask her casually, not letting on my suspicions.
She gets off her feisty attitude and responds nonchalantly. “I like to arrive early to memorize the elements. Mr. Ferrari, I do not have time to indulge in all your questions or babysit you.” Although wary, I am definitely intrigued by this woman’s multifaceted personality. One minute she is all professional, the next minute seductive, and quick as a blink, she is muttering curse words of frustration at me.
A car enters the parking lot. “Ahh thank god, perfect timing. Stay with my assistant until I’m back, then we conduct our business.” She walks toward the car where pixie girl gets out. They converse briefly, and she walks back to the bike. Quietly, she inspects her tires and other parts of her bike. Gracefully mounting the bike, she tightens her helmet with GoPro cameras on the front and back. She revs up the engine, and then she bolts out of the parking lot, leaving me standing in her dust.
Well, shit. I wasn’t expecting this when I invited myself along. I thought I would have to tell some guy off, not be left stranded in the middle of nowhere. Looking to where pixie girl is, I notice she now has a couple of computers displayed on the hood of her car. I walk over and notice one screen has a police scanner, and the other has a red dot which I’m guessing is Lia. The red dot is quickly moving away from us. I come to the stunning realization she’s a god damn illegal motorcycle street racer. Definitely never expected that.
Pixie girl turns around and snaps her fingers at me then points to my tail. “They with you? Tell them to park in the corner and stay out of the way. Our girl doesn’t need her identity exposed because some trust fund playboy wants a quick lay.”
A black van pulls into the lot and begins taking surveillance. I am sure they’ve been in contact with Mateo during their frantic journey. I wouldn’t put it past him to show up once word gets back about where I am. So much for me hoping they stay invisible. “Don’t worry about them, they won’t cause any issues. Pretend they aren’t there, I usually do.” I assure pixie girl, wondering what she meant by Lia’s identity getting exposed.
“Good, you’ve got them trained like behaved little lap dogs, do ya?” she responds sarcastically. Pixie puts on a set of headphones and looks at me, rolling her eyes. She grabs another set and hands them to me. “Wear these, but don’t say a word. One word, and I’m ripping them out of your ears. Got it?” She’s irritating me more every second.
“Nobody will be ripping anything out of my ears, so settle down.” With frustration, I grab the earphones from her hands. I don’t like pixie’s sarcastic attitude. Pixie may be hot in a punk rocker way, but her mouth is a complete turn off. Her ears are covered with several earrings, and I’m guessing there are probably many tattoos covered up by her clothing. Definitely more Angelo's type in both looks and personality. I’ve had enough of her sarcasm and bossiness.
She snaps her gum while feverishly typing some codes into the computer. Not knowing much about the race details increases my agitation. Angelo would know quite a bit because he indulged occasionally in the illegal world of motorcycle street racing.
“When does this race start, pixie girl?” I ask as I point to the screen, watching the dot get further away from us.
“Soon, and my name is Krista with a K. Speak again, and I’m sending you to the black van so your friend can jerk you off, or I’m going to shoot you where you stand.”
Before I can sputter out a retort, I hear Lia’s voice. “Krista, I’m coming up to check point number one. She’s purring like a kitten. The tweaks we made were spot on. All good at your end?”
Pixie, not looking at me, smiles and answers. “Yeah, Lia, all good at this end. Playboy is next to me on mute, and I made him fully aware of the consequences.”
“Please play nice. I’ll be back in no time. I’ll check in at the final check point in about four minutes.” She goes silent.
“Son of a witch’s nose, I don’t get paid enough to babysit spoiled grown men.” She says in irritation.
A set of car lights turn into the parking lot. I hear the engine of a Porsche Carrera racing toward us and know immediately it is Angelo.
“Who the hell is that?” Pixie takes out a thirty-eight-special revolver from her bag.
“Put that gun away.” I demand. “It’s my brother.”
I’m actually glad he showed up, but I need him quiet so as not to endanger Lia. Angelo gets out, gives a thumbs up to the guys in the van, and waltzes over towards us with his hand in his jacket pocket. “Well, well, dear brother. I didn’t know you were into the kinky pixie elf types. Are you taking them both on? You surprise me at times, Sonny.” He whistles his approval of my companion of the moment. “In all seriousness, I know you love taking long motorcycle rides, but why not just bang Miss Leoni in the restroom back at the club?” asks Angelo, never taking his eyes off Pixie.
