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6

ALEXANDER

I t was two hours before the race started. Raining conditions only made my heart race more, but not in the I am about to race a car at ridiculously high speeds, heart-racing way, in that thundering, I can’t hear my own thoughts way. It was new, and I hated it. I pushed the thoughts down. I had driven in rainy conditions before, that was not new. It just was not ideal. One of my engineers reported to me that the storm was passing through today, and tomorrow there would be bright skies, which only meant more chaos for formation. Tomorrow would be ideal for the Dutch Grand Prix, but a rainy track was a dangerous track. It also meant that formation was a toss-up. Middle-ranking teams could find their way up, crashes could happen, safety cars would surely be abundant.

My thoughts continued to pound, a dull pain behind my eyes forming. I pushed my hands into my eyes, trying to rid myself of the thousand thoughts running through my brain. The music in my headphones was doing nothing at this point. Then came a tap on my shoulder. I turned, and my mind silenced.

“Hey, stranger.” Lucia smiled up at me. My body seemed to let out a full sigh, muscles relaxing as I pulled my headphones from my ears.

“Alex!” A little blur of curly blonde was bouncing next to Lucia.

“Hey, kiddo.” I smiled and reached for her. Gianna threw herself into me, I caught her easily, and she squeezed her arms around my neck.

“Mama said to say good luck today,” she whispered in my ear.

“Thanks, G!” I replied and snuck a glance over to Lucia.

“You see Matteo already?” I asked.

She nodded, her smirk sharp and teasing as her green eyes gleamed. “Yeah, he said he hopes your tire management is finally as good as you keep bragging it is.”

I raised an eyebrow, leaning a little closer. “My tire management? Please, he almost burned through his practice ones and slipped right off the track.”

She shrugged, the corner of her mouth twitching like she was holding back a bigger smile. “Maybe I’m just trying to see if the five-time champion knows how to handle a little pressure.”

I chuckled, crossing my arms as I tilted my head at her. “Bold move, throwing down a challenge. Should I be flattered or worried?”

“Depends,” she said, brushing a strand of hair behind her ear and pretending to study me. “Are you better at handling tires or trash talk?”

I grinned, leaning just enough to close the space between us. “I guess you’ll have to stick around and find out.”

Her cheeks flushed, but she didn’t back down, rolling her eyes instead. “We’ll see, Wright.”

“I got a new sports car!” Gia interrupted and reached out her hand.

Lucia laughed. “Oh, you’ll love this one.” She reached into her bag, pulling out a small Formula One model car, bright red in color. I tried not to groan out loud, I really did.

“You really brought that into my pit, on qualifying?” I kept my voice light for G, but covered the car with my hand and pushed it back into her bag, hoping no one in the pit saw it. Sure, everyone knew Matteo was my mate, but the boys here were a superstitious bunch. Bringing a rival’s colors into our sacred space, not great. I was letting the whole wearing Moretti gear slide, but no cars—even tiny toy model versions. Not here.

“I like the pink one better,” Gia said, making my ego expand tenfold.

That’s right. As she should.

“I’ll get you an even better one, okay, G?” I said to her. Gianna cheered, her little arms swinging in the air.

“She has too many already.” Lucia groaned.

“Not with her, and now she only has the traitor’s colors.”

“What’s a traitor?” Gianna asked.

“Nothing, Alexander is being mean,” Lucia assured her.

“Don’t be mean, Mama says that’s not allowed.” Gia looked at me, little eyebrows scrunched together.

“I apologize.” I nod sincerely and try not to let the smile break through. From the corner of my eyes I could see Lucia doing the same. Fucking rude.

Simon walked over, all smiles. “Wright, this your girlfriend?” he asked. My heart lurched and Lucia’s eyes widened dramatically.

“No-no!” She smiled. “Just friends. I am Matteo’s sister, Lucia.” She held out her free hand to shake his. Simon was a blunt man. He asked things straight up, said things how he saw them, which made him a strong race engineer, and I was lucky to have him. But I never had people in the pit for me.

“ Just a friend, mate.” I reinforced, hoping to make Lucia’s alarmed look recede. Simon only nodded, shook her hand, and walked away. Lucia looked to me, our eyes locking before we both burst out laughing at the interaction.

“Gosh, is everyone going to think that? Do you bring girlfriends around at races?” she asked, a slight blush on her cheeks.

I shook my head. “Bloody hell, no,” I said. “Never brought anyone in here except my dad back when I was a rookie.” I missed my dad. Lucia nodded and reached out a hand, placing it gently on my own arm. The small act was comforting and grounding, all the things Lucia exuded. She and Matteo knew all about my dad’s diagnosis and how much worse it had become. It was one of the main reasons I slowed down; reality had a way of knocking you back down. I wanted to be more present, spend time with those who mattered. Nothing was guaranteed.

Lucia and Gianna stayed with me until one of my engineers needed me and prep was beginning for qualifying. After they left, I noticed the loud noise filtering back into my surroundings. I guess it had been there the whole time; we were standing in a pit, after all. But those fifteen minutes of quiet was enough to get my brain to reset. It was time to focus.

