Driver: 10 Seconds or Less (a bad boy romance) (North Side Kings Book 1) Read online

  North Side Kings Book 1

  Driver

  10 Seconds or less

  By:

  Scarlett Winters

  Copyright 2020 Scarlett Winters

  All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any way or by any means. Including but not limited to recording, photocopying, any electronic methods, without the prior written consent of the publisher. This book is strictly a work of fiction, any references to persons, places or things are all completely fictional.

  Warning: This book is for adult audiences.

  Table of Contents

  Chapter 1 - Run Away

  Chapter 2 – Welcome to LA

  Chapter 3 – A New Beginning

  Chapter 4 – The first shift

  Chapter 5- The drive

  Chapter 6 – The race

  Chapter 7 – Late Night Drive

  Chapter 8 – The Night Club

  Chapter 9 – Rivals

  Chapter 10 – Danger

  Chapter 11 – A Fresh Start

  More books coming soon in the series.

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  About the Author

  Chapter 1 - Run Away

  “Ticket for one to Los Angeles please,” said Octavia to the clerk behind the counter.

  She looked over her shoulder as she waited for the clerk to enter the information into the computer. Octavia had been looking over her shoulder far too much lately. She had broken it off with her boyfriend almost a year ago and he was not about to let her go so easily.

  He had shown up to her apartment uninvited, stopped by her work with flowers, none stop phone calls and text messages. It was a barrage of none stop harassment. If she changed her number, he found out her new number. He had made it crystal clear that she would never be rid of him. He was going to follow her every move every day for the rest of her life.

  “That will be 249 dollars please!” said the clerk.

  Octavia gave the clerk her credit card and looked over her shoulder again. It was almost midnight and the last bus to Los Angeles left in 15 minutes.

  She had worn a hoodie and dark sunglasses. Her bedtime was usually 9 PM so she figured sneaking out the back door of her apartment complex and taking a cab to the bus depot should be inconspicuous enough. If he was watching he would not see her escape.

  She took the ticket from the clerk and walked outside to the bus. She got on the bus and walked to the very back so she could watch everyone. The last month of her life had been nothing short of hell. He had blown up her phone with over a thousand messages in one day.

  Even when she obtained a new phone number within 24 hours he had found it and was blowing up her phone again. Because of the non-stop calling. She went to the police, but he hadn’t actually broken the law. He never texted anything violent or hateful, just how much he loved her and misses her. It was creepy.

  She couldn’t sleep properly as she was always wondering if he would somehow get into her apartment. She had the locks changed when he refused to give the keys to her apartment back.

  She felt the bus move as it pulled away from the depot slowly. It had moved all but ten feet before it came to an abrupt stop. Her heart skipped a beat as the front door opened. An elderly man walked onto the bus and she realized she was holding her breath in anticipation of who the next passenger would be.

  Octavia let out a big sigh. She was a nervous wreck. She pulled out her phone and looked at it. 347 unread messages, 126 unread emails, and 54 missed calls. She knew they were all from him. She was closing the book on her life in Virginia and going as far away as she could to start a brand new chapter. She didn’t want to look back. In fact, she would do anything to erase the last two years of her life. Forget her over-controlling and narcissistic boyfriend and all the emotional pain he had inflicted on her.

  The bus pulled away as she stared blankly out the window. The lights of the city fading as the bus found the highway. Darkness, emptiness filled her window. She closed her eyes and prepared for a long three-day journey on the bus.

  Chapter 2 – Welcome to LA

  It was 9 PM when Octavia walked off the bus and grabbed her suitcase. She walked to the street curb where she was going to try and hail a cab when a car raced passed her. For a split second she locked eyes with the driver.

  “Holy smokes!” she said, a bit shaken.

  A couple of seconds later another car raced by, followed by two more cars. They raced by her so fast that all she could recognize of the cars were their colors. And even that she could not be sure of.

  She saw a cab approaching as she waved her arm in the air to grab its attention. The cab pulled over and she got in.

  “Where to ma’am?” asked the driver.

  “The closest motel, please!” as she replied while looking out the window.

  The driver started the meter and pulled away. There was a Travelodge not far from the bus depot. The driver pulled into the front driveway.

  “That will be 12.50.” He said.

  Octavia reached into her purse and pulled out 15 dollars.

  “Thank you! Keep the change!” she said as she grabbed her suitcase and stepped out of the cab.

  She stood in the driveway and looked at the front doors for a moment. She then looked over her shoulders and surveyed her surroundings before walking into the Motel.

  “I’d like a single room, please,” she said to the front counter clerk.

  “Certainly!” was the reply.

  Octavia handed over her driver’s license and credit card and waited while the clerk entered the details into the computer.

  “Will you be staying in the room alone?” She asked.

  Her mind flashed to her ex. Her heart skipped a beat and causing her to look over her shoulder one more time.

