Chameleon Soul (Chequered Flag #1)

by Mia Hoddell

  When I felt calm enough, I sat up and placed my class material on the floor, keeping the magazines on my lap.

  I flicked through them rapidly. Some included pictures of Teo rushing from the conference, as well as the one that had been on the cover. Key phrases in the text jumped out at me.

  Who is this girl and what does she have over Teo Coates?

  Is the infamous player finally ready to settle down?

  The girl broke down in front of Teo. It is not known what either of the pair said, but she was distraught and visibly shaking.

  Has Teo’s past finally come back to haunt him?

  You can’t play the field as much as this guy and not pick up some crazies along the way.

  Does Teo Coates have a stalker?

  I threw the magazines across the room, where they landed on the wooden floor with a snap. I knew better than anyone after studying the press how well journalists could spin a story from nothing, though that didn’t stop it from hurting. The one thing I hated above all else was being noticed, and these magazines had pushed me in everyone’s faces.

  If I became somebody people cared about again, it stood to reason I would be a target again. If that happened I was certain I wouldn’t recover a second time.

  Deciding I couldn’t wait for Nadine and her fudge, I jumped up from the sofa. I grabbed Dustin’s baseball cap on the way out, pulling the brim low over my eyes, and headed to my favourite fudge shop.

  It wasn’t until I returned and was a few hundred metres from home that the reporters found me. Cameras were suddenly going off in front of me and people were shouting unintelligible words at me. With a shriek I stumbled backwards and my hand reached up to pull my hat lower over my eyes. Keeping my arms up to shield my face, I edged my way through the crowd.

  “Please, leave me alone!” I cried, tears stinging my eyes. They had found me and the one place I’d felt safe was no longer a comfort.

  Chapter Eight

  Teo

  “What the fuck is this, Hattersey?”

  I slammed the magazine down on the treadmill screen in front of him, not caring whether I broke the damned thing. I wasn’t usually one for gossip, and I never paid attention to what people wrote about me, but this one had me seething because of Raine.

  “I don’t know. Why are you asking me?” he said, hardly sounding out of breath and not breaking his stride to even glance down at the magazine.

  “Because it has your name written all over it. These images were taken on a mobile, not the high-quality cameras the press have. There weren’t even any reporters in the corridor.” I hit the emergency stop button, the safety mechanism kicking in and bringing his speed gently down to a walk, much to my disappointment. “Who’d you get to take them?”

  Aston wiped his face with the towel that had been draped over the rails on the side. He appeared unaware of the single thread holding me in check because he took his sweet damn time.

  “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

  “Bullshit. You know exactly what this is. Why are you going after her?”

  He sneered smugly. “It worked last time.”

  My heart sank to my feet, leaving a chilling cold within me. When the fury rose it scorched my veins.

  “What fucking worked last time?”

  I lunged for him, but a sudden grip on my shoulder stopped me. Spinning, I rounded on the poor soul who'd tried to stop me only to be confronted by Mickey, my manager.

  “Locker room now, Teo,” he barked, throwing his arm wide and pointing in the direction of the room.

  I pulled myself together, quelling the fire within me enough to inhale deeply and control myself. I ground my teeth together hard enough I was surprised they hadn’t turned to dust, and my rigid arms were locked against my side. I wanted nothing more than to beat the twisted grin off Aston’s face.

  Shrugging Mickey off, I paced away with long, aggravated strides. As soon as I entered the room I slammed my fist into the metal wall of lockers. I rested my head on my clenched fist, screwing my eyes shut tightly to try and calm my ragged breathing. I sensed rather than heard Mickey enter behind me.

  “He did this,” I ground out, my jaw tight. “He’s trying to get inside my head. Hattersey knows he can’t beat me fairly so he’s playing dirty again.”

  “You can’t let him get to you like this, Teo. Unless you can prove everything’s related to him—and the FIA won’t care about a press release—you can’t do anything.”

