Chapter 44
Chapter Forty-Four
ROME
The margin for error on a street circuit like this is next to nothing. One minuscule mistake and you're in the wall, which is why my focus should be laser sharp. Which has never been an issue. Until now.
My head is in another place.
Driving is second nature to me, so I’m doing okay in position due to my qualifying, but it isn’t until Tessa’s demands come in that I’m pulled back in at the last second.
“Remember turn six is sharp. Watch the walls.”
I cut it close every time but manage to squeak by without damage or losing position.
“Yellow! Box this lap.”
“Who hit the wall?” I ask.
“Focus, Rome.” Her voice is flat, and I’d rather have her sass than this, but I say nothing because I can’t.
Not yet.
Not until after the race.
I’ve been back and forth since Sunday, replaying everything my dad said and picturing the photo of me and Tessa that I ripped up and threw in the trash. The bomb has been ticking since the second he sped off from my house, and it won’t be long until it explodes right in front of my face.
It’ll destroy me, but more importantly, it’ll destroy her, and that’s not something I can ignore.
Not after catching a glimpse of his smug grin today in the paddock after a reporter posed a question that I’m certain my father paid him to ask.
After I pit, Tessa’s voice sounds in my ear. “Wait…wait!”
I slow for a second until she shouts, “Go now!”
My car vibrates beneath me as I slip back onto the track and blend in with the rest of the cars.
“Oh my god, yes! You gained two positions!”
I smile at the excitement in her voice, and it gives me more than the position gain.
“Who’s up ahead, Princess?” I ask, feeling more like myself than I did at the beginning of the race.
“Beau is in first, and then Noah.”
I growl. Beau is in first on a street circuit?
“Did you say Beau?” I ask.
“Yes,” she says. “Focus. Turn six is coming up.”
My thoughts are spinning quicker than my wheels. I make it past turn six without skimming the wall, and I hear Tessa curse under her breath.
“How is he doing that?” her whisper cuts in and out.
“Who?” I ask, knowing she isn’t talking to me.
She doesn’t answer me, and I grow suspicious.
“Tess.”
“Make sure to use the long straight for your battery,” she reminds me. “Keep your position.”
It’s a strategy we’ve talked about all week, and I should follow her cue if I want to take us to the podium, but there’s a nagging thought in the back of my head that has me going against her advice.
“Rome!” She sighs in annoyance. “What are you doing?”
“What’s going on up there?” I try to keep my own car steady while keeping a close eye on Beau and Noah.
“Nothing that concerns you!” she snaps.
“Tess!” I shout. “Tell me.”
She sighs loudly in my ear. “Oh my god, you are impossible! Beau is cutting the corners much quicker than I thought possible. That’s it. Now focus!”
It’s like repeating a fucking nightmare, only I’m not at the center of it anymore. I’m on the outside looking in.
I focus up ahead and move closer without caring about the dirty air affecting my car. I look past the blur of teal from Noah’s car and focus on Beau.
My pulse flies, and I wait for the exact moment he should brake.
Only he doesn’t. His lights flare too late, and my stomach drops.
Too late. He’s braking too late, just like I’d done when driving that exact car.
My fucking father has done it again.
“Where is your dad?” I ask Tessa in a panic.
“What?” she exclaims. “I don’t know. I’ve been focusing on the race!”
I’m out of breath.
This could be my chance.
If the FIA would just take a second look at the way Beau is braking around those corners, and how it’s practically impossible to do so, they’d have enough for an investigation.
They’d have enough to deliver the consequences my dad deserves for dangerously cheating his way to the top and risking everyone’s life on this fucking circuit.
The next corner comes into view, and it’s the same damn thing.
He brakes late.
“How is he doing that?” Tessa mutters more to herself than me.
I bite down on my tongue to keep the truth there.
“It’s not skill, Princess.” So don’t get that twisted.
A barrier comes into sight, and my gut churns.
“Tell Noah to back off,” I stress.
To my surprise, Tessa doesn’t question me. There’s a subtle shuffle in my ear, and my exact words leave her mouth.
Good girl.
I fly around the barrier and lift off immediately.
No.
“Crash! Crash!” I shout.
I’m instantly hyper-focused. I search for a way to avoid an impact, quickly whipping my car over to the outside line, only to turn quickly to the inside to move around a chunk of debris.
The smoke is too thick to see, but with the scattered debris and Tessa’s gasp inside my helmet, I know it’s bad.
“I’m coming.”
My view stays obstructed until I get closer to the pits, and I can’t help but notice how quiet the other end of the radio is.
I race into my spot and climb out of my car within five seconds, unlike the rest of the drivers, who remain in their cars, idling.
My helmet drops to the ground quickly, and I anxiously search around for Tessa.
I spot my pit crew on the wall and jog over.
They’re staring at the monitors with horror. Dylan’s fist is pressed against his mouth, and the only Halston I see is Vivian, who has her face buried against Gia’s shoulder.
I haul myself up and climb onto the pit wall. I rush over, completely out of breath. “How bad is it?”
Dylan meets my eye but doesn’t speak.
When I turn to the monitor, vomit hits the back of my throat.
Fuck.