I gripped the railing, watching every movement of Adam’s ride. “Not now.” I shook my head. “That’s at least a year out. We’ll talk later.”
The crowd cheered, welcoming one of their favorite sons home. So many people remembered Madoc, and everyone flooded the night with noise. The crowd at the Loop used to be mainly high school students, but now it was more eclectic, and since it was summer, a lot of our high school friends were here.
“Announce it,” I said to Zack. “Madoc Caruthers and Adam One Direction.”
He laughed under his breath. “This is an odd matchup.”
I nodded, knowing it wasn’t really a race. Madoc had to know he was going to win.
Zack leaned on the railing, microphone in hand, booming voice hitting the crowd. “I know you all remember him!” he taunted, and the crowd cheered.
“If you don’t, then I know you’ve heard of him!” Zack’s deep voice echoed through the night air, and they shouted louder.
People held up their cups and cans, howling over the track. The GTO shook as it revved, while the 370Z’s high-pitched hum matched it, both drowning out any coherent thought in my head.
“Give it up for Madoc and Fallon Caruthers,” he sang out, going long, “going up against K. C. Carter and Adam One Direction!” he yelled.
The sea of spectators cheered, holding up their phones and iPads, probably taking either pictures or video. Since the couples’ races were only once around the paved track, we never installed GoPros. No reason to dumb down the audience. They had a perfect view anyway, so it worked.
“Come on,” I nudged. “Get this over with.”
He walked around me to my other side, lining up with the starting line. “Ready!” he shouted, and the stoplight stayed on red. “Set!” And the stoplight switched to yellow, the engines revving over and over again as the crowd went wild. “Go!” he roared, and my heart leaped into my throat as both cars saw the light change to green and spun their tires, trying to take off so quickly.
I swallowed, seeing Madoc shoot off first, and I gripped the railing, watching the 370Z speed after him. Both cars gained speed, and I listened for the change of gears, hearing when each shifted up, increasing its pace.
Madoc knew the track, knew when to speed up, and knew at exactly which point he needed to lay off the gas to round the turn effectively. He spun around, drifting into a slight skid, but I gritted my teeth, seeing Adam fishtail left and then right as he corrected himself.
I rubbed my hand over my face, walking around the stand, following them with my eyes as they circled the track. Adam would speed forward, and Madoc would swerve on the track, joking around to stay in his way.
I’m going to kill him.
Zack laughed next to me. “Madoc’s back.”
“He’s being stupid,” I bit out. “Pulling that shit with his wife in the car …”
“And Madoc’s never been in an accident. Calm down.”
Madoc straightened out after that, so I let it go. He was stupid, but I guessed not that stupid.
But my stomach tightened every time Adam tried to get around Madoc but lost time spinning out. He could never get ahead, simply because he was flooring it between turns.
As he rounded the third turn and swerved to a gentle right up the driveway that served as the extended track, I narrowed my eyes, watching like a hawk.
Almost over.
They’d go down to the end, skid to a turn, and race back down to the finish line.
But then my chest flooded with fear, and I could barely breathe.
“Son of a bitch!” I raged, seeing that Adam’s car had lurched forward, twice the speed it had just been going.
“Fuck!” I spun around, barreling down the stairs and pushing through people. “Get out of the way!”
I raced down the track, empty except for the hundred or so spectators lining the sides. I could hear some guys behind me, running with me, but we all stopped when we got in view of the driveway. Madoc’s car had halted at the end of the lane while Adam’s back end sank into a ditch.
I took off, pounding down the track, full speed, until I came to the car and caught him climbing out.
“Are you insane!” I bellowed, grabbing him by the shirt and holding him up to me.
“Jax, stop!” Juliet urged, stepping out of the car. “I’m okay.”
But when I looked at her, she was rubbing her neck. I didn’t see blood.
“No, you’re not,” I growled, throwing Adam to Zack and Derek. “I knew this was a stupid idea. Hold him.”
They secured both of his arms, holding him, and I shook my head at Madoc, who’d come up with Fallon. I didn’t want one word from him right now. He’d said enough tonight.
I dived into Adam’s car, took his keys out of the ignition and popped the hood. Lifting it up, I reached down and grabbed hold of the red-and-blue nozzles I knew I was going to find there.
“Son of a bitch,” I cursed, anger flooding my body.
Zack and Derek dragged Adam over.
“Nitrous,” Zack mumbled to himself, sounding just as pissed at seeing the nozzles. Somewhere in the car, probably the trunk, a tank of the chemical was hidden.
I arched an eyebrow at Adam. “Failed to mention that?”
He shook his head, blowing me off. “I’ve done it lots of times, man. I just didn’t expect it to take so long to slow back down. I’m sorry.”
I reared back, hammering my fist across his face. He crumbled, Zack and Derek holding him up by his limp arms.
“Jesus Christ,” Madoc sighed, sounding done for the night.
I slammed the hood shut, throwing the keys against his chest, where they fell to the ground. “Get out of here.”
“Are you okay?” I heard Fallon ask behind me.
I turned to see her grab Juliet’s shoulders, looking at her neck.
“I’m fine,” she muttered, dropping her hand. “Just …” She looked at me and then spoke to Fallon. “Can you guys take me to Tate’s, please?”
I walked over. “I’m taking her home.”
She shook her head, walking away. “No, you’re not.”
“He almost got you killed,” I pointed out. “His stunt could have hurt others. I have every right to be pissed off.”
“Then send him off the track. Yell at him,” she threw out. “But your first order of business wasn’t to make sure I was okay. You threw your weight around and acted like a caveman. You were looking for a reason to be mad at him. If you were concerned about me, you would’ve checked on me first.”
I grabbed her arm, stopping her. “I always put you first.”
She narrowed her eyes, confused, and I looked away.
“Are you okay?” I asked, not seeing any damage on her.
She cocked her head. “I’ve seen you beat up two guys in twenty-four hours, Jax.” She shook her head at me and then looked around the scene. “I don’t want any of this.”
“Any of what?”
Her expression turned vulnerable. “I don’t want to be scared,” she admitted. “And you scare me.”
I studied her, not knowing what to say.
She inched toward me, lowering her voice. “What did you say to that guy on the front lawn last night? How deep are you in with Fallon’s father? And what’s the Skull and Feather?” I narrowed my eyes and stared down at her. How the hell did she …?
My room. I blinked long and hard. She’d seen the card in my room for the club in Chicago.
My heart pumped double time. “What do you want from me?” I pressed.
She shook her head, turning away. “Nothing.”
But I grabbed her arm, pulling her back. “What?” I growled. “What the fuck do you want?”
“I want you to be better!”