  I punched the locker again then spun and paced to the opposite side of the room. Going after me was one thing, going after the people I cared about was another matter entirely, especially Raine.

  “It was her, wasn’t it?”

  “Who was who?” I knew exactly what he was talking about, but I wanted to make sure before I admitted to anything.

  “The girl in the photos, it was Raine, right?”

  I nodded and sank down on the bench.

  “Are you two back together?”

  “No.”

  “Are you getting back together?”

  I scowled at him sceptically, wondering how much to tell him. Mickey acted like a second father to me, and I wasn’t sure where he stood on the whole Raine situation. Hell, even I struggled to figure that out. He’d been with me throughout my entire career, and he’d grown close to Raine when we were together. After she broke up with me, I went off the rails and almost got thrown out of Formula One. I didn’t know if that destroyed any feelings Mickey had towards her.

  “I only want to know what I’m dealing with here. Your love life is your own business and as long as you get back to racing in four weeks with a clear head I’m not going to interfere.”

  Subtle, Mickey. Really subtle.

  Then again, Mickey was never known for subtlety. Not many managers were; they couldn’t afford it in their line of work. I received his threat loud and clear.

  “I don’t know what’s going on. We ran into each other a couple of times and something’s not right with her. Dustin said she’s been through something that’s changed her, and I want to know what it was and why it made her leave me. The two are connected, I know it.”

  “If you want to protect her, you need to cool it around Hattersey.”

  “Why? I’m not going to allow him to walk all over me or her.”

  “I’m not asking you to let him. I’m asking you not to react. Your rage is giving him all the clues he needs as to your weak spots. The best thing you can do is appear unaffected, because your little show a minute ago put an even bigger target on Raine’s back. He’s going to use her now, and you’re going to have to let it all go if you want to win the championship.”

  Chapter Nine

  Raine

  “Bloody hell, it’s crazy out there. What’s going on?” Dustin called as he came through the front door.

  Nadine threw one of the magazines she’d scooped off the floor at him. He caught it easily thanks to his quick reflexes and for a second he glanced at it, confused. The second he realised what he was staring at, his forehead creased with a scowl.

  “Is that—?”

  “Yup.” I kept my attention on the movie he’d interrupted us watching.

  “And that’s—”

  “Yup,” I said again, cutting him off because I didn’t need him to analyse it. I’d committed every tiny detail in those pictures to memory, locked away every pixel.

  “And that’s why there’s a crowd of paparazzi outside our front door? You had better not answer with one word.”

  I rolled my eyes. “That’s correct.”

  His footsteps became louder and then he was standing in front of me, blocking the TV. He folded his arms across his chest, the magazine hanging loosely at his side, and gazed down at me with a stern, albeit slightly confused, expression. “Why aren’t you freaking out?”

  “The freak-out came earlier when people in my class started to recognise me, then when I came home early to find that.” I pointed at the window. “No
w I’m calmly accepting it.”

  He arched his eyebrow in disbelief. “You’re ‘calmly accepting it’?”

  “Yup.”

  Dustin glanced at Nadine, expecting her to fill him in.

  “Don’t look at me,” she said to him. “She hasn’t told me anything. I came over to drop off some schoolwork and fudge only to find her sitting here watching a movie and eating fudge already.”

  With a huff I lifted the remote, pointing it around Dustin. “Can you move? He’s about to propose.”

  Dustin closed the gap between us in two strides until his shins rested against my knees. He plucked the remote from my grip and placed it on the table beside the chair. Crouching down in front of me, he placed his hands on my knees. “Raine, you’re starting to freak me out. What’s going on?”

  “What’s there to freak out about? Everything’s good. So what if I’m front page news of at least five major gossip magazines? Who cares if I’m on TV? The paps will get bored of waiting for me eventually. Chill out guys. I’m good.”

  Dustin frowned. “Nadine, has she been drinking?”

