Page 75 of Overtake
@PressPassPaparazziWhoever leaked this private moment... your access should be REVOKED. This crossed a line.
? @F1Photographer_RealAbsolutely. Disgusting that someone violated their trust like this.
? @WolfBettWarriorAgreed. This is going to mess with both their heads. Championship pressure + relationship drama = disaster waiting to happen
CHAPTER NINETEEN
UNITED STATES GRAND PRIX | SUNDAY | RACE DAY
Nico glancesat the time as he emerges from the hotel bathroom. Someone’s knocking on his room door. It’s fifteen after six, which means it’s either room service he didn’t order or someone without a clue. He’s half-dressed—sweatpants on, team shirt in hand—when the knocking turns persistent.
“Mierda.”He pads to the door and looks through the peephole to see Nia standing in the hallway. She knows not to disturb him before a race. It’s the one rule Nico enforces with everyone, and not even Papá interrupts his morning ritual.
He opens the door. “What’s wrong?”
She pushes past him into the room. “I volunteered to fall on the sword and piss you off before you head to the track.”
“Piss me off about what?” He closes the door and gestures at her with the shirt. “I was about to leave.”
She plops onto the edge of his made bed and pulls her phone from her purse. “You’ll thank me for this,hermano.”
“Nia, social media can wait.”
“No.” Her intense expression says he needs to shut up and pay attention. “You’re walking into an ambush and there’s no way I’ll let you get blindsided.”
He slips the shirt over his head and tugs it down. “Explain.”
“Papá texted me this morning. Graham Pritchard’s called an emergency management meeting at seven hundred hours.”
Nico scowls. “Why?”
She turns her phone screen toward him. “Because of this.”
The image hits Nico like a shunt into a concrete wall at three hundred km/h.
It’s the kiss. Last night, on the service road. He’s used to seeing photos of himself during podium celebrations, at press conferences, plastered all over the paddocks. But this is different. This captures something intimate that belonged only to them, something he’s never let anyone else see. Years of careful control, of keeping his feelings locked down, and now it’s global entertainment.
The angle shows everything. The way he’s cradling Petra’s face like she might disappear. The way she’s clutching his shirt, pulling him closer. The soft focus makes it look like a damn romance film.
“Fucking paparazzi.” He sinks into the chair opposite his sister. “Good pic, though. Where did it come from?”
“It was posted anonymously at midnight and already has a quarter of a million views.” She scrolls down, showing him an endless stream of comments, reactions, fan art. “The Slipstream’s lost its collective mind. Half of them are planning your wedding, the other half are predicting the end of F1 as we know it.” She pauses. “Where were you guys?”
“COTA service road.” Nico thinks of Rodrigo, then immediately rejects the idea. The man’s paid well enough to not be that stupid.
“So no way this was taken by some fan with a phone camera.” She glances up at him, studying his reaction. “Whoever took it was following you or Petra and knew exactly where to go to line up the right shot.”
One of Graham’s people.The realization slices through his mind, clean and sharp as a scalpel. Somehow he justknows. Nico runs his hands through his hair. “Petra will be pissed.”
“Yeah.” She studies the screen. “Great lighting. You should use it as your engagement photo.”
Nico snorts.
She grins and he knows she’ll use this against him for the rest of their lives. “Just saying.” She leans forward and grasps his wrist, turning a little serious. “I’m glad you finally did something about your crush, Nico. Looks like Petra didn’t object.”
“Mm.”
Nicolina’s brows arch. “Or did she?”
