CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR
Asher
Winning used to make me happy. Today’s win tasted bitter, even with Ethan crawling in at eleventh. The asshole had spun some bullshit about being sick to excuse skipping races and played the pity card to justify his weak performance. Funny thing—it wasn’t much different from his usual results.
I stepped out of the motorhome in Venburn, clutching my phone that refused to ring no matter how many times I checked it. Kaia should’ve been at her new school by now, but my texts went unanswered. The knot in my chest tightened with every silent minute.
“Mi nino.” Ale strolled over. “I was going to grab a drink. Want to come?”
Sounded like code for we need to talk. I nodded, turned the volume on my phone all the way up, and followed him to his car.
“Great race today,” he said five minutes later as his Lexus merged into the dense evening traffic.
“Thanks.” I glanced at my phone again. Nothing. Fuck.
“Someone mentioned a cool lounge downtown.” Ale flicked a look my way before refocusing on the lane. “We can have a drink and talk. I’ve barely seen you lately.”
“How’s the office search going?” He’d been hunting for space in Emerport for months with no luck.
Ale groaned. “Don’t remind me. The last few ‘move-in ready’ places were too fucking scary to set foot in.”
“So—working from home it is.”
He drummed his fingers on the wheel, nodding as the light turned red. “For now. I’ve got another showing Monday. Wish me luck. I need to hire help, and not everything can be done remotely.”
“Good luck.”
Another check of my phone. My stomach tightened.
Still nothing.
Ale eased into the crawl of cars heading toward downtown Venburn. “Waiting for an important call?”
Of course, he’d notice. “Waiting for news from Kaia. Russell sent her away.”
“What do you mean, sent her?”
Since the season started, I’d been buried in racing and Ethan’s bullshit, and Ale spent all his free time setting up the agency. Even if I’d told him sooner, there wasn’t much he—or anyone—could do.
Traffic picked up. I raked a hand through my hair. “She scored low on the PSAT, so he shipped her off to some boarding school six hours away. Today.”
“But she’s eighteen.”
“Kaia’s set on her mom’s dream college,” I said. “She’s already a year behind, struggling. He could’ve hired a tutor, but I guess he’d rather not have her around.”
Ale sighed and pulled into the lot of a bar with Nightfall glowing in neon blue against black.
Inside, the backlit bar stretched the length of the wall, bottles gleaming on glass shelves. Two guys in black shirts worked cocktails while a DJ manned a station in the corner. The music thumped low, thank God. I wasn’t in the mood to yell.
Ale and I sank into a black leather couch. He flagged a server and ordered two whiskeys on the rocks.
“This is a nice place for a date,” I said. “Bring anyone here?”
A smirk tugged at his mouth. “You’ve been my date since I moved to Stetbourg.”
I chuckled. “Come on. Don’t be shy. You can tell me.”
“Can.” He wiggled his brows. “But should I? Honestly, I haven’t had time, mi nino. Too busy putting out fires.”
“I’m sorry about mine.” I dragged a hand down my face as the waiter set our drinks on the low table.
When he left, Ale leaned forward, clasping his hands on his knees. “How are you? Should I worry?”
I raised a brow. He nodded toward my silent phone.
“I don’t know.” I exhaled, picking up my glass. “She hasn’t answered. And before you say I’m whipped, that’s not how it is with us. Kaia always answers if she’s okay.”
Ale sipped his whiskey. “Did you ask Russell?”
“I can’t.”
He traced the rim of his tumbler. “At some point, he’ll need to know. You can’t hide forever.”
“We’ll tell everyone once she’s in college.”
“That’s still far away.”
Sixteen months, exactly.
“Fuck, Ale. Do I look like someone who doesn’t know that? I’m not that oblivious.”
He lifted his hands. “Sorry. You just seem distracted. After what happened with Ethan, you need a clear head and a stellar season.”
“What I need is for her to be okay. My gut says she isn’t. Yes, Russell can’t know. Yes, it’s complicated. But you don’t choose who you fall for.”
Ale cradled his glass, studying me. His eyes softened. “I know you’re in love. I get that it feels like the only thing that matters. Right now, I’m worried about your future. I need to know how you see it so I can help. Where do you see yourself after this season ends?”
I wished I had an answer. “I don’t know.” Folding my hands, I pressed them to my mouth. “I can’t be Ethan’s teammate. Just looking at him makes me want to…” I groaned. “I learned my lesson, but I still loathe him.”