  “Y-Yes,” she stuttered.

  “Very well. That will be 89 dollars for the night. We will put a 200 dollar hold on your credit card until you check out. This is a non-smoking room and no pet room.” Explained the clerk.

  She handed a one-page form to Octavia.

  “Please sign here, and if you are driving, please enter the plate number below.” She added, pointing to the paper.

  “I don’t have a car,” Octavia said as she signed the form.

  “Excellent. Here is your card for room 117. If you walk down that hall there it will be about halfway down on your right-hand side.” She said pointing to the hall on Octavia’s left.

  “Thank you!” said Octavia as she took the key.

  She picked up her suitcase and walked down the hall. She slid the card into the door and the light on the door turned green, she quickly went inside and dropped her suitcase. Octavia flopped down onto the bed.

  She lay there for a few minutes trying to relax, but she knew true relaxation would not come for a very long time.

  Octavia got up, placed the inside door chain on the door and walked into the bathroom. She had not had a shower in three days and desperately needed one.

  She hopped into the shower and turned on the water. She stood under the water and let it to beat down on her exhausted body. Her eyes closed as she stood motionless, allowing the water to be her masseuse. After about 10 minutes she washed her body, hair, rinsed off and got out of the shower.

  She grabbed her phone and checked it. Unread messages were well over 1000, hundreds of missed calls and over 300 unread emails. She put her phone on the side of her bed and closed her eyes.

&
nbsp; Chapter 3 – A New Beginning

  Octavia woke up feeling refreshed. She got dressed and walked to the continental breakfast. She grabbed a bagel and a coffee.

  “What’s the easiest way to get downtown from here?” She asked the front desk clerk.

  “Cab or bus,” replied the clerk. “If you are taking the bus, there is a bus stop up the road about 100 feet. Anyone of those buses will take you to downtown.” He added as he pointed the direction out.

  “Thank you!” she said as she took a bite of her bagel and exited the hotel.

  Octavia walked to the bus stop and waited. She finished her bagel and had a sip of her coffee. The bus arrived and she hopped on. She surveyed the bus, looking for him. She knew he couldn’t be on the bus, but she looked at every single person on the bus to be sure.

  It was a 20-minute ride to downtown. She got off when she saw a shopping mall out the window. She entered the mall and found a Sprint store.

  “Can I help you, ma’am?” asked the clerk.

  “Yes, please. I need a new phone number.” she explained.

  “I can help you with that. There will be a $40 charge to change your number.” He explained.

  “That’s fine!” she said.

  She had changed her number a few times over the last year and she was more than familiar with the charge.

  She gave the clerk her phone number and he typed on his computer for several minutes.

  “Oh, I see this has a Virginia area code? Do you want a new Virginia number or a Los Angeles area code?” he asked.

  “Los Angeles, please!” she replied, thinking it will make it much harder for him to find her.

  He continued typing into his computer while Octavia looked around the store and over her shoulders.

  “All set, and how will you be paying?” he asked.

  “Visa please!” she replied.

  She paid her bill and the clerk handed her a full page receipt.

  “Here is your bill, and here is your new phone number.” He said as he circled the new number on the receipt.

  “Thank you!” she said.

  Octavia exited the store and went to the closest bench and sat down. She pulled out her phone and deleted all the unread messages, emails and cleared her call history. She let out a sigh of relief. She thought for a moment that the harassment, the stalking, the nightmare was over.

  Now all she needed was a job. She had a couple grand saved up and that was her lifeline to get out to LA and find a job. She figured that she could last maybe 2 months if she was extremely frugal. She bought herself today’s paper and looked for apartments for rent. The cheapest she could find was 800 bucks a month. She called and booked an appointment later that day to see it.

  She figured it would be a dive, but she didn’t care. It was a month to month place to stay and she knew it was short-lived until she could secure a job and get back on her feet.

  She hopped on a bus and headed towards the apartment that she was going to see. She walked around looking for any businesses that might be hiring.

  She found a café just a few blocks from the apartment with a sign in the window for “help wanted.”

  She walked in and had a seat at the counter and waited. The café was almost empty except for one man sitting in a booth reading a paper.

  A large overweight man approached her.

  “What will it be a miss?” he asked in his loud husky voice.

  “I saw your sign in the window for help wanted. I would like to apply for the job!” she said nervously.

  “Do you have any experience?” he said.

  “Not as a waitress.” She answered. “But I’m a fast learner, a hard worker, and to be honest, I am desperate! I just moved here from LA to escape my psycho boyfriend and I am begging. Please, I need this!” she said spilling far too much information to the large man.

  He looked at her and saw the desperation in her face. He could see she was fighting back tears. He had a hard time keeping staff here as it was not the best part of town, and the female staff could not handle much of his hands-on customers. He thought her desperation might actually keep her here longer than a week, like most of his other hires.

  “What’s your name?” he asked slowly.

