Racing Hearts

by Dena Blake

Drew scooted around the line of tool chests to get a glimpse of Ray. Sweat filled her palms, and she recalled the night she was shot. Not now! She clamped her eyes shut, purging the vision from her mind.

  While Jade coaxed information out of Ray, Drew propped herself against the tool chests to get her bearings back. They needed a confession, and Jade was playing it perfectly.

  “She’s already got someone else.”

  “Ray, I had no idea.”

  “I was just trying to get out of this mess.” His voice cracked, rising in desperation. “Then she might come back.” He shrugged, reaching for her. She backed away. “Please don’t be afraid of me.” He touched Jade’s swelling cheek. “I’m sorry about that. I didn’t want to hurt you.”

  She rubbed her forehead nervously. “I’m not afraid, Ray, I—I just don’t know what you want from me.”

  “I want you to forget this ever happened. Then I can get the hell out of here.”

  “What about Sam? She’s driving the car you’ve sabotaged.” This went much deeper than Jade thought. He was living in a fantasy world. She thought about what Drew had said. He wasn’t stable and could turn against her at any moment.

  “Ray, you can’t let Sam drive the car. You have to pull it.”

  “I have to let her drive. I need her to lose to pay off my debt.”

  * * *

  Where the hell are you, Drew? Jade glanced around the garage, then at the door. They were all alone, just the three of them. Everyone else was at the track. Her pulse jumped, and she took in a deep breath. She had to keep it together.

  She saw Drew jump back, shifting behind another chest.

  “I know that, Ray. But can’t we find another way to fix this without hurting Sam?” Fear filling every part of her, she moved forward and touched him on the shoulder. “You know Sam will do whatever she can to help you.” She hesitated, waiting for some kind of reaction, and she got it. His eyes skittered back and forth across the garage. “If you did something to the car, we have to stop her.” She clasped his hand. “Come on. Let’s get down to the track.” He turned quickly, and she commanded herself to remain still. “Just fix the car, and I won’t tell Paddy what you did.” She forced a smile. “I promise.”

  “You stay here. I’ll go to the track.”

  “Ray,” she said softly, regaining eye contact. She put her hand to his cheek and stroked the weather-hardened skin with her thumb. “Please tell me what you did.”

  He brushed her hand away. “All I ever wanted was for Jenna to love me.” His voice broke.

  “I know, Ray, and I’m sure she does.” She smiled again.

  “The tires.” He swiped his hand across his face. “I filled them with compressed air instead of nitrogen. They’ll start to wobble when she reaches about a hundred.”

  “She’ll hit that after the first turn.” She headed for the door. “We have to stop her.”

  Ray took Jade by the arm and swung her back around. “I can’t let you go. You’ll spoil everything. I have to save her.”

  Drew sprang from behind the tool chest. “Hands where I can see them, Ray.”

  “Drew, we have to get to the track.”

  Seeming honestly confused, Ray raised his hands. “Is this some kind of joke? Where’d you get that gun?”

  “It’s no joke. State Police. You’re under arrest.”

  “Police?” He dropped his hands and turned to Jade. “Everything you just said. That was all bullshit?”

  She shook her head. “No, it’s not bullshit, Ray. Sam doesn’t want anyone else to get hurt.”

  “Do what I said.” Drew’s voice was deep and stern.

  Ray closed in on Jade quickly, swinging her around in front of him.

  “Is this really what you want, Ray?” She didn’t struggle. “You want to hurt Sam?”

  “No. I’d never hurt Sam.”

  “Then let’s go to the track.”

  Jade felt him twist his head. He was looking for something on the bench. He moved backward, slowly taking her with him. Turning his head toward Drew, he let his hand search the surface. When he located the cordless drill, he pulled it from its base and pressed it to Jade’s neck.

  The cool steel of the drill bit scraped against her skin, and she fought to contain the fear that filled her.

  “Don’t do it, Ray.” Drew took a few steps forward.

  “Stay away,” he shouted, pointing the drill up in the air and pulling the trigger.

  Jade heard the motor whirr. Adrenaline filled her. Wrapping her hands around his arm, she raised her feet, letting her weight drop. His hand clamped like a vise to her shoulder, but he couldn’t hold her dead weight with one arm, and she fell to the floor.

  Drew fired, one—two—three shots into him, sending him flying back against the bench before slumping into a heap. His eyes opened wide, then fluttered closed.

  Drew felt his neck for a pulse and shook her head.

  The loudspeaker from the track echoed into the garage. Drew shot up, slid into the midnight-blue number forty-four race car, and squealed out of the garage.

  Racing to the pit, she shouted to Paddy, but he couldn’t hear her. Drew jumped the wall and ran full force into him.

  “It’s the tires. Ray filled them with air. They’re gonna blow.”

  “Who in the hell is driving my car?” Paddy’s face twisted in confusion.

  “Sam.” Panic filled her voice. “The tires are filled with compressed air. Once they heat up, they’ll become unstable.”

  Seeing that Paddy still wasn’t getting what she’d said, Drew pulled the headset from his ears.

  “Sam, you need to pit. The tires are faulty.” There was no response. “Sam, can you hear me? Damn it!” She pulled the headset off and threw it to the ground before jumping across the partition into the next pit area. “I need your headset,” she said, pulling it off another person’s head. Flipping the dial to the team’s channel, she shouted into the microphone. “Sam, can you hear me?” Still no response. Fuck! She pulled it off and tossed it back. “He jammed the signal.”

  Hoisting herself back into the race car, Drew threw the car into gear and rammed through the pit wall. She could see the wrath in Paddy’s face as she rolled onto the track. She’d blown the race for them now. They’d be disqualified, and she would face stiff sanctions. But none of that mattered anymore. She punched the pedal, and the number forty-four car soared into the lane.

