“Just asking.” Brian raised his hands in defense before he turned to me, a smile on his lips. “Come closer.”

“Stay where you are, Brooke,” Jett commanded. His irritation was now replaced by annoyance. I decided to listen and didn’t move from the spot.

Brian laughed. “Protective of her, huh? What do you think I’d do? If I wanted to touch her, I would have done so already.” His eyes wandered back to me. “I’m not that kind of guy, right?” He was enjoying the show because he loved being in control. He liked to be the center of attention. I could tell that much from the way his attention kept shifting between me and his friends, as though he sought to be admired for his show.

“You know, I’ve been thinking,” Brian said to no one in particular. “During the race I want her to ride with you.”

“Come on, man. Leave her out of this,” someone shouted from the back. My head turned in the voice’s direction. It was Kenny.

“It’s either my way, or nothing,” Brian said, ignoring him. His voice carried a warning that sent a chill down my spine. The room fell silent. Some began to nod, and more joined in.

Mob mentality.

If Brian snapped, others would follow. I didn’t like that, not least because many carried weapons and made no secret of it. The cave of my mouth went dry.

“She stays,” Jett said. “It wasn’t part of our arrangement.”

“You think you can march in and make demands?” Brian stepped forward and stopped barely a few inches from Jett. “When I helped you find her, I settled my debt. Now we’re even. Seeing that you need my help to hide her ass, you either bend to my rules or you get the fuck out.”

“I’m not risking her life.”

Brian shrugged and squeezed his hands inside his pockets. “Too bad.” He turned to his friends and tilted his head toward Jett and me, which I assumed was his way of instructing them to throw us out. Jett walked back to me, his hand clasping mine.

“I’m in,” I said to Brian. The room fell silent, and countless gazes focused on me. Were it not for the surreality of the situation, I would’ve applauded myself for faking the kind of confidence I didn’t have.

“No, you’re not,” Jett hissed. I whipped my hand away from him.

“This is my decision,” I said, emphasizing each word. With a glance back at Brian, I repeated, “Like I said, I’m in.”

Our eyes met.

“Brave!” Brian nodded once, though I couldn’t tell whether he was impressed or just mocking me. He walked over slowly, his blue eyes piercing mine as he looked at me for what seemed like an eternity, probably waiting for me to change my mind. When I didn’t, the tension in his face eased just enough to signal me I had almost won whatever battle he was fighting. “Sam said you were discharged from the hospital earlier today. Are you sure you want to drive with Jett?”

“No, Brooke,” Jett said. I ignored him.

“I’m certain. It wouldn’t be the first time I saw Jett race. He’s the best.”

Brian smiled, but it wasn’t humor I saw in his eyes; I could swear it was surprise, with just a little hint of respect.

“We’ll get on well.” At last he broke eye contact and addressed the guys around us. “You heard her. What are you waiting for? Help them get started.”

The crowd broke. Jett stared at me accusingly with a look that said what the fuck? I shrugged and shot him my most confident smile, even though I didn’t feel particularly confident. Truth be told, I had only seen him race once—back in Italy—and it wasn’t so much of a race but a fight between life and death. Even then, I had been scared out of my mind and couldn’t get out of the car fast enough.

I was led off into the adjacent hall, leaving Jett with Brian.

You’re doing great, Stewart.

So far no one had seen through my blatant pretense. I convinced myself that it was the right choice. The only choice we had. Jett needed my support, and I would sit with him to show it. I had to establish my place just as he would establish his, because it was the only place where we could hide.

Chapter 22

WHAT I HAD thought to be the basement was an open space too large to belong to just one warehouse. I assumed they were all connected, making it one giant subterranean maze. As we passed through another hall, I noticed training areas complete with numerous punching bags, weight-lifting machines, four full-sized boxing rings, and various training equipment. Jett had told me this was where he learned to fight. A smile spread across my lips as I imagined him working out all sweaty—his strong biceps flexing as he punched a punching bag. How hot was that? If we stayed for a while, maybe I could get him to work out—not that he needed it. His body was nothing but perfection. His scars, the tattoo on his shoulder, his sinfully dark green eyes—he was nothing but a god to me. However, I wanted to see this perfection in action.

The picture of us lying on the red training mattress flickered inside my mind, his sweaty hot body making love to me on the hard floor. A pang of heat gathered between my legs as I imagined all the naughty things I’d do with him. To him. Let him do to me.

Someone touched my arm, pulling me out of my daydreams. I looked up at a young woman about my age, and she pointed to a door on the left.

“Get dressed. The changing rooms are through there. When you’re done, meet me outside.” She pointed to another door. “Everyone’s waiting, so don’t take too long.”

