Page 54 of Take My Place

She is about to tell me more, but Romy comes over, interrupting us. “You ready to race, Ivy? We’re about to start.”

“I think you should ride on your own,” I tell him. “Not because I’m pissed off I’m not allowed to race, but because I want you to beat Lucas and you’ll have a better chance of doing that if I’m not behind you weighing you down.”

“You won’t weigh me down,” Romy protests.

“Even so. I think you should keep your full focus on the race. I’ll be at the finish line to celebrate your victory with a kiss.”

“If you’re sure.”

“I really am. I want Lucas to realise he’s wasting his time hanging around like a bad smell.”

“Okay.”

Romy goes off to get on his bike and I turn to Milly. “Shall we go over to the starting line?”

“Sure.” Her phone buzzes and she pulls it out. “Oh. It’s Carl. He’s nearby! He’s asked me to go meet him. I’ll try and persuade him to come and let me introduce him to you.”

She hurries off, leaving me on my own. I head over to the starting line, where ten bikes are lined up ready to race. Romy is in the middle, flanked by Archer and Declan. Lucas is towards the end, and when he sees me standing by the starting point, he salutes me.

I roll my eyes and shake my head in disgust.

“Are you ready? Three… Two… One… Go!” Matt gives the signal for the race to start and the bikers surge forward.

Lucas takes an early lead and as they zoom round the first bend, he is already ahead by a couple metres, the acceleration of his vehicle proving to be a huge advantage.

Now there is nothing left to do but wait and hope the boys can find a way of bringing down Lucas. I don’t care who wins, just as long as it isn’t him.

The route is circular, finishing where it has started, and I kick at the ground, bored already. Milly hasn’t come back, and I’m not interested in small talk with the other spectators.

It seems like an eternity before the sound of motorbikes can be heard in the distance. I lean forward, craning my neck to see around the people surrounding me to spot who is in the lead.

I can hear the bikes long before there is any sight of them and it is a while before I see a bike approaching us from a distance. A solitary rider is a long way ahead of the next competitor and unless there is an accident, there is no doubt who will win.

My heart sinks as he draws closer, and I see that it is Lucas in the lead. Apparently throwing money at a problem did solve it after all. As he roars over the finish line, no one cheers. It appears I’m not the only one who has an issue with the newcomer winning. King Town didn’t like it when an outsider showed up our own.

Archer came in second, with Romy a respectable third.

“Sorry, Ivy,” he says. “I guess you were my lucky charm. I shouldn’t have left you behind after all. It’s not like I could have done any worse with you riding pillion.”

“Don’t be sorry,” I tell him. “It is what it is. But now I really need to know why my father is helping Lucas so much. None of this makes any sense.”

“But how are you going to find out what he’s got planned? My father doesn’t have any spies in his inner circle, and it’s not like you can go up and ask him what he’s thinking.”

“Maybe I can.” I think for a moment. “Romy, could you do a detour and drop me off at my father’s? I can sneak in and see what I can find. I’ve done it before when I rescued you guys. I might be able to find something which will let us know what he’s up to, and we can figure out our next move based on that.”

“I’ll come with you,” Romy offers. “I don’t want you going in there by yourself.”

“It’s safer if I’m alone,” I say. “I’m less likely to be spotted and if they do find me, I’m my father’s daughter. They won’t hurt me. But if they capture you, there’s going to be all sorts of trouble.”

“I’m not happy about this, Ivy,” Romy says. “I should be there to protect you.”

“I’ll be fine,” I tell him. “I’ve got my phone and I’ll have the tracking switched on. I’ll hit the speed dial if there’s any trouble and you can storm the place to get me.”

“All right. But I want you to know I’m not happy about this.”

I climb on the back of his bike and Romy speeds off in the direction of my father’s. He drive past the security guard at the entrance and around the corner, parking up by a large tree.

“Here. I’ll give you a leg up.” Romy leans forward and clasps his hands together so I could put my foot in them, and boosts me up the tree. I shimmy up the branches, climbing out and over the wall around my father’s grounds, dropping down on the other side.

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