Page 10 of Full Throttle

“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 of them. The man was freakishly large. He had the height of a basketball player, but the body of a football player. He wore a white button-up and a pair of black slacks. She wondered where he could find a shirt that would fit his arms. One of them was probably the same size as her thighs. He had a gravelly voice. “Thank you for understanding that the Lockwoods weren’t able to meet with you for dinner tonight. However, they are looking forward to meeting you and the crew tomorrow.”

Her father tensed at the mention of the Lockwood name.

Tom responded. “It’s no problem. I understand. Since you’re already here, let me introduce you to a few members of the organization. Hey!” Tom yelled. “Everyone, gather around.”

Cyrus released an exaggerated sigh before responding. “Be right over.” He handed the socket wrench to Colby. “Take over for me.”

She nodded as he walked away.

Colby knew this was hard for him. He wasn’t happy about Tom selling Daughtry Racing. It was like watching his life’s work being flushed down the toilet, but what was he going to do? Her father didn’t own enough shares of the team to stop the sale.

Colby peeked over the hood of the car as Tom made the introductions. “This is our crew chief, Cyrus James, our lead mechanic, Ben Johnston, and Alberto Gonzales, another one of our mechanics. Everyone, this is Markos Bankston and . . . I’m sorry. I didn’t get your associate’s name.”

Markos didn’t introduce him. Instead, he reached out to shake everyone’s hands. “Nice to meet you.”

That’s odd,Colby thought. It also caused her to take a closer look at the nameless man. He didn’t say much as they talked. But his gaze was intense. He was quietly surveying everything, and everyone, as he slowly scanned the room. Finally, his probing eyes landed on her and lingered. At first, he seemed surprised, and then it morphed into something else.

Colby returned his stare with one of her own. His eyes slowly swept over her entire body, starting at her dirty white Chucks until they landed back on her large brown almond-shaped eyes. For about ten seconds, neither of them even blinked.

She started to feel strange. His presence loomed large. So much so that the room began to shrink, leaving just the two of them.

What the hell?

Colby bit her lower lip while feeling as if she were in a trance and completely unable to turn away. It was like some type of vampire spell.

A slight frown appeared on the man’s face as he studied her. Colby wondered if he was caught in the same vortex that was swallowing her whole because he also seemed unable to turn away.

The intensity pulsing around them was insane.

---