Page 34 of The Drag Race Debutante & the Detectives
He looked over at Matthew Spencer and honestly wondered if he should shake the idiot’s hand. If it wasn’t for that little twat lying to Emily and bringing her out to an illegal drag race, he and Eric could have lost her for good.
Just as the thought went through his mind, Matthew turned and caught Dane staring at him, grinning at him. “What’s so funny?”
“Your brother is about to have his arse handed to him by a little girl. That shit is funny.”
Matthew kicked at a stone on the pavement. “He’s not going to let her win.”
“Well that’s a co-inky-dink, because Emily isn’t going to let him win either.”
“Yeah. Sure.” Matthew looked nervous. More than nervous. The kid looked like he needed to vomit.
A pit formed in Dane’s gut. Something wasn’t right. Grabbing Matthew’s upper arm, he jerked him closer and he didn’t care who saw it. “Something you want to tell me, mate?” The kid swallowed hard and began to shake his head, but Dane shook him harder. “Don’t even think about lying to me. Not if it has something to do with Emily.”
Nodding, words began started spilling out of Matthew, like a confession avalanche. And just like an avalanche, it destroyed everything in its path.
“Shane’s going to mess her up, he’s going to make sure she can’t win.”
“What do you mean? Explain.”
“He’s got a guy ready to run her off the road. If it even looks like she might win, he’ll make the call and?—”
“And what?” Dane snarled, his temper clawing at him like the beast it was. But he couldn’t unleash it. Not yet. Not until he had all the information.
“He’ll kill her,” Matthew said, sweat beading on his brow and upper lip. He shook his head, his eyes wide and haunted. “He’ll make it look like an accident, but he’ll kill her.”
Dane grabbed the kid by his ear and dragged him, literally kicking and screaming over to Eric and Cross. “Tell them,” he demanded. “Tell them what you just told me.”
Matthew’s gaze darted between the three older men as he rubbed at his ear, but he did as Dane demanded and told them what Shane had in store for Emily.
“Fuck,” said Cross, then pulled out his phone and pointed a finger at Matthew. “Detain him, and keep him quiet.” Then he called in the cavalry.
The kid was in cuffs before he could blink, and he didn’t even argue. “I never wanted her to get hurt.” He shook his head. “But she humiliated Shane. He was never going to let her win.”
Dane stared at his older brother and knew he too felt the pain around his heart, the squeezing sensation that had the power to cripple them where they stood.
With the speeds Emily was doing and the distance they were travelling, at most the race would have taken about a minute and a half, and they were close enough to the action that they would have heard a crash. But….
No. No buts. Fuck that.
They weren’t giving up.
Not on her.
“She’ll be okay. She will,” Dane insisted. “Emily is one of the best drivers we’ve ever known. Our girl will be okay.”
Eric nodded. “You’re right. She will.” Then the sound of mass panic hit their ears as all hell broke loose. “Let’s get to work.”
The task force swooped in, and with the aid of the local coppers, they managed to arrest several people, either on suspicion of supplying drugs, or a variety of traffic offences. As expected, many of the hoons got away, disappearing into the darkened suburban streets. There was simply too many of them, and not enough police resources to go around.
About ten minutes into the chaos, Detective Cross got a call from Detective Bryant. They had detained Shane and a handful of others at the finish line, but there was no sign of Emily. And investigators further up the road hadn’t seen her either. There was no evidence of a crash, no debris. It was as though she had vanished into thin air.
It was almost another ten minutes before Dane heard a familiar engine rumbling and the tightness around his heart eased. His fear subsided and he called out to Eric. “She’s here. Our girl is here.”
Eric ran over to where Dane stood and together they watched his car come slowly into view, before pulling off to the side of the road. A moment later they were hauling Emily out of the car and checking her over for any injuries.
“I’m fine,” she insisted, smiling as they showered her in kisses. “I told you I’d be okay.”
“Where the bloody hell have you been? We were worried sick.”