  I snatched the magazine from his hand and hit him on the head with it. “No, I haven’t been drinking.”

  “Then what’s going on?”

  “I realised something. If they want me, they’ll have to break the law because I’m not leaving this flat. I’m happy and safe here, and I’m accepting I’m going to have to live the rest of my life as a recluse. So chill out, all is good. You may have to do my shopping…or I could get it delivered or something. Either way, it’ll work out.” I shrugged nonchalantly.

  Dustin picked up the glass I’d used. Bringing it up to his nose, he sniffed it. “If you haven’t been drinking then you’ve finally cracked. You can’t stay here for the rest of your life.”

  “Watch me.”

  I didn’t miss the concerned look Dustin threw Nadine, but I didn’t comment on it. I was fine, and I was sober. The idea of remaining in the flat until it had all blown over sounded quite nice.

  “What about my race on Sunday? You said you’d go.”

  My easy smile dropped. My heart sank to my feet and a ball of guilt replaced it. I had said that.

  Playing everything off with humour, even if I was serious, had been fine when I had nothing to lose. Now it meant hurting Dustin. After everything he’d done for me, it wouldn’t be fair to him. That didn’t mean I could control the tightening of my throat at the thought of leaving the flat.

  “Dustin, I can’t. I want to be there, but this…” I gestured furiously at the window. “It’s too much. There’ll be too many people, they’ll link me to you and then the headlines will be twice as bad. I’ll be playing the Coates brothers or something equally ridiculous. I’m sorry, I can’t.”

  “It’s GP2, Raine. The crowds are small and the media presence isn’t like at the F1 races. You’ll be fine.”

  I closed my eyes and inhaled. “I can’t. It’s best for everyone if I just hide away. No one needs to be worrying about me, and I’d rather not be targeted again. If I stay a nobody then people don’t have a reason to come after me.”

  “You’re the strongest person I know, Raine. Don’t let this beat you. Don’t let them beat you. You’ve come too far to give up now.”

  I scoffed. “If I’m the strongest that says a lot about your friends because I’m not strong. I fall apart at the slightest thing. Someone only has to look at me wrong and I panic. If it’s not that then you have to wake me up from a nightmare and sleep with me. I’m like a friggin’ child!”

  I stood and moved to push by him, but Dustin grabbed hold of me and forced me back into the chair.

  “No, you’re not running away from me.”

  I folded my arms and leaned against the back of the sofa, glowering at him.

  “You are strong, Raine. You’re still here and fighting. There has never been a point where you said you wanted to give up. Every day you’ve fought through, every nightmare you’ve awoken from, has made you strong. None of it has beaten you, and I’ll be damned if I let all of my hard work go to waste because my jackass of a brother shows up.”

  I arched an eyebrow. “Your hard work? I thought you said it was me.”

  “Mostly you. I do get a little credit.”

  Rolling my eyes, I leaned forward to hug him. “Thank you,” I whispered into his ear. I wasn’t sure I believed him, yet it was nice to hear someone had faith in me. God knows I didn’t have any in myself.

  Dustin held me tightly for a second, and when he pulled back I didn’t like his expression. “Does this mean you’ll come to my race?”

  “No, I was serious about the recluse thing.”

  He puffed out a breath. “I’ll pay you.”

  I narrowed my eyes at him. “How much?”

  He straightened one arm. His fingers swept a tendril of hair back behind my ear, and when he pulled it back, he held a fifty pence coin in his hand. “That enough?”

  I snatched it from his hand, flicked it up, and swiped it out of the air. “Try adding a few more zeros to that. Then you’re somewhere close.”

  “Sorry, you’re not worth that much,” he teased. “How about heads you go, tails you stay?”

  I looked at him dubiously. I wasn’t leaving it down to luck. I didn’t like making bets, taking chances, or not being in control of decisions.

