Ride For Me (North Shore Crew Book 1)

  Ride For Me

  THE NORTH SHORE CREW

  -BOOK ONE-

  by

  VI SUMMERS

  Copyright © Vi Summers, 2017.

  Published by Vi Summers, 2019.

  All rights reserved.

  Cover image from Shutterstock © FXQuadro

  All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or any other information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the author, except for brief quotations in a review.

  Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

  This novel is entirely a work of fiction.

  Names, characters, businesses, places, events, locales, and incidents are the products of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.

  The author acknowledges all song titles and brands mentioned in this book are the property of, and belong to,

  their respective owners.

  Vi Summers is in no way affiliated with the brands, songs, musicians or artists mentioned.

  This novel is intended for those 18 years and over.

  Proofread by Nicole Powell.

  Edited by Dark Raven Edits.

  E-book ISBN-13: 978-0-473-47804-9

  Paperback ISBN-13: 978-0-473-55284-8

  CONTENTS

  DEDICATION

  BRACE YOURSELVES

  AUTHOR’S NOTE

  PROLOGUE

  ONE

  TWO

  THREE

  FOUR

  FIVE

  SIX

  SEVEN

  EIGHT

  NINE

  TEN

  ELEVEN

  TWELVE

  THIRTEEN

  FOURTEEN

  FIFTEEN

  SIXTEEN

  SEVENTEEN

  EIGHTEEN

  NINETEEN

  TWENTY

  TWENTY-ONE

  TWENTY-TWO

  TWENTY-THREE

  TWENTY-FOUR

  TWENTY-FIVE

  TWENTY-SIX

  TWENTY-SEVEN

  TWENTY-EIGHT

  TWENTY-NINE

  THIRTY

  THIRTY-ONE

  THIRTY-TWO

  THIRTY-THREE

  THIRTY-FOUR

  THIRTY-FIVE

  THIRTY-SIX

  THIRTY-SEVEN

  THIRTY-EIGHT

  THIRTY-NINE

  FORTY

  FORTY-ONE

  EPILOGUE

  BREAK FOR ME

  ALSO BY VI SUMMERS

  ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

  ABOUT THE AUTHOR

  DEDICATION

  To everyone who wanted to try something new, but feared doing it.

  This is proof that you can do anything!

  BRACE YOURSELVES

  You’re about to meet The North Shore Crew!!!

  Lil, Gage, Mace, Trav, Mickey (Josh), Kimmie and Nico are waiting for you, and are about to take you on one hell of a journey.

  AUTHOR’S NOTE

  This book is written using UK English, and down here in Aotearoa (New Zealand) we also use some random-ass slang that you may not have come across before. Just roll with it. In the words of Trav; “It’s all gravy, baby.”

  “Even the darkest night will end and the sun will rise.”

  -Victor Hugo.

  PROLOGUE

  Gage

  - Four months from now -

  I CAME HERE today to say goodbye to her, a proper goodbye this time, and it killed me that I couldn’t look her in the eyes and ask for the forgiveness I knew she would willingly give.

  I wanted her to stare back at me through the tears and tell me it would all be okay.

  But she wouldn’t - she couldn’t.

  I longed for her to tell me I was making the right decision, that she forgave me, even though the unexpected turn of events that had brought me here today had nothing, yet everything, to do with her. I needed her to slap me for it, to wake me from this dream that I didn’t want woken from.

  But still, she couldn’t.

  Instead, I settled on the grass beside her while trying to collect the appropriate words. I took my time to organise them in my head, internalise them, repeating them over and over until they sounded just right.

  She didn’t acknowledge my presence, though; I knew she would already be aware of why I was here after months away without visiting her once.

  For that, I was incredibly guilty.

  It wasn’t my intention to be gone for so long.

  I’m such a shit human.

  I clung to the big bouquet of dark purple roses like they were my only lifeline. Realising I had all but destroyed the stems by squeezing them nervously, I slid them into the large vase beside me, buying a few extra moments.

  Turning my attention back to Lotte, I growled roughly to clear the wad of dread from my throat.

  “Babe, I...”

  Fuck, this sucks. So fucking much!

  Placing my hand on the grass next to her, I decided to speak straight from my heart.

  “I’m sorry I haven’t been back for months. I intended to but was hurting and didn’t want to face this shit reality again. You have always been my world and this whole situation is… well, it sucks. I let you down. I failed you, and now I’m here asking, begging, for forgiveness because I’ve found someone when I least expected to. I never wanted to love a woman again like I love—loved—love you.”

  Ah, fuck!

  “You will always be special to me. Always. And you will always own a part of me that I can never give to anyone else. For some reason, in this fucked up universe, there is this ray of sunshine who is dragging me kicking and screaming out of the darkness that’s surrounded me for too long. And as much as I’ve tried, I don’t want to fight it anymore.”

  The feeling of defeat was immense. I hung my head between my knees while raking my hands through my hair. I definitely felt like the bad guy - even though I shouldn’t. Technically, I hadn’t done anything wrong.

  “I love you,” I whispered so only she could hear.