  “Octavia.” She said softly.

  “I’m Joe! I own this dump! You can start tomorrow at 6 PM until midnight. I will warn you now that the customers are rough and rude, so you will need a thick skin to survive just one day!” he warned as he extended his hand to shake hers.

  She shook his hand. Her hand got lost in his large hand.

  “Thank you! Trust me, after what I have been through, you have no worries! I can handle it! Thank you! You won’t be disappointed. I promise! Oh my God! Thanks! You are a lifesaver.” She said realizing just then that she had thanked him numerous times and was still shaking his hand.

  She pulled her hand back and stood up.

  “I’ll be here early!” she said as she got off the counter stool.

  She walked outside and once a few feet away from the entrance jumped up into the air and screamed “YES!”

  For the first time in a very long time, she felt alive. She felt renewed. Things were lining up perfectly. She looked at the time. She had just enough time to get to the apartment and hopefully line that up too.

  She buzzed the caretaker suite on the entrance board.

  “Ya!” came through the speaker.

  “It’s Octavia, I’m here to look at the apartment.” She said.

  “Come to apartment 101,” he said as the front door buzzed.

  Octavia walked into the apartment building. It was not better homes and gardens ready. More like worst homes and weeds if she was, to be honest. It was dirty, dimly lit and not very welcoming.

  She made her way to apartment 101. She knocked on the door and a few seconds later it opened. A man in his 50’s opened the door, wearing a white stained tank top and jeans that look like they had never seen a washing machine. The man looked at her, and then had an obvious look at her tits as he smiled.

  “Come with me,” he said as he closed and locked his door to his apartment.

  He walked up the stairs to the second floor and opened the apartment to suite 201.

  “You’ll be directly on top of me!” He said as he smiled at her and looked her body up and down one more time.

  His sexual innuendo was more than clear. She was very uncomfortable around him. He was creepy, but she hoped harmless.

  They walked into the apartment and she looked around. The blinds were bent, twisted and broken. The floor was dirty and looked like it had not been mopped in a very long time. The bedroom light was broken, she had to rely on the window lighting to see the cracks in the drywall, the dirt on the wall, the closet with the missing door and the broken window.

  The bathroom was disgusting. The toilet had a filthy ring in it, the sink and tub were black and the linoleum on the floor was chewed up and torn.

  She thought to herself, I can clean most of what’s wrong with this apartment. Nothing a little elbow grease couldn’t fix. She entered the kitchen and opened the cupboard. More dirt.

  “This is fine!” she said. “It’s nice” she added trying to be polite for some unknown reason. “I’ll take it!” she said.

  “Great!” he said as he admired her ass and looked back at her with a creepy smile.

  They went back to his apartment and he pulled out a one-page form. His apartment was just as dirty as the one upstairs. He clearly was not a neat freak. She carefully sat at his kitchen table and filled out the form as fast as she could.

  “Is it possible to get the key today?” she asked. “I am currently staying in a Motel and would like to get out of there as soon as possible.” She added.

  “Sure! Just attach a check for 800 bucks and you can have the key right now!” he said as he talked to her breasts.

  “I don’t have checks. I just moved here, starting over. Can I give you cash?” she asked.

  “That�
��s fine!” he said.

  She pulled out $800 and gave it to him.

  “May I have a receipt please?” she asked.

  “Right!” he said. “A receipt!” he said as he looked around aimlessly in his apartment.

  He stood up and went to his kitchen drawer and moved some junk around. He opened another drawer and searched there. He walked to the living room and moved some stacks of papers around.

  “AHA! Found it!” he said as if he had just found a winning lottery ticket.

  He wrote out a receipt and handed it to her with the key.

  “Welcome to the Chateau Grand!” he said taking one final look at her sexy figure.

  Octavia left his apartment and walked outside. Her eyes taking a minute to adjust to the sunlight, as she left the dingy-dark apartment block.

  She hopped on the bus and went back to the Motel. She grabbed her things, checked out and went back to the apartment. She walked across the street to the drug store and bought some basic cleaning supplies and began her very large task, making her new apartment a little less disgusting.

  Chapter 4 – The first shift

  Octavia walked into the café at 5:45 PM. There were a couple of people in the booths, but again a mostly empty café.

  “Hi Joe!” she said energetically.

  Joe looked at her, viewing her attire. Octavia had a turquoise V-neck tee shirt, mid-thigh black skirt, and make-up and hair done just right.

  “I’m not trying to be rude, however, you’re seriously overdressed for this gig!” he said. “You look great, but this is a greasy spoon that serves truckers, gangsters and pricks!” he added.

  “Sorry, I am just trying to impress. Like I said I need this job!” she replied.

  “Well, try and stand back from the customers. They may be touchy-feely seeing you!” he said. “And I’m not joking!” he added coldly. “Come with me!” He said.

  She followed him behind the counter and he reached for an apron.