As I lowered myself into the car, pulling down the steering wheel and clicking it into place, I felt the adrenaline rush I always felt right before a race. My blood was pounding in my ears, but in the best way.

“Checking, one two.” Simon’s voice crackled alive over the radio.

“Copy, you are clear,” I responded.

“All right, mate, we’re going with plan A unless there is a crash and a safety car, then we switch to plan B. Rain in thirty.”

“Top five, baby,” I said, getting myself into position as they rolled out the car from the garage.

“Top five,” I heard back over the radio.

We got out early into Q1, trying to outpace the storm as only a trickle of rain was coming down at this time. Pulling out of the pit lane, only one thought was rattling around in my brain.

Let’s fucking go.

* * *

“And that’s a P2, Wright,” the voice over the radio sounds as I finish my last lap in the last leg of qualifying. I knew it would be a fight, but the strategy was top fucking tier today. We managed to stay out of the extreme rain. Two crashes from the lower teams gave us an advantage and knocked me up a few places. It really was all about timing, and on the last lap I had pushed with everything I had, going with barely any time left on the timer. I slowed my car and pulled in behind the second place marker. A familiar white car pulled up next to me, taking the spot behind the first-place marker, Theo Bauer. Kaze Energy Racing team was a formidable opponent. It was Belen and Kaze, neck and neck for the Constructors’ and the Drivers’ Championships. But then, pulling up in third was a bright red car, and as soon as the helmet came off, a beaming Matteo threw his fist into the air, his team cheering. I took off my own gear and made my way to him.

“Fuck yeah!” I shouted over the crowd as we hugged. “About damn time you joined me up here.”

“Godamn luck was what it was.” Matteo shook his head, his smile firmly in place as we pulled away from each other. I patted his back as we went through our routine of cooldown and semantics. Anna appeared by my side, giving me the rundown of the rest of the day, and I tried to hide the grimace on my face. I had been hoping to spend some time with Matteo and Lucia today after qualifying, but it seemed like there wouldn’t be time for that. Anna, ever aware, stopped her list mid-sentence.

“You know what”—she waved a hand and put her phone away—“one interview, the same one Matteo is doing, then I’ll clear the rest. Enjoy the day.” She smiled and walked away before I could even respond with a fake No, it’s okay.

I swear that woman could read minds. I let out a sigh of relief, as if it had been balled up in my throat. And right as I did, I saw Lucia across the way, Gia was throwing herself into Matteo’s arms. A pang of something hit me. I never had that tight-knit family like the DeLucas did. I admired it truly, hoped one day to even have my own. God, if I could hear myself three years ago. Settling down? I would have laughed at myself. Those thoughts had never crossed my mind before seeing how the DeLucas were. How much I felt like I missed out on. The gaping empty hole in my chest faltered as I looked up, familiar green eyes colliding with mine, and a soft smile forming over her expression as our eyes met.

Good Job , she mouthed at me. I put my hand to my heart to say thank you, and I felt a warmness inside me slowly creep over and dull out the emptiness. Having someone here who wasn’t being paid to care about where I placed or how I was racing.

Fuck, that was nice.

It only took another second for Gianna to see me, her eyes growing to giant orbs before her mouth opened and a screech cut through the noise of the track.

“Alex!” Each letter was drawn out, and she wiggled out of her uncle’s arms and took off toward me. It was not a clear path, and G was tiny, but it was like she parted the damn sea. People smiled at her, moving out of the way as her little legs carried her across the track and she launched herself into my arms right as I crouched down to meet her.

“I knew you’d beat Zio,” she whispered to me with an evil smile. I shook my head and laughed, squeezing her. In the chaos I did not notice who was around us. While Matteo and Lucia had been tucked in the corner, keeping Lucia and Gia slightly out of sight from the photographers, we were now in the middle of it all. I suddenly felt hyperaware. There were so many people around me as I looked around, all eyes on us, all cameras pointed at us. That same pressure reappeared, squeezing around my heart, gripping like a vice. I couldn’t even see Lucia through the crowd that had assembled. But I knew she didn’t want Gianna surrounded by photographers; it was overwhelming as an adult, I couldn’t imagine for a child.

I pulled Gia closer, shielding her face. It all happened so fast, cameras and people surrounding us, lenses being pushed way too close to Gia’s face. Fuck this.

“Okay, back up, back the bloody hell up,” I shouted at them as they closed in on me. Some looked slightly bewildered at my harsh tone, the others ignored me and pressed closer. Lenses of cameras felt like they were everywhere, and while I didn’t care about that on the track, knowing that it could affect Gia made bile rise in my throat and my heart pick up and thunder in my chest.

“She is a child, back the fuck up.” I seethed. The photographers paused and Anna pushed her way through the crowd, her hair slightly tousled, unlike her usual perfectionist lifestyle. She looked just as flustered as I felt.

