Chapter 44 – VALENTINA
Forty-Four
VALENTINA
The smell of burning rubber and asphalt deserves to be bottled. I’ll never get enough of it.
I draw a deep breath and feel that familiar rush already buzzing through my veins. Being back on the track after everything with Balterra and Casper feels like reclaiming a piece of myself they tried to destroy.
And despite the flicker of wariness, I need this, need the high that hits the second my engine roars to life. There’s nothing like it. Well, second only to Maksim. Who, at the moment, is a little…busy.
It’s a bad fucking day to be Casper.
I told myself I wouldn’t let the past or the friendship I thought we had get in the way of what needs to be done. Maybe if it had only been me, maybe I could’ve found a sliver of pity left for him. But my baby sister? No. That’s a line he crossed that he can never come back from.
“Ready?”
Remi dangles a set of keys in front of me before dropping them into my palm.
The candy-red Supra gleams under the streetlight. One of her masterpieces. She took it from a shit box to a beast. Sure, it’s not my baby, Ivy, but any car Remi builds is one I trust to take me to the finish line.
“Always. Still, it feels like everyone’s staring, like they know I had something to do with Balterra disappearing. What will they say when I show up here with my car? But giving her up is not an option, neither is a new paint job.”
“They always stare,” Remi says. “It’s the price of being a woman behind the wheel instead of one draped over the hood.”
I shrug. She’s not wrong. It wasn’t easy, but we busted our asses to get respect on this track. Still, half these assholes only ever see us as a pretty face or a hole to fuck. That’s why beating them always tastes that much sweeter.
I squeeze the keys in my hand, determined to let the world slip away for just one night, at least until I’m in his arms again. But as I round the trunk, a loud thump stops me dead.
“Remi? What’s in your trunk?”
She flashes me a confused look and joins me. “Pop it open. Maybe I left my tool kit in there.”
“Well, unless your tools move on their own—and laugh—I highly doubt it.”
I hit the latch, already bracing myself for something dumb, but not this dumb.
The lid pops open, and out bursts chaos…times four. My siblings, plus Gio and Matteo, crammed together like a pack of overgrown sardines, laughing so hard they can barely breathe.
Remi and I exchange a look that says everything. She leans forward, gripping the edge of the car.
“Giovanni! What the fuck are you guys doing in there?”
“It was AJ’s idea!” Matteo blurts between gasps of laughter.
“Snitch! We all agreed!” AJ fires back.
Remi levels her glare at her little brother. “Gio, care to explain? Does Mom know you’re not in your room? No wonder I felt the weight shift when I was testing her earlier.”
He hops out, stretching his arms like he’s done nothing wrong. “Mom doesn’t need to know. C’mon, Remi, let us watch. We’ve been stuck at home all day.”
AJ hooks my elbow, looking up at me and batting her lashes like she’s innocent. “Please. We won’t cause any trouble. You won’t even know we’re here.”
“Alessandra, this isn’t a place for you. Not yet. Things can go south fast. Sometimes cops are on us—”
“So,” she cuts in, “you mean more dangerous than being shot at?”
I glare. “You know what I mean. I’d never intentionally put you in danger.”
“Well, you didn’t,” she says, crossing her arms. “We snuck here on our own. And we can handle it. I can handle anything.”
I roll my eyes. “Bravery and stupidity aren’t the same thing. Learn the difference.”
Madden steps between us like the peacemaker he always is. “I’ll watch out for her.”
Another dramatic eye roll from AJ.
“We won’t be any trouble. Promise,” Matteo chimes in, a wink and a grin aimed directly at Remi.
She grimaces, mushes his face back, then grabs Gio by the scruff of his shirt, dragging him toward the sidewalk. “I’m not driving you all the way back home, so sit your ass over there and lay low.”
“You got it, boss,” Gio teases, his grin spreading wider.
“She’s even hotter when she’s pissed. Did you see her touch my face?” Matteo’s whisper isn’t as low as he thinks.
I can’t suppress my laughter when Gio slaps him upside the head and growls, “Shut up. That’s my sister.”
“Madden,” I say, pulling my attention back to the twins, specifically the more level-headed of the two. “I’m racing tonight. So, stick with Remi. And if anything goes down, if the cops show up, you know what to do.”
He nods, serious now. “Understood.”
AJ’s expression shifts from annoyance to...sadness.
She turns away, her lips trembling with quiet disappointment. AJ is young, but I’ve always said she has an old soul, wise beyond her years, but impulsive to a fault. I know how brave, how capable she is, and I hate for her to think I don’t.
The world is a cruel place, and I refuse to help snuff out the fire that keeps her fighting.
A hollow feeling in my gut tells me she’ll need it someday.
“Hey,” I say softly.
“What?” she mutters, still not looking at me. The wind kicks up, tossing her hair across her face. She tugs a strand off her lip gloss, and I smile as I tuck it gently behind her ear.
“Scrappy,” I murmur, “You’re the oldest. Make sure you look out for everyone while I’m gone.”
Stubborn as ever, she refuses to face me, but the faint curve of a grin betrays her.
AJ isn’t the only one smiling.
Remi’s attention is locked on the black GT-R rolling to a stop beside us.
The engine cuts, and before the last rumble fades, Ryuji Kuroda is out of the car, faster than I’ve ever seen the future Kumichō move.
Usually, he’s all calm and control, but tonight he looks starved, like he can’t get his hands on her fast enough.
Remi tosses a mischievous glance over her shoulder, and I flash her a smirk in return.
She barely has a chance to turn around before Kuroda’s arms are around her waist, his lips on hers, and her hands in his hair. He lifts her easily, carrying her off somewhere behind the crowd.
“Who the fuck is that?” Matteo grumbles under his breath.
“And why was he eating my sister’s face? I did not need to see that!”
“That’s what you both get for sneaking out and showing up uninvited,” I shoot back, arms crossed.
Matteo plops down on the curb, muttering curses under his breath, clearly regretting ever stepping foot at Furia.
As if he ever had a chance.
“Hey, Poison Ivy, good to see you again.”
The younger Kuroda grins as he walks up, eyes flicking to my leg like he’s expecting to see a cast.
“You racing tonight?”
“I am.”
“Cool.”
His gaze shifts to my left, where AJ’s standing, pretending to be suddenly fascinated by her nails.
“You two must be sisters? You look a lot alike.”
“This is AJ,” I say, nodding toward her, “and that’s my brother, Madden, over there with his cousins.”
Renji turns to glance their way, but his gaze drifts right back to Alessandra, a spark of interest lighting behind his grin.
“You race too?”
She finally looks up, voice flat. “No.”
Then, without another look, she walks off toward the boys.
Renji scratches the back of his head and sucks his teeth. “Ouch.”
“Don’t take it personally. She’s in a bit of a mood.”
Speaking of bad moods, I nearly throw up in my mouth when I spot Cole and Romina climbing out of his piece of shit Chevy.
Cole being with other women isn’t even on my radar of worries anymore, but seeing his face still hits a nerve. It’s a harsh reminder of how blind and stupid I was to tolerate him for so long.
“Can I help you set up?” Renji drags my attention away from my bad life choices.
“Considering your brother just stole Remi, I’d say you don’t have a choice.”
A beaming smile spreads across his face. “Guess that makes us partners, then.”
“Don’t get ahead of yourself, Kuroda. We’re still rivals by default.”