Hell on Wheels (Faetal Attraction #1)

Sweet But Psycho

Watching the teams as they race around the track, I keep my eyes glued to number sixty-nine. Yeah, Rogue demanded a change of number the minute she took over as Captain and lead jammer. It makes her snicker every time she dons the sparkling tank and shorts. Her name, Rainbow Smite, is written in bold letters on the back, making it easy to see her.

The Babe City Bombers wear bright pink with their names and numbers in sequins, tiny ass shorts, wide fishnets, and custom skate covers that match their Derby names. Rogue’s are decorated in pastel rainbows that match her hair and have fairy wings on the back. My little stepsister is dolled up like a pinup girl and the rest of the team followed her lead when she set the standard for their appearance at matches.

That bitch Mina always hated that Rogue sparkled more than her without trying.

A loud cheer echoes behind me as Anita sends one of the Mollies flying. The human girl glared at her, and I frown as she plays with her skates before she stands. Humans sometimes play dirtier than supes, and these chicks look like they have seen some serious shit. I wouldn’t be surprised if they have knives tucked into their fucking boots.

That’d be a really bad plan to pull on the Bombers.

Half the team had their own knives hidden inside their hands and the others could ruin their lives with a few words or notes. They won’t use their gifts unless they have no options, but concealed weapons don’t leave them many choices. I pass the message to Rogue via our mental link and she gives me a sneaky thumbs up as she skates by.

“How’d you see the blade, man?” Archie looks at me curiously. “That blonde chick has fingers like a pickpocket.”

My brow furrows and I turn, taking my eyes off the boards for a moment. “She has a tell. How did you know I saw it?”

Angelo elbows him in the stomach and my best friend yelps. “Yeah, Archie, how did you know?”

“Uh… I saw Rogue give you the thumbs-up, and these girls look like they’ve escaped from a prison.”

He gestures at the athletes skating by in black tanks with a weird wolf insignia, black booty shorts, and custom knee-high combat boot skates. They have illegal rivets edging their uniforms and, if I were to guess, weapons strapped in more than their boots. Their names are weird, too—all based on an animal with another picture underneath.

“Mmm. They are pretty rough. But they don’t seem as crazy as the Sickos,” Damon says as he studies the other seven girls on the bench. “But then, none of these girls can shift or use magic.”

“Thank fuck for that. I prefer the devils we know with the Princess,” Angelo mutters.

This motherfucker has been weird for days, and that nickname came out of nowhere.

“I think the Bombers have them beat. Mina’s replacement is following Rogue’s lead more closely, and that makes all of their formations right.” Javi passes me a tumbler full of one of his special creations and I grin.

He’s not wrong—the second stringer calls herself Interstella, and her teamwork is on point. The blond is a unicorn shifter and though she’s not as aggressive as the others; she makes an amazing auxiliary player for the others. Rogue should make this substitution permanent; she needs another person watching her back.

“They’re going to win because there’s no player showboating for the cameras instead of actually contributing. If she hadn’t taken part in the beat down, I would have sent that slut a gift basket for yeeting herself.”

“Rebel, if Wheels heard you say that, she’d strangle you. You know she doesn’t like sex shaming.”

Damon nods. “She’d skin your hide.”

“Since when do you fuckers police my language when she’s not around?” I frown, trying to put my finger on something that’s been bothering me for the past week and a half. “You three have been acting strange since the rave. Did you get bespelled or some shit?”

Archie chokes on his beer, and Javi thumps his back until he’s breathing. “Bespelled? No.”

“Then what? Have you all gotten pussy-witched? I don’t know where you’d find the time given our training schedules, but hell, I haven’t really been paying attention,” I admit.

The twins smirk. “Flying a helo is hard .”

No shit, assholes.

“It’s not surprising you two are having trouble. I mean, every one of you except me has wings. They’re all different and worldly differently when you take off. But doing with a machine versus your body has to be fucking strange.” The lion shifter shrugs and as his words hit me, I realize why I haven’t been able to master the damn simulator well enough to try the real thing.

“Archer Levi Glaser, you’re a genius !” He blinks and I beam excitedly. “I’m trying to fly like I’m trying to fly. I could kiss you!”

His eyes widen. “Uh, no thanks, bro. You’re hot and all, but I’m just not that into you.”

This time Damon chokes on his drink and the rest of us laugh. I’ve missed having time with them that isn’t filled with strategic race planning or hushed discussion about our research about the assassins. Every time Rogue left to come to practice for this match, we pulled out all the shit we’ve found so far and divided up the next tasks in our covert investigations.

“We didn’t know your door could swing in that direction, buddy.” Angelo holds his fist out for my best friend to bump and Archie blushes as he knocks knuckles with him.

“Maybe someone pointed some things out. I dunno.”

Javi arches a brow as he looks at me. The Gemini have always been an entity of their own, but they’ve been weirdly friendly with our laid-back shifter. It bears further consideration, but before I can ask, a screech echoes in the arena. One of the blockers on the Mollies has Drusilla by her long braid, using an illegal hold to keep her from protecting our girl’s flank.

Now a purple-haired chick is heading for my stepsister with murder in her eyes. It must be their jammer, but the look on her face looks more intense than regular competitive rage. I watch my sister pick up speed, heading for the pivot line like a Fae possessed. She’s not using any enhancements, just her adrenaline, and she might make it.

