Page 1 of Octane

PROLOGUE

Hugging the final turn, my hands grip the steering wheel tighter than they ever have before. The heat from my engine burns hot, but the fire running through my body is pure adrenaline. I’m neck and neck with the driver in the number one spot, but this isn’t his race. It’s mine.

I can do this.

I was born for this.

With only a hundred yards to go, I have less than a second to take the lead and bring that trophy home, where it belongs. I’ve waited my entire life for this. Trained for it. Worked my ass off. Paid my dues and proven that I belong here.

There’s no way I’m going to let this guy take it away from me.

Barreling toward the finish line, everything slows down. The roar of the engine fades away, the crowd blurs out. There is nothing but me, the thud of my heart beating rapidly in my chest, and the checkered flag.

Neck and neck with my opponent, I refuse to back down. We chase one another down the track in this risky and unstable tango, and I’m certain that the thoughts consuming me hold him hostage as well.

He wants this bad, but not as much as I do.

As I gain control of the track in front of me, the other driver comes close to sideswiping the wall. He swerves slightly, trying to right his car again, but it’s too late.

That’s all I needed.

That’s all it takes.

A split second of miscalculation or underestimation and you’re done.

As my car flies across the finish line, I look at that checkered flag, waving me home. In that fleeting moment, all of my dreams have come true.

And no one can take that away from me.

CHAPTER ONE

SAWYER

I’ve dreamed of becoming a race car driver since I was fifteen. I’ll never forget the first time I saw a car speeding down the track at Auto Club Speedway. My Uncle Liam took my sister, Carissa, and me. Carissa hated it and complained the entire day, but not me. Uncle Liam always joked that I was like the nephew he never had. Even though I’m a girl, I was the tomboy who loved sports and rolling around in the dirt.

At the track that day, all of my senses were in overdrive. I couldn’t get enough of the sight of the crowd going crazy with excitement, watching their favorite drivers narrowly pulling ahead of their opponents. The sound of the cars as they whizzed past our seats in the stands was deafening but thrilling. The exhilarating, intoxicating smell of burning rubber. I know, it’s weird to like something that smells so awful, but it reminds me of the sensations I felt that day, twelve years ago.

When we got home, still high on adrenaline, I begged my father to sign me up for the junior racing league. At first, he kind of laughed it off. I think he thought that my excitement would wane as the days went by, but my persistence won in the end. The following month, I was sitting behind the wheel of my first race car, changing my life forever.

The hot steam of the shower mixed with my favorite memory has me wishing I was back in bed, snuggled under the covers, dreaming about a happier time in my life. I plead with the coffee that I just downed to wake me up. I’m already running a few minutes late for work, and that just won’t do.

Turning the water off, I grab the towels hanging on the wall just outside of the shower and toss my hair up in one of them. Wrapping the soft material of the other towel around my body, I inhale the scent of eucalyptus one more time before stepping out of the steam and into the cold bathroom.

Today will be a good day.

My mantra plays itself in my head as I pad over to the sink and pull out my toothbrush. Loading it up with toothpaste, I tap the screen of my phone to see what time it is.

8:13 a.m.

Shit.

I need to get moving. I begin to brush as my phone rings. Furrowing my brow and wondering who’s calling so early, I glance at my phone.

Vic.

My manager. My eyes go wide, and I speed brush the rest of my teeth quickly, spit out the toothpaste, give my mouth a half-assed rinse, and answer the phone.

“Hello?” I say, holding my next breath.

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