Victory

by Bernadette Marie

  Jake gave her a nod and walked out.

  Missy fisted her hands at her side. She should have kissed him—something—to let him know she’d been a fool and was still interested in him. The longing inside of her nearly burned.

  It hurt to be that close to her and not pulled her to him, Jake thought. It pissed him off that she was who they said she was. Missy Sheridan had used him, then turned it on him. Oh, and he’d have given her his heart too. Smitten might not be a strong enough word to describe what he’d been feeling. Disappointment summed it up since he’d left her in the bathroom and not spoken to her in nearly two weeks.

  All for the better, he had to keep reminding himself. He never did race well when there was a woman on his mind.

  Bud stood at the trailer, leaned up with his back against it and his arms folded in front of him. “Did ya get a good luck kiss?” he smirked as he flipped the toothpick in his mouth from one side to the other.

  “Don’t go there.”

  “What happened between you two anyway? You get a lot more upset when I mention her lately.” He pushed up from his lean on the truck and walked toward the passenger door. “You get a good luck kiss that went bad?”

  Jake opened the driver’s door and climbed in. “I said don’t go there.”

  “You ain’t got nothing to hide from me. I told you to hit it.”

  “Shut the hell up.” His voice had raised, and he’d never done that to Bud, even in the heat of a race. “I’m sorry. It’s a touchy subject where she’s concerned, and I don’t want to talk about it—ever.”

  Bud gave him a slow and thoughtful nod. “Sorry to get you all worked up.”

  Jake started the engine and pulled out of the parking lot.

  Bud rolled down the window, took out a cigarette, and lit it. “Lydia called me this morning to check on things.”

  Jake chuckled. “You’re kidding, right?”

  “Why? It’s her money on the line. She’s worried about her investment and wants to know what her chances are at getting it back.”

  Jake huffed. “Seriously? I told her I’d bring her money back.”

  “Yep, you did. It’s Lydia Morgan. She’s just thinking big.” Bud grinned as he took a long drag from his cigarette. “The restaurant she’s bought into will open in a few weeks. She’s thinking that if you win this race you could bring the car to the grand opening. Celeb status, ya see?”

  Jake shook his head and focused on the road. All he was really thinking about was making it through the race alive—and Missy too.

  Chapter Fifteen

  The track laid out in front of him like a smooth piece of heaven. Jake shifted the car around the turn and felt the hum of the engine deep down inside of him.

  This was where he was truly happy. This was where he belonged.

  There wasn’t a time when Jake Walker couldn’t remember wanting to go fast. He rode his skateboard fast—his bicycle faster. He was one of the very first speeding tickets Officer Phillip Smythe ever wrote. Many more followed.

  When the world whizzed by his window, he was happiest.

  “How’s she feeling?” Bud’s voice came through in his headset.

  “She’s purring like a kitten. I think we got her back together better than she was.”

  “How’s the track?”

  “Nice,” he answered as he passed the pit and saw his crew study him. “Smooth as silk and ready for me to win.”

  That invited a whoop from Bud.

  Yeah, by this time tomorrow, I’ll be hoisting that trophy high, he thought. It had been long enough without doing so, and he was itching for a win. Lydia would be pleased, and it would mean that Justice lost, and how sad with that new sponsor and all.

  He chuckled to himself as he cleared another lap.

  Jake gripped the steering wheel tighter as he shifted around the next turn. Of course, his winning would mean Missy’s loss. Anger began to fuel him. Quite a stunt she pulled wanting to be allies, he thought as the image of her forlorn look after the amazing night of sex, popped into his head. Oh, she’d played him, and played him good.

  He’d felt sorry for her and pitied her. That’s what she wanted. Poor girl, her daddy was going to cut her out of the team if she lost again. Well, boo hoo. Oh, and to think he fell for that. To think he gave nearly two weeks’ worth of thought to it.

  Jake gritted his teeth together and punched the car harder.

