Ride With Me

Chapter Six

Knox flipped the burger, the meat sizzling with a satisfying pop. "Oh, by the way," he said, catching Diesel's eye.

Diesel looked over, beer in hand. "Yeah?"

Knox glanced toward Piper, his expression unreadable. "I just raced her."

The spatula tapped rhythmically against the edge of the grill. For a heartbeat, the conversation around the fire died. The only sound was the crackle of the wood and the distant hum of an engine. Felix slowly lowered his beer, his eyes narrowing in shock.

"You did what?"

Knox didn't seem particularly bothered by the stunned silence. "I raced Jessica Rabbit. A few minutes ago."

Chloe’s mouth dropped open, and Maya stared at Piper as if she were a ghost. Ben looked between them, his eyes darting back and forth. Diesel’s heavy eyebrows climbed toward his hairline.

"You raced her?" Diesel repeated, his tone thick with disbelief.

Knox nodded, focused entirely on the grill. "About five minutes ago."

The entire group stared at them, the air suddenly heavy with unasked questions.

"And?" Felix leaned forward, his curiosity piqued. "Who won?"

Chloe immediately pivoted to Piper, her eyes wide. "So? Come on. Don't leave us hanging. Who won?"

Piper said nothing. She suddenly found the dance of the flames within the pit to be the most fascinating thing in the world. She kept her gaze fixed on the glowing embers, feeling Knox’s eyes on her. There was something suspicious in his expression—not anger, and certainly not the amusement he had shown earlier. It was something deeper. He knew. He had looked at her performance, seen the mechanics of her ride, and understood exactly what she had done in the first heat.

He knew she had let him win. And Piper had no idea if he was going to expose her or simply wait to see if she would break and admit it. She wasn't about to volunteer a thing. She remained silent, an enigma wrapped in leather.

"Well?" Chloe pressed, her voice demanding.

Knox’s mouth twitched into a reluctant line. "I lost."

The fire seemed to crackle louder in the sudden vacuum of sound that followed.

"What?" Maya nearly shouted the word.

Knox laughed, a dry, self-deprecating sound. "I lost. She took me."

Diesel stared at him, dumbfounded. "To Jessica Rabbit?"

"Apparently," Knox replied, though his eyes remained fixed on Piper, daring her to speak.

Felix started laughing, a deep, belly-shaking roar. "Oh, this is f*****g fantastic! The king has been dethroned by the Rabbit!"

Chloe looked at Piper with something approaching religious awe. "You beat Knox? Do you have any idea how many people have tried that and ended up in the ditch?"

Piper finally glanced up, meeting the group’s gaze with a nonchalance she didn't fully feel. "By a few inches."

Maya’s hands flew to her mouth in delight. "We missed it! How did we miss it?"

"I would have paid a fortune to see the look on his face," Felix added, slapping his knee.

Knox flipped Piper’s burger onto a paper plate and handed it to her, his gaze lingering. "You can watch the footage. I have it."

Maya leaned in. "There is footage?"

"Several angles. I had the cameras set up for tonight."

Her eyes lit up. "You're sending it to me. Immediately."

Knox nodded, his attention still on Piper. "Yeah. Tonight."

Chloe pointed at him. "All of it. Don't you dare edit anything out."

"I said yes," Knox growled, his eyes never leaving Piper. He set his own plate down, leaning back against the metal of the truck with a casual, predatory grace. Then, in a voice that was too quiet to be casual, he added, "Although it’s worth noting that she didn't exactly beat me the first time."

The laughter around the fire died instantly.

Piper’s stomach dropped. She felt the heat of the fire, but it was nothing compared to the sudden, icy spike of adrenaline in her veins. She slowly turned to face him.

"First time?" Felix repeated, his voice dropping to a low, wary register.

Knox nodded, his eyes locked on Piper’s. "She took a dive."

The silence that followed was heavy, suffocating. Every face at the camp turned toward Piper. Chloe’s eyes widened; Maya’s mouth fell open in shock. Diesel’s face became a mask of pure intrigue as he looked between the two of them. Even Felix had stopped smiling.

Piper felt a flush of heat creep up beneath her collar, her own secret now laid bare. She said nothing. What could she possibly say? Knox had caught her. Of course he had. Nothing got past him—not the slight tilt of her bike, not the hesitation in her throttle, not the calculated loss.

Absolutely nothing.

She had thought she was careful. She had launched normally. She had kept the race agonizingly close, a beautiful, high-stakes performance that anyone else would have bought as a genuine victory. But Knox Connor, with his feline focus and his intimate knowledge of the sport, had seen through her facade.

Piper looked at him across the fire. His expression wasn't angry. If anything, there was something almost amused, a dark challenge reflected in his eyes. But there was no mistaking the message: I saw you. I know who you are.

