Chapter 28
TWENTY-EIGHT
“How do you feel?” I ask Rome, my voice gentle as we lie in his bed. I’m tucked into his side, wearing one of his tees, his chest bare. His fingers pause as they move through my hair, but only for a moment before he answers.
“Pretty damn good.”
“Okay, well, good to know, but I meant more about… everything going on.” His body stiffens, but I continue drawing shapes on his chest, not pushing. My heart is pounding, though I know it has nothing to do with the way we just fucked.
“Oh. That.” If this were a normal relationship with no ulterior motives or secrets between us, I would push it aside, not wanting to touch on what is clearly a sore spot, but unfortunately, that’s not the case.
Unfortunately, there’s someone out there who wants to hurt Rome, and it’s my job to figure out who.
Over the last week, Demi and I have talked more than once about looping him in and have considered the pros and cons.
When we’ve definitively crossed a suspect off the list, there is usually little to no risk in pulling them in, and any remaining risk is typically heavily outweighed by the new intel we could get from them.
But I’ve seen how this mess has been impacting him mentally, and until I can offer him a concrete solution, I don’t want to make things any worse than they already are.
Admittedly, I’ve also fought against it because I’m unsure of how he’ll react when he finds out what I’m really doing here.
Selfishly, I want to spend as long as possible in this little bubble.
I know there’s a good chance Rome will feel betrayed by my lies and mistruths, even if it was just part of the job.
I’m pulled from my heavy thoughts when he sighs, expanding on his own.
“I don’t know how to feel. I’m happy the inspectors I hired made sure there was nothing else wrong with the truck, but this one can’t be explained away like all the others can.
It’s clear the harness was intentionally cut. ” I nod, knowing that to be the case.
“All of the others being…”
“The gas, of course, and my suit. But things have been… off for a while.”
“Off how?” I force my body not to tense up.
“Just little things. My helmet was missing in my first week back, but it was found in an overflow supplies trailer. Or a few times, the schedule changed and I was left off the text and email chains so I was late. Twice, my truck was completely left off the leaderboard, and the audience voted, so it looked like I scored zeros across the board. Just… weird shit, you know?” I nod, my stomach churning.
I knew about the leaderboard, but the schedule changes and helmet are news to me.
“Are all of these on record?” I ask. Rome shrugs as if he’s unsure.
“Who knows. Maybe not. I kind of hit a point where I stopped pointing things out and just took it into my own hands to triple-check everything.”
“How long has this been going on?”
“A while.”
“During Indy?” I ask, trying not to sound like I’m interrogating him, and feeling more anxious by the minute. Demi has confirmed there is an incident reporting system for Indy. However, despite long nights spent trying to do so, she’s been unable to access it.
“Yeah. Maybe? I don’t know.” He lets out a deep sigh.
“I pointed it out a lot at the beginning, but it was all small stuff. Like the gas, it could be explained away as not only targeting me. But my gut… I don’t know.
It feels like someone has it out for me.
And after today, I don’t think anyone could convince me otherwise.
” My hand lifts, pushing his hair back and out of his face.
“Who would be out for you like that?”
“God, who knows. Everyone? I’ve made a lot of enemies.
” His head falls back against the pillow, staring at the ceiling as he lets out a deep sigh before continuing to speak.
“I’ve tried to figure out who could dislike me enough to do this, but either I can’t picture it or they wouldn’t have the ability.
I thought it was Liam for a bit. He was pissed when I was brought in, since he was supposed to be the next shoe-in as a full-time driver, but then he was let go.
And it didn’t stop.” I chew on the inside of my lip anxiously before he shakes his head.
“I just hate it, you know? I just want to make it through this year, fix my reputation, and go back to doing what I love, but that seems like such a far-off goal. Lately, I’ve been thinking that maybe I shouldn’t have come back here, should have just taken off the year as my dad told me to.
Laid low and kept to myself.” My theory that his dad is our guy continues to gain ground, and with it comes an indisputable dread as I sort through our current suspects.
