Page 4 of Speed

I stared at this expert who thought he knew me, my vision tunneling as his mouth kept moving, but none of it reached me. I couldn’t hear him over the screams in my head telling me this couldn’t be happening. Not to me. Not now.

I gripped the edges of the chair so hard my fingers ached, my mind racing through every excuse, every argument, every reason why this had to be a mistake. Because if it wasn’t, then what the hell was I supposed to do? If I wasn’t Brody Vance, the bad boy who lived and breathed speed, then who the fuck was I?

“This isn’t happening,” I snarled, interrupting him mid-flow. “I’m fine. Ifeelfine. I don’t care what some stupid MRI says—I’m not stopping. Not for you. Not for anyone.”

Logan’s voice cut through the rising storm in my head. “Brody?—”

“Don’t,” I barked, whipping my head toward him. “Don’t you dare try to back him up. You’re supposed to be on my side!”

“I am on your side, little brother,” Logan said, his tone even but laced with a quiet intensity that cut through my anger. “But this? This is going to kill you if you don’t listen.”

Fury roared in my chest, a fire I couldn’t extinguish. I turned back to Dr. Reilly, my jaw tight, my voice dropping to a dangerous growl.

“You’re wrong,” I said, each word sharp and bitter. “I’ll prove you wrong. You’ll see.”

Dr. Reilly didn’t flinch, his steady gaze meeting mine. “This isn’t about proving anything. Look, Brody, I’m not your enemy. I’m trying to save your life.”

I laughed bitterly, the sound scraping my throat. “Save my life? You’re destroying it.”

“Shut the fuck up, Brody.” Logan’s voice cut through the haze. “Listen to him.”

My brother’s pale gray eyes locked onto mine. There was no judgment in his expression, no anger. Just the weight of someone who’d been through hell with me before and was ready to do it again.

“I don’t need to listen to this,” I muttered, looking away. “I’m fine.”

“No, you’re not.” Logan’s hand dropped from my shoulder, but his voice stayed steady. “This isn’t about being tough. You can’t race again, Brody.”

The words hit harder than the crash itself. Harder than any of the 4g forces I’d endured on turn 14. Racing wasn’t just something I did; it was who I was. And now?

I felt the first crack in my armor, and I hated it.

Dr. Reilly cleared his throat, his tone maddeningly calm, as if he weren’t delivering a death sentence on everything I’d built my life around. “I know this is a lot to process. Take some time. But you need to understand—racing would be catastrophic, Brody. The combination of high g-forces and the stress on your body could cause the aneurysm to rupture. It’s not just dangerous. It’s fatal.”

Fatal. The word hit me like a punch to the chest, but I forced myself to shove it aside, bury it under the blinding, white-hot anger that was my constant companion.

“You’re legally bound to keep your mouth shut,” I said, my voice sharp, daring him to disagree. “Patient confidentiality, right?”

“You’re correct,” Doc said. “I won’t share this information without your consent.”

“Good,” I snapped. “Then this conversation is over. I’ll slap an NDA on you and anyone else who knows if I have to.”

“Jesus, Brody,” Logan snapped, and I yanked my arm from under his touch.

“Brody.” Doc was louder, his tone hardening.

“What!”

“Do you want your legacy to show that you killed other drivers because you died at the wheel?”

The words felt like a slap in the face. My hands curled into fists, and my breath quickened as his question lingered, suffocating me. Legacy meant everything, but my legacy was a championship, pulling myself out of hell and becoming the man no one expected me to be.

“Don’t,” I growled, my voice low and full of venom. “Don’t you dare try to guilt me.”

“It’s not guilt,” he replied firmly. “It’s reality. You think you can hide this, but the truth will come out, one way or another. Do you want that to be what you’re remembered for?”

I glared at him, every muscle coiled like a spring. I hated him. Hated the calm, logical way he laid out my nightmare as if it was some goddamn PowerPoint presentation. But as the rage burned in my chest, his words burrowed in, the truth of them leaving cracks in the wall I was so desperately trying to shore up.

I didn’t answer. I couldn’t. I just sat there, silent and seething, as my world crumbled around me, and I clenched my fists to stop the shaking. This couldn’t be happening.

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