Page 29 of Full Throttle

He was clearly thrown for a loop. Brian managed to regain some composure, but Lila did not. She stood frozen in place, clearly surprised.

What the hell is going on?Colby thought.

Lila snapped out of her stupor then nervously glanced between Colby and Brian as if she didn’t know where to look. Her voice sounded small, although it was loud enough to be heard over the noisy restaurant crowd. “Gonzo mentioned that Daughtry Racing had a new owner, but he never said who,” Lila said almost apologetically. As if making a decision, she inhaled deeply then looked directly at him. She rushed her words. “It’s good to see you, Brian, and congratulations.” Lila quickly spun back to Colby. “I came over to say that I was leaving. This headache just won’t go away.”

That was a lie, and Colby knew it. Lila had a story to tell, and once they were alone, Colby was going to get it out of her. For now, her cousin was in distress. “No problem. We can go.”

Lila put her hands up. “N-no. You don’t have to.”

If Colby were honest, she was happy to leave. In the span of twenty-four hours, the Lockwood brothers had seemingly upended everything and apparently everyone around her. “You came with me. You’re leaving with me,” Colby said with finality as she ignored the confusing feelings swirling around inside of her.

Lila nodded. Her voice was infused with sadness. “Okay. I’ll wait for you by the car.” She almost ran-walked out of the restaurant.

Colby turned to Brian and Liam. “I’m sorry. As you can see, I need to leave.” She stood. “Congratulations again on the purchase of Daughtry Racing.”

Brian’s eyes had been glued to Lila the entire time she’d been standing in front of him until she walked away and disappeared from view. He completely forgot he was sitting with Liam and Colby. He spoke almost as an afterthought. “Lockwood Racing.”

Colby’s eyes widened. “What?”

Slowly, Brian turned his full attention to her. “Yes. Now that I own the company, I’m changing the name to Lockwood Racing.” The excitement that sparkled in him earlier had vanished.

She swallowed hard. “I see.”

Liam watched Colby closely.Why does that seem to bother her?he wondered. There were too many crosscurrents flowing around them. It was hard to get a handle on them all.

Brian managed a half-smile. "I’ll see you in the morning.”

“Great.” Colby’s voice was unnaturally elevated. “Yes, you will.” She nodded then stole a quick glance at Liam. “Have a safe flight back tomorrow.” Colby made a hasty exit from the building almost as quickly as Lila.

Brian picked up his beer, turned it all the way up, and drained it.

The woman had obviously rattled him. “So, that’s Lila?” Liam asked.

Brian was shaken. “You ready to go?”

“You need to learn to mask your feelings better,” Liam responded.

Brian was irritated. “You need to take your own advice. Let’s not pretend I didn’t interrupt whatever the hell that was between you and Colby?”

“I don’t know what you think you were interrupting, but she and I were just getting to know each other.”

“Yeah. Mmkay.” Brian didn’t believe that for a second, but he didn’t have the space in his brain to entertain it. “I’ve already left my credit card information with the management. They’ll send me the final bill tomorrow. I’m going to the car.” Brian didn’t wait for Liam to answer before getting up and stalking off.

Liam was out of his element. From beginning to end, this entire situation felt like something from theTwilight Zone. Business was business, but this was that mixed with a lot of other shit.

He sighed and rose from the table. Liam left three crisp hundred-dollar bills for the tip then followed his brother out to the car.

*****

Liam got into the back seat and closed the door. As soon as he was settled, the driver pulled off from the restaurant parking lot to take them back to their hotel. Liam didn’t return Brian’s negative energy for energy. Instead, he asked calmly, “What was that?”

Brian wondered if Lila was why he received a congratulatory call from Anthony shortly after closing the deal.Was she a spy?Did Anthony send Lila to mess with his head? Brian slid a hand down his face. “Of all the places to run into Lila?Here? In this town?”

Liam was matter-of-fact. “I would agree. Seems like there’s a lot of unfinished business between you two.”

Brian sighed. He gazed out of the window. There was a long pause before he spoke again. “I was going to marry her. Bought the ring and everything.”

Liam knew that Brian had been hurt by Lila but was surprised at that revelation. “I’ve never heard this before.”

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