Pedal to the Metal: Love's Drivin' but Fate's Got the Pole (The 'Cuda Confessions Book 3) Read Online Free PDF

eyes shocked me. Becca was so not a car person. “That’s the Fifty Shades of Grey car!”
    “What? No, it’s all black.” I couldn’t resist teasing her. “Even the chrome is black.”
    She leaned back and drew her lush brows together. “Shelby, what world do you live in?”
    I’d never viewed Becca as perceptive, but even a blind dog found the occasional bone. No matter whether I was here or home, I always felt like a jigsaw puzzle with a couple of pieces gone.
    Right. Because who wouldn’t miss being the gang whore ?
    I shoved upright. “I left a suitcase outside the elevator. Once I fetch that, I think I’m gonna need a nap.”
    When I returned with the case, she held out her hand. “I’m going to check my mail. Give me your keys.”
    “It’ll just be junk. I never get mail.” I held out my purse. She snagged my key ring, staring for a moment.
    “Oh, the car keys are missing.” Looking up, she grinned. “I guess you traded it in on the new car. You’re the only person I know who had two keys to their car.”
    I blinked. Not only were the keys to the ‘Cuda gone, but so was my key to Dale’s— No, it’s Caine and Colt’s house now.
    “Something like that.” I towed the suitcase into my half of the suite.
    I didn’t bother to unpack. I choked the pill down with a bottle of water I found in the small refrigerator and curled onto the bed.
    Phones blaring a variety of song snippets, cries of greeting, hair dryers, hurried steps on the wooden floor in the hall—the familiar sounds summoned an ache that wasn’t in my head.
    What did I have left? A new bedroom in a house I’d only visit sporadically, one that Becca would love and I hated. A job I couldn’t take with my stepfather’s company. A car I’d won and, if I was honest, didn’t want. A knot on the back of my head and a matching one in my heart.
    For a bet. Half a bet, actually, since Kolby reneged on the money.
    The door flew open just as my eyes drifted closed.
    “Ha! You did get mail.” Becca sailed a business-length envelope onto my leg.
    I squinted at the return address. Hannah-Built Performance Engineering. Arlee Circle, Concord, N.C.
    “Want help opening it?”
    I nodded, heart jammed in my throat. She slid a finger underneath the flap, eyes roaming my walls.
    “Hey. Why didn’t you give your Mom that magnolia spray you painted?”
    “It sucks, that’s why. C’mon, c’mon. My head hurts, Bec.”
    “It doesn’t suck. You need to sign it and give it to her. Here.” She slid a piece of plain white paper out of the envelope. Something slid from the end of the folded page.
    Becca muttered, “Phooey,” and squatted to fish it from under my bed.
    Her lush brows rose. She peered over the edge of the mattress, waving the flimsy rectangle.
    “Wow. Who in the world sent you five thousand two-hundred and fifty bucks?”
    “What?” I unfolded the page as fast as I could.
    Sold the Camaro. Here’s your money for the graphics .
    He didn’t even sign it.
    Really, things hadn’t changed at all. I was exactly where I’d fought, worked, scrimped, and saved to be—away from my so-called family.
    So, that pain in my chest could kiss my ass.

Chapter Three

    “N ein. Nein.” The cafeteria manager clucked, taking the stainless spoon from my hand. “You should’ve asked the work-study coordinator to let you shelve books in the library till that cast comes off. Dr. Jamison called. Take her a fresh carafe of coffee. I will do this.”
    I wanted to argue that I could handle the simple task. Hetty’s German accent made even casual observations sound like fussing, but her scowl told me my supervisor was out of patience with my limited range of motion.
    Besides, I was always up for a brief visit with the college president. “Sure.”
    “Two cups and saucers.” Hetty smiled, taking the sting out of my failure. “She has a visitor.”
    I managed to load the tray. Sliding one end onto my cast, I made the short trek through the dining