Not only did I have to get my head straight to win this race, but now I had to explain myself to Eric and worry about Piper.
Racing, which was my only outlet, was now becoming more of a chore.
Which really fucking sucked.
Chapter Seventeen
Piper
Ollie was all but stomping toward Eric and me, and for a moment, I thought about running away, which was pointless because he’d already seen me, and Eric, who was now my number one enemy, wouldn’t let go of my freaking wrist.
“You should have listened to me!” I half-whispered to Eric. “We could have hid, and Ollie would have never known either of us were here.”
Eric sliced his dark eyes over to me. “I want him to know I’m here, and by the looks of him, he isn’t happy that you’re here. How interesting.”
I scowled. “What’s interesting is how you even found out about tonight. What? Were you following Madeline?”
His eyes flared, and I knew I was right. I raised an eyebrow. “Oh yes, Eric. I know your secret.”
Ollie decided to saunter up right then, and we dropped the subject. Eric didn’t need to worry. I wasn’t there to expose his infatuation with Madeline. I was mad he snagged my wrist and acted like he was my father, though.
As soon as Ollie was in front of us, he seethed. “I told you to stay home.” His heavy brow line shadowed his eyes, and I felt a swift kick to my stomach. My breath caught as he peered down at me. “You shouldn’t fucking be here! This is an important race, and now I’m going to be worrying about you near Tank.” He shook his head as Eric’s hand loosened a little around my wrist. Ollie pinched the bridge of his nose before snapping his attention to Eric. “And what the hell are you doing here?”
Just then, Eric squeezed my arm gently as a warning. He didn’t need to give one, though; his secrets weren’t mine to tell. “I knew you were lying through your fucking teeth about tuning your car. Christian is going to be livid when he finds out you’ve been racing down here.”
Ollie’s stare darkened, and a fire erupted. My God, he’s hot when he’s mad. Butterflies swarmed my belly. “Christian isn’t going to find out. Do you hear me? This has nothing to do with him, and you’re going to keep your mouth shut.”
Eric slowly raised his hands as a smirk covered his face. I swore these boys and their smirks could make panties drop everywhere. They were dangerous. Ollie, Eric, Christian. They, all three, had the ability to make good girls turn bad.
“Relax, Ol. I’m not here to fight. Just want to make sure you’re good. You’re my bro. Christian’s my bro. I have both of your backs.”
Ollie seemed to relax for a moment, but it wasn’t long before his back grew stiff. Someone yelled his name and was waving him back to where his parked Charger was. Nerves waved across my shoulders and settled right on top. The thought of Ollie flying down the gravel road at a high speed made my stomach hurt. Guilt was sliding down my spine, and fear was clouding my vision.
He didn’t even look in my direction—too angry with me, I’m sure. Ollie and I were so hot and cold. We were either angry with one another, or our guards were down, and we were sharing something on an entirely different level. And I had no idea what that even meant.
“Keep her off the sidelines and out of people’s sight. She shouldn’t be here.”
Eric nodded. “I got you.” His hand wrapped around my wrist again.
Ollie focused on Eric’s hand on my arm. “Just…keep her safe.” Then, he turned on his heel and began jogging back to his Charger.
My heart was lodged in my throat. He’s fine, Piper. He knows what he’s doing.
But did he?
I could feel myself spiraling out of control. What did I get us into?
Eric’s thumb rubbed along the inside of my wrist. “Relax, Piper. I’ve got you. No one will mess with you.”
I craned my neck up to Eric, my hair tumbling down my back and out of my face. “I’m not worried about someone messing with me, Eric. I’m worried for him.” I nodded my head in Ollie’s direction, and his eyes flared.
“What kind of shit did you guys get yourselves into?”
I only shook my head, unable to answer as I watched Ollie’s long legs climbing into his Charger. His window was rolled down, and when he pulled up to the starting line, he glanced my way once, and it was enough to make me regret every bit of my acceptance in letting him race for Tank.
One could have argued that I didn’t have much of a choice, but that wasn’t the truth.
I didn’t have to let Ollie in, but deep down, it felt really, really good knowing I had him to lean on.