Liam lowered his chin to his chest. He was prepared to sit for as long as Colby needed him. Her cries had quieted down, but he could still hear the muffled sound of them.
Liam spoke quietly. “I’ve never met a woman like you—honest, driven, and independent to a fault—and strong.” A flash of making grown men cower only minutes ago came to mind. “Goddamn, you’re strong.”
Colby threw her head back against the door and let her eyes close. She listened as large droplets of tears continued to roll down her face. If he only knew, she wasn’t strong. She was tired.
“I should have been honest with you,” he said.
“I can’t.” She sounded broken.
Liam’s head jerked up in response. He didn’t care what Colby said. He was just thankful that she was talking.
Colby didn’t have the capacity to think about her situation with Liam. It was a wonder that her legs still supported her, and she hadn’t fallen down.
“One day, I hope you tell me about him.” Liam hadn’t stayed long enough to listen to the specifics from Cyrus. His only thought was to get to Colby. He’d been able to piece enough of it together.
After another long stretch of quiet moments, Colby whispered, “Rodney was one of a kind. They called him The Magician because he was a master of getting out of tight spots on the track.”
“So, everyone in the James family is pretty damned special?”
“I’m not special. I haven’t honored him as I should have, but the Lord knows I’ve tried.”
He could feel her anguish through the door. Liam just wanted to hold her in his arms.
“He knows.”
Liam listened hard for her response, but none came. There was a bit of rustling of clothing and movement on the other side of the door.
Quickly, he stood, and the door opened almost in slow motion.
Colby’s face was swollen, and her eyes were red. Liam felt like he’d found the cure for cancer when she reached for him. He wasted no time wrapping her up into his arms. He spoke into her hair. “I promise. I’ve got you.”
Liam lifted Colby off of her feet and walked over the threshold of the door, closing it with his foot. He held Colby as close as possible while another torrent of tears overcame her. He wasn’t sure how long he held her. It could have been seconds or hours, but Liam knew he’d hold on for as long as she needed him.
Carefully, he went over to the bed and lowered himself down, bringing Colby with him. She sat on his lap, and he continued to cradle her in his arms. Her heart rate slowed, and her breathing began to even out.
Colby sniffed. “Rodney had a smile and an energy that could change a room.”
Liam lifted a corner of his lips. So, do you.
“There was no one like him, and he didn’t deserve what happened.”
Liam was hesitant, but now that Colby seemed a little more in control, he finally asked the question she probably didn’t want to answer. “What happened?”
She blew out a long-exaggerated breath. “Rodney loved cars. He loved to drive fast, and he was good. At an early age, Mr. Daughtry saw that Rodney had a real talent. He didn’t care about all the politics of NASCAR. Too bad he was only one of a few who didn’t care about the color of Rodney’s skin.” Colby sighed as her mind traveled back to the past. “He began to groom Rodney for the circuit. So many people hated that and made things difficult. All the racism never seemed to bother Rodney. I’m sure it probably did, but he would just suit up in his Daughtry uniform and drive. Rodney had some success, and a lot of people didn’t like it. He pushed, pushed, and pushed before finally qualifying for a major. We were all so proud.” A large droplet of water fell onto Liam’s arm. Colby’s voice changed. It sounded so small. “I was fifteen when it all happened. Straightaway, there was madness on the track. So many teams worked together to jam him up. Still, Rodney managed to get out of a lot of traps. On lap twenty-two, Lorene Greene and his team took it to another level. I guess they drew the short stick. This was before all the changes that have been made to cars in the event of a crash. Lorene began to bump Rodney’s car aggressively. He spun out of control and hit a wall.”
Colby closed her eyes as she was transported back to that time and moment. “His car exploded. They weren’t able to get him out in time. We had to have a closed casket funeral because he was so badly burned.”
“My god.” Liam pulled Colby tighter and kissed the side of her head. “I’m so sorry, baby.”
