Chapter 38
THIRTY-EIGHT
“Who the hell is that? Everyone knows you have Lana in here recovering,” Demi says, clearly annoyed that she can’t drop whatever bomb she’s holding. Rome stands with a sigh.
“That might be the issue,” he grumbles before moving to the door. Demi and I exchange a confused look, but before either of us can speak, the door opens.
“Is she in here?” a familiar voice, this time one I can’t place, asks.
“This isn’t—”
“She’s in there,” another voice says. There’s a small scuffle before Rome groans. A moment later, Tyler and Oliver walk in, and my eyes bug out. Rome’s arms are crossed on his chest as he follows in, looking annoyed and frustrated.
“Lana!” Oliver says, his face lighting up before he looks over his shoulder at Tyler. “I told you she’d be in here.”
“We checked your room first,” Tyler says, looking between Demi and me.
“You must have barely missed me. I just got here.” Oliver sits in an armchair in the corner, turning to me.
“How are you feeling, Lana? Phil told us you were cleared to leave the hospital, but you had a concussion?”
“A very mild one,” I clarify, because I don’t need everyone exaggerating the extent of my injuries. Rome is bad enough.
“So you decided to just track her down instead of letting her recover?” Rome grumbles, and I can’t help but smile a bit.
“Lana’s one of ours,” Tyler shrugs, looking from me to Rome. “We’re here to check on her and to figure out what the fuck is happening here.” I lift an eyebrow, and Demi has a similarly intrigued face on.
“I had a huge crash, and no one came bursting into my room,” Rome says.
“That’s because you’re an asshole and weren’t one of us anymore,” Oliver says with a grin. “Thankfully, you’ve been welcomed back into the fold now that you have Lana to vouch for you.”
“Oh, he’s still an asshole, but he’s a reformed one now,” I inform them.
“We figured,” Tyler says with a wide grin that makes me let out a little laugh, but hiss as it makes my bruised ribs ache.
“See? You’re hurting her!” Rome says, sitting next to me on the bed, hands at the ready as if he can fix it. I just roll my eyes.
“They’re not hurting me, Roman, stop being overprotective.” His glare turns to me, and I smile at him before turning to the guys. Unfortunately, Oliver’s face is screwed up in confusion, his gaze on the edge of the bed where Demi is sitting.
“What’s that?” Oliver asks, gesturing toward the folder Demi had laid out on the bed. A few of the papers inside have slipped out, and I hold my breath with panic. Demi’s eyes widen, and she reaches to fix the folder, but she’s not quick enough.
“Nothing. It’s—”
“It’s surveillance photos,” Tyler says, snatching them before we can.
“Like, high-tech shit.” He lifts his head, looking from me to Demi.
“Is this the inside of your trailer?” I sigh, and Demi has a similarly defeated look as we lock eyes.
My gut tells me neither of them is our guy, but I’m not comfortable with spilling everything to them if Demi isn’t sold.
“Would this have anything to do with why Jordan was arguing with Mel this morning, with Mel saying she’s got it covered?” Oliver asks. My entire body stills, but Demi has a completely different reaction.
“Jesus, Tyler, why don’t you just steal the wind from my sail?” she groans, looking crestfallen. The woman loves a dramatic reveal.
“Demi?” I ask, thoroughly confused.
“Okay, so, to be fair, the Jordan aspect is new to me, but what I was trying to say before we were interrupted—” she starts, but before she can get another word out, there’s another loud banging on the door, and we all jump.
“Who the hell could that be?” Her voice is full-out annoyed, but Rome looks even more irritated as he stands up again and then storms to the door.
“Open this fucking door right now,” a deep voice calls, but it’s not someone I recognize from the circuit.
“Dad?” Rome asks, shock in his words as he opens the door
“What the fuck is going on here?” the man asks, moving through the room, then hesitating when he sees the crew there, me propped up in his son’s bed.
Demi starts grabbing the papers in front of her, snatching them from Tyler’s hand and slipping them into a folder before even more people find out why we’re here.
“This isn’t really a great time,” Rome murmurs.
“Getting a little cramped in here,” Demi whispers.
“Not a good time? Not a good time?” Kevin says, voice rising. “This shit is all over the press! Another fucking crash and your face is in the center of it once again.” Irritation burns in my chest at his dad’s words, at the way he only seems to care about the optics.
