The upcoming race was going to be different. We were heading out Thursday night for a full weekend of racing at a track a few towns over. The exhibition wasn’t a formal part of the racing season in that it wouldn’t count for the standings of the individual riders. But there was still glory and prize money on the line. Not to mention building up more fans and growing our reputation.
Going to the races wasn’t always something I got to do. I enjoyed them, but sometimes there was too much work to be done behind the scenes to actually let me go to the track. I had to keep up with the action from behind my desk, then join up with everybody for our usual celebration at the bar afterward. But not that weekend. I wasn’t going to miss the excitement of the weekend away. But that meant I had a lot of preparation to do ahead of time.
With only a couple days to go until we needed to leave, there was still much to be done. Starting with calling the pet sitter. Frankie might have a very strong personality and had no problem making sure his opinions were known, but he couldn’t take care of himself for a whole weekend. He had yet to figure out how to open his own cans of food. Once that happened, he would probably take over the world. Until then, he needed a pet sitter.
I had just picked up my phone and was getting ready to dial the number when I heard heavy footsteps coming down the hall toward my office. A second later, the door crashed open and Nick rushed in. His face was red and his eyes wild. He was pissed as hell and looked like any second he was going to pick up one of the chairs and lob it through the window. I set the phone down.
It was strange enough seeing Nick at the compound during the day in the middle of the week. He worked in the city, and should be there right then. Instead, he was pacing back and forth in front of my desk with his nostrils flaring. That was a red flag. It was a lot of red flags all waving together. Nick wasn’t the type to act like this. He wasn’t as quiet as Darren, but he wasn’t known for having a short temper and flying off the handle, either.
“Nick? What’s going on?” I asked. He continued to pace, shaking his head as his jaw clenched tighter. “Nick? Seriously. Tell me what’s happening.”
Finally, he stopped pacing. He stepped up to my desk and slammed his hands down onto it. My eyes dropped to them and then lifted back up to his furious gaze.
“You aren’t going to fucking believe what he’s doing to Lindsey,” he said.
That was all I needed to hear. All my brother had to do was mention Lindsey and I didn’t care what else he had to say. I got up from behind my desk and headed for the door. He didn’t move, and I grabbed onto his arm to yank him with me until he was walking on his own. We got down to the garage and climbed into my truck. I needed the control of being able to drive right now. The surge of anger and protectiveness was too much for me to just sit in the passenger seat. But the opposite was true for Nick. He looked shaken and distracted.
“Who are you talking about?” I asked. “What did who do to Lindsey?”
“Grant Waters, her ex. When she left the area for that stretch of time, she hooked up with him for a while. Apparently, their relationship wasn’t very long and never got serious. At least, not serious like they would want to continue being together,” Nick said.
“What does that mean?” I asked.
Nick glanced over at me. “They have a kid together.”
That hit me hard, and I shook my head, trying to process it. “I had no idea she had a child.”
My brother nodded. “A little boy. His name is Remy. She doesn’t talk about him a lot. She’s very protective and doesn’t want people getting involved in her business. Especially because of the way Grant has been. His family is extremely wealthy, and they steamrolled her after Remy was born. She had to give up custody of him, and they’ve been holding him over her head ever since. She rarely gets to see him, and they have total control.”
“Well, that’s a load of bullshit,” I said, feeling my blood pressure rise a few points.
“To sum it up, yes,” Nick said. “She just called me, and apparently it’s gotten worse.”
My stomach was twisting and burning by the time we got to the bar. As soon as we got inside, my eyes locked on Lindsey. She was fighting back tears and gripping a sheaf of paper so tightly in her hand it was crumpling up. All I wanted to do was scoop her up in my arms and hold her. But I had to stand back and let Nick be the one to hug her. She held tightly to him as he rocked her back and forth for a few seconds, making soothing sounds against her hair.