Love collided, p.1
Love Collided, page 1
LOVE COLLIDED
HOLLOWS GARAGE
BOOK 4
KATE CREW
For the ones who are told they are too sensitive, too emotional, or too much:
You’re not too much; they're too weak.
Sensitivity isn’t a flaw; it’s a superpower.
CONTENT WARNINGS
Sexual content (Consensual), acts and references to domestic violence, references to car wrecks, violence, & explicit language.
LOVE COLLIDED PLAYLIST
Gorgeous - Taylor Swift
Party Crasher - Buddy
Chalk Outlines - Ren, CHINCHILLA
Wishing You Hell - Taylor Acorn
he never will - Alexander Stewart
Devil Doesn’t Bargain - Alec Benjamin
I Think He Knows - Taylor Swift
Heartbroken - Diplo, Jessie Murph, Polo G
Wish on an Eyelash, Pt. 2 - Mallard, The Chainsmokers
Minefield - Nic D
Friends - Emma Lov, Loote, JORDY
Shoot Me Dead - Cameron Whitcomb
Look What You Made Me Do - Taylor Swift
Killa - Brennan
you should see me in a crown - Billie Eilish
HONEY (ARE U COMING?) - Maneskin
Wild Ones - Jessie Murph, Jelly Roll
Different Kind of Beautiful - Alec Benjamin
Superfan - Bones
Beautiful Things - Benson Boone
Copyrighted Material
Love Collided
Copyright © 2023 by Kate Crew.
All Rights Reserved.
No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted, in any form or by any means— electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise— without prior written permission from the publisher, except for the inclusion of brief quotations in a review.
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, organizations, places, events, and incidents are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.
Cover Designer: Books and Moods at booksandmoods.com
Editor: The Author Buddy at theauthorbuddy.com
CONTENTS
1. Scout
2. Chase
3. Scout
4. Chase
5. Scout
6. Chase
7. Scout
8. Scout
9. Chase
10. Scout
11. Scout
12. Chase
13. Scout
14. Chase
15. Scout
16. Scout
17. Scout
18. Chase
19. Scout
20. Scout
21. Chase
22. Scout
23. Chase
24. Scout
25. Scout
26. Chase
27. Scout
28. Scout
29. Scout
30. Chase
31. Chase
32. Scout
33. Scout
34. Scout
35. Chase
36. Chase
37. Scout
38. Scout
39. Chase
40. Chase
Epilogue
Thank you!
ONE
SCOUT
The cold asphalt under my hands was a harsh contrast to the warm blood trickling down my face. They had come up from behind, pushing me hard into my car before I fell to the ground.
The brute who had knocked into me was talking and I tried to sit up to focus, but fell back again. I leaned back until I could feel the cool metal of my door against my head, and looked up, finally getting my bearings again.
“We need the money,” he said.
“I have like fifty dollars on me. Go ahead and take it, but ask a lady before throwing her to the ground.” I wasn’t sure what kind of mugger asked for the money, but I guess it was better than hitting me more.
He gave a harsh laugh before kicking at me again. I jumped, tucking my legs up and out of reach.
“Fifty dollars isn’t going to cover the ten thousand dollar payment we are expecting.”
My stomach dropped as I tried to piece together what he was droning on about. “Ten thousand dollars? For what? I don’t have any debts.”
“Your next of kin does and says you’re the one to help pay. So, congratulations, now you do.”
“I don’t have ten thousand dollars to just hand over! Do you think I keep a stack of money in my purse?”
“I think based on your car and the garage you work at, you have something to spare,” he said, the toothy grin making my lip curl.
“The garage?” I couldn't hide the panic in my voice. He said next of kin, which could only mean my dad, and if he was mentioning the garage, it meant my dad had told them about the crew too.
“Business seems fine. Plus, it's hard to spend money when you share the living costs with several friends.”
My dad, his debts, my friends. My stomach clenched, threatening to throw up everything I had eaten today.
They knew everything about me.
“My dad said I would pay his debts?” I asked, not quite believing the answer I already knew was coming.
“He said you’re good for the money because he’s out. And I think he was right. You have two weeks and then he’s out of time.”
“And what happens when he’s out of time?”
“We will first do our…due diligence with you and your friends to get the money. Of course, this is simply a polite reminder. After that, he’s out.”
“Out of what?”
“Money, time, life,” he drawled. “You name it, he’s out. Either way, you’ll be paying up. Two weeks,” he said, stepping back towards the black SUV parked behind him.
I stayed frozen, watching the tail lights light up bright red in the dark night. They became the only thing I could focus on as my thoughts spiraled. I watched until the fuzzy red color disappeared and there was nothing but black.
