“What’s he doing now?” I shouted into the phone.
Propped in a holder on my dash so I could use the speakerphone as I drove, the phone was too far away for me to talk normally in the growing storm. The weather had calmed enough for me to leave and start my drive back to Charlotte but had worsened progressively as I went. Now it was beating against the truck and lashing at the mirrors, making it difficult to see.
“They’re talking,” Nick said, lifting his voice to meet mine. “I’m watching them. Quentin is here, so is Colby. If anything starts, it won’t go far.”
A crash of thunder and massive bolt of lightning slicing across the sky startled me. My hands twisted on the wheel, and the tires hit water collected on the road. In that instant, I lost control. The truck hydroplaned, and I couldn’t wrench it back into place. As another flash of light burst in front of me, I skidded off the road and almost into a ditch.
“Shit!” I shouted.
“Vince? Vince, are you okay?”
Nick’s voice was louder now, like he’d given up any pretense of trying to be subtle. I took a breath and snatched my phone out of the stand. “I’m fine. It’s storming like hell out here, and I went off the road. But I’m fine. The truck seems fine. I just need to get it out. Is everything okay with Lindsey? Does Grant seem worked up?”
“Vince, you just drove off the damn road. You should be thinking about that right now,” Nick said. “We’ve got her. There’s a bar full of people besides us that will protect her if shit goes sideways.”
“I have to go get this shit figured out. Stay close to Lindsey. Tell me if anything happens,” I said.
The last thing I wanted to do was get off the phone. Talking to Nick was the only connection I had to Lindsey right then. I wanted to stay on the phone with him until Grant was gone. But with my car tilted on the edge of the road ready at to topple over into a ditch, I had to put my trust in my brothers again.
I got out of the truck carefully and examined the situation. Maybe I’d be able to push it back up onto the road myself. But one good shove told me that wasn’t going to happen. The grass was so slippery, and the rain continuing to pour down, making visibility next to nothing stopped me from being able to get the truck moving. Kicking the tire, I shouted out a stream of profanity to make myself feel better and climbed back in the cab.
The tow company I called warned there were many others in similar predicaments, and I might have to wait a while for someone to come help. I had no other option, so I agreed and settled in for the wait. My fingers tingled with the compulsion to call Nick back. I wanted to know what was going on. But Nick had promised to call or message me if something happened, and I didn’t want to distract him just in case Lindsey needed him.
Sitting there by the side of the road left me feeling helpless, which I hated. I wanted to be at the bar with Lindsey, standing beside her and facing off against Grant. Even better, I wanted to be at home with her, holding her wrapped in my arms so no one could hurt her.
Instead, I was leaned back in my front seat, listening to the rain and dreading having to unload all the equipment in the truck behind me. The tow company didn’t lie about the delay. It was another hour and a half before they showed up. Fortunately, a good tug with the truck brought mine up out of the ditch and back onto the road. By then, the rain had lessened just enough for me to get driving again.
A text from Nick while I was waiting said Grant was gone. One from Quentin reassured me Lindsey was fine and called her a badass. That gave me a bit of pause, but he sent me a video of her telling Grant off, and my chest swelled with pride. At least for right then, she could hold her own. It didn’t diminish my desire to guard her through this, but it set me at ease enough to drive the rest of the way to the compound.
By the time I got back to the racing complex, I was far too tired to unload the equipment. Instead, I pulled the truck into one of the garages to be dealt with the next day. Most of the crew stayed behind rather than driving home that night. They already had hotel rooms paid for them and no need to face the storm. That meant I didn’t have to stand around and talk or get pressured into doing the unloading. Instead, I got into my own truck and headed home.