Page 9 of Full Throttle 2

They kissed. Playful at first, but gradually, the intensity softened. Colby’s eyes grew heavy, and her laughter faded as she sighed contentedly. Colby couldn’t recall the moment she drifted off as her head nestled onto Liam’s shoulder, her breathing soft and even.

Liam looked down at her, a smile tugging at his lips as he positioned Colby’s body to make her more comfortable.

He pulled the covers up over both of them, tucking her in close. With one last kiss to her forehead, his own eyes started to close as he drifted off to sleep beside her.

It was barely eight o’clock in the morning, and Brian was already knee-deep in a strategy session with his newly assembled executive team.

The anger he felt from the shenanigans of yesterday’s race was still pulsing through him. He couldn’t sit still and got up from the conference table. He was forceful and firm as he stalked around it. “What happened to Colby yesterday will absolutely never happen again!”

“You’re damned right, it won’t!” Unannounced, Liam burst into the meeting.

Brian wasn’t surprised that Liam had shown up. What had surprised him was that it had taken him this long. Irritated, Brian responded. “This is a closed-door meeting for staffonly.”

Liam didn’t want to usurp Brian’s authority, but they needed a heart-to-heart. He glanced at his watch. “My flight leaves in two hours. I only need ten minutes. Is now a good time for a break?” He wasn’t really asking.

If Liam wasn’t going to be gone for more than a month, Brian would have made his ass wait in his office. Instead, Brian turned to his team. “Let’s takefive.” He stressed the word as he gave Liam a stern glare.

They waited for the room to clear out before starting their discussion.

Liam could finally unleash his anger. “What the fuck, Brian?”

“Look, I know you’re upset, but I’ve got this.”

“Do you? Because from what I saw, Colby was almost splattered against a wall.”

“Frommyperspective, yes, things got out of hand. Colby definitely needs better blocking, and Cyrus and I are looking into that, but what was also reconfirmed is that your girl can handle whatever they throw at her on any course.”

“She shouldn’t have to. You know goddamn well you’d be shitting a brick if this was Lila.”

“You’re right. I would, and Colby shouldn’t have to deal with half the shit she does, but we’re handling it both officially and unofficially.”

“What does that mean?”

“It means that we’ve been getting calls and messages from other drivers who weren’t cool with the bullshit. There might be one or two willing to make a few deals.”

Liam was skeptical. “How do you know you can trust them?”

“We’re figuring that out.” Brian had some compassion for Liam but needed him to take a step back. “As your brother, I get it. I really do. But as the owner of Lockwood Racing, you’re overstepping. You cannot come busting into my office in front of my team making demands.”

Brian was right, but Liam would never admit it. “What would you do?”

“If this was a year or two ago, I might have tried to blow some shit up. But I’m not that guy, and I’ve had the best mentor.” He tipped his head to Liam. “Give me some space and some room to work. I promise I’m going to get a handle on this.”

The two men stood eye to eye, firm in their positions, until Liam finally gave Brian a slight nod as a sign of respect. “Keep me posted.”

“If there’s anything you need to know, I will tell you.”

There were three quick successive taps on the conference room door.

Before Brian told his team to come back into the room, he needed to make sure he and Liam understood one another. “We’re good?”

Begrudgingly, Liam nodded. “For now.”

That’s all Brian needed to hear as he yelled over his shoulder, “Come in.” His small team began to file back inside as Liam turned to leave.

“Liam?” Brian said.

Liam half-turned.

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