  Despite the day being perfectly still with only the low hum of bees and the songs of the birds to disturb us, I felt the ghost of a cool breeze ripple across the back of my neck. As per usual, everyone else around us was peacefully quiet. I smiled as the goosebumps prickled over my neck then wove across my shoulders. I was unable to suppress the shudder that followed.

  “Stop that, it’s creepy as fuck,” I chuckled, pulling some grass and tossing it her way.

  But my words and actions were met with silence and stillness.

  “Lotte, I don’t expect you to forgive me for everything, and I can live with that. Just... just know that you’ll always be my first and nothing can change that. I know you would want me to be happy, and if I’m honest to us both, it’s been a long time coming. But now I can finally say I truly am happy again. And I want to be.”

  I closed my eyes and swallowed heavily. I knew she could hear me.

  “Goodbye, baby cakes. I’ll visit again soon.”

  Giving the grass between us one final pat, I rose before whispering, “Sleep tight, babe.”

  Pressing a kiss to the end of two fingers, I aimed them her way then turned to leave. On my way down the path to where my truck was parked, I tried to shrug off the feeling of eyes boring into my back.

  ONE

  Lil

  - Present day -

  MICKEY SWERVED AND pulled in at the curb. My body lurched forward before being thrown back into the seat of his ute.

  “Jeez, Mi
ckey, what the hell!”

  “Look,” he threw an arm close to my face and pointed at the house. “They started the fucking fire without me.”

  “Well, that’s what you get for making us late!” I sassed, already opening the door and stepping onto the footpath.

  Sure enough, the smell of burning wood tainted the late afternoon air and the remaining ghosts of smoke dissipated into the sky beyond the roof of the house.

  Laughter rose over the music as Mickey and I hurried up the driveway in anticipation of seeing Neek again. He was our Army mate who had been away for a while, and tonight was his welcome home party. I couldn’t wait to give him a massive squeeze.

  The crew came into view when we rounded the corner of the house.

  “Whatup, bitches! Lil ‘n’ Mickey in the hooouuse!” I whooped with my hands raised above my head.

  My brother and I were welcomed by various greetings hurled from our group of mates sitting around the fire pit.

  There were six of us in total, all having known each other from either birth, kindergarten or high school. Kimmie was basically our sister. Mace, we had known for as long as we could remember, and Trav and Nico had been picked up during the years of circumnavigating high school.

  The crew we called ourselves, and we were a mishmash of random personalities that created one perfect, non-blood related, family.

  Everyone was well into their first few rounds of drinks by the time Mickey and I arrived at the party and we had some catching up to do.

  “About bloody time!” Mace called from the fire pit. He was my best male friend, and I loved the hell out of him. I simply flipped him off as Neek rose and stalked over to us with a massive grin on his face.

  After giving Mickey a bro-hug, he engulfed me in his massive arms. Neek looked like a hardass, but he was really a gentle giant.

  “Nice of you both to finally join us,” he murmured.

  I scoffed. “Blame Mickey. I was running on time.”

  “What the fuck ever,” Mickey mumbled and headed for the chilly bin. He had been in a mood ever since finishing his shift last night.

  Neek ducked his head to be closer to my ear. “Bad day at the office?”

  “Yup. He’s not saying much though, as per usual.” I pursed my lips, then shook off my worry. “Welcome back, Nico. Ahh, it’s so good to see you again,” I said with a massive squeeze around his waist.

  “You too, Lil. You drinking tonight?”

  I raised my brows and met his mesmerizing green eyes. “You know it.”

  Neek chuckled as I linked arms with him, and he wordlessly led me over to the rest of our mates. Nico never said a huge amount, but he sure as hell didn’t miss anything.

  Mace rose and gave me a squeeze, then I twisted Trav’s cap sideways and sidestepped away from the playful swing of his arm, before settling on the outdoor couch next to Kimmie.

  “Is Mickey okay?” she asked in a low voice. “He seems a little uptight.”

  Possessing the hearing of a bat, my brother whipped his head around and glared at Kimmie.

  “He’s fine,” I reassured her while flipping him off.

  Mickey simply flared his nostrils, then resumed talking to Trav. My eyes snagged on our tattooed friend across the flames, and Trav raised his beer at me. His dimpled grin always made my own smile appear, and tonight was no exception. However, the smile slipped from my face a second later when I realised I was still empty-handed.

  “Mace!”

  He spun, immediately halting his conversation. I threw up my arms to emphasise my lack of beverage.

  “I’m getting it,” Mace shouted over the music. “And I definitely didn’t forget.”

  I laughed through my exclamation. “You totally forgot, didn’t you!”

  “Never!”

  “Typical Mace; sees something shiny and can’t maintain focus,” I teased.

  “Oh, ha ha, cut a man when he’s down,” he bitched as he dug out a drink.

  Handing it my way, I accepted it with a clink of the bottle against his.

  All being in our mid-twenties, this was normal for us. No kids, no girlfriends or boyfriends, and other than work, no commitments. We spent most of our free time in each other’s pockets, and that was the way we liked it.

