Page 63 of Full Throttle 2

“She is, but Liam’s not wrong.”

Lila sat upright. “Isn’t he?”

“No, he’s not. I’d feel the same way if it were you. You can’t blame him for hitting a pain threshold. He loves her.”

“He has a funny way of showing it. Colby needs him, and he just left.”

“Does she need him?”

“Of course she does. Why is it always the woman who has to give up her hopes and dreams when it comes to making a relationship work?”

“This is different, and you know it.”

Lila wasn’t so sure. “I have a hard time believing if she were a man, we’d even be having the same discussion.”

Brian was trying to keep a level head but was finding it difficult not to get pissed. “Don’t do that. Don’t brand us as sexist or misogynist. Don’t forget, I made Colby my lead driver.”

“I’m not branding you anything and keep your voice down before you wake up the house. These walls are paper thin.”

Brian whisper-yelled, “Don’t brand Liam either. Do I need to remind you that it was his money and connections that made sure Colby had everything she needed for her first race?”

“Does that mean he owns her or that she owes him?”

“No, of course not.”

“Really? Because it seems to me that he wants her to give up everything so they can get married and have kids!” Lila raised her voice. “What is he giving up?”

“His sanity!” Brian shot back. “It’s not easy being in love with the women in the James family. You do realize we have round-the-clock security assigned to you because of all the death threats? We’re doing our best to keep you all safe on and off the track.”

He was right at least about that part. Lila calmed down.

Brian turned to face her. Even when Lila was backing down, she still had that same determined look in her eyes. In many ways, she was just as stubborn as Colby. “Look, I don’t want their personal issues to bleed over and become ours.”

He was right. “Me either. It’s just...forget what I said earlier. Deep down I know that Colby and Liam really love each other, and this sucks.”

“It does. My hope is that they will figure it out. In the meantime, I’ve got to focus on Lockwood. Just when I think I’ve got everything sorted, new shit keeps popping up. What are we going to do about that damned article? We only have a few daysto get ahead of this story before it’s released. If it gets out, it could be career-ending for Colby anyway.”

Lila raised up on her elbow. “You’ve figured out the money situation?”

“For the most part. I’ve got that handled.”

“Really? I mean, like, how?” She felt so guilty, being the reason Brian lost the Glenmore financing but relieved that everything seemed to work out on the money front. Lila fired off a bunch of rapid-fire questions. “Did you get another sponsor? Will it be enough for next season?”

“I’m still finalizing everything, so I don’t want to talk about it before the ink is dry, but if all works out, it could be better than anything we ever expected. Now, I just need to put out the fire Mark failed to do.”

Lila lay back down in the crook of Brian’s arms. “Mark was an asshole and a terrible partner to Colby.”

“On that, we can agree.”

Lila pressed her face into the column of his neck. “I think I can manage the article. I’ve already made a few calls.”

Brian was surprised. “Powerful enough to get it shut down?”

Lila smiled and nodded. “Yeah, from back in my modeling days. You would never believe how closely fashion and sports journalism are related. Just leave that part to me.”

“You sure? This could end Lockwood and Colby if we don’t get it handled.”

“I promise. This, I can handle.”

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