“Where’s Jett?” I asked.

“You’ll see your boyfriend soon enough.”

Figuring she might need some time to warm up to me, I ignored her snide remark and shot her a friendly smile. Until I realized she might be an ex, in which case she’d never warm up to me—or I to her.

I could feel her interested gaze on my back as I headed for the changing rooms. I closed the door behind me and pressed my body against the smooth wood. I closed my eyes, fighting the urge to sit on the floor and never come out again. In all honesty, I didn’t do hostility well—especially when it involved a large group of armed people. In fact, if I could hide from it forever, I would. But as a highly supportive girlfriend, that wasn’t an option.

“Hey.”

I opened my eyes to the voice startling me and realized it was Sylvie and Kenny. She jumped up from a bench and wrapped her arms around me.

“You’ve no idea how worried I was when Jett said you were gone,” Sylvie said. “My first thought was that you broke up with him then went undercover to hide, which is understandable, given the fact that he can be a bit of a—”

“Sylvie,” I cut her off. “What are you doing here?”

She waved her hand and laughed. “Apparently, Jett being here is a huge deal, so Kenny dragged me along. Anyway, your disappearing act was more scary than everything we went through back in Italy.”

I smirked. She hadn’t even seen half of it. Like the car chase up the mountain. How the heck was I supposed to stay calm, living and breathing, during another one of those?

“You were close enough,” I said. “I broke up with him.”

“You did?”

“When someone’s threatening you, you don’t really have a choice,” I said. “Thanks for telling him about the book.” I let go of her and turned to Kenny, who had been standing like Sylvie’s shadow in the background. “And thanks for helping out, Kenny.”

“I’m glad you’re okay.” He squeezed his hands into his pockets and exchanged a strange look with Sylvie. I didn’t need to be told how I looked to others. The small purple bruise just above my left eyelid and more bruises around my neck said it all. And there was the fact that Sylvie had seen me in the hospital, while I was sedated and out of it.

“Are you really okay to race with Jett, Brooke?” she asked. “You were discharged from the hospital after just two days.”

And you don’t look okay.

The words lingered in the air, unspoken.

I smiled reassuringly, even though I was slowly beginning to doubt the sanity of the idea.

“I’m fine. The baby’s fine. Those are nothing.” I pointed at my bruises, evading her worried gaze. It was the truth. A few bruises didn’t bother me when I had more important things to worry about. “Stop looking at me like I’m a victim, because I’m not. I got myself into that situation, and now it’s my choice to ride with Jett. And just so you know, I didn’t go down without a fight.”

“I never doubted that,” Sylvie whispered.

Were those tears in her eyes? Because Sylvie almost never cried, which could only mean I had caused her the shock of a lifetime.

Squeezing her hand, I looked around. On the far east side was a long rack with auto racing suits in various colors and sizes. Two benches and a table lined the opposite wall. Stacked on top of the table were several cardboard boxes. The lockers were straight ahead. I walked over. Jett’s name was on the third one from left. My fingertips brushed over the faded handwriting—Jett’s handwriting, which I’d recognize anywhere because it always looked hurried, as though he never had time to lose, and yet so poised and elegant.

“We never saw it coming,” Kenny said behind me.

“What?”

“That he’d leave his friends. It might be hard to imagine, but this is the place where Jett grew as a person. The place he called home.”

“Why did Brian ask him to race, then?” I turned to face him.

“It’s tradition.” His tone was defensive.

“Sounds personal to me,” I muttered.

“I’m with Brooke,” Sylvie said. “Besides, why would they allow her to race in her condition? It’s not like she wants to join.”

“To them, Jett is a changed man. He grew up rich, but after joining us he proved his worth. He was happy with who he was.” Kenny’s eyes fixed on me, his expression torn. “Everyone knew he despised his father and that we were his family. His choice to leave the gang in favor of his father’s company came as a shock to us.”

“Us?” I frowned and crossed my arms. “I thought you left with him.”

“I didn’t,” he said, slowly. “We stayed friends.”

“You helped him without Brian’s knowing?”

“Yes.” His reply was barely more than a whisper. “No one knows, and it’s better if it stays that way. They think he came to Brian alone, when in fact Jett and I have been in touch for years. We both have built our careers benefiting from each other’s help.”

“Wow,” Sylvie whispered. “Emotional stuff.”

Either she was being sarcastic or genuinely touched—with her, it could go either way. Kenny smiled at her and checked his watch. “Let’s get started.” He walked over to the rack with the suits and began to comb through them. I could tell from his stony expression that he was hiding something. As much as I wanted to ask why the others never kept in touch with Jett, I didn’t.

Kenny picked a suit and handed it to me.