“Me too.” She sighed. “No one ever paid the price for killing my brother. There were some fines, some sanctions, but no justice. After it happened, I spent every second I could training to avenge my brother’s death. Sure, I want to make history, but that’s not the real motivation behind everything I’ve done. For a few years, I got sidetracked, met a guy, and tried to create a new life for myself. But I’m a James. Racing is in my blood. I decided to get back to my roots and become the best that NASCAR had ever seen. I wanted to be so good that there would be no denying me. My plan was to pick up where Rodney left off with one exception.” Colby lifted her head to stare into Liam’s eyes. “I am going to give Lorene the same mercies he gave my brother.”
“Your goal is revenge?” he asked.
Without flinching, Colby responded, “Yes.”
“What happened to him was horrific, but he died doing what he loved. Would Rodney want that for you?”
“You can’t possibly understand.” Colby glanced down at her fingers. “It doesn’t matter.”
“It matters. Can you live knowing you killed someone?”
“Lorene? Yes.”
“I don’t believe that. I also can’t believe Rodney would want you to have blood on your hands.” Liam chose his words carefully. “I have faith in you.”
Her head jerked up. “That’s hard to believe when you and Brian had no plans to let me drive in this race. He told me everything about the stupid bet and how that could have devastating consequences when it comes to your family’s business.”
“You haven’t known me long enough to know that I always have a contingency plan. In some cases, more than one.” Liam cradled Colby’s face in his hands. “Please, trust me.”
She held his gaze until he lowered his head and gently placed his lips over hers.
After their kiss, Liam pulled back slightly. He rested his forehead against hers. “I didn’t plan on falling in love with you, and I certainly didn’t think I would have a hand in helping you make history. I know how important this moment is. I want a future with you. Which is why I hope you can let go of the past, and focus on building the future you deserve. One that Rodney would want for you.”
“I don’t know if I can,” she said.
“I believe my woman can do anything.”
“Do you really deep down in your soul believe that?”
“I can prove it.”
Colby was skeptical. She echoed him. “You can prove it?”
He nodded. “If you’re up to it. I can absolutely prove it.”
She pressed her lips together. “How?”
Liam reached into his pocket, pulled out his phone, and dialed a number. Impatiently, he waited for someone to pick up. The moment they did, he began to speak. “You know that thing we’ve been working on? I think we’re ready. Can you meet us at the place? Great. See you in about twenty minutes.” Liam disconnected the call, resting his head in the crook of Colby’s neck. “Let me take you someplace special.”
She wasn’t sure if she had the strength to leave her hotel room. “I don’t know, Liam.”
He stood and brought Colby to her feet. “Please. Trust me.”
Trust. There was that word again. Liam was asking a lot, and while she shouldn’t trust him, Colby did. “Let me clean up first.”
Chapter 26
Colby was not in the mood to do anything but curl up in bed and pull the covers over her head. She had no idea how she allowed Liam to talk her out of doing just that. Instead, she’d splashed her face with cold wate
r, thrown on a black hoodie, a pair of dark jeans, her favorite pair of Chucks, and followed him out of her hotel room.
In the darkness of the night, Liam pulled Colby along toward Lockwood’s assigned garage.
It wasn’t cold, but she was chilled to the bone and mentally exhausted. “Why in God’s name are we here this late? The track closed a couple of hours ago.”
“I’m keeping my word.”
“What? By dragging me around and us looking like thieves in the night. We are so going to get arrested.”
Liam chuckled. “I doubt anyone mistakes us for thieves.”
Spoken from the ivory tower of privilege, Colby thought. There were barely any black people on this track during the day. Yet, she was at the Atlanta Motor Speedway after closing, wearing a hoodie with four big ass bodyguards following them. At night, they might be mistaken for a gang. If I don’t hurry up and get my ass back to the hotel. She might not even make it to jail. Black folks walking around in the dark wearing hoodies had proven to be a lethal mix. Colby lowered the hood from off of her head. “Can’t you just tell me whatever it is you want to show me?”
