It had been a while since Colby had been shoulder to shoulder with the crew. She let her eyes drift closed and soaked in the moment. The roar of the engine and the smell of the octane-unleaded fuel was heady. There wasn’t anything better except for maybe being behind the wheel. Moving at speeds of more than 200 mph made a person feel like they were flying. Ben was right. No matter how much she wanted to escape, racing was in her blood.
“I’m calling it today, Colby,” her father said.
The sound of his voice broke the spell. She nodded. “I didn’t expect anything less.”
Asher revved up the engine as he waited for the go signal.
Electricity began to flow through her veins.
“Weather’s perfect. Track is warm. All systems go for a practice lap, McKay,” Cyrus said into the headset.
Asher stepped on the accelerator, and the car began to move. Slowly, at first, then gaining in speed. He hit 0–100 in 2.5 seconds and seemed to handle the car beautifully. For the most part, Asher was taking the turns easily enough. However, it was a practice lap.
Once around the track, Zander dropped the black flag, signaling the practice was over. Asher picked up speed, topping out at over 195 mph. Cyrus coached Asher through the headset.
Lap one, everything was working exactly the way it was supposed to. Colby’s eyes squinted as Asher came around a turn. Her forehead wrinkled. She muted her headset and leaned over to speak to her dad. “Asher’s a little rough around turn two.”
“Mmhmm.”
“If he downshifts in that turn, he might gain more speed.”
Cyrus agreed and muted his own headset. “I’ve mentioned that to him. The boy doesn’t listen. He just wants to go go go.” Cyrus unmuted himself as Asher started lap three. “Looking good, McKay.”
He leaned in and asked Colby, “Tires?”
“Psi is 23.”
Cyrus nodded. “Good.”
Good didn’t last very long. As Asher headed down the straightaway of lap three, the coolant gauge on the board began to drop, and the engine started to overheat. They could see white smoke from the exhaust.
“What the fuck?!” Asher could be heard yelling into the helmet.
Cyrus responded. “Bring her in. I think it’s the gasket.”
“No shit, Sherlock!”
Asher drove back to the pit, got out, and snatched off his headgear. He threw it haphazardly, barely missing Gonzo. Asher immediately started screaming. “I thought you said it was going to be ready?! This car is a piece of shit!”
Tom tried to calm him down. “We’ll take care of it. It’ll be in tip-top shape by tomorrow.” Tom turned to Cyrus for backup. “Right?”
Cyrus nodded. “Yeah. We’ll have it together by tomorrow.”
“And what about the day after that?” Frustrated, Asher ran his fingers through his hair, then pointed at Tom. “My contract is almost up. I owe you guys one more race. I told you, if today didn’t go perfectly, I was out. I have options, and I think it’s time for me to explore them.”
Tom extended his arms as his head swiveled between Cyrus to Asher. “Whoa . . . whoa . . . let’s just all calm down.”
“This is my fuckin’ career we’re talking about! Don’t tell me to calm down. That old man doesn’t know his ass from a hole in the wall. And this band of misfits couldn’t fix a toy truck, let alone a racecar.” Fuming, Asher stormed off and away from the track.
Colby had never seen a Daughtry driver behave that way. The little tantrum Asher put on was ridiculous. He needed to get his butt kicked for being so disrespectful to her father and the crew. He had Cyrus James as his chief engineer. It didn’t get any better than that. If Colby were a man, she would have whooped his ass.
Tom was pissed. His eyes blazed as he turned to Cyrus. “Fix this!” Seconds later, he was hot on Asher’s trail, hoping to convince him to come back for tomorrow’s run.
Colby placed her hand in the center of her father’s back, rubbing it in a circular motion. “That was fun.”
He sighed. “Yep. A blast.”
Colby tried to be encouraging. “Don’t worry. We’ll get her fixed.”
“I don’t know, baby girl.” He blew out a tired breath. “I just don’t know.” Colby wasn’t sure if he was talking about the car, the organization, or his future with Daughtry Racing. Regardless, they had their work cut out for them.
Chapter 4
Colby rested on her elbows as she leaned underneath the hood of the car, watching her father work his magic on the engine. He knew them like the back of his hand. Her father could break down every part, put them back together, better than before, in his sleep as long as he had the right parts. His love of cars was something he proudly passed down to his children. Because of him, Colby was equally as gifted.
Cyrus drained the remaining coolant, disconnected the battery terminals and the cylinder head connections. He explained his every action to Colby as he removed the rocker cover. She didn’t need the lesson but listened intently anyway.
“Hand me that socket over there.” Cyrus pointed to the giant cabinet that housed a lot of the smaller tools.
Granted, he had to point out where they had moved the cabinet, but thanks to her father's lessons, he didn’t have to tell Colby which socket wrench was needed. Not when she had been working on cars since before she could even remember. She brought him the tool he’d asked for and looked on quietly as her father worked to repair the engine.
Unfamiliar voices carried from the outer offices into the garage. They were getting louder, which meant they were coming down the stairs and heading their way. The carefree energy that surrounded them changed the moment Tom stepped inside with a couple of guys that Colby didn’t recognize.
Colby’s eyes had to adjust to the size of one