There are a lot of suspects Rome wouldn’t care in the least about, but finding out that it was his father, the man who got him into racing in the first place, would absolutely destroy him in a way I don’t think he would ever recover from.
“But that would have been a whole year without driving,” I say, knowing that would absolutely gut him.
“Yeah,” he says, deflated. He turns, wrapping me in his arms and resting his head on my neck. My hands are on his back, feeling the tense muscles, but when he takes a deep breath, a bit of the tension leaves his body, as if having me here and breathing me in is bringing him a modicum of peace.
I love that, love that my proximity can bring him any form of relief, though I hate that he needs to find relief at all.
Unfortunately, I can’t seem to tap into peace of my own; instead, that niggling worry grows with each moment.
Since we arrived, we haven’t witnessed any new sabotage affecting the drivers’ safety that couldn’t have been stopped in advance.
Today, I was reminded just how dangerous this person is.
Even more, now that I’m involved with the target, it feels personal- someone trying to hurt someone I deeply care for.
After a few moments, he pulls back, and I take in his face. Like this, he looks boyish, sweet, and younger than his years. A knife twists in my chest as I wonder just how often he shows people this softer side of himself.
All I want to do is protect it and him.
With a sigh, I smooth my hand through his tousled hair before cupping his cheek.
“No more practice without everyone around,” I say, less of a request and more of a demand, and I’m relieved when he nods.
“It’s not safe, and I worry about you. If someone hadn’t noticed and you flipped…
” My voice catches at the mere thought, panic filling me for Rome.
Guilt and shame follow quickly, realizing I’m only bringing to light what he already knows and probably poking at an already existing wound.
“I’m sorry, I’m not trying to make you feel worse. My god, I’m so bad at this.”
“No, no. I get it, Lana.” A small smile tips his lips, though it’s surface-level. “It’s nice knowing you care about me.” I try to give him as much honesty as I’m able at this moment.
“I do,” I murmur, shifting closer, my body pressing against his.
His hand sinks into my hair, pulling my face to his for a soft kiss.
Once it breaks, I lift a hand, brushing my thumb over the mostly healed cut on his eyebrow.
I was right: it scarred, but he was also right about it only making him look hotter.
“I care about you, Rome. More than I ever expected to.”
“Good,” he says, voice a whisper. “Because I care for you too.” My lips tip, and the guilt of my secret lying between us tightens around my chest, a boa constrictor slowly suffocating me.
I wonder just how long I can go on like this.
For one wild moment, I almost spill it, almost tell him what I’m really doing here, but then the moment is broken.
“Enough sad stuff for now. It’s your first big win.
” I giggle as he moves me, rolling so I’m lying on top of him, his hands on my ass, slipping his tee up a bit.
“Rome, I’m gonna squish you,” I say.
“Good. I like it.” I roll my eyes, but the smile won’t leave my face all the same. Even more so when one hand moves to my head, tangling in my hair and pulling my face to his before giving me a long, slow kiss.
“You were such a badass, Lana,” he whispers against my lips. “You fucking nailed that trick.”
And I did. It was the first time I’d done a nose wheelie, the same trick we’d gone early to practice.
Knowing Rome was watching me, I decided at the last minute during the freestyle to give it a try, and when I landed it, I knew in my gut that it was going to be a win.
Somewhere, I also know that even if Rome were on the field with me, I still would have won. I was that good.
“You were made to be here, to be a champion.” I roll my eyes, but he keeps going. “Do you know how hard it was not to run out onto the field, kiss you, and claim you in front of everyone out there?” he asks.
“I’m sure your dad would have loved that,” I laugh. “You would have gotten a fine, for sure. Plus, it probably would have messed with the whole playboy image.”
“My what?” he asks, his hand stalling on its circuit of caressing my hip.
“You know your…” I furrow my brow, confused. By his confused look. “Your whole vibe. Hot bad boy racer, the smiling playboy.” I continue to stare at him, confused. “Why are you looking at me like that?”
“Is that really what you think I’m doing?”