“Not as effective.” Liam was focused. He stopped in front of a huge garage. It looked closer to the size of a small plane hangar. “We’re here—number seventy-six.”
He turned around and faced Colby. She was utterly and completely bewildered. Liam placed both hands on her shoulders. “You ready?”
Colby hunched her shoulders. “Umm . . . I guess?” She had no idea what Liam wanted to show her, and if she were honest, she really didn’t care. Colby just wasn’t in the right frame of mind.
“I never knew when Brian bought Daughtry Racing that it would change my life. What started out as a problem I needed to help him fix has morphed into something so much more. Our goal was simply to win one race. You need to understand that I’m a man who likes order. I like certainty and predictability.”
“You also like being in control,” Colby said with a small smile.
“I can’t argue there either.” He smirked. “Nothing about this situation is certain or has been predictable. You’ve turned everything on its head. The first time I saw you drive, I knew you were special, but I wasn’t ready to admit it. I wanted to follow the plan. Win this damn race so that I could go back to my life. Then I got to know you. I saw how driven you were, no pun intended.” He smiled before turning serious again. “After that night in my hotel room, I also realized that Brian and I were part of the problem, intentionally or not. We continued the entrenched position of protecting sexism and racism by knowing you were the best driver on our team but ignoring it because you weren’t a white male. We no longer want to be part of the problem. We want to be part of the solution.”
Liam gave the signal, and the garage door slowly lifted.
“What did you do?” Colby watched with bated breath as it slowly rose. It took forever. When the door was fully open, Colby’s hands came up and covered her mouth. She was going to be a mess. Her emotions were all over the place.
In all their glory, stood her entire Lockwood Racing team. Brian stepped forward. “I want to unofficially give you Lockwood’s lead driver position. As you heard, I’m contractually bound to give that title to Asher. But we all know what’s up.”
Colby couldn’t believe it. “What? But you said . . .”
“I know what I said, but you more than deserve this. We weren’t sure if we could pull everything together before the race, so until we knew for sure, we decided to keep things status quo. Liam worked his ass off to make it happen.”
“But,” she turned to Liam, “what if I lose? Then you’ll lose—” Colby stopped short of spilling all of their family’s business.
“Didn’t I tell you that Liam always has a plan?” Brian grinned. “He has a plan for that too.”
The sound of a large semitruck caught her attention. “What’s that?”
“Oh, you think this was the proof of my faith in you?” Liam asked. “Nah. That’s not it.” He pointed toward the trailer. “That is.”
The trailer pulled up to their garage. Again, it took the damn door forever to lift. But when it did, Colby was speechless. Gonzo drove the brand-new custom Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE down from the ramp. It had her brother’s number—Lucky #12, and Ms. James underneath it on the doors and hood.
Shocked didn’t even begin to describe how she felt. “This is my car?”
“It is your car,” Liam confirmed. “Your team worked day and night to get her ready.”
“Y’all did this for me?” Her eyes were glassy. Colby had cried more in the past twenty-four hours than she had in her entire life.
“Damn straight,” Ben said.
“There will be four Lockwood cars on that track come race day. Jordan and I will have your back. We couldn’t let our favorite James go into battle without us,” Chris stated firmly. She ran over and hugged each and every one of them. Lockwood Racing. They were her family.
“C’mon, girl, check this baby out!” Cyrus said. “You designed one helluva car, and we made sure to build it exactly to your specifications.”
Colby had experienced absolutely every emotion imaginable in the last few hours. She couldn’t understand how she was able to go from the lowest of lows to the highest of highs in such a short period.
Like a giddy child, Colby almost skipped over to her car. Slowly, she walked around it, caressing the cold metal and admiring all the sponsor decals. “Wow. How were you able to get all of these sponsors in the past couple of weeks?”
Brian pointed to Liam. “The man can be very persuasive when he believes in something or someone.”