Krista takes her earphones out and places them aggressively on the hood. While marching toward Angelo, she points at him. “I don’t give a flying leopard spot who you are. I will shoot you and let you bleed out along with your brother!”
Van doors spring open as Angelo flashes his hands up and takes a few steps back, looking at me for guidance. Guns are being pulled out by the guys in the van. This whole night has escalated into a ridiculous situation. Turning toward the van, I hold up my hand, assuring them I have the situation under control.
“One minute until start, Krista,” Lia states over the headphones.
“Krista, you are needed on the earpiece. She just checked in with one minute to go. Your attention is needed there. I promise we won’t do anything to compromise Lia.” I say emphatically, looking over at Angelo.
Huffing, she continues to wave the gun at him. “Fine, you are free for the moment. If I hear one peep, Angelo, I’m scalping your Patrick Swayze hair.” She yells at him. Interesting that she knew his name. Seconds later, she makes contact with Lia telling her she’s all set on her end. “Is that ant of a dick there?” asks Krista.
“Yeah, he just tongue gestured me. He’s so gross.” I hear Lia say.
Angelo walks next to me with his arms folded against his chest. Leaning in, he examines the computers. Pixie gives him the evil eye. He retaliates with a zip lips movement and wiggling his eyebrows. She flips him the bird. God, they are perfect for each other.
He looks at me in silence. Whispering in my ear, Angelo questions whether I understand Lia is racing in an illegal race. Nodding quickly a yes, I look back at the computers. Observing and listening to the way Lia and Pixie converse is fascinating. They interweave each other, often finishing each other’s sentences. I notice that Lia was consistently maintaining a two hundred and seventy-three kilometers per hour pace for most of the two-mile duration. Knowing that pace is not only physically exhausting but emotionally as well, this woman was a superpower. The sun is now up, and first light is already glimmering against the chrome on the car.
“Holy Bat Girl, you smoked that piece of lard. Now get your ass back here,” shouts Krista.
Lia is silent for a moment, and then I hear her let out a whoosh of air. “God, that felt good! See you in a few.”
Pixie gives a little dance of satisfaction and starts cleaning up the equipment. Angelo takes it upon himself to help her. “Here you go, Pixie, let me help you with this stuff.” He grabs the stuff and starts walking to the trunk of her car.
“Stop calling me Pixie! It is not my name, and for your information, I will never ever need your help!” she yaps at him.
Shaking my head, I take out my cell phone and notice Mateo sent a text. Sorry, he volunteered to check on you, please forgive me. I would have come myself, but Josie would have my nuts.
I text back. Keeping your nuts are priority, no worries. Angelo has met his match with a pixie girl. I’m still trying to close the deal with Miss Leoni.
He texts back: Pixie girl, you mean Krista? She’s ok. Just make sure she doesn’t’t shoot Angelo. Still haven’t closed the deal? Losing your touch.
I text back, Asshole!
Of course, Mateo knows everyone in the area. Looking at the time, I realize it’s coming on five a.m. Placing the phone back in my jeans, I rub my face. Minutes later, Lia bullets into the parking lot and parks abruptly next to us. Getting off, she takes her jacket and throws it at Krista.
“All right, you’re up! I’ll check in with you tonight,” she says to Krista. “Text me when you get home.”
Pixie mounts the bike and pulls on Lia’s helmet. Blowing a kiss to Lia and flipping the finger at Angelo, she shouts, “Arrivederci!” Flying out of the parking lot, she disappears like fairy dust.
“Well, that was entertaining.” Angelo says.
“If you taunt her, she will latch on until you tap out,” warns Lia.
“I enjoy ruffling her pink tips.” Angelo laughs.
She looks at me, rolling her eyes from what he just said. “Are you coming with me, or you going with him?” She asks, pointing to Angelo who is standing by with a grin.
Angelo steps over and leans in, giving me a side nudge as he whispers, “Make sure you leave your phone on and answer all texts.” Backing away, he feels my wrist to assure himself that I’m wearing my watch. Smacking my cheek lightly, he then asks me in a loud voice making sure Lia hears him, “You got enough condoms?”
I give him a quick jab on his shoulder. “Get out of here, see you tomorrow.”
He gives me a cheeky smile, laughs, and walks away towards the van. Once he converses with my tail, he’s off in his Porsche.