My dad sold me out. He told them everything about me so I would pay his debts.
I couldn’t move, my fingers freezing and every inch of me starting to shake in the cold night air.
As though I didn’t have enough to think about, now this? I don’t know how long I sat there before I finally got up, brushing off dirt and rocks and getting in my car.
Ten grand had to only be the start of what he needed, and there was no way I would be able to get that, unnoticed, in two weeks. Even if we had it in the garage savings, I wouldn’t be able to take that much out without endless questions from the crew. It didn’t matter what reasons I had, none of them would ever agree to letting me do this. They knew my dad and his issues, they would try to stop me even if they were in danger.
There was also no way I would be able to come up with so much money in such a short time.
I turned the car over, but let it idle, trying to warm up along with the engine. Everyday I seemed to wake up to find my life getting messier. The worst part was I couldn’t figure out how to clean any of it up.
Two Days Later
The stress of trying to come up with ten grand had turned me into a sleep-deprived snarky goblin, and at this point, I couldn’t even hide it. According to the crew, I was a little more annoyed than usual, but that was their way of politely telling me to knock off the attitude without causing a fight. Not that I didn’t agree, but it was getting more frustrating not to tell them what was going on.
On top of hurrying to get the money, my car kept acting up, making it nearly impossible to make extra cash with racing.
I needed a new car, and I needed to find a way to tell the guys that I was done with this one.
I groaned at the thought.
Almost five years ago, I had been brought down to the garage on my sixteenth birthday to find this car, a gift from the guys that I never expected. It made it special. I would never get over how lucky I got to have them in my life. Now, I was having a hard time coming to terms with telling them it wasn’t in great enough shape to keep racing, and my heart broke at the thought of retiring it. Not that they would be mad, they had all updated their cars over the years, but I wasn’t great with change. At least not with something like my car.
The biggest problem with getting a new car was now the cost. I first needed to make the money to deal with my dad, and tonight’s races could have secured it for me, but not with my car acting up.
I knew they were giving me two weeks to find money for my dads debts, but in the meantime, I couldn’t let anyone else here find out where my money would be going. Hopefully, I could borrow a car to quietly race for extra cash.
I slammed my hood closed, the roar of the crew’s engines coming my way, and making me groan again. They were on their way to pick me, and my car, up to go out racing tonight.
There would be five in their own cars tonight for racing.
They all lined up in front of the garage. Ransom and Quinn in his RX7, Fox with his Supra, Ash with her Aston Martin, Jax and Carly in the Charger, and Kye with his 350Z. The colorful lineup always made me smile, and now it was making me sad I wouldn’t be joining the line-up tonight.
The engines shut off and I could hear my phone buzzing now.
Jesse
I’ll be late. Meet you at the races?
Scout
Serious? Your shop has been closed for hours.
Jesse
Yeah, well, I have some things to catch up on. I will meet up with you later.
Scout
Fine.<
We were coming up to a year of dating, but each month we seemed to see less and less of each other. Now, he wasn’t even making an effort to show up for race night? It had become the one constant for us, but that was crumbling now, too.
One more thing that kept falling apart no matter how much I tried to piece it back together.
I had even asked him to help me practice my driving more often since Holt Racing was now giving me the chance to be on their drag racing team with Ash. Since Holt hadn’t seen me race enough, he was giving me the chance to show off what I could do in a few upcoming races, and how well I did in those would determine if my future was going to be in racing or in working at the garage.
Fox and Ash walked in, laughing about something Kye had done.
“What are you working on?” Fox asked, looking at the wrench in my hand.
“Just checking it over before tonight,” I said, forcing a smile.
“And? How’s it running?” Ash asked.
I blew out a breath, looking at the car. The neon green Supra had been my pride and joy.
“Not great,” I finally said. “At this point I’m not sure what I can do to make it run right again.”
Fox laughed, throwing an arm around me. “If you are still hinting at wanting a new engine, we can figure something out.”
“Oh, yeah? You think we, the people who own this garage, could figure out how to put a better engine into my car?”
He grinned, messing up my hair. “I know. We are so generous. Are you driving it tonight or do you want to take one of ours?”
“One of ours?” Ash scoffed, her eyebrows shooting up. “You think I’m giving up my car to race tonight?” Fox only groaned and pulled out his keys.
“No babe, I think I’m giving up mine,” he said to Ash before turning back to me. “But we’ll get your car fixed up this week so you’re ready to go next time.”
“Thanks.” I leaned over, hugging him as Ransom and Quinn walked in.
“Let’s go,” Kye yelled from his car. “If we don’t get there early I’m going to miss my first race and will already be out thousands.”
“Maybe don’t bet all your money before you even show up,” Jax yelled back with a laugh as he walked in with Carly.
