The Prince and the Player

Seth chuckles. “Let’s just say she barks like a baby seal when she comes.”

My nose wrinkles. “Too much information.” I hand his phone back, and he starts dialing, motioning for me to follow him.

Running

Rowan

A bead of sweat rolls from my temple down the side of my face. My arms are exhausted, and that fucking right wheel is pulling again. I’m not as far ahead of Fayed as I need to be to make a pit stop. He’ll retake the lead, and we’ve only four laps to go. Everything is focused on these final laps. One mistake could cost me the race.

“Ro, we have an issue,” Cal is in my helmet. “It’s possible your car has been sabotaged. I need you to bring it in.”

“What? NO!” I can’t come off the track at this point. “You checked it yourself!”

“I don’t know how. It’s possibly what’s causing the cornering problem.”

I feel a jerk to the right as I’m flying down the straight, and a quick look in my mirror shows Fayed right behind me. “I’m almost finished. I can make it.”

Downshifting quickly, I hit the brakes as we take a tight corner. The wheel jerks in my hands and I hear a ping. No, I think straightening out of the turn and slamming the throttle down. We shoot into the straight, the tunnel looming just ahead. Plunge into blackness; blinding white on the other side. The stands pass so fast, they’re a blur of color, and all I can think is I’m there. I’m hitting the top speeds. I’ve completed seventy-four laps, and I’m not quitting now. Victory is in my grasp.

Flying through the starting line, I don’t hesitate. I pass the pit starting the seventy-fifth lap. Cal’s in my ear again.

“Ro! I need you to bring it in NOW!”

Reaching up, my hand hovers over my headpiece. I don’t turn it off, but I don’t respond either. I’m coming up on the first of nineteen corners. Another downshift, another slam on the brakes, another groan from the front chassis. Only three more laps.

My speed drops from four hundred kilometers per hour all the way down to forty through the hairpin. One more curve, and I feel a slip in control. I feel the frame starting to give.

“Rowan?” The voice in my head now is not Cal’s. My chest tightens when I hear her. I’ve been dreaming about her all night. “Ro, it’s Ava. Please come in. Please.”

“Where are you?” I say, easing off the accelerator as I take the next curve. Again the wheel vibrates hard.

“I’m in the pit. Felicity gave me her pass.”

Shit. I’m on the straight, and the pedal is to the floor. My speed tops out at two ninety-three then plunge into darkness. The wheel shakes again. The car jerks to the right, and I’m dangerously close to the wall. Blinding white light hits me as I try to correct. My muscles flex as I fight with the steering column. I’m off the track, my speed goes all the way down.

Fuck! Shifting, I guide the car back onto the lanes. I’m one curve away from the pit, and I know I have to bring it in. I have to do it for Ava.

Fayed’s coming out of the tunnel as I pull back onto the asphalt. He flies past, and my chest tightens. We have to move at lightening speed if I’m going to catch him again.

I’m around the curve and pulling into the pit, the crew surrounds me in a swarm. Tires off, they check the chassis. Cal’s right with them, and I see the moment his face pales.

His head drops against his forearm, then he looks up at me. “The front arm is completely severed.”

I’m out of the cockpit in seconds, running to see what he’s seeing. He points to the damaged suspension. “Looks like it was bashed with a club. It’s been a time bomb waiting to go off. You could’ve been killed.”

“It’s over.” My shoulders fall, and I scrub my fingers over my brow. “FUCK!” I shout, slamming my helmet into the cockpit. Fists on my forehead, I blink out at the cars roaring past. Only two laps to go…

Cal walks around to where I’m standing, his brow lined. “This happened after qualifying. Who had access to the parc fermé?”

We both look to the crew. One person is missing. “Heinrick’s guy?”

“Impossible. Heinrick wouldn’t send someone to hurt you.”

“Maybe he didn’t know.” I’m still looking toward the crew when I spot the one person able to bring me back, green eyes full of worry—Ava.

Leaving Cal beside the car, I cross the space. She’s out of the gated area and running to me, her navy sleeveless dress moves in the breeze.

When we meet, I rest my forehead against hers, sliding my palms down her cheeks, to the sides of her neck. Her hand goes into the back of my damp hair; the other touches my cheek, and our eyes close as we breathe each other’s air. My insides unclench.