“Let’s go.” He shoves the piece in the front of his belt before dragging me by my bicep out of the bathroom.
“Can I wash my hands?”
“You don’t need to wash your fucking hands,” he growls in frustration. I stumble when he manhandles me back to the bed, pushing me down.
“Why are you doing this?”
“Because you’re an obstacle in my way. I need to take care of you once and for all. I should have done it a long time ago.” He pulls the gun from his waist and sits the wrong way on the chair again, facing me. “You think you’re going to beat me at Indy? Wrong!” he shouts. “You can’t beat me. I’m better than you. That’s why they hated you in Formula. That’s why they drove you out.”
“They drove me out because they couldn’t handle being threatened by a woman,” I spit out. I should keep my stupid mouth shut to avoid getting shot, but my inner rebel won’t ever shut up.
“Women shouldn’t be racing. I’m sure you fucked all the guys on your team to get a spot. Maybe I’ll have a little fun with you too before I finish you.”
“Mason…please…let me go.” I sit up. “I won’t say anything to anyone,” I beg.
“Don’t worry, little slut. You never looked at me the way you looked at my brother. You don’t make me hard, anyway.” He continues to wave the gun around.
“If you let me go, I won’t race. I’ll drop out. I swear.”
“You won’t win because I’m going to kill you. Like I killed Zach.” What?
“Y…you killed Zach?”
“You’re so fucking stupid. Of course, I killed Zach. I fucked with his car the night before the race. He always thought he was better than me. Always faster. Got all the pussy.” He lets out a sinister laugh, sending cold chills down my spine. “Yeah, that’s right, sweetheart, he was still fucking chicks on the side while he was with you.” Liar. “If you had chosen me, I would have been faithful.” He stands and paces over to the bed. I wince when he reaches out and wipes the lone tear burning down my cheek. “But he got to you first. Like he always did. I was always in his shadow. I could never do anything good enough.” His large hand moves to my throat and squeezes. This is it. This is how I die. Fight or flight, Charlotte. “And now you’re going to pay.”
Boom! The sound of the front door flying open with a loud crash resonates through the room.
“Move away from her.” Jace stands in the doorway, pointing a gun at Mason, his face filled with rage.
“Jace,” I cry out. “He has a gun.”
“I got you, baby,” Jace mutters, stepping closer.
Mason quickly points the gun at Jace. “Fuck you.” He turns back toward me and points the gun at my head. “If you shoot me, I shoot her.”
Jace freezes. “Okay, man.” He holds up his hands; his gun pointed toward the ceiling. “We’ll figure this out,” he mutters, carefully continuing to inch forward.
“Put the gun on the floor,” Mason demands.
“Let’s talk this out. Let her go, and we’ll work it out.”
“You think I’m stupid? Neither one of you is getting out of here alive.” Mason’s hands begin to shake violently as he points the gun back at Jace.
“Jace, he’s gonna shoot you.” I bolt up from the bed in one swift motion, crashing into Mason’s body with all my force, throwing him off balance. A gun goes off, but I can’t be sure whose it was. “Jace!” My voice booms when his body jerks, and he falls to his knees.
I crawl over to him when another shot rings out. Mason’s body falls to the floor alongside me with a loud thud, and his gun skitters across the floor. I glance up, seeing Sammy in the doorway with a gun in his hand. He rushes to his brother’s side, and that’s when I notice the bright red stain on Jace’s shirt, and the blood dripping down his arm as he reaches out for me.
I can’t focus on anything but the constant ringing in my ears as I slump back down on the floor. I’m light-headed, as the floor sways beneath me. The last thing I remember is Jace’s handsome face before the room grows dark.
“Charlotte.” The soothing, rumble of Jace’s voice stirs me. “Wake up, baby. Please.”
I jerk awake, panicked and confused, remembering the chaos. “Jace.” My eyes dart open but there is none. My head rests on his lap, and Jace is trembling.
“There’s my beautiful, feisty girl.” A hint of a smile appears on his lips.
“What happened?”
“It’s over. You’re safe.”
“Sir, we need to get you both to the hospital now.”
“One fucking second,” Jace snaps at a paramedic hovering over us, with an impatient look on his face. “Give me one damn second with my woman.”
“He’s just trying to help, baby.” I smile up at him.
“I don’t care,” he husks out a laugh. “I want to hold you for a minute.”
“Jace…you’re shot,” I fret, gaping up at his blood-soaked shirt.
“Just a scratch.” He wraps me tighter in his arms like a baby. “I’m fine.”
“You saved me.” I can’t hold back the tears any longer.
“Charlotte.” My name is a whisper from his lips. “I was so scared today. Your life was in danger, and all I could think was, I’m never going to be able to tell you how much I love you again.” He stares down at me with tender, loving eyes. His fingertips caressing my face like he’s still making sure I’m here. “I want to be with you forever. I want you by my side, raising Kiely. I want to be with you. I want to deal with all the obstacles life throws in front of us together. Not use them as a reason to be apart. I want to be by your side when you race for the finish line. I don’t care if it’s Indy or Formula or clown car racing. I’ll follow you around the world if I have to. Christ, I love you so much.”
“I love you, Jace. Thank you for saving me. I was never big on clown car racing.” A chuckle spills from my lips. “And the only formula I need is you plus me.”
Jace smirks. “We are the perfect formula, aren’t we?”
“Yeah, we are, soldier.”
“You’re moving in with me. I’m never letting you out of my sight again.”
“So you’re not going to give me the option? You’re just going to make demands?”
“Yup.”
“You don’t even sound sorry.”
“Because I’m not.” He places a gentle kiss on my lips.
“I have my sister, and…”
“She can have the house. Hell, we’ll buy a big house for all of us. I don’t care.”
“Huh.”
“And just so you know, soon, I’ll be making another big demand very soon that involves forever.”
“Huh.”
“I want to be your husband.”
“Is that so?”
“Yup.”
“Well, maybe I’ll say yes when you’re ready to ask me.”