Page 72 of Rush
‘Just got some stress to unleash.’
‘Mars,’ Brett intercepted their conversation, ‘this isn’t the actual race. You know that, right? Speed doesn’t matter in this scenario; we’re just getting a feel for the car.’
‘I need to let it all out and the only way I know how to do that is on the tarmac.’
‘Sex also works,’ Julien suggested. ‘When I’ve got a lot going on, Faith can just sense it. Came back to the hotel room at the last race and she was–’
‘First of all, don’t want to hear it. Second, not really a viable option while I’m sat behind the wheel. And in case you haven’t noticed, while you’ve been trying to talk me out of it, I’ve only been getting faster. Wish me luck, lads.’
He didn’t hit the mute button, but his conviction was enough to silence them and leave him to go about his mission in peace. He pushed his foot on the accelerator, letting his frustration at the world fuel him as he kept up the pace. There were so few other cars out on track right now, he could get away with taking risks. Like going over the white line in places where he typically wouldn’t, going against everything that felt natural. Every racing driver pushed themselves sometimes, but they were still careful. Still semi-cautious.
Right now, Marco was being the opposite of that. He was driving with reckless abandon, and even his engineer couldn’t slow him down as he came onto the airwaves.
‘De Luca, slow the fuck down.’
‘But why? It’s just me and the car out here.’
‘There’s no need to be driving that fast in a practice session.’
‘That’s not a viable reason. If I can do it, why not let me? I’m getting the car warmed up, seeing how hard it can go. That’s what we need to see, isn’t it?’
‘It’s your head, not mine, man,’ his engineer sighed.
‘Just tell me how close I am to hitting that lap record.’
‘You Revolution boys are a fucking nightmare…’ he said through gritted teeth. ‘But yeah, you’re close. I’m gonna shut up now and let you crack on. But if you do this again, if you push too hard unnecessarily, I will report you to Jasper.’
Marco just smirked behind his visor, because he knew he was going to do it. It may not be as significant because it wasn’t mid-race, but he would still make the history books. He kept driving like the world was going to end, no longer being cheered on by his fury but instead by pure passion for this job. And then it was time to go back into the pits, to be celebrated or disciplined, he wasn’t sure. But he didn’t care; he could feel in his bones that he had broken the record.
‘I saw all of that.’ Jasper approached him as soon as he was out of the car, arms crossed and eyes narrowed. ‘Do we need to talk?’
‘No. That was a one-off.’ Marco swallowed roughly. Despite what that little show of arrogance might suggest, he was scared of his boss. Sometimes. Only when he got behind the wheel; because he knew that every decision the drivers made on track was closely analysed and scrutinised by the entire team.
‘If you’re going to smash lap records every time,’ Jasper raised an eyebrow, ‘don’t let it be a one-off. Listen to your engineer, but damn, De Luca. That was an excellent performance.’
After his team principal clapped him on the back, he left him alone and Marco was given a split second to processhis achievement before his teammates were at his side, congratulating him. That was going to hit headlines later. And he was bound to be interviewed, too. He was just glad that team radios weren’t accessed by the media team during practice sessions, because his refusal to obey his engineer wouldn’t go down too well. Marco never wanted to be labelled as a difficult driver, and that wasn’t what he was. He’d got carried away, used his job as therapy.
‘Bro…’ Brett beamed at him, knocking on his helmet. ‘You did a classic Jules Moretz, there. Big fan of the diva attitude, it weirdly kind of suits you.’
‘I don’t pull moves like that anymore, I’m past all that.’ Julien rolled his eyes. ‘Don’t go allFast and Furiousduring qualifying tomorrow, or the race, but yeah, that was impressive.’
Marco removed his helmet and balaclava, offering his teammates his signature cheeky grin and accepting the hug Julien offered. ‘Thanks, Dad.’
‘Go find your girlfriend, she was on the edge of her seat watching you.’ Julien sent him to the other side of the garage, where Savannah shot up at the sight of him.
‘What was that?!’ She smacked him on the arm.
‘That was me realising I might need therapy, or anger management or something.’ He shrugged. ‘Aren’t you going to say “well done”?’
‘Well done, you big idiot. That was dangerous, Monaco.’ She scowled at him, looking more cute than angry. ‘What were you so mad about?’
‘You getting your heart broken by global superstar and biggest asshole in country music, Jesse Montalvo. It pissed me off, Cowgirl.’
Savannah’s face softened as she looked up at him, her big brown eyes full of appreciation. It made him melt. ‘You don’t need to be angry on my behalf, Mars. He may have caused some damage, but he certainly didn’t break my heart. I won’t allow him to have that much power over me.’ She reached her arms out for an embrace, and he took the opportunity to pull her close into him, glancing down at her. ‘Do you know what would break my heart? You getting hurt because of me.’
‘I knew what I was doing, but I promise not to do anything that stupid again. You have my word. And for the record, I will always be angry at anyone who doesn’t realise how lucky they are to have my Cowgirl’s heart.’
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