“Wait, what?”
“That damn light pole...it looks like a giant bolt has been screwed into it. There’s a body hanging from it, rope around their neck. From here it definitely looks like they’re dead.”
“Fuck, fuck, fuck! Viking is going to be pissed. I’ll send Torch and Nightmare to go collect the body.”
“Did you get anything out of the guy from last night?”
“He hasn’t woken up yet, those horse tranquilizers are strong.”
“Apparently. He’s not dead, right?”
“Not yet, anyhow.”
I grunt. “You want me to go out there and get the body down?”
“No, stay inside with Chevelle, just in case they’re waiting for you to leave her vulnerable.”
“Shit, I haven’t even seen her yet. I just woke up.”
“Go find her and make sure she’s okay.”
“I will.”
“Later.”
“Later,” I reply and end the call then yank on my pants and boots and head out of the studio.
“You weren’t there when I woke up.” Mercenary comes up on the other side of the hood. I was just checking the plugs before clocking my time.
“I thought you’d be tired from being up all night.” I tiptoed around, not wanting to wake him. He looked dead to the world with how hard he was sleeping.
“I was. What are you doing?” His cool blue irises run over me like he’s famished and I’m breakfast.
“Checking plugs then I planned to run this pretty lady to get my latest track time. I put new tires on her a week ago, and I’m not quite used to them.”
He nods. “You probably shouldn’t drive right now.”
My back stiffens as I stand to my full height and sputter, “Excuse me?” The man has a lot of nerve; I have no doubt about that.
“A bomb went off yesterday,” he emphasis slowly, tilting his head like I’m nuts. “It’s smart to not drive your cars right now.”
“But it’s what I do,” I argue. He’s lost his mind telling me not to drive. It’s like having your favorite toy and not being able to touch it. That doesn’t sit well for me. I learned at a young age that if I want something to go for it, to take it. Waiting around gets you nowhere and nothing to show for it.
“You’ll be safer if you take a short break, just a week or two.”
“Yeah, that’s not happening.” Not to mention that’s asking me to take a ten thousand dollar cut to my monthly pay. It definitely won’t be going down while I have anything to say about it.
He throws his hands up dramatically, and I hold back my smirk. “Fuck, woman, why do you have to be so damn difficult?”
I stomp around the front of the car coming face to face with the grouchy male who’s decided to rudely interrupt my quiet morning time. “Listen here, cupcake, go eat a fucking banana or whatever it is you need to take it down a notch. Racing is my job, it’s my life. I won’t stop just because it gets a little dangerous. Racing is not safe, that’s partly why it’s so damn fun.”
“I know,” he admits, catching me off guard.
“You know?”
He nods. “I get it. I wouldn’t stop if someone told me to either. At least let me check your car over before you go cranking the engine and taking off.”
I release a breath through my clenched teeth, unaware I was even holding it. He wants to check my car over to see if it has a bomb in it. That’s pretty freaking sweet. Why can’t he always be like this? “Yeah, sure, I can deal with that. Thanks.”