  “No?” Dustin’s eyes sparkled mischievously at my silence, instantly making me suspicious. “How about I buy you a bag of fudge?”

  Damn him for knowing my weakness. I looked down at my nails, feigning disinterest.

  “Two bags?”

  He knew he had me. I was no longer declining or complaining.

  “Three?”

  “Five. Buy me five proper sized bags, none of this half full crap, and I’ll go. But I get to choose the flavours and I’m not leaving the garage.”

  He held out his hand for me to shake. “Deal.”

  I shook it, my stomach churning like there was a trapeze act spinning in it.

  What had I agreed to?

  Chapter Ten

  Teo

  I was hunched over the magazine on my dining table, staring at the pure, unadulterated terror on Raine’s face as she cowered into the wall when my mobile rang. I still couldn’t figure out what I’d done to put that look on her face.

  Slipping it from my pocket, I clicked answer and brought the speaker up to my ear.

  “Yeah?”

  “You owe me big time,” Dustin’s voice rang out from the other end.

  “Why? What have you done?”

  “Cleaned up your mess and got you a second chance.”

  I scowled out into my garden, my eyes following a bumblebee around the flowers my gardener had planted in my absence. “Did I miss the beginning of this conversation?”

  Dustin let out a strangled groan. “The articles. Raine saw them and freaked out. She wasn’t going to leave the house and that probably included being around you too, seeing as you were the cause of it all.”

  Fear seized my heart, squeezing it tightly. “Hattersey’s the one behind it all.”

  “You don’t think she knows that? That’s the whole root of the problem. She refuses to be used again.”

  “What do you mean, ‘again’?” This conversation felt like I had a lot of information missing. The only conclusion I could draw was that Hattersey had somehow pulled this shit with Raine before without me knowing.

  An icy shiver snaked down my spine.

  Was he the reason she left me?

  I hadn’t considered it because it hadn’t seemed important at the time, but she had given Aston a funny look in the factory the other day. And the further I delved into the past, the more certain I became that it had to be something to do with him.

  “It doesn’t matter,” Dustin said, drawing me from my thoughts.

  “Of course it matters. I have a right to know.”

  “Then you’ll have to ask Raine. I only phoned to say I’ve managed to get
you a second chance. She’ll be at my race tomorrow, and you’d better not fuck it up a second time. Keep the press away from her, Teo. I won’t be able to pull this off again.”

  “Dust—”

  He hung up, cutting off my question. What the hell was going on?

  * * *

  Dustin may have wanted me to ask Raine, but I knew her well enough to know she wouldn’t tell me anything. From the snippets of information I had, I’d gathered whatever happened had been big enough for her to leave me over. That didn’t give me much hope of getting her to spill her guts. Therefore, I was on my way to see the one person who I had no doubt knew everything. I didn’t need anyone to confirm it out loud; in my heart I knew Aston was involved. It had his twisted MO all over it.

  I raised my fist to knock on his front door when the wooden panel was removed. For a split second Aston’s face registered his shock then slid into a mask of suspicion.

  “What are you doing here?”

  At my side, my fist twitched as if begging me to lose control and punch him. In that moment I couldn’t think of anything that would have given me more satisfaction than seeing him sprawled out on the floor with a bloody nose. However, that wasn’t going to get me the answers I needed.

  “What did you do to Raine last year?”

  He stepped from the house, forcing me to move out of his way. With his back turned, he locked the front door and then began striding down his path as if I wasn’t there.

  “Answer me, Hattersey. What did you do to my girl?”

  “She hasn’t been your girl in a long time, Coates. I thought you knew that.”

  “Because of something you did. What was it?”

  I shouldn’t have reacted. It went against everything my team wanted from me, but Raine came first. She always had.

  “Who said I did anything? You just can’t handle the fact that she didn’t want you any longer. You’re looking for an excuse and blaming me.” He moved to open the door to his black Mercedes AMG when I slammed my hand on it to stop him.