“I told you.” Liam stared lovingly into her eyes. “I have faith.”
Colby held his gaze before coming to stand face-to-face. She stood up on tiptoes in front of everyone and kissed him.
It was a slow, passionate, and soul-stirring kiss.
At the sound of Cyrus clearing his throat, they slowly pulled apart.
“I thought you wanted to keep us a secret?” Liam asked.
“If you can take a chance, then so can I,” Colby said softly.
“I know it’s a big ask, but I hope you can bury the vengeance and use this car, this moment, to build on what I know will be an incredible future.”
Colby couldn’t respond. Her hatred for Lorene had been a part of her for so long that she wasn’t sure she could let it go. The emotion in Liam’s eyes almost made her believe that she could. Almost.
“Okay, okay . . . can we hurry up with all the mushy shit?” Gonzo had a twinkle in his eyes.
“You knew about this?” Colby asked.
“Yep. We all did. So, I wasn’t going to let you punk out. We can discuss all of that later. Right now, we have the track for another thirty minutes. So, Ms. James, I need you to suit up and take the old girl out for a spin.”
Chapter 27
Colby’s day had been a God awful, hot mess, but her night ended magically. Liam made sure of it, and she couldn’t have been more grateful.
She held his hand as they walked back to her room.
As much as Liam wanted to come inside, he was fully prepared to leave Colby at her door. He put his hands in his front pockets to keep from touching her. It had been a long time, and he missed Colby like crazy. But he wasn’t a selfish bastard. Instead of thinking about his needs, Liam put Colby’s first. He leaned in and touched his forehead to hers. After another few moments, Colby turned and opened the door to her room. She started to walk inside, then looked back over her shoulder and grinned cheekily. “Are you coming?”
His eyes darkened. “I would like nothing more. But I’m going to put your needs above my own.”
Colby reached for him. “What I need is you.”
Whatever little resolve Liam had, it left him the moment she uttered those words. He didn’t waste another second before crossing the threshold.
Liam pulled Colby close and cradled her face in his hands. He brushed his lips across hers
before fully capturing her mouth with his. This kiss was filled with so much more than just passion. Liam couldn’t pinpoint the moment, the minute, nor the hour, but sometime over the past couple of weeks, he had fallen madly in love with Colby James.
He pulled back slightly. Colby opened her eyes and looked into Liam’s to see what was wrong. He held her gaze and whispered, “I need to go get a condom.”
Colby placed her hands over his. “I-I’m on the pill and healthy. You?”
Liam hadn’t been with a woman without protection his entire adult life. “Same.”
“Then you don’t need it, unless—”
Liam swept Colby up into his arms and carried her over to the bed.
This night was special, and he wanted to cherish every moment. It would be the first time he made love.
Their clothes went flying across the room in all different directions. Once they were completely naked, Liam gently laid Colby down on the bed. She was spread out before him like a Christmas morning feast. The desire to taste her was overwhelming. He dropped to his knees and lowered his head near her sex. Liam inhaled, loving how she smelled when she was aroused, before pressing his lips against her.
Ohmygod. Colby dug her toes into the mattress.
Liam took his time. He began to stroke her with long licks between her folds, savoring the incredible taste of her. He slid his tongue slowly up one side, and when he reached that tight little peak, he closed his mouth on it. He swirled his tongue around her bud and sucked it like candy.
Colby couldn’t even breathe. Her breath was quite literally caught in her chest. All she could do was hold onto him by his hair, pulling tightly as she ground her body into his mouth. Liam took pleasure in the slight sting she caused as he ate until his heart was content. Excruciatingly slow, he flattened his tongue and slid it down the other side of her pussy. Liam repeated this motion several times, driving Colby completely insane.
His mouth was wet with her juices.
Liam kept sucking and licking, getting close to Colby’s opening and acting as if he was going to thrust inside, only not to give her the satisfaction she craved, until he did. Liam slid his tongue into her, going as deep as he could go.
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