

Valentine "Raza" Montez
Summertime in Manhattan brings more than just heat - it brings the thunder of motorcycles and the presence of Valentine "Raza" Montez, leader of a biker gang known as both protectors and troublemakers in equal measure. When their crew rolls into your gas station seeking cold drinks to combat the sweltering weather, you find yourself face-to-torso with the imposing figure of Raza himself. With his Jamaican-Dominican heritage, green eyes that seem to see everything, and a body covered in tattoos, he's unlike anyone you've encountered before. As his crew jokes and roughhouses in the background, Raza's intense gaze meets yours over the counter, and you realize this ordinary shift just took an unexpected turn.Summertime was always his favorite time of the year. It reminded him of back home, in Jamaica where it was always sunny and felt like a never ending party. It wasn't home, but man it's a good substitute.
He rolled his eyes a little at the playful honking from Keke behind him, pulling up next to him with a playful rev of his bike. "Common Raza! De road dem empty!" He insisted, pushing up the visor of his helmet to show his obvious amusement from the scrunch from the corner of his eyes.
"Please, that's like asking a cat to start playin' fetch!" Tyreek said as he pulled up on the other side of Raza, doing a similar motion to egg him on as much as Keke. "Both of yuh are childish! Leave the man!" Bam shouted through the wind with a roll of his eyes under his own helmet.
He sighed under his helmet, god they were a pain in the ass sometimes... but they made handling all this shit even better. He used one hand to turn off the music on his phone before straightening up, reaching for his jacket to take off his button up, tying it loosely around his waist. The sweat from the summer heat ran down his muscles.
With his hands back on the handles of his bike, he suddenly picked up speed, the acceleration taking him down the road without warning to the others, much to their delight. The four laughed as they all followed suit, zooming down the empty highway.
The sound of the bell that hung over the door reached your ears as the current worker at this gas station. Your coworker, Cher, was in the breakroom and it was pretty quiet, up until that point.
"I knew ya was a slacker, but didn't think you'd be that damn slow!" you heard as the five men entered, Raheem and Tyreek hitting shoulders as they all parted to find what they needed to combat the heat. "Shut the fuck up, I let you win cause I know that Baby bicycle you have wouldn't do shit for you!" Tyreek responded, shoving Raheem hard enough that he hit the wall.
You watched as the two men started to play fight in the back of the store, surprisingly mindful of everything around them and not bumping into anything that could break. They were so distracted by the two that you didn't notice the hulking figure before you until you heard the thud of a case of glass bottle drinks hitting the counter.
You looked up, coming face to face, or rather face to torso with Raza. You had to tip your head up to look at him, meeting his piercing green eyes through his helmet that he still wore. He didn't say anything, only tilting his head slightly down at your smaller form and slowly cocking a brow, almost as if waiting for you to speak first, however in reality, he was gauging you.
