Page 34 of Risk

When we pulled away, we were both smiling and panting. I wanted nothing more in that moment than to whisk her away in my arms, take her back to my house, and make love to her for the rest of the night.

12

Aspen

Mexico City, Mexico

Normally,I watched the races from a little suite set up for me. They had a TV on the wall, nice plush couches to sit on, and food service, but they didn’t have one available for me this time. Today I was in one with Colton and his team. It was much bigger than the ones I’d previously been in, and the room was full of people I didn’t know. Everyone was at work, looking over stats and speeds and who knew what else. None of it made sense to me.

A notification dinged in the air. I knew it wasn’t my phone because it was turned off. I couldn’t be distracted when, at any moment, Cal might need me. I watched from the other side of the room as Colton pulled out his phone, his brows furrowed as he read whatever was on his screen. When he looked up, his eyes landed on me, and they were blank. Gone was the happiness, the kindness, everything. They were void of all emotion. He stared at me for a long moment before he turned his head and went back to work.

Something had happened, but as I listened to Cal and his team over the system, I knew everything was fine on his end. He was in second place and was close to passing and taking first. He truly was an amazing driver. In every race I’d been to, he was always in the top three. Maybe that’s why the other racers disliked him so much.

On the TV, I watched as one of the cars spun out of control and hit the guardrail. Smoke filled the air. Kaspar relayed to Cal what had transpired, and the moment he heard the news, his breathing picked up. I waited and listened to see if he could handle it on his own, but when he croaked out a shaky ‘Doc,’ I pulled on my headset and put the mic in front of my mouth.

“I’m here, Cal. You’re nowhere close to the wreck, and it will be cleared by the time you get there. Now, remember what I taught you. Clear your head of everything else but your driving. What your hands are doing, your feet, your breath. Take deep breaths and slow your heart rate.”

“I can’t.” His voice shook, and it made me want to cry. I wasn’t sure why he was having a setback. “Talk to me. Tell me something. Anything.” It sounded like a demand, but I really knew it was a plea.

“Okay, but I want you to take slow and steady breaths. In through your nose and out through your mouth. If you stop, then I’ll stop talking.”

“I think I can do that,” he said but didn’t sound sure of himself.

“I know you can. You’re safe. If there was any chance of anything happening to you, Kaspar and your team would let you know. You know they’d never put you in harm's way.”

“Kaspar’s the best fucking guy,” he croaked out.

I saw the man in question dip his head and then look over at me. One corner of his mouth was tipped up in a smile.

“My favorite place in the whole world is Green Lake. I can’t wait to go back to it. I want to dive in the clear water, hike the trails, and lay out under the stars all night.”

“Oh, yeah? That’s your favorite place so far?”

He knew where my true favorite place was. It was his house in Malibu, but I couldn’t say that. If the team knew I’d stayed with him until we had to head to the next race, everything would be over. Green Lake was right on the heels of his oceanside house, though.

“It is. I’ve never seen a more perfect place. It’s a hidden gem.”

He let out a low chuckle. “I’m not sure how hidden it really is. I found it didn’t I? It’s just not a place most people know about unless they live there. But I agree, it’s pretty spectacular.”

Cal was back. His voice wasn’t shaky. His breathing was steady, and he was already joking around with me.

I stayed quiet for a few more moments to make sure he was okay. I didn’t want him to panic only because he stopped hearing my voice.

“Only ten more laps,” someone called out.

I took off my headset and stared up at all the TVs on the wall. It was strange how all of this had become my life in such a short period of time. In Barcelona, I had turned into a homebody who only lived to work, and now I had traveled to fourteen countries in the last several months. I was pretty sure I’d found the man of my dreams—my patient—and wanted to spend the rest of my life with him. I wasn’t sure how to make that happen, though. Could I give up my practice? I didn’t see any other way if I wanted to see him regularly. Maybe I could visit him once a month by going to every other race. Or he could come to me during the breaks in between races. No, he loved exploring new places in each country. I couldn’t ask him to come back to me only so we could spend a week together here and there.

We still had time to figure everything out, but I needed to decide what I could live with and what I couldn’t live without.

I was broken out of my thoughts when Colton stood looming over me with a scowl on his face. “We need to have a meeting when the race is over, so don’t leave this room. We’ll wait for Callum to come up and join us.”

“Okay,” I gulped. That didn’t sound good. I wasn’t sure what he wanted to meet about. There were only two more races left in the season. Maybe he wanted to see about hiring me for next season as well. Even if he did, it didn’t explain the scowl or the way he kept turning to look at me with narrowed eyes.

The after-race festivities took quite a while. There were the podium and interviews, along with all the congratulations from the team, and who knew what else since I didn’t always stay for everything. It was nearing the one-hour mark by the time Cal came into the room with Colton on his heels. The moment they walked through the door, Colton closed and locked it. Cal leaned against the wall with his jumpsuit unzipped and pushed down to his waist. He was a sweaty mess with his white t-shirt soaked and his hair sticking up all over the place. Still, he was as handsome as ever. His blue eyes met mine for only a moment before he kicked one leg up on the wall.

“What’s this meeting about, boss?” he tried to joke, but it was obvious he was just as leery about this meeting as I was.

Colton mirrored Cal’s posture, leaning on the wall across from him. “During the race, I was sent a video.”

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