  “Whoa!” Bud’s voice rang in his headset again. “This is to make sure the car is working and the track is smooth. Don’t blow her up.”

  Jake eased off the pedal, slightly, and pulled into the pit. His crew went straight to work checking out the car and taking notes.

  He hoisted himself up and out of the seat, meeting Bud at the door as he swung his legs out and set them on the ground.

  “Got something on your mind?” Bud asked as Jake pulled his helmet off.

  “Just like the speed,” he said.

  Bud pursed his lips and gave a sideways glance at the stands across from them. Jake followed his gaze.

  “What the hell is he doing here?” Jake sneered as he saw his father standing there watching.

  “Don’t let him get under your skin. He’s your daddy and he came to support you.”

  “Check his pockets. Is there some kind of betting slip in there betting against me?”

  “Give him a break, Jake. Dads make mistakes.”

  Yeah, well his dad had made enough of them in his book. There wasn’t one of his kids he hadn’t screwed over, and he was kind of tired of getting that oh, you’re Byron Walker’s kid look.

  Without changing out of his racing gear, Jake headed to his truck.

  “Where you going?” Bud called after him.

  “Round front to see what the son of a bitch is doing here. I’ll be back.”

  Jake sped from the track, out the tunnel, and to the parking lot of the race track where, as he assumed, he saw his father walking toward the fancy car which had been parked in his driveway.

  Stopping just short of the car’s bumper, Jake slammed the truck into park, and jumped out.

  “You look good out there, son,” his father beamed as if he were proud. “I think this is going to be your best race yet. You look good. Really good.”

  Jake wasn’t going to buy the pride bit. He’d heard that too many times in his life. “What are you doing here?”

  “This is the biggest race this season so far. Your brother will be here. Your mother too. We came to support.”

  Whenever his father threw his mother into a conversation, Jake usually stopped any further beratement. He’d never understand why his mother loved the man, and had always continued to do so.

  “Where’s your girlfriend?”

  “Oh, Beth? Racing isn’t her thing. She’s decided to spend her time in Atlanta shopping.”

  On his credit, Jake was sure. “So where are Mom and Todd?”

  “They’re at the hotel as well. They’ll be here tomorrow. I wanted to see you and see how the car was doing.”

  “Are you trying to lead me to believe you placed money on me or something?”

  “Now, Jake, I’m here to support you as your father. I’m proud of you, kid.”

  Jake bit his tongue. His father was one slick bastard, and Jake despised that about him. He wanted to believe his father would come to Atlanta just to support him because he loved him. But there was always an ulterior motive with his father.

  “I have to get the truck back down to the track,” he said and turned from his father.

  “Jake, you mother is expecting you at the hotel for dinner tonight. She’s at the Marriott. I told her you’d be there.”

  He didn’t turn back to look at him, simply gave him a wave, climbed in the truck and drove away.

  Tomorrow was going to be a bitch of a day. Already his mind wasn’t quite as focused as it should be knowing he had to pay Lydia back, and he’d been thinking about Justice offering him the bribe. Of course, there was Missy too
. Then again, she’d been messing with his concentration for a while now. Sleeping with her had only made that worse. Now he had to think about dinner with his doting mother and his reserved brother. What he really needed to focus on was the race. How the hell was he going to cross that line before her if he didn’t focus?

  ~*~

  Dinner had been a setup, Jake decided, as he pushed open his hotel room door. He’d gone, as his father had told him to do. He dined with his mother, who gushed with pride over him to an extreme. His brother hadn’t said but maybe twenty words the entire time. Of all his siblings, Todd was the most quiet, most reserved of them. There were times Jake envied that.

  Todd worked the family land with his cousins. Perhaps he was as close to being from the other side of the Walker family as any.

  And, until Bethany had come along, Todd had been the most forgotten by his father. Jake had been his protector through life, but now he hardly even saw him. He should be grateful he’d come to the race, Jake thought. And he was.