  * * *

  Coming around the first turn, Sam hit the straight-away at 107. As she flew around the track toward turn number two, the car began to shake. She lightened up on the gas, and it shook more. A tire blew, and Sam couldn’t hold it. Bracing for impact, she threw the car into neutral. It bounced off the wall, steam billowing from under the hood—the radiator was gone. She fought for control as it spun out, hitting over and over again.

  Pieces of the car ripped from the frame surrounding her. The only thoughts flashing through her mind were of Drew. She didn’t want to die. Not now. Not ever. She wanted to live with Drew for the rest of her days. If she survived this, she swore she would never put herself in this kind of danger again.

  As the car came to a complete stop, Sam knew there was no hope. She’d been here before. The engine popped and smoldered, threatening to ignite at any moment, the fire trucks nowhere in sight. With heat surrounding her, Sam pulled back the window safety net and tried to move. The steering wheel had her pinned.

  Then she heard Drew’s voice. “Sam, get out!”

  The engine popped. “Get away. It’s gonna blow.”

  * * *

  Drew knew now why Sam had risked running into a raging inferno to save her brother. Drew would rather die than leave her in that car to burn.

  “I’m not leaving you.”

  “The steering wheel.” She gripped the top, trying to move it. “I can’t get it loose.”

  “Spread your legs and suck in your gut.”

  She popped the lever, and the wheel slid back. “More.” She push
ed the wheel farther, and Sam screamed.

  “Shift as far to the right as you can.” Drew tugged harder. “Just a little more.” After she gave it one hard tug, the wheel popped off. Sam was finally free.

  Drew crawled halfway in the window and tugged her up and out. The car exploded with such force they flew across the track like pieces of the fiberglass hull, thrown to the ground one on top of the other.

  “Sam, are you all right?” Drew rolled her to his side, but her eyes didn’t open.

  “Sam?” She cradled her head in her hands. “Talk to me, baby.”

  “Do you believe me now?” Her voice was low and raspy.

  Drew chuckled. “I guess I have to.” She covered her face with little kisses.

  “You don’t have to.”

  “I do if I want to be part of your life.”

  “But you said…”

  “I know what I said. Fuck that. It was the job talking.”

  “A job you’re gonna keep.”

  “Not if there’s still a slot open on this race team.”

  Using her as leverage, Sam put a hand on Drew’s chest, and she winced. “If you do that, you’re gonna have to suffer with my nasty moods and angry disposition.” Her lips jerked up into a one-sided smile. “You won’t always be on my good side.”

  “Nor you, on mine.” Drew let her smile fade. “Sam, when I saw you trapped in that car…”

  “I know.” Sam pressed her mouth to hers, strangling her words. “From now on you drive, and I’ll fix your gears.”

  “That sounds like one hell of a good deal to me.”

  The sirens from the fire truck whined, coming closer, but they barely heard them.

  Epilogue

  Sam caught sight of Drew stretched out on the chaise lounge, half dozing as she watched Sam swim back and forth in the pool. It had become a daily ritual for Drew to lie in sun while its heat warmed her aching bones. The combination of the blast plus the dead weight of Sam’s body had taken her to the ground so hard that two of her ribs had been broken, along with a few minor cuts and bruises. Sam considered her extremely lucky.

  She’d spent a few long days in the hospital, and when she’d confessed to Sam about her PTSD from the night she’d been shot, she’d suggested Drew seek help with hypnosis. She seemed to have begun to get past the paralyzing moments that cursed her. Sam had been annoyed at first, after Drew was released from the hospital and had directed her to the beautiful gated house that she’d taken her to after their night of mud racing. Apparently, it was one last secret she’d saved to surprise her. This was Drew’s home, and Sam had been overwhelmed that she’d wanted to share it with her. Moving from hotel to hotel was no way to live, so having a place to come home to was wonderful. As Sam floated in the pool’s crystal-blue water, she realized she was getting used to the idea of living here.

  Swimming to the side of the pool, she slung her arms up onto the concrete. Drew was asleep again. She thought about the last time she’d been here and felt a little stupid for not realizing the house was hers. It had been pretty clear she knew the place inside and out.

  After pulling herself out of the pool, she dried off and stood in front of Drew, blocking the afternoon sun. “Are you hungry?” she asked, watching her eyes flutter open. “I can fix you something.”

  “How about a nice, juicy T-bone?”

  “How about egg salad?” She twisted her hair and flicked the excess water at her.

  Drew winced and shifted in the lounger. “I’m fine.”

  “Are the bandages too tight? I can adjust them.”

  “I said, I’m fine,” she snapped.

  “Then what’s wrong with you?”

  Her brows drew together into a pained expression. “You’re what’s wrong. You come out of that pool dressed in that skimpy bikini, and I can’t do a thing about it.”

  “Poor baby.” She put her hand on her hip and gave Drew a sultry smile. “If you can make it to the cabana, I bet I can do something about it.”

  Drew’s gaze darted from Sam to the cabana, measuring the distance. “Someday we’re going to laugh when we tell our children about this.” She slid out of the lounge chair slowly. “One boy,” she said, standing up.

  “And one tomboy.” Sam smiled, taking her hand and leading her inside.

  The End

  About the Author

  Dena Blake grew up in a small town just north of San Francisco where she learned to play softball, ride motorcycles, and grow vegetables. She eventually moved with her family to the Southwest, where she began creating vivid characters in her mind and bringing them to life on paper.

  Dena currently lives in the Southwest with her partner and is constantly amazed at what she learns from her two children. She’s a would-be chef, tech nerd, and occasional auto mechanic who has a weakness for dark chocolate and a good cup of coffee.

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