Kye turned, the wicked grin on his face letting me know exactly what type of parking lot fight would break out if I didn’t stop them now. And while it was all for fun, the minute these guys started fighting, it would take forever to stop them. I was with Kye on this, I needed money and I needed to actually make it to the races for that to happen.
“Before this entire place erupts into chaos,” I said. “Let’s go please.”
For once, everyone listened, heading to their cars as I went to Fox’s new yellow Supra. He had always had a yellow Supra, but upgraded it over the years. I’m pretty sure he had demanded to buy me mine so we would match, which only made it harder to think about retiring it.
My phone buzzed again, but I ignored it. I wasn’t ready to face the fact that Jesse might not show up at all. Every part of my life was getting overwhelming, even the parts that used to make me feel calm and happy were now only bringing me anxiety.
I hated it.
And when it came to Jesse, it felt like all I did anymore was ask to spend more time together, while he spent all his time explaining how I needed to be the cool girlfriend and not complain so much. I really didn’t want to spend another night of my life playing that game with him.
Whether he showed up or not, I needed to focus on the races tonight. I needed to win enough money to put this mess with my dad behind me, and move on with my life. I had more important things to worry about.
I hit the gas, the car taking off with ease, and I moved through the gears. If there was one thing I could do to take my mind off of all my problems, it was go for a drive. And lucky for me, all I needed to do tonight was drive.
TWO
CHASE
This event sucked.
They were keeping the alcohol to a minimum, and smoking was out of the question. The things I would give to get high right now just to make it through this thing were reaching desperate levels.
Instead, I had to sit here, almost completely sober, and listen to another one of my dad’s long winded speeches. Not only that, but I had my mother next to me, criticizing my every move while setting me up on a date in the same damn breath.
I stifled a groan when my dad went on a side rant, putting down all the people he had stepped on over the years so he could get ahead.
Yet, I managed to be the problem in our family. They had planned for me to be the golden child, but their dreams were crushed the day I came home drunk from the Ivy League of high schools, and explained how I only planned to do it again. Or maybe it was the day I crashed the Porsche into the house.
Honestly, who knows.
“Chase Williams Parker, sit up, stop frowning, and at least pretend you aren’t miserable,” my mother snapped.
I listened, knowing she would repeat herself until I did. The woman could say the same thing for hours, a skill I assume she mastered raising me.
“I’m getting another drink. Do you need anything?”
“Wine,” she said, already knowing I knew her order.
The driest red wine they had. I tasted it once, and immediately had to spit it out. It was now a day my mother could never forget. The red wine and the white dress she wore to my sister’s wedding looked great together. My sister cried tears of joy, my mother screamed until her face turned as red as the wine.
“Refills on these please,” I said to the bartender, holding up the wine glass, and my glass with the big ridiculous ice ball barely melted.
Square ice cubes were beneath us now? It’s like they went out of their way to be as pretentious as possible, and somehow, this ice felt exactly like that.
I would still take any drink they would give me, but I was pretty sure my mother told them to cut me off at three because the bartender looked weary handing me the next glass.
It’s not like I was going to cause a scene, this event was just boring. Another expensive party so old male lawyers could pat themselves on the back for getting old male scammers off the hook for another year. I don’t care if you were ripping people off a hundred dollars or a hundred thousand; you’re a scammer. But when you have the hundreds of thousands of dollars you stole, you can afford a pretty good lawyer. It also means you get to be called a CEO, not a scammer.
The irony that I was here seething about this while my dad stood at the podium behind me congratulating everyone on doing this was not lost to me.
I threw back the next glass of whiskey and set it on the bar top. The bartender only shook his head, letting me know I was right. My mother had cut me off before I had even started.
I headed back to the table with her wine, resisting the urge to empty the glass before setting it down and placing a careful hand on her shoulder.
“I have to go. I have exams all next week and planned to study tonight,” I said.
“Of course. You will be at dinner on Saturday?” she asked. The lack of emotion in her voice was nothing new to me, but each time it still grated on my nerves.
“Yes, I will.” I tried not to let my face show how little I was looking forward to that.
She only nodded, it was enough of an acknowledgment that I took the opening to leave quickly.
I nodded to a few of the other lawyers’ kids on my way out, each one of them was in the same position in life. We were to go to law school, and one day, take over the business our fathers started all those years ago. A family business we had no say in, but were now expected to be loyal to.
Unlike me, some of them were happy about it.
I hit the key fob, unlocking my Porsche, while ripping off my suit jacket and the tie that was currently choking the life out of me. The 918 Spyder, sadly, had become the only thing that meant anything to me lately.
There were two options tonight.