“Look, I know you’re mad—” Rome starts, but he gets cut off once more.
“Mad doesn’t begin to cover it. I’m furious,” he grits out, and irritation fills me.
His dad is so worried about Rome’s image, and that’s why Rome has made it his mission to change, to ignore things like friendships and happiness in exchange for all of this.
I know he said he loves his dad, that they’ve always been close, but I don’t know if I could ever truly like the man if this is how he typically acts.
“If it means I’m permanently banned, I get it,” Rome says, and even though I can hear the nervousness in his voice, his shoulders stay strong, his posture showing that he means it. My stomach churns, but at the same time, Kevin stills, looking to his son with sudden and clear confusion.
“What?” he asks. Rome sighs and then sits on the bed beside me, running a hand through his hair.
“I caused a scene. I was reckless. I nearly punched Tyler,” Rome says.
Tyler lets out a snicker, and I snap my head in his direction with a glare.
“I went against every safety protocol in the books. That doesn’t really scream rehabbed bad boy who is going to lie low and worry only about winning races.
” He lifts a shoulder. “I get it if I just screwed my last chance at redemption, but I’d do it again.
” He reaches over for my hand and squeezes it once. “Every time.”
“You think I’m here because of your image?” Kevin asks, sounding thoroughly confused. Demi looks at me, bewildered, and I return the look, completely lost. Tyler and Oliver watch on with similar expressions.
“I mean, you came in storming in angry as fuck,” Rome says, seemingly just as confused as we all feel. Kevin shakes his head.
“No, Rome. God, No. I don’t care about that shit.”
“It’s all you have cared about.”
“Because I want you to have everything. Fuck.” He runs a hand through his hair, looking so much like his son for a moment.
Despite myself, I can’t help but think I’m damn lucky to know that in twenty, thirty years, Rome will still be hot as fuck.
“I’ve been really fucking this up, haven’t I?
” he asks, almost to himself. “All you’ve ever wanted was to race.
And all I’ve ever wanted was for you to do what you loved.
You worked so hard, so fucking hard, Rome, to get where you are.
You beat all the odds, got in without me pulling a single string—insisting I not pull a single string, even—and you did it.
And then you got reckless, and I saw it slipping through your fingers, and I hated that.
” He closes his eyes, taking a deep breath, and Rome’s hand tightens in mine, clearly needing some kind of grounding touch.
“I hated knowing that if you went too far, I wouldn’t be able to fix it for you.
Getting on your ass to clean up your act had nothing to do with me or the brand or even the team: it was me protecting your hopes and your dreams.” My chest swells for Rome as I see the genuine concern, love, and regret written on his father’s face, a slightly different version reflected on Rome’s.
“I’m not mad because you ran onto the field.
I’m mad because you had to. I’m furious because for weeks now, something has been happening to my son, and not only have I not been taking it seriously enough, but my best friend who I’ve trusted with your safety hasn’t either.
” He comes closer to Rome, and it might be strange to witness this moment in a hotel room after a concussion with my best friend and two other men in the room, but somehow it feels more real, more important.
It’s something so vital, Kevin couldn’t wait for a better time or location.
“I’ve really fucked up, Rome,” he says low, and Rome stands, moving to his father.
“No, you haven’t,” he says, in a low voice. “We’re too alike. We’re stubborn and want things done our way, even when we should be talking to find a compromise.” He looks over his shoulder and gives me a small smile, reminding me of the conversation we had just minutes ago. Pride swells in my chest.
“Seems like you’ve grown a lot since you left Indy,” Kevin says with a small smile, not missing the look between his son and me.
“I have,” Rome says, smiling wider at me before Kevin pulls him in for a big, back-patting hug.
My throat is tight at the show before us, and Oliver and Tyler look away, as if trying to give them some semblance of privacy.
After a few moments, the hug breaks, and like a magnet, Rome turns back to me.
That’s when I see his eyes are shimmering.
Kevin sniffs, overwhelmed by emotion, before clearing his throat, seeming to go back into business mode.
“Okay, well, you can tell me all about those changes later. But right now, what’s the plan?” Kevin is sitting in a chair as if he belongs here.
“Plan?” Rome asks.
“Something is going on, and I’m not going to sit around and wait for something worse to happen.
