Page 37 of Racer

“Do it,” Kane growled. “Shut it the fuck down.”

Maverick clapped a hand on my shoulder. “You’ve got the green light. Go full scorched earth.”

Everyone except Edge, Midnight, and Reaper peeled off to start making calls—organizing a meeting with the clean owners and preparing to circulate the evidence.

Meanwhile, I paced, my mind sorting through everything and weeding out the noise so I could focus on what needed to happen next.

Emily sat on the workbench and watched me silently. Her trust and quiet strength were the only things keeping me from losing my shit and going feral.

Franklin had upped the game. He wasn’t aiming for a crash to save him from losing. He wanted to end it all. And in his convoluted mind, he thought taking me out was the key. Probably figured if he couldn’t rig the race with subtlety, he’d make a statement. A warning.

Yeah, that wasn’t ever gonna happen.

“New plan,” I muttered, dragging a palm down my jaw. “We hit every one of Franklin’s teams. One by one. Sabotage their rides. Screw their odds. Blow their standings. Not literally,” I added, glancing at Emily’s surprised expression. “Just fuck ’em up enough to wreck their wins.”

Reaper looked at Edge. “Get us a list of rigs, and we’ll play musical parts.”

Deviant and Jax stalked over, their expressions telling me they’d been briefed on the situation. I explained the new plan, and Deviant grinned darkly. “I can spoof tuning data that’ll fry their performance without leaving a trail.”

Emily rose to her feet, stepped in close, her hand on my arm. “Let me help.”

I shook my head. “No.”

Her glare could’ve sliced paint off steel. “Racer?—”

“I said no!” My voice came out harsher than I meant it. But just the idea of her being anywhere near those motherfuckers nearly had my head exploding. “This time, it’s not just code or sockets. It’s breaking and entering. Disabling security. Possibly dropping a few assholes who get in the way. You’re not going.”

She crossed her arms, toe tapping, chin lifted. “It’ll go faster with one more person. And I know those garage layouts. I know where the parts are kept. I’ve worked beside half of those crews.”

I stepped into her space, fisted the front of my shirt where it hung on her body. “And if someone puts a hand on you?” I growled, the angry beast inside me rising, ready to decimate anyone or anything that could hurt my angel.

Her mouth opened, then closed. I watched her struggle, pride and fury at war in her beautiful face. Finally, she gritted out, “What if I take one of your guys with me? They won’t let anything happen.”

I still hated the idea of her in any proximity to danger, but she’d managed to box me in a corner. If I didn’t let her have her way, it would imply that I didn’t have faith in my brothers.

Fuck.

I glanced at Midnight, and he lifted a brow. “You trust me with your bike. Trust me with your girl.”

My eyes moved to Maverick.

He held up his hand. “Swear on my patch, man. She won’t so much as get a scratch.”

It fucking burned, but I nodded.

“Fine,” I growled. “But if one hair on her head gets touched?—”

“Then you’ll paint the walls with someone’s insides,” Emily cut in. “Yeah, we know.”

My heart stuttered as I looked down at her. At the fierce light in her blue eyes, the set of her jaw, the curve of her perfect lips. My little mechanic angel. She was my heaven on earth, and if I lost her, I’d drag the whole world down to hell.

I lowered my head until my mouth brushed her ear. “When this is over, I’m gonna claim your body. Inch by inch. Remind you who you belong to until you can’t fucking walk.”

She shivered, then blushed. And I was back to balancing on a wire between protectiveness and raw, filthy hunger.

I kissed her hard, then turned to face my brothers.

“Go suit up,” I rasped. “We roll in one hour.”

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