Page 95 of Octane

Pulling into the garage, my chest tightens when I see Sawyer’s car in its spot. When I left her earlier today, I asked her to meet me at my penthouse tomorrow at eleven, and I can’t wait until then. Being able to see her for a short while will be a small but heavenly reprieve from our estrangement.

She told me about the tracker that she has to wear. She was worried that Daniel would know that she was in the penthouse, but I explained to her that he will only be able to see that she’s still in the building. Not what floor she’s on.

I want nothing more than to go upstairs, kick her door down, and take her with me right now. But I don’t want anything to go wrong with the transaction and cause Daniel to sic the mob on Zach. I park in my assigned space and close my eyes, taking a calming breath. I need to stay strong and be smart. Just a few more days, and this will all be over. I can do this.

But when I open my eyes, I see that stupid motherfucker pull into the space next to Sawyer’s. My calm is washed away with fury.

Jackson, don’t do it.

I shouldn’t react. I should stay in my car until he gets in the elevator and goes upstairs.

Upstairs.

Where Sawyer is.

I snap.

Fuck.

“Hey!” I shout at him as I hop out of my car.

He turns at the sound of my angry call, and an evil, smug grin crosses his face.

“What the fuck is your problem? Why can’t you just get it through your thick skull that Sawyer doesn’t want to have anything to do with your sadistic, narcissistic ass, and let her live her life?”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” he plays dumb.

That’s fitting.

“You know,” he begins again, “it’s really sad that you can’t accept the fact that Sawyer wanted to come back to me instead of slumming it in hotel rooms with you. The only reason I came and got her was because she begged me to. She told me it scared her to tell you she didn’t want to race anymore, and she needed my help to get out. I have my lawyers working to dissolve the contract right now, actually.”

All I can do is laugh.

“Wow,” my face grows serious. “You’re even more delusional than I originally thought, Danny boy.”

That knocks the shit-eating grin from his face.

“I mean, look at the situation you’re in. You’re holding a girl, who willneverlove you by the way, hostage in your condo just so she won’t be able to leave you again.”

“Is that why she agreed to marry me? Because she doesn’t love me and wants to leave me?”

He waits for my reaction upon hearing about their contrived engagement, and his face tells me he is angry when it doesn’t get the reception he thought it would.

“That’s funny,” I mock.

He doesn’t respond.

“It’s funny that you think you know what love is. You think it’s controlling her, keeping her from friends and loved ones because those people make her happier than you ever will. Same with racing. She’s safer driving around a track at two-hundred miles per hour in a metal box than she is with you. Love isn’t putting your hands on her when she can’t meet your unreasonable demands.”

He tries to interrupt, but I take one step closer to him and continue before he has the chance.

Oh, no, motherfucker. You’re going to learn today.

“It’s not making her feel like a complete and total failure so strongly that she wants to quit the one thing she’s been working her entire life for. It’s not telling her she isn’t as pretty, or smart, or talented as everyone else.”

I watch as he grows more and more uncomfortable. He’s looking for something to come back with, but he’s not smart enough. He doesn’t possess the emotion necessary for someone to put their genuine feelings into words.

“Sawyer is the most beautiful person I’ve ever met in my entire life. Inside and out. She’s smart. Strong. Capable. And believe me when I tell you that your days with her are numbered. You believe you’ve got her where you want her, caged in and at your mercy, but if you think that’s going to stop me, you’re dead wrong. You will not win this war.”

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