Page 29 of Midnight Racers

Megan wandered over to join me, handing me a set of headphones. “Jordan said to give these to you.”

Dale had only ever let Dad listen to him when he was testing one of the cars. Everyone cleared off the track and took their positions. Jordan appeared behind Megan and she settled herself against him with her back to his chest.

One earphone covered my ear, but the other was turned outward as an old mechanic that worked on Dad’s cars when he raced told me long ago that you learned a car by its sounds. It was like learning a new language that allowed you to communicate without words.

Sometimes the old advice was still the best.

“Everything looks ready,” Declan said in my ear. “You’re good to go when you’re ready.”

“Roger that,” Flynn replied.

The car roared into life and I closed my eyes for a moment to allow myself to tune into my surroundings. Flynn took off like the proverbial bat out of hell, the car flying past us as the wheels gripped the surface of the track. This was another part of being in a racing team. I didn’t just have to know the car, but the driver as well. Flynn was the part of the process that gave that car heart and purpose. Leaning on the rail, I watched every aspect of the race, listening to the background chatter as the guys discussed the test.

Never once did my attention leave the car, the adrenalin of the race pulsing through me as if I was in that car with Flynn. He handled the corners seamlessly, the car moving like it was being propelled forward by music.

“What do you think?” Jordan asked me, his headphones hanging around his neck.

“The back end needs tightened up and I think we need to replace the exhaust.”

He laughed and shook his head. “I was talking about the driving since we haven’t seen the reports. You got all that from watching the race?”

“I stood here because this is the tightest bend on the track to allow me to see the car in action. I can chat to the guys anytime back at the factory, what I needed to hear was the car and how it performs out there. You only know the potential of a car when you open it up and let it take you for a ride.”

Yeah, I was a nerd but I didn’t care. I had accepted that about myself a long time ago. Some criticisms weren’t a bad thing. One day, the nerds would rise up and take over the world.

Flynn raced past us again toward the bend. I pointed at the car. “Watch the way it whips as he takes it around,” I said to Jordan. “If you lose on every bend, that is the difference between first and third place in a race.”

I noticed that Jordan didn’t put his headphones on again, instead watching the race with his arms around Megan and his chin on top of her head. His head moved to the side the next time Flynn came around and hit that corner.

The testing came to an end and Flynn idled the car back into base.

“Do we get to race now?” Megan asked when Jordan made his way over to speak to Flynn.

“I think they’re taking the IndyCar out for a few laps first, but I’ve picked our car.” Everyone’s attention was diverted, so I lifted my small toolkit and headed to the garage with Megan behind me.

There was a gem of a car in the corner, covered by a thin layer of dust, meaning that it tended not to be picked. “Start her up for me,” I said to Megan.

I made a few quick fixes before I closed her up. “As soon as they start to run, we head to this car.”

Megan bounced up and down on her toes, clapping her hands at her waist level in front of her. “I’m so excited.”

“I hadn’t noticed,” I deadpanned.

She hugged me anaconda-style before almost skipping out of the garage. Megan was definitely different and that was a good thing since my world had grown cold and distant.

Flynn smiled at Jordan when I walked outside, his hair tousled from the helmet, and my breath caught. There was something about him that spoke to my soul, a connection that I couldn’t explain.

His eyes met mine for a brief moment and I felt a spark to the depths of my soul. A flash of lightning rippled down my spine, and with it a warning deep in my stomach that screamed for me to run. That man was a sexual demon disguised as a man and could tempt the pure to a life of sin.

***

Chapter Eleven

Flynn

There was nothing that equalled the buzz of a race. Adrenalin spiked through my veins in a rush that left me dizzy. I brought the car to a halt and just sat in that energy for a few moments. The freedom still echoed inside me and called me back to the accelerator.

Everyone had their own form of addiction, and mine was speed.

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