  His mother had gone on the entire time about work and bills. Perhaps she was trying to make sure he shared that purse tomorrow. That too wouldn’t surprise him. He loved her, but she had to be the neediest woman he’d ever known.

  Bud had been a lifesaver, he decided as he kicked off his boots and pulled a beer from the cooler in the corner of the room. A well timed phone call had him out of the restaurant none too soon. Of course, he’d have like to have had a different reason than someone had flattened the tires on the truck and the trailer. But it had been fixable, and he and Bud had done just that.

  Picking up the remote to the TV, Jake turned on the late local news. Late meant he should have been in bed an hour ago, and now looking at the beer, which was habit in a hotel room, he set it down on the table. That wasn’t what he needed either.

  Where had his mind lost the focus?

  Deciding on a hot shower, then straight to bed, Jake moved into his pre-race routine. He shaved, because nothing was worse than sweat pressed against your face in a helmet with fresh razor tracks. By morning it wouldn’t be as tender.

  With a towel wrapped around his waist, and another in his hand drying off his hair, he sat on the edge of the bed and clicked through the channels of the TV until he found something mind numbing. The Munsters—perfect!

  It was nearly eleven. He needed to report to the track by ten and the race was at one. Bud always made sure he had a good breakfast and was well hydrated. He was a good chief that way.

  Jake turned off the lights, and just as he reached for the end of the towel to whip it off, there was a knock at the door.

  “Damnit, whoever you are. You’re messing with me,” he called out assuming it was Bud or a member of his crew.

  No such luck.

  Obviously stunned by his attire, Missy stood at his door with her mouth hung open and her eyes wide.

  “Need something?” he asked as he watched her eyes lift from her scan over his body to meet his.

  “Can’t sleep.”

  “Try some warm milk. I have to get some rest. I have a race to win tomorrow.”

  He saw the flash of anger fire in her eyes and then dissipate. “Can I come in?”

  “Why?”

  “I…I don’t know. I want to be with you,” her voice dropped and it pierced him. He’d wanted nothing more than that, to whisk her inside and into his bed. But her timing couldn’t have been worse.

  He leaned against the door jamb now, not letting her cross the threshold. “What the hell kind of mind games are you playing with me? First you’re going to kill me by pushing me out of races. Then you’re at my garage looking all hot giving me beer and kisses. You try to run me off the goddamned road again, then you show up and sleep with me. Oh, but that was a mistake, as you said, so now here we are. You’re a mess, Sheridan.”

  Her lip trembled, and he hated that he did that to her. But he wasn’t going to be messed with.

  The fire in her eyes was back, and her cheeks had gone rosy. “You think I did all that to put you off your game?”

  “Honey, if the racing helmet fits…”

  Her hand whizzed through the air and right across his cleanly shaven cheek.

  “You’re an idiot,” she growled. “I didn’t do any of that to hurt you. I thought we…I wanted…” She sucked in a breath and then narrowed those dark eyes on his. “I’ll see you at the finish line. No favors, Walker.”

  “None were going to be given or expected, Sheridan.”

  She turned, stormed off down the hallway and out of sight.

  He slammed the door, hoping the whole hotel heard it. He was going to kick her ass on that track and walk away without an ounce of guilt. If her brother was behind the wheel in the next race, all the better. Jake’s history with Missy Sheridan was over.

  Chapter Sixteen

  The sky threatened rain, but it had yet to fall. Humidity blanketed the track and Jake wiggled in his racing suit trying to get comfortable as they secured him into the car.

  “You alright?” Bud asked as he handed him his helmet through the window.

  “Fine.”

  “You’re in a piss poor mood for race day.”

  Jake slid the helmet on with the visor up. “Let’s just say I’m extremely focused.”

  “Saw your family.”

  “Don’t tell me where they are. I don’t want to even think about them being here.” He adjusted his gloves and made sure the harnesses were tight. “I’m going to win this, Bud. No one is tossing me off this track today.”