A flash of silver catches my eye, but before I can say anything to my sister, she whirls around. Skating backwards towards her goal, she keeps her eyes on the would-be contract killer. The girl has no idea how to take that—humans are so ridiculously cowardly that the upfront confrontations of the supe world shock the shit out of them.

“She’s got a weapon, ref!” Archie’s shout surprises me.

I don’t think he’s doubting my showboating sister; he seems more concerned about getting the knife-wielding bitch off the track. “Rogue is healed, dude. She can handle herself on the track without us.”

He snorts. “Of course she can. I want the entire team tossed before another one of them mysteriously ‘finds’ their blade.”

“Uh, okay.” I toss back another gulp of Javi’s magic mix and scan the crowd on the other side of the arena. Mina’s not there, but there are a couple of familiar faces—second stringers from the Sickos. “SC sent their backups to watch. That one girl is pretending to be bored, but she’s recording with her phone.”

“On it,” the Geminis grunt.

A loud yelp precedes the dark-haired lackey jumping up from the bleachers. Her fit unseats the small yappy dog in her lap and when I squint closely, I can spot the tiny flicker of hellfire on her hands.

Ouch. They mean business.

“You aren’t usually so… obvious.” I raise my brow and jerk my head at the girl as she rushes out the doors with the terrier on her heels.

“Dad always says if your enemies can disrespect you to your face, your power isn’t what you think it is. Mina and her bumbling fools have to know Rogue is living with us.” Angelo looks over at the derby girls with a stony glare. “Which makes every act of defiance an affront to the Gemini organization.”

Damon shrugs. “Luca would lose the plot if we didn’t teach them a lesson.”

“You guys never cared about that shit before,” Javi observes. “In fact, I remember you suggesting that it was someone else’s problem until you take the helm.”

Good point.

Angelo stands as the match ends, noting the Bombers squeaked out a victory without the Mollies forfeiting. “Everyone grows up, Reb. We protect what’s ours.”

“Truth, dude,” Archie says as he rolls to his feet. “Let’s go get Rogue before her girls talk her into some dangerous AF celebration that we’ll have to listen to you two bicker over.”

I groan. “Fuck, I didn’t consider that. If they’re headed to the bar, she’ll insist we take her.”

***

Taking the Jameson from Rogue’s ex-mattress bunny, I survey the crowd. I’m not happy we’re here and I hate that she convinced the others she’d be safe if we all came along. I can see her multi-colored hair shining under the lights where she’s dancing with Anita, Dru, Betsy, and the new girl. The twins are perched on opposite balconies, Javi is camped out at a side table, and Archie is mingling. That should calm my nerves, but it doesn’t.

She should have been safe the last time we were here.

The crowd is full of regulars and fans of the Bombers. When they play supe teams, it’s a good mix, but humans aren’t invited to the barbecue. No one told the Mollies or their cheering section where the afterparty was being held. It’s one thing to compete against them in the league and quite another to have to keep our true selves hidden while we party.

At least I’m not worried about the purple-haired bitch with the knife showing up.

Rogue is still wearing her skates, as are the rest of them. That’s another tradition she brought to the table when she took over. They celebrate as a team and they don’t change. Winnie had to replace the floors in a remodel to accommodate the derby teams or she would have lost all of their post-match business. The five girls are spinning and taking shots as they show off fancy moves they can’t do during matches, as the crowd cheers.

“You need to quit drinking me out of Irish and go have fun, Rebel. Your sister will be fine,” Winnie says as she gives me a top off.

I roll my eyes at the unsolicited advice. I’m never happy when random people decide to tell me how I should handle myself or Rogue. It’s been us against the world since I was adopted, and only the two of us understand our bond. “Winnie, Rogue messing around with you a few times does not give you permission to butt into our business.”

“I’m aware of how little I meant to her. No need to be a surly jackass.” She spins on her heel, heading to the other end of the bar in a huff.

Watching her interact with the other revelers, I consider how salty her statement was. Word is my sister is even more blunt with her conquests than any of us guys, so I know she didn’t give the bartender a false impression about their relationship. Why is Winnie so Bitter Betty about it? Could she be angry enough to have helped the Sickos with their attack?

If so, she’s a dead nymph walking.

I push off the bar, thinking about the night of the fight as I walk to a new vantage point. Rogue and I were drinking different booze; nothing new about that. But if the bartender slipped something into her drinks, it might have helped slow her down enough for that mob to get her out the back door. And Mina was swapping spit with a shadowy chick who made sure she couldn’t be identified.

A frown settles on my face as I look around the bar. The upgrades and renovation last year had to cost a pretty penny. I thought Winnie had wealthy parents, but I’m not sure I know her last name. What if she borrowed the money to keep this place popular? Maybe from a less than legal source like one of the Stuhlls’ loan sharks…

Those aquatic shifters mean business and if she owed them, Winnie wouldn’t have a choice.

Places have burned down for much less than saying ‘no’ to Vinnie the Tooth.

“Hey, Reb. Sariah and her girlfriend are here. They want to talk to you about the race,” Javi startles me as he approaches quietly.

“Why now?” I grumble as I tear my eyes away from the sight of my step sibling and her friends using the poles in the middle of the floor for something decidedly not roller skating tricks.

Morrigan, help me, she’s going to get groped and I…

“I dunno, man. She said to send you over to the VIP section. I can take your place creeping on Dragonfly. Don’t worry.”

“I’m not… Fuck, nevermind. You watch her and I’ll go see what the hell is going on.” I stalk off as he heads into the crowd to take a spot in the inner circle so he can see her better.

This better be good.