He studies me long and hard before letting out a harsh breath. “I’m responsible for your safety and everyone else’s on this team.” He scrubs his hand over his jaw, his eyes softening, and the moment he surrenders is obvious. Maybe being a woman helped me a teensy bit in this situation. I don’t feel the least bit guilty if it did. This is one time it worked to my advantage. Sorry, not sorry. “You will be treated like any other driver here, Charlie. Understood?” I nod, his sharp gaze still focused on me. “This is your one and only pass. Find Smitty and go over your car. Then suit up and get your ass on the track.”
I let out the harsh breath I’ve been holding. “Thank you, Becks. I promise it won’t happen again.”
“And, Charlie!” he barks as I’m halfway out the doorway, making me turn around to witness his cocky grin. “Don’t crash her.”
“Got it.” I give him a grin and a thumbs-up.
After tugging on my fire suit, I grab my helmet and quickly exit the trailer. The crew is pushing my car out of the garage when I walk up. Number seventy is a sleek, powerful black and pink machine, and I get a hair-raising chill looking at her.
The owner of the car, Mr. Donavan, is relaxed and smiling with cool confidence standing next to her, talking with some of the crew. “Let’s see what you got, Rookie.” He winks before walking away toward his wife.
Before I put on my helmet and gloves, I reach under my suit for the chain around my neck, my fingers searching for the ring Zach gave me as a promise. I always kiss the ring before I climb into my car. It’s a ritual I’ve developed since his death.
My nerves are starting to settle as I climb into the cockpit, and the adrenaline kicks in. One of the crew helps attach the five-point harness behind my head and neck.
I trigger the twin-turbocharged engines with the push of a button, breathing in the roar. Guiding my baby onto the track feels like I’m about to hurl myself into the jaws of a hungry shark. Every. Time. I love it. It’s a perfect world out here.
I white knuckle the steering wheel, getting a good vibe of the car. The first two laps, I keep her at a leisurely 170mph. The exhilarating feeling of the G-force is like being shot out of a cannon. The rush of excitement never gets old.
“How’s she feel, Charlie?” Becks relays through the intercom system with gravel in his voice.
“Getting a bit of vibration from the back, but she feels good.”
“Let’s open her up a bit.”
“My pleasure, Bossman.”
I’m about to push her when the smell smoke invades my senses. “Something’s burning, Becks.”
“Yeah, we see it. Fuck!”
“Dammit!” I pound my hand on the steering wheel. I’m pissed at my disappointing first run, even though I can’t control if the car acts up.
“Okay, bring her in, and we’ll take a look.” Shit!
After the guys push the car into the garage, I unzip my fire suit, letting it hang at my waist. My body is tense as I make my way over to where Becks is standing next to Mr. Donavan and his wife. I’m trying to gauge their demeanor, but they seem pretty calm. It wasn’t my fault something went wrong with the car, but I’m still accountable.
“Mr. Donavan,” I mutter.
“I told you it’s Colton.” He shoots me a lopsided grin. “You’re starting to make me feel old. Have you met my wife, Rylee?” Colton stares down at her like she hung the moon, and I can’t help but swoon. He’s taller than I am, and the man is a little intimidating with his good looks. He’s always had an elusive manner about him, but he’s pretty relaxed standing here.
“Don’t even think about calling me, Mrs. Donavan.” She chuckles, holding out her hand for me to shake. Rylee has brown hair, and curves for days, with a pretty, girl-next-door face and a low-key vibe that instantly makes you want to like her. “It’s Rylee.”
“Charlotte Brooks, but everyone calls me Charlie or Rookie.” I grin up at Becks before shaking her hand. “Nice to meet you, Rylee.”
“Sorry, we didn’t get a chance to talk last night. We didn’t see you.”
“I looked for you both.” Not wanting to embarrass her, I don’t tell her I saw her exiting a supply closet with her husband. “I had to sneak out early.” My cheeks heat when I think back to why I cut out early.
“Becks!” Smitty lifts his head from the car, alerting our attention to him. “We got a problem.”
A few minutes later, I’m sitting quietly next to Rylee in one of the upstairs offices as Colton and Becks argue about what to do next. Apparently, my car was tampered with, and they’re pretty pissed.
“I want all the cars checked with a fine-tooth comb and find out who the fuck is supposed to be in charge of security around here,” Colton barks at some burly guy standing next to him named Sammy.
“The guards are on duty all night, they walk the perimeter, but they don’t enter the actual garage areas. Anyone could have snuck in after hours.”
“I want cameras installed. Somebody’s fucking with the wrong team.” Angry Colton is pretty fucking scary, but it doesn’t seem to affect Rylee at all. “And you…” Colton points his index finger at me. “…will have protection, starting today.”
“What? No. I don’t need protection.” I leap to my feet, straightening my posture.
“Someone took a screwdriver to your radiator hose. Sliced your oil return line for good measure.” His bright green eyes widen, and he throws up both his hands. “It’s not optional.”
“It could be random.” I tense as I say the words. I don’t believe it’s random either. I think about waking up this morning to two slashed tires. Or how they couldn’t rule my boyfriend’s suspicious crash anything but an accident. They suspected he had a puncture in his tire. It could have been debris from the track, but I never really believed that.
Colton’s eyes narrow at me. “It’s not fucking random, Charlie. What about all the threatening fan mail? You think that’s random too?” He frowns, his statement causes me to cross my arms over my chest to hide the shiver. “This isn’t a democracy, I’m the team owner. You want to race, you take protection. That’s the way it is, or…”
“Or what?”
“Look, I don’t want to give ultimatums here, but…” He twists the wedding ring around his finger.
“Relax, Ace.” Rylee rises from her seat and crosses the room to stand next to Colton. She lovingly smooths her hand up and down his back. “Charlie…what Colton’s trying to say, but failing at miserably, is this team is a family. Colton and everyone here takes the safety of our family very serious. That’s what we do.”
“I’ve seen first hand what can happen when threats aren’t taken seriously.” Colton glances at his wife before raking his hand through his hair. By his stiffened expression, I get the feeling he’s been through something pretty significant.
I’ve heard rumors about his wife being threatened and hurt but never bothered to pry into their personal life. They seem solid as a rock standing here together. Unbreakable as a couple. A tiny pang of jealousy settles in my stomach that I don’t have what they have.