“Back up, you do not have permission to publish a single one of those, delete them right now or you will be sued till your last goddamn penny.” She commanded the space, and the photographers froze, all looking down and pressing buttons, muttering apologies. I took the moment to see a clear path and get us the fuck out of there. I could hear Anna in the background, demanding each person show her proof they deleted the photos.

“Gianna DeLuca, you can’t run away from me like that!” Lucia’s voice was thick with worry as she ran up to us. We were tucked away in the Moretti area now.

“I’m sorry, Mama, I wanted to see Alex,” she said, her bottom lip quivering, tears welling. Lucia’s eyes softened, her own eyes looking like she could start crying too. I hated it. I wanted to make every worry disappear—pluck them out of this situation and keep them both safe. I shook my head, refocusing on Gia.

“I know, baby, but you can’t do that again, okay? It’s not safe, there are too many people here. If you want to see Alexander far away, you ask me, and we go together, okay?” Lucia asked her gently, her hand on her daughter’s cheek as Gia stayed in my arms. Gia sniffed, tears escaping her eyes. She turned her head and buried it into my chest with a sniffle.

“I’m sorry!” She cried and my heart just about broke in half.

“It’s okay, G. We just want to keep you safe.” I soothed her as she buried her face into my shoulder. We stood like that for a moment, the room was quiet, the outside noise muffled. Gia was holding onto me with a fierce grip, Lucia was rubbing circles on her back, her brow creased. It was rare she cried, but her eyes glistening gave her away. I let out a sigh.

“Anna took care of it and had the photos deleted,” I whispered to Lucia. She met my eyes and nodded. I reached out my extra arm, motioning for her to come closer. She wiped at her eyes and leaned into me.

“I just don’t want her hounded, or scared, if we are going to be around the circuit a lot. I know it’s hard and she’ll be in photos sometimes and that’s fine. But here, inside the paddocks and around the circuit, I thought maybe some separation would be good? I don’t know if that even makes sense.” I understood. Being in the spotlight was hard, controlling the narrative was near impossible, and all of it was overwhelming. But wanting the place we worked in to feel safe shouldn’t be a hard ask.

I would make sure it felt safe for her.

The door swung open and Matteo walked through.

“Luce, I am so sorry. We had them all sign NDAs days ago, they knew better.” Lucia only nodded. Matteo came over to us, and his gaze reached Gia, who was still hiding her face, smooshed against my race suit.

“G, you okay?” Matteo asked, the worry thick in his voice. Matteo was a fierce protector of his niece. He had once said he would burn down the world for her. We were drunk, but honestly, I believed him, because, as protective as I felt over her, I knew Matteo’s was tenfold.

“I didn’t mean to run away,” Gianna mumbled as she brought her head away from hiding. Her eyes were rimmed red and I wanted to fucking kill those asshole photographers. Gia reached out for her uncle, who took her from me. I took the moment to step away from them, letting Lucia and Matteo talk. I pulled out my phone, texting Dante.

Alexander

We were surrounded by paps, me with G. Get rid of them.

Dante

On it

Alexander

Don’t let it happen again on circuit.

Dante

Understood.

My fingers buzzed with the need to fix it. I knew Dante would make sure it never happened again on circuit, but we would need to be careful when we went out too. Matteo could fly under the radar as a newer driver. But the paps followed me everywhere. Maybe I should give them their space, they didn’t need me there anyway. I was a magnet for the paparazzi, even since I had cooled down on the partying. Anna had fixed it all, shielded me from the pissed-off managers and made my PR image sparkly clean. But the paparazzi were always trying to catch me in the act of something they could spin into drama.

Alexander on a date with a model!

Alexander Wright dating a new actress?

Is she knocked up?

New model, new week!

They were just friends, but the magazines and tabloids didn’t care. Needed to sell a story. And I would not involve Lucia or Gia in that. The press could be vile, I didn’t want them to experience that.

“It’s taken care of,” Anna said with a big sigh, breaking me out of my thoughts. The door slammed shut behind her. She sunk into the chair, looking defeated. I genuinely don’t think I had ever seen her like that. It made me pause.

“Are you okay?” I asked. Lucia and Matteo all looked at Anna. Lucia scurried over to her, sitting next to her and reaching out a hand. Anna nodded to me and then talked with Lucia in quieter voices. Lucia’s arm wrapped around Anna, making me admire how easily Lucia loved and took care of people, despite her past, despite everything that had happened, she loved so fully. Matteo walked to me with Gia still in his arms.

“I don’t think I have ever seen her look…” He paused. “Defeated?” He glanced back to her, then to me again.

“What the fuck is going on?” I shook my head, running a palm over my face. Today was a fucking day. Suddenly the exhaustion seemed to hit me like a battering ram. My body felt heavy, my eyes felt sore, and was that a headache starting? Fuck, I needed to get it together.

“We were going to go out tonight, but I think we might just chill at the hotel,” Matteo said, bouncing Gia up and down. “Wanna build forts?” he asked. Gia beamed.

“Yes, yes, yes!” she chanted.