So what’s your plan? I know you. I’ve seen Lana, and something tells me you two together aren’t just waiting for things to figure themselves out,” Kevin says.
Rome looks at me, and I lift a shoulder before turning to Demi, who nods and opens her mouth.
“So, you see,” she starts, but before she can finally get her moment, there’s another knock on the door.
“You have got to be fucking kidding me.” I have to fight back a laugh, knowing it would only piss Demi off more, and Rome looks just as aggravated as Demi as he storms past our small crowd and to the door.
“Oh, great, you too. Come on in,” Rome says, not sounding welcoming in the least. I’m out of options for who it might be, but I guess I should have seen it coming when Phil walks in.
“Perfect, just the man I wanted to see,” Kevin says, standing and looking far less cordial than he was a moment before. Suddenly, another likeness to his son becomes clear: his untamed temper.
“Hey, Kev, didn’t expect you to be here,” Phil says, sounding a bit nervous. They’ve been friends for some time and have worked closely for years. From the looks of it, Phil knows he should be anxious about that temper.
“Don’t you, Kev me, Phil. I trusted you with my boy when he was eighteen, and I trusted you with him when he was twenty-eight, and right now, I’m wondering why the fuck I did that.
Clearly, there’s an issue, a long-standing one.
Now tell me, what are you doing about this?
” Phil looks like he’s aged ten years in the past ten hours, and runs a hand through his thinning hair.
“I’ve got it handled, Kevin. I promise.”
“How?” Kevin demands, crossing his arms on his chest.
“I… I hired someone to investigate it.”
“Who? Because right now, this is looking like a dumpster fire, and someone is going to get killed. Whoever you hired must be shit at their job.” Rome looks over at me, his eyes wide with panic, as if to say I’m so sorry, ignore him.
But I just smile and shake my head. Then I turn to Demi and have a quick, silent conversation.
I don’t know what it is she found, but I do know that look on her face says she figured it all out and the only thing left is to set up a trap to get concrete evidence and possibly a confession from our guy.
And when she nods, I know that no one in the room is on her final list. Just like me, she feels safe confessing to everyone here.
“He brought me on,” I say, trying to sit up a bit higher, but Rome stops me. I force myself not to roll my eyes at his sweet but wholly unnecessary antics.
“I’m sure you’re a great driver, sweetheart, but—” My jaw tightens, and Demi opens her mouth to argue, and Tyler lets out a low wow, but Rome steps in to set him straight first.
“She’s a great fucking driver, but that’s not what she’s trying to say, Dad. Maybe drop the condescension for a minute so she can explain.” Kevin looks to Rome, confused, before his face becomes a mask of embarrassment and apology, and he turns to me.
“You’re right, I’m sorry, Lana. That was uncalled for. I’m overwhelmed, but that’s no excuse,” he says, and I nod.
“I’m not going to say it’s okay, but I accept your apology.
While I am a great driver, it’s not what I was originally brought on for.
Demi and I are agents with the Mavens, an elite group of female private investigators, and we were assigned to come here undercover. ” Recognition flashes across his face.
“Mavens… I’ve heard of that. Daydream used you guys, right? Annette hired you to figure out who was fucking with the place?” I nod, because Josie closed a case there last month.
“Yes. Right after Rome’s crash, we were contacted to come in and see what was really going on here. Phil realized something was off, though he didn’t realize it wasn’t just constrained to Monster Smash.”
“It isn’t?” Phil asks, rightfully confused since we haven’t kept him very much in the loop beyond what was fully necessary.
“No, we don’t believe the sabotage started here,” Demi says.
“What do you mean? All of this is happening to Monster Smash,” Phil says, annoyed.
”Yes, but it all started once Roman joined on,” Demi explains.
“What we mean is, we think the sabotage followed him. We don’t think it started here—we think it continued here.”
“Continued here?” Kevin questions.
“None of the issues started until Rome came back,” Tyler muses, picking up on where this is headed. “And Mel works for Kevin.”
“What does Mel have to do with anything?” Kevin asked, head spinning from side to side, trying to understand what was happening.
“Mel is the one who slit Lana’s tires to force her into a crash with the hopes of Rome running out onto the field and getting suspended, and I think I’ve figured out why,” Demi says, finally getting the grand, dramatic reveal she had hoped for.
When the room erupts into noise, her grin only gets wider.
The woman really does love her dramatics.