Page 108 of Celestial Combat

Chapter 28

Present

New Jersey

THE NIGHT AIR ROLLED THICK with smoke and the low hum of engines. Floodlights burned through the darkness, casting harsh shadows across the cracked asphalt of the private race track deep in the industrial outskirts of Jersey.

I sat behind the wheel of a stolen Lamborghini, the matte charcoal paint swallowing the moonlight like a void.

I was getting my Porsche back tonight. One way or another.

To my right, Jiehong rolled up inmycar. He looked over, leaned casually in the seat, and gave me that smug, Triad-prince smirk.

Jiehong’s eyes disappeared from my sight behind a black wall.

Zane leaned down, looking at me through my passenger window. I took in his black clothes, wondering if he even owned clothes in other colors other than black, white and grey. My lips twitched; the asshole wouldprobably correct me, saying those don’t even categorize as colors.

His jaw was set, dark hair tousled like he’d come straight from something violent. He didn’t look surprised to see me. But his expression shifted when he got a good look at me.

The cut lip. The bruise forming on my jaw.

I saw the flicker of anger burn through his eyes like a match to gasoline.

Adrenaline surged in my veins like fire licking up my spine.

“You can either get in,” I said, voice rough from defiance, “Or get out of my way.”

Zane didn’t blink. Didn’t speak. Just opened the door and slid into the passenger seat like he’d done it a thousand times.

The moment he shut it, the air tightened.

Jiehong’s girlfriend on the side of the track held the white scarf up.

My bloodied fists tightened around the wheel.

The scarf went up in the air.

I slammed the gas.

The Huracán roared like a beast unleashed, tires screeching as we shot forward down the track. The force slammed us back into the seats, wind shrieking past the open windows.

The track curved hard – a tight U-turn. I didn’t brake. I drifted, tires howling, the rear fishtailing just enough to make Zane’s hand brace against the dash.

He still didn’t say anything.

But I felt his gaze cut sideways toward me. I could feel his pulse in the silence. Like mine.

The wind tore through my hair. The city lights flickered behind the trees, just barely visible through the haze.

I leaned into the next turn, the car responding like it was an extension of me – sharp, fast, furious.

Mycar was just ahead now. Jiehong took the outer lane. He underestimated me. They always did.

I shifted down, then floored it – cutting inside, inches from his bumper.

Zane finally spoke. “You’re gonna scrape the paint.”

I smirked.