  “You’d better keep your mind to it then. Your starting position isn’t so great since you’ve been pushed out.”

  “Yeah, well she won’t be doing that again.”

  “I tell ya, you two need to kiss and make up. Make out. Get laid,” he coughed as he laughed. “Get it done, boy. Let’s take this purse home and start fresh.”

  Jake gave Bud a thumbs up, flipped down the visor of his helmet as Bud secured the window net.

  The drivers rolled out onto the track in formation. The red car of Eddie Justice, with its proud new sponsor logo sat primed and ready next to Missy’s pink car.

  Jake tightened his hands on the wheel. Both of them would be looking at the back end of his car when this was all over. No mercy. No love lost either.

  Engines revved. Drivers focused. Bud’s voice was in his ear giving him the necessary information he was going to need to break through the crowd he was already jumbled in. The clouds were shifting and gray.

  Jake sent up a little prayer to keep the track dry until the end. He had something to finish here.

  Out in front of them, perched high on the track, the flag came up. Engines grew louder, tension thickened, and Jake readied.

  When the green flag dropped, his car came to life, and Jake was in it to win it.

  Missy took off from the line with Justice right at her side. Usually she’d draft him—use him, but not today. She was going to stay out front of him and keep the lead the entire time. Screw him. She wanted this win more than anyone on this track. And since Walker was being such an asshole, he could eat her smoke too.

  Without Maverick in the race, she only had to worry about Justice, and she’d beat him before. She’d beat him again.

  “Where’s Walker?” she asked as she kept her solid lead going into the third lap.

  “Tenth,” her brother’s voice buzzed in her ear.

  “So he’s gaining.”

  “Moved up six positions so far. He looks good, Mis’.”

  Not good enough, she thought. “What’s with Justice? He’s pacing my right back tire.”

  “Just keep your eyes forward. Be mindful of him. One tap at you from that angle…”

  “I know. I’m out.”

  “Damn, Walker just moved up three more,” he said as she made the next turn, the steering wheel shimmying in her hands.

  “‘Bout freaking time.”

  “What the hell does that mean?” her brother asked, but his voice wa
s filled with annoyance.

  “It means he promised to get my back. He can’t keep Justice away from me if he’s back that far.”

  “Worry about your own damn race. Walker isn’t a threat or a help. He’s another racer you don’t need near you. Keep your mind in it or you’re going to get hurt.”

  Her brother’s voice wasn’t soothing or helpful. It was filled with an anger she couldn’t quite peg. What did it matter to him who she wanted on her side? Three more laps before she had to pull into the pit. If she wanted to keep her lead, she needed to get a little further ahead.

  “She’s still in the lead,” Bud said as Jake passed the next car. “Why don’t you let them fight this out? You know they’re going to. One of them is going to end up in the wall. In that moment, you pull up.”

  One of them is going to end up in the wall. That wasn’t going to sit with him, because what if that one was Missy?

  He was mad as hell with her, but he didn’t want to see her hurt, just as she hadn’t wanted to see him hurt. Damnit! They’d had a deal and now he was going to have to make good on it.

  Jake moved up three more positions before he pulled into the pit. “Go! Go! Go!” he hollered as Bud managed a water bottle at him as the car beneath him jarred up and down.

  “Get out there. You can move up one more if you punch it.”

  He gave Bud a nod and started out of the pit ready to move his way up. He saw Justice’s red car pull on to the track and Missy’s pink one pulled right alongside. Jake was now within six cars of Missy.

  As they cleared the forty-fifth lap, Jake was four from the front when he saw the debris fly from behind him. With a shift of his eyes to the mirror he saw smoke on the track.

  “Whoa! What happened there?” he asked as he saw the yellow flag and the pace car entered the track.

  Jake quickly slowed his car and fell into place.

  “Three cars. Blown tire maybe,” Bud relayed. “You still are positioned between fourth and fifth.”