His face flashed before her eyes. He’d put his trust and money into her, and Colby didn’t want to let Liam down. She wanted to make him proud.
Colby gripped the steering wheel, twisting and squeezing it while waiting for the green flag to drop. Ben and her father were giving her final instructions through her headset. “Listen up, Team Lockwood. There are three hundred and twenty-five laps between us and that trophy. Let’s follow our game plan and get this win.”
Colby listened, but she didn’t need the pep talk. She was more than prepared and had studied every driver participating in this race. She knew how they moved, especially Asher and Lorene.
Lorene was in the fifth position, followed by Asher, who was in the tenth position. Jordan and Chris were toward the middle of the pack, positioned at twenty-two and twenty-five. Colby was in thirty-fourth. It was interesting how she just happened to get the random draw that landed her in almost the last position. It would have been too obvious if she’d drawn the dead last position, she thought. Or it could have been that she was a new driver and hadn’t ever qualified in a previous race. Either way, that’s okay, Colby thought. She was the wildcard. The unknown. Other drivers had no idea how she would perform, and Team Lockwood would not make the same mistakes Team Daughtry had made with Rodney.
The plan was for Colby to maintain her position, and for Jordan and Chris to fall back, then together, they would work as a team. They had practiced for this.
Engines all around Colby began to roar, taking her out of her thoughts and back onto the course. As if she had been waiting a lifetime, Colby finally heard the words to start the race.
“Boys, have at it!”
Colby smirked. Of course. So much for NASCAR attempting to change their old ways. They didn’t even bother to amend the old announcement signaling the start of the race.
One day they will.
The flag dropped, and Colby’s car began to move.
It was go time.
*****
“Are you good?” Brian stood next to Liam as they looked out from the glass wall of their VIP booth onto the track.
Liam was tense. His back was ramrod straight, and his arms were folded across his chest as he stared out at the field of drivers. He responded honestly. “I’m not going to lie. I’m nervous. She could get hurt out there.”
Brian could certainly understand Liam’s feelings. He wanted to reassure his brother. “Remember how we felt the first time we saw Colby drive? We were in awe when we thought she was Asher.”
Liam nodded but didn’t respond.
“You said it before that we can’t be part of the problem, bro.” He patted Liam on the back to reassure him. “We all know that Colby’s a damn good driver.”
“That’s all good. But the fact remains that Colby is not just a driver. She’s my woman, and she’s out there on that course with men who will be gunning for her. I can’t do a damn thing from here.” Liam stepped a little closer to the glass wall and pressed the fleshy part of his fist against it.
Brian understood his worry. Liam wasn’t exactly wrong, but Brian needed to remind him of a few things. “First, Colby has been training for this moment her entire life, and she’s about as tough as they come. There is a fire in her that those boys on that track are not ready for. Secondly, let us not forget that she’s gunning for a few people herself.”
Liam said nothing, but that was what worried him most.
“And, lastly, but most importantly,” Brian continued, “you’ve given her a great chance at winning—her car is unbelievable. You’ve made sure that Colby has the best parts, and in some cases, even better than her competitors. That was all you. You’re Colby’s secret weapon, and she’s ours.”
A soft voice joined their conversation. “He’s right, you know.”
Brian and Liam turned at the same time to the sound of Lila’s voice. She had quietly walked up behind them. Brian had known that she was in the room but was making every effort to focus on the race and not her. It had been tough and was now completely impossible.
After going back and forth over it in his mind, Brian had decided to approach Lila after the race and have the conversation they should have had years ago. But now that she was standing an arm’s length away, he wasn’t so sure he could wait another second.
How was it possible to be so beautiful? he wondered as she stood there looking like she had just stepped out of the pages of a magazine. The contrast of her silky smooth dark brown skin to her cream linen pantsuit was stunning. Everything about her was flawless—jet-black, bone-straight hair that hung almost down to her hips, full lips covered in a shiny gloss that were all too kissable, and ebony eyes that bore into his soul.
Brian was done.
Lila probably had no idea, but she had owned every piece of him from the first moment she uttered the word hello all those years ago.
Liam felt like an intruder as he watched Brian and Lila seem unable to keep their eyes off of one another. It was apparent to anyone with a brain cell that there was still something between them. Whatever it was that lingered, even Liam felt it. “Maybe I should give you two some privacy.”
Lila smiled nervously and blinked a few times. “Um. No. That’s okay,” she stuttered as she turned away from Brian toward Liam. “I-I . . . I just came over to reassure you. This world is kind of all new for the two of you, but I grew up around this. Daughtry Racing really is an incredible team.”
“Lockwood Racing,” Brian corrected her.
“Sorry.”