  A few drinks in, Kimmie (being the mother hen of the group) clapped her hands to get everyone’s attention. “And this is where we need to get some food cooking! Bags of chips aren’t going to cut it from here on out.”

  Nico nodded and took the blatant hint in his stride, heading for the barbecue without a word.

  “Not without me, you won’t,” Mickey called and jumped to his feet.

  It was no surprise that Mickey was at the barbecue and lighting a match before Neek had the chance—even though my brother was a Firefighter, he was a pyromaniac through and through.

  I shook my head as Trav also got to his feet. “Between the two of them, they have enough knowledge and skills to blow up the entire neighbourhood. I’d better supervise.”

  Raising a brow, I deadpanned, “I really don’t think your powers of supervision will decrease the chances of something getting blown up.”

  Trav grinned and threw his arms wide as he backed away. “Seriously, Lil, what could go wrong?”

  “No, Trav!” I exclaimed and pointed at him. “Every time you say that, something always goes wrong. You’re a trouble magnet!”

  His grin widened. “It’s all gravy, baby.”

  “Oh my God,” I groaned and ran a hand down my face. “Just don’t burn the food this time, please! I don’t like my sausage burnt!”

  “Neither do I, Lil. Neither do I.”

  With the three of them standing around the barbecue talking smack, Mace slid from the nearby chair to beside me on the couch. He then slung his arm around my shoulders and pulled me close.

  “How have you been, Lil? Like, really been?”

  I met his eyes and let the façade drop for a moment. “In all honesty, I’ve been great lately.”

  “I hope so.” He tapped his forefinger against the top of my bottle. “Go easy tonight, yeah?”

  “Always.”

  With a raise of his brows, he gave me the yeah right look I’d received countless times throughout the years. He knew things about me no other living soul did. And likewise, I’d seen Mace through his darkest days. We’d battled through a lot over the years and were always there for one another; it was simply what we did.

  “I mean it, Missy. Last time we got on the piss, you tried to molest me with a goddamn bottle.”

  I threw back my head and laughed at the dimming sky. “Oh, c’mon, don’t pretend you didn’t like it. It would be right up your alley.”

  Mace’s expression darkened. “I can assure you that I do not enjoy being the recipient of ass play.”

  “So, you’ve dabbled?” I countered without missing a beat.

  Mace ran a hand over his face. “Fuck me,” he muttered. “You’re dirty, Lil Bean, and I don’t want you to say another word about it.”

  I shrugged nonchalantly. “Don’t knock it till you’ve tried it, is all I’m sayin’.”

  Mace threw his hands up and pushed to his feet. “Nup, I’m outies.”

  “Love you, Mason,” I called as he made a swift getaway.

  He waved me off and headed for the guys without giving me the satisfaction of retorting. Kimmie and I shared a laugh at Mace’s reaction and then settled into catching up.

  TWO

  Lil

  ALCOHOL WAS THE Devil on my shoulder. He and I went way back, and some of our history wasn’t pretty; there was a sickness lurking at the bottom of every bottle, a disease I was susceptible to. It hadn’t been an issue in quite some time, and thankfully Mace had relaxed his constant vigil over my consumption.

  The few hours that slipped past saw all of us in various states of disarray. I half-listened to conversations around me while I danced a little to the music. Lifting a drink to my mouth, I frowned when no liquid passed my
lips.

 

  Literally reading my mind, Mickey leaned over the arm of the couch and dug through the chilly bin. His irritation grew with each bottle he pulled out, then put back.

  Finally making eye contact with me, he gave me the bad news. “You’re out. There’s more in the house.”

  “Dammit!” I stood and yelled over the music. “Hey, does anyone need anything from inside?”

  “Oh,” Kimmie waved her arm. “Another bag of chips, please. Trav ate them all.”

  “The fuck!” Trav exclaimed indignantly, somehow raising his voice an entire octave.

  “I’ll grab two to keep Trav happy. Be right back. No one take my seat,” I warned with a savage finger point across the crew.

  Jogging across the lawn and leaving the music and laughter behind me—as well as Trav yelling, “Yeah, get some!”—I took the deck steps with a single bound. Entering the familiar kitchen without slowing my pace, I made a beeline for the fridge and yanked it open. This place felt like home and I treated it as such. Kimmie had moved back in with her parents a couple of months ago before they left on a year-long overseas holiday. The Davis residence was designed for entertaining, and the crew planned to make the most of her parent’s absence.

  I shoved various condiments out of the way until I found the ginger beer stash. Quietly celebrating to myself, I moved a few to the bench while dancing to the beat of the outside music.

  I had my head in the fridge again when an unfamiliar growl of a motorbike caught my attention. It pulled up to the house then cut out, and it wasn’t long before a new voice rumbled in conversation with Mace close to the back door.

  Mickey invaded my mind at that precise moment.

  With the fear of missing out getting the better of me, I tightly clasped three bottles in each hand then ran through the kitchen and across the deck. In my haste, I utterly failed to see where the last step ended and the lawn began.