Page 111 of Start Your Engines

“Getyour fucking hands off my sister.” Niki jumps up and rushes Connor, but I stand in front of him.

A curl of Niki’s dirty blond hair falls on his forehead from beneath his backwards cap. His stare burns a hole in my heart.

“Niki, leave it,” I say, lifting my jaw.

Connor tries to get out from behind me. The fool. I can protect him. “It’s not?—”

“Don’t you dare say it’s not what I think.” Spittle flies from Niki’s mouth, landing in the air because I’m forcing distance between him and us. His tan highlights his cheekbones, as do the red angry spots on his cheeks. “You’re fucking my sister, right?”

“Yes, but it’s not just?—”

“Shut the hell up. We had a deal, and clearly, you haven’t stuck to it,” Niki rages. “I know what you’re like, remember? You’re a player.”

“I’m not like that.”

“You had a personality transplant?”

I turn so I’m still facing Niki in case he does anything stupid, but so I can speak quietly to Connor. “Connor, please let me handle this.”

Although Niki’s lost the lean body of a racing driver and bulked out a little, I’m confident Connor could take him, but knowing my man and how guilty he’s felt over the last months, he’d probably let Niki beat him to a pulp.

“So you need my baby sister to fight your battles, do you? You were supposed to be my best friend.” His face is bright red, and he’s fisting his hands.

“I am your best friend.”

“You’re dead to me,” he replies, his jaw tight.

There’s a ding at the lift. We don’t need anyone else to get involved in this. “Connor, you go. I’ll talk to Niki and call you, okay?”

He slides his hand into mine. Niki growls in response. “I’m here for you. We can do this together.”

I shake my head. “He’ll be more reasonable if it’s just me.”

“I’m right here. I can hear everything,” Niki says between gritted teeth. He squeezes his fists again. Where has my sweet brother gone?

“Trust me,” I murmur to Connor, whose face drops as he nods.

He glances at Niki and winces, yet still kisses my cheek. “I love you,” he whispers, but in the quiet of the corridor, I’m certain Niki hears.

As he steps away and walks to the lift, his eyes wide with worry, Niki aims one last jibe at him. “All this time, you were finding a way to get with her. You promised me, promised you would take care of her. I asked you to protect her this season, and you did this.”

Connor looks away from me, but the truth is evident in his pinched eyes. My mouth drops.

“What is he saying, Connor?”

“It’s not like it sounds?—”

I round on Connor. “You’ve been talking about me behind my back?”

“Yes,” Niki replies smugly. “I knew how hard this year would be for you and?—”

“Stop, Niki. I’m talking to my boyfriend.”

Connor squeezes his lips together as he stares at me. His forehead is squished, but I resist the pull to smooth the lines. “At first, it was about protecting you, but within a short time, I knew you didn’t need that. You just needed someone on your side. Out of the two of us, I’m the one who needs protecting. I’m a liability, remember?”

He gives me a soft smile.

“I love you,” he says, imploring me.

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