Page 10 of Tipping Point

Just another typical celebrity athlete. A man worshipped for his skills, overpaid and spoiled.

When Irish strides by, I can’t help myself.

“Ignoring me is one thing, but not acknowledging that poor girl…”

He doesn’t even look at me. He strides past me, confident and blase.

“Don’t worry about it,” he says over his shoulder as he pulls his helmet down.

* * *

FINN

I’m fifteenth on the grid out of twenty drivers and I swivel a leg over and slide down into the seat. It’s a tight fit. The seat is made for me, made to eliminate as much body movement as possible. My feet rest on the pedals down below, and Jack, who was waiting at the car, leans down to speak to me. It’s loud, and he’s shouting to make himself heard.

“Kenji and Rafa are ahead of you, but if you can pass them on pull away, you’ll be able to defend the thirteenth position from there.”

I nod as he leans down to fit the steering console.

“The braking zones on turn one, three, and thirteen,” he confirms. “That’s where you’ll have to be careful.”

“I know, Jack.” I raise my hands to clutch the wheel, grateful for something to grip, hiding my shaking fingers.

I’m angry. I need to be furious.

He leans down to fasten my seatbelt and a crew member helps him fit the HANS device. It’s short for Head and Neck Support and it prevents serious injuries if I crash.

I adjust my legs and tug on the seatbelt harness.

Jack watches me touch all the controls as I run through my pre-race superstitions, habit at this point.

He taps me twice on the helmet and they scurry away.

I think of the young girl, the one who tried to talk to me. She had green eyes and auburn hair.

I shiver.

I place my hands on the wheel and breathe in for five seconds, out for five seconds.

Erik comes on the radio to do checks.

“Loud and clear,” I confirm.

He’s quiet. We haven’t spoken yet.

“Finn,” he begins tentatively.

“Don’t.”

He falls silent again.

I continue breathing as the track clears. Nothing but twenty cars. The twenty fastest cars in the world.

The first of the five red lights comes on.

I’m thinking about the girl and Inez and the blonde curls, and I’m on my way to furious.

The world fades. A second later, the second red light comes on.

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