Piper swallowed hard. She had spent years meticulously curating her existence, ensuring no one saw the woman beneath the helmet. No one knew what she was thinking, where she lived, or why she raced. She had built herself into a cipher. And yet, in the span of a single race, Knox had stripped away the layers.

Chloe finally found her voice, her tone sharp with disbelief. "You let him win? On purpose?"

Piper looked toward her, her composure slowly returning. She glanced back at Knox. He raised one dark, mocking eyebrow, inviting her to lie.

Piper sighed, the weight of the secret finally lifting. "Yes."

Maya stared at her. "Why? Why would you ever do that?"

Piper gave her a small, embarrassed smile. "Because I didn't want to beat him. He’s the one who organizes these. He could easily throw me out of the races if I humiliated him too badly."

Diesel snorted, a sharp, barking sound. "That was your first mistake, Rabbit. Knox is no sore loser. He’s a fanatic. He doesn't care about the ego hit; he cares about the ride."

Felix laughed again. "I figured that out the hard way. He doesn't hold grudges; he holds standards."

Chloe looked at Knox. "And you knew? You knew the whole time?"

"I knew the second she crossed the finish line," Knox said, his voice calm and melodic.

Piper’s brows pulled together in confusion. "The second?"

Knox nodded. "You stopped fighting the throttle. You just... let it go. You don't do that. Not when you're racing. You'd rather tear the damn engine apart than let off when the win is on the line."

Her lips parted. Had he watched her that closely? He had noticed that specific, minute detail?

Knox continued, his gaze unwavering. "So you decided you were satisfied with second place? I knew it wasn't a mechanical failure. It was a choice."

Piper shook her head, a soft, involuntary smile touching her lips. "You really do notice everything."

Knox’s mouth curved into a shadow of a smile. "Pretty much."

Piper stared at him for another second, the realization hitting her harder than the race itself. Nothing got past Knox. She knew that now. And somehow, that realization wasn't as terrifying as it should have been. It was unsettling, yes, but it was also strangely, intensely intriguing.

Chloe shook her head, still reeling. "I can't believe you dived. You're crazy."

Maya laughed, her previous shock replaced by excitement. "Honestly, I can't believe Knox didn't pull you off your bike and demand a rematch right then and there."

"He almost did. He wasn't giving me much choice," Piper admitted, leaning against a wooden post. "He was livid, and he threatened to throw me out permanently. I didn't have much room to maneuver."

Felix burst out laughing again. "Jesus Christ. This is the best night in years."

Diesel shook his head, looking at them both. "Rabbit, you might be the first person I've ever seen try to lose to Knox and somehow piss him off more than if you'd actually beaten him. He hates a pity win more than anything."

Piper laughed, the sound genuine and unforced. "Apparently."

Knox turned back toward the grill, his movements slowing. "She beat me the second time. Fair and square."

Chloe’s eyes widened, her interest piqued even further. "Wait. She beat you twice? She won both heats?"

Knox looked over his shoulder, his expression mock-serious. "Once."

Piper smiled, a glint of defiance in her eyes. "Twice."

He gave her a look, a silent war being fought between them. "Once."

"Twice," she insisted, taking a bite of her burger.

Maya started laughing, clapping her hands. "Oh, I like her. She’s definitely sticking around."

Chloe nodded immediately. "So do I. She’s the first person to keep up with him."

Piper stood near the fire, listening to them talk, and something strange settled over her. She didn't know these people—not really. She had seen some of them around the gatherings, recognized their faces, knew who rode and who didn't. But she never stopped long enough to learn their names. She never sat around a fire. She never shared a meal. She never stayed after a race to talk about the night, the mechanics, or the thrill.

She had never hung out.

It felt wrong—a direct violation of the oldest, strictest rules she had ever given herself. Race. Collect the money. Leave. No lingering. No friendships. No attachments.

Yet here she was. Sitting beside a roaring campfire, eating a hamburger Knox Connor had cooked for her while his friends argued over which camera angle would give them the best view of his glorious defeat.

And strangely enough... it felt nice.

More than nice. It felt easy, as if she had been running a race that hadn't ended at the finish line, but had somehow led her here.

Piper glanced across the fire. Knox was talking to Diesel, his hands gesturing as he explained a technical point about the engine, but his attention wasn't entirely on his friend. His dark, feline eyes found hers again. They lingered, heavy and intense, just long enough for Piper to feel the air shift in her lungs.

She looked away, heart thumping, staring into the heart of the flames. A moment later, she glanced back. He was still watching her, a question in his eyes that had nothing to do with motorcycles and everything to do with her.

Piper felt a small, ridiculous flutter in her stomach, an electric jolt that she tried to ignore. She took another bite of her burger, her focus failing to center on anything but the man standing by the fire. And for the first time in years, as the night deepened around them, Piper realized she was in no hurry to leave at all.