Page 108 of Kiss & Collide
Halfway to Turn Eighteen, he lost sight of Liam, but that didn’t mean he wasn’t there, ready to surge back and overtake. He stayed on the accelerator, ripping through the curve, this time hard on the inside.
All at once, the fog lifted and he could hear it—the overwhelming roar of the crowd. The stands were on their feet, the ground vibrating with their stomping and cheering as he rounded the last turn into the start/finish straight.
It hit him in a rush, elation like he’d never known before. He wasn’t hallucinating. This was real. There might be a huge asterisk beside his name and this victory, but right now, he didn’t fucking care. Somehow, impossibly, he’d just made every dream he’d ever had come true.
Liam was gone, back behind him somewhere. It was just him and the car, an endless expanse of open track, and a waving checkered flag to lead him home to victory.
THE PINNACLE GARAGEerupted in elated screams all around Violet. The pit crew raced out to the pit wall to cheer Chase on as the checkered flag came down. The next thing she knew, Carter had swept her up in a bear hug, laughing and whooping with delight. After that it was a blur. She hugged Leon and Imogen. Then she hauled Rabia into her arms, both of them screaming and laughing as they gripped each other. When Violet let go of Rabia and turned, Carter was there, watching them, still smiling broadly.
“Well, Mr. Hammond?” she asked, still breathing hard, feeling the triumphant smile glued to her face. “How’d we do?”
He laughed and shook his head, then extended his hand to hers to shake. “You’ve got two years, Ms. Harper. Let’s see how it goes.”
Inside, a wave of relief and euphoria rushed through her, but she returned his shake with the same level of confidence. “Thank you. I can’t promise you another day like this, but I promise it’ll be exciting.”
“I don’t doubt it. My god, what a thrill …”
He started to turn away. She should leave it. They’d gotten two more years, which was everything they’d dare hope for. She ought to be satisfied with that win. But fuck it. If you didn’t ask for it, you’d never get it.
“Mr. Hammond, there’s one more thing …”
Carter hiked his eyebrow. “I just gave you your team. What else do you want?”
“Arealteam principal. No offense,” she added quickly.
He chuckled again and dipped his head. “Understood. None taken.”
Bye, Reece, Violet thought.
Then Carter turned and extended a hand to Rabia. “Ms. Dar, congratulations. The team is yours. Now if you’ll excuse me, Ishould go find Corrine. I believe we’ve got some celebrating to do.”
“Don’t go too far,” Violet said. “You’re the team owner. The media is going to want to talk to you.”
Carter thought about that for a beat, then smiled. “So they will. Come find me when you need me, Ms. Harper.”
When he’d gone, Violet looked at Rabia. Rabia was still shaking her head, wide-eyed.
“Did he just make me team principal? It sounded like he did, but maybe I have an undiagnosed head injury and I’m just hallucinating.”
“He did. Congrats, Rabia. You’ve earned this.”
Rabia smiled at her. “So we have two years to prove ourselves, huh?”
Violet scoffed. “Not a problem. Hammond will get his money’s worth and then some. Pinnacle just becamelegendary. This isMiracle on Iceshit. They’re going to make a fucking movie about our team and this season. I’ll make sure it happens.”
She was almost delirious with elation. Did she know anyone with connections in Hollywood? She must. How did you go about pitching a movie there? Who knew, but she’d figure that out, the way she did everything else.
Her phone was already blowing up. Every journalist who had her contact info was reaching out, begging for an interview. Every media outlet in the world would be talking about Chase Navarro and Pinnacle tonight.
Suddenly Emil shouted over the din of the garage. “Uh, does anybody have the FIA regulations handy? I never read the podium procedure because I didn’t think we’d ever need it. I have to tell Chase what to do next.”
“I have it!” Imogen shouted, racing across the garage and waving her iPad over her head.
“You have to keep Imogen as your assistant,” Violet said to Rabia.
“Obviously. She’s the smartest person here.”
When Chase finally climbed out of the car and pulled off his helmet, the entirety of the Pinnacle pit crew and every staffer on site clamored at the pit wall.