“So, you want me to look for another team.”
“I do. Here.”
Because of Kaia.
Ale nodded, expression neutral, though I knew what he was thinking. Staying here narrowed my options. The other Superbike teams nearby weren’t much better than Forward Racing. Not what he’d choose for me. But when it came to career and personal life, he’d always respected my choices.
Sometimes I wished I was more like Dad and had his business sense, his calm.
Then again, he’d crossed the ocean for my mom, and she’d moved continents for him.
Maybe recklessness ran in the family. It would be easier to just run, but I’d never ask Kaia to give up her dream of her mom’s college. That was the one line I wouldn’t cross.
And I didn’t want to live without her either, which left me exactly where I was. Stuck.
“I’m sorry I make everything so complicated,” I said. “But Kaia needs me. I won’t leave until she’s out of Russell’s house and in Emerport.”
Ale rolled his glass between his palms. “I’m not saying finding another team here is impossible, but I won’t lie either. You need wins—lots of them—and no scandals. Even then, it could take time.”
“I’ll take the risk.”
He leaned back on the couch, arms crossed. “As for Kaia, call her school tomorrow if she doesn’t answer.”
“Fuck.” I exhaled. “Why didn’t I think of that?”
Ale smirked. “Hate to play the age card, but…”
I laughed. “Qué te den.” Fuck you.
“Jokes aside,” he said, stretching his legs, “what’s your plan? Do they allow visits?”
“I guess if you’re family.” The word made me cringe. I loathed the idea, but I’d do anything to talk to her, to make sure she was okay.
“Well, at least your mother’s relationship with Russell’s good for something.”
Unfortunately, he was right. As much as I hated the words Russell and family in the same sentence, I shoved the thought aside. Something else had been on my mind since the last time Kaia and I were together in her room.
“Speaking of relationships you don’t have time for,” I said, “where would you take someone special if you wanted to spend a few nights together?”
A knowing smirk curved his mouth. “Romantic? Views, a great bed, all that?”
“Yeah.”
“Delano Hotels,” he said. “The best. Pricey, but nothing’s too much for the woman you love, right? Wait—” He pulled a wallet from his pocket. “I’ve got a card. Check their site.”
I took the matte-black card embossed in gold. “Have you stayed there?”
“Once, in Spain. Business trip. No woman.”
“Thanks.” I slipped it into my jeans pocket.
Ale finished his whiskey. “You’re welcome. Drinks are on me.”
***
Checking my phone was the first thing I did when I woke in the motorhome. Still nothing from Kaia. I could’ve texted my mother if it wouldn’t make her suspicious about my interest in Kaia’s school.
Sitting on the bed, brain foggy with sleep, I scrolled through my contacts until I found the number I’d saved last night.
Please pick up, I pleaded, holding the phone tight to my ear.
Finally, a faint click. “Willowbrook School for Girls, how can I help you?” a woman asked.
“Hello. I’d like to speak to Kaia Demeri, please.”
“Who’s asking?”
Bile burned my throat. “Her brother.”
“One minute, please.”
Air leaked from my lungs in a shaky exhale. Seconds dragged until I heard the voice that undid me every time. “Hello?”
“Peque.” I swallowed hard, heart racing. “Are you okay?”
“Oh my God,” Kaia said quickly. “I’m so glad you called. They took my phone. No-cell policy here. They let us use the landline, but it was too late last night. How was your race?”
No phone? My stomach sank. Fuck. I’d call her daily if I had to, but what the hell kind of place—
“I raced, won. Forget that—tell me about school. Are you—”
“I need to go, Ash. Sarah’s waiting. She’s my residential advisor. The phone’s in her office.”
No. Not yet. “Fuck, peque. Just tell me if you’re okay.”
Static filled the line. My pulse pounded. “Hello?”
“Yeah,” Kaia said at last. Her voice sounded distant, and without seeing her face I couldn’t tell. “I am. Don’t worry. And please, be careful racing. Talk to you later.”
The call cut, leaving an unsaid I love you burning my tongue.
No phone. No way to see her until I had a rare day off mid-season.
Fucking Russell thought of everything. I tossed the phone aside and buried my face in my hands, Kaia’s voice replaying in my head.
She said she was okay, but the weight on my chest said otherwise.
I knew her too well to believe her.