Prologue
Adrenalin courses through my veins.
The speedometer tells me I’m going way too fast, but it’s okay. I’m in control. My hands fist around the steering wheel; my legs move as I change gears; the click of the shift; the roar of the engine. The need to be first, to be a winner, races through me as I near the finish line.
It’s been a long time coming, this ending, this final lap, and now that I’m about to cross the checkered line, I’m still not satisfied. I can’t hear them screaming, the crowds who came to see me, and I can only imagine their faces. The sound that jars me, that pushes me forward is the noise of my past.
I’ve spent years running from it, or should I say, racing away from it, but every time I sit behind the wheel, I know I’m still there, in that room saying goodbye. Pulling into the pit, I push open the car door and exit the vehicle, leaving the mechanics to do their thing.
“Fucking awesome race, Kayd.” My soon to be ex-manager, Cooper, grins at me, slapping me on the shoulder in a show of pride and camaraderie. He’s been with me since I got into my first car. Now he’s headed off on retirement and spending his days fixing up old classics. When my father told me he supported my love of fast cars, I took to it like a professional even from my first lap around a track.
“Thanks,” I respond, noticing him staring at me with that look in his eye. Sadness. I don’t do sad. I don’t do depressed. When my father died, I didn’t cry. Neither did my mother. We both found our solace in things that tore us apart. She spends her time with nameless men who come and go, much to my disdain, and I continued racing.
“Listen,” Coop says. “There’s a meeting I’ve set up for you, something big.”
I’m unzipping my overalls when I look at the old man again. Nearing fifty, he is graying slightly, but still has the energy of a thirty-year-old. I swear he’s on some form of immortality treatment.
“Oh yeah?” Arching a brow, I wait for him to tell me what he’s been up to while I’ve been in the car.
“I’m sure you’ve heard of Colton Donavan,” he says. “He’s the CEO of—”
“CD Enterprises,” I finish for him while nodding. Everyone in the circuit has heard of the infamous race car driver. My father used to take me to watch him race. Even though I am good at what I do, I’ve always looked up to him.
“Yeah.” Coop nods. “He’s looking for someone to race for his team.”
“I still haven’t decided what I’m supposed to do with Dad’s company,” I tell Coop. When my father died three months ago, I was posed with a decision that’s taken me all this time to consider. It’s not easy, and it’s not going to get any easier, even if I leave it lying in wait forever. My father had always wanted me to take over Mercer Industries, an umbrella company he started that houses smaller businesses, ensuring they’re taken care of when times are tough. So far, it’s worked out since I don’t have to be in the office all the time, but the board isn’t going to wait forever.
“If you do this, meet with Colton and find out what he’s looking for, it may offer you answers you’re looking for, Kayd,” Coop advises me. I don’t doubt this man for a second. Cooper has known me for too long, and he’s put up with my snarky comments, my arrogant bullshit, as well as my partying, which I put a stop to a year ago when my father fell ill.
“I’ll meet with Colton,” I concede finally. A smile spreads across his face, and for a moment, I consider working for a man I’ve looked up to for most of my life. “But, if I get trouble from the board, you’re going in there with me.”
Coop chuckles. “I’ll be there. You know I will walk into hell with you, Kayden,” he replies, and I know it’s true. “Your father wanted you to run Mercer Industries, but you need to decide what’s right for you.” His reminder is refreshing. I didn’t necessarily want to do that, but it is one of the ways I can keep a hold of my father’s legacy.
“Let me think about it,” I tell him before disappearing into the locker rooms to get changed. Tonight will no doubt be a party, and I need to get ready.
The mansion where we’re headed is perched on a hill overlooking the twinkling lights of the city below. As I weave up the winding road, I glance in the rearview mirror to find Paxton staring at me with that knowing look. He’s one of my teammates and one of my only friends.
He grins before asking, “Are you ready to see her?”
“Not a fucking chance,” I shoot back, causing Curtis, who’s riding shotgun, to chuckle. The two men are the only people besides Coop who know me, all of me. They’ve been there since I was a teen, and they put up with my outbursts.
I turn left, steering through the parted heavy gates welcoming the guests onto the property. I pull my Range Rover up to the valet parking set up specifically for the party that’s already in full swing.
“You know she’s going to want to ride that stick,” Curtis digs with amusement lacing his words. The woman in question is an ex who hasn’t given up even though I’ve told her I don’t do relationships. We had an on-off, fuck-buddy situation for about a year before I cut it off completely when she became needy. I don’t deal well with clingy.
“She’s going to have to find another man who’ll put a ring on it,” I inform my friends. We exit the vehicle without saying more about my questionable choice in women. I flick my keys over to the valet, who takes my pride and joy to park it out of the way.
I’m flanked by my boys as we enter the house, which is immaculate. A crystal chandelier hangs in the center of the entrance hall, shimmering gold light on the guests being escorted through the house and out to the back.
An infinity pool, along with sexy women in bikinis and men gawking at tits and ass, surrounds us. It’s the life of a racer, being invited to parties like this, being wanted by women who look like they do. But even though I should be enjoying it, there’s still a heaviness in the pit of my stomach that reminds me I’m not one of those guys. Yeah, I’ve played around, and I’ve enjoyed single nights with hot women, but it never filled the hole that loss left behind.
“Look at that,” Curtis mutters from my left, and I catch his eye line pinned toward the jacuzzi set up close to the edge of the hill. But it’s not where it’s situated that catches my attention. It’s the beauty currently sliding into the bubbly water.
Jesus. Fucking. Christ.
Light brown, almost-golden curls hang to the center of her back. Skin, the color of caramel, is highlighted by her bikini, which should be fucking illegal. Her body is curved in all the right places, with hips I’d happily hold onto. The curve of her ass is barely covered by bright pink material and my cock jolts at the sight.
“Mine.” The word is out of my mouth before I have time to rethink it. We’ve always been good about not crossing each other’s territory. If we see a girl we like, we stake our claim has been the way we always work. The other two have to back off.
“You’re a fucker,” Curtis grumbles but slaps me on the shoulder. “She’s going to be one hell of a ride,” he tells me. “If you can get in there.”