Page 43 of Touch Me Not (Manwhore #1)

CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

It wasn’t what she imagined it would be.

Growing up watching The Fast and The Furious movies had permanently warped her vision of what a street race should be.

It was the middle of the night, the only real lights were some drop lights scattered around, and they’d taken over the parking lot of an abandoned warehouse.

She’d imagined some racetrack scenario, with spectators and fans everywhere. Not what she got.

Nikoli left her and Luther by the car while he went to check in.

Luther popped the hood and busied himself inspecting the car for the thousandth time.

It was ready. She almost said something, but she knew it was his way of dealing with nerves.

Instead, she studied the people, their backgrounds from all over, judging from the diverse group around her.

The adrenaline and excitement on every face she saw was, however, just as she’d imagined it.

People were huddled in groups around their cars, some shooting the breeze, others shit-talking each other, and she grinned.

This was awesome. No wonder her father had always said he loved this more than NASCAR.

She wasn’t even driving, and her adrenaline was through the roof.

“Hey, baby.” Nikoli slid his arms around her. “How are you feeling?”

“Ohmygoshthisisamazing!” The words came out in a rush, all jumbled together, and Nikoli laughed.

“That’s not what I meant,” he whispered. “I mean are you okay after last night? Sore?”

Lily felt her face flame up at the reminder, and she shot a glance to where Luther was still buried under the hood of the car. “I’m fine,” she muttered.

Nikoli laughed again and gave her another squeeze.

He could see the blush spreading like wildfire along her neck and cheeks.

She was adorable when she was embarrassed.

“So, what do you think of your first underground race?” he asked, his hand brushing against the underside of her breast. Her small gasp made him grin wider.

“Well, I thought there would be more people here, more lights, more…everything.”

Luther stood and slammed the hood. “Oh, there are plenty of those around, Lily. This race is invite only and very hush-hush. Got to keep it on the down low.”

“Are we ready?” Nikoli let his chin rest on top of Lily’s head.

“If we’re not, there’s nothing we can do about it now.” Luther checked his watch. “You got five minutes to get in the car and get it to the starting line.”

“Luther, don’t let her out of your sight.” He turned Lily around and bent down to give her a quick kiss. “Wish me luck, baby.”

“Good luck,” she said, a whisper of a smile on her face.

She seemed sad this morning, and Nikoli wanted to reassure her, but he couldn’t.

He had the feeling she knew, like he did, this was their last weekend together.

He had no idea how to comfort her when he was having issues coming to terms with it himself.

Instead of dwelling, he released her and slid behind the wheel of the car they’d labored over for this race. He started the engine, revved it a few times, and then pulled out, leaving Lily and Luther in his rear-view mirror.

“Come on, Lily.” Luther took her arm and started to pull her closer to where the cars were lined up, despite the fact she stiffened up. She might be better, but she wasn’t cured. “We’ll wait up here so we can see them when they circle back and cross the finish line.”

“How long does the race usually take?” Her eyes took in everything as she disentangled herself from Luther’s grasp. A hint of panic crept up her spine at his touch, but she took several deep breaths and made herself calm down.

“Depends,” Luther said, eyeballing the other cars.

“It could be ten minutes, or it could be a couple hours. The route is preprogrammed into the GPS. Nikoli got it when he signed in a few minutes ago. No one knows the route until they get in the car and plug the GPS in. Last year it was a thirty-minute race.”

The engines revved, and without warning, tires squealed and the drivers sped off into the early morning darkness. Well, that was different. She’d expected someone up front to be waving a green flag or something.

Luther laughed at her expression. “We’re ruining your expectations, huh?”

Lily nodded, nonplused. This was not at all what she’d expected.

“We’ll take you to a race that will reaffirm all those expectations,” Luther said, laughing. “This one is for major money.”

Lily shot him a smile tinged with sadness. She highly doubted she’d be going to any other races with them, but she pushed those thoughts down and started counting the minutes.

Nerves ate at her. The last race she’d been to was the one that cost her father his life.

He’d plowed into a wreck on the track, been hit by another car and pushed into the wall, trapped and unable to move when the next few cars slammed into the wreckage.

Lily didn’t like to dwell on it because then she’d start thinking of if he’d been unconscious or if he’d been awake and in pain as he’d died.

It always ripped her to shreds imagining all the what-ifs.

She couldn’t help but think about it now, though.

Nikoli was racing, and even though this wasn’t a track, it was still dangerous.

Maybe even more dangerous than an organized race like NASCAR.

Worry for him consumed her, but she tried to keep it from showing.

Luther was nervous enough for the both of them.

After forty-five minutes, the wait started to get to Luther.

He’d taken to pacing, as had several other people milling around.

He’d been nervous before, but now he was clearly getting worried.

The later it got, the more the city started to wake up.

Soon, it would be next to impossible for the racers to hide from the police and the helicopters.

That was another worry of Lily’s. They’d both impressed upon her how important it was to not get caught, given who they were.

This was how they financed their business, and it would be bad for business to get arrested for being involved in an illegal race.

Another fifteen minutes went by before the sound of loud engines could be heard.

Luther grabbed Lily and pulled her well out of the way.

Before she could protest, she saw the first of four cars fighting for first place.

They were all over the road, pushing each other, angling to try to get around the ones in front of them.

Lily squinted and spotted Nikoli in third place.

Her heart nearly stopped when one of the cars slammed into his, forcing him off the road, but he recovered and shot back up to where he was.

Luther cursed rather violently while they watched Nikoli fight to gain control of the second position.

He swerved and slammed his car into the same Dodge Charger that had forced him off the road.

The Charger’s driver lost control of the car and spun out, flipping, taking the fourth car down with him.

All that was left was the Mach 1 and the 1974 Chevelle.

Neither looked willing to give an inch, both ramming into each other.

Lily bit down on her knuckles to keep from shouting. Luther leaned forward as they got closer, muttering something she couldn’t make out. She didn’t care. Her eyes were glued to the battling vehicles, their intent to win clear in their aggressive driving.

Closer and closer they came, each pulling out into the lead for a few brief seconds before being overtaken.

She knew how important this race was to Luther and Nikoli, but she didn’t think they were going to win.

She’d been watching the other driver and knew for a fact he wasn’t showing his hand.

The car sat up just a little higher in the front, which told her there were modifications that could boost the speed under that hood.

No racer worth a grain of salt would do a speed boost until the very end.

“He’s not going to win,” Lily whispered, which made Luther glower at her. “Well, he’s not. The other car still has a speed boost left.”

“How do you know that?” Luther asked, a growl behind his words.

“I know cars, Luther,” she said, still watching the fight. “Trust me on this.”

Luther pulled out a small radio and started shouting into it. Lily’s eyebrows rose. If he’d been able to talk to Nikoli before, why had he waited and worked himself up into such a nervous wreck?

Before Lily realized what was happening, Nikoli pulled ahead then drifted right hard, forcing the other car to swerve.

The Chevelle’s rear end slammed into Nikoli, and both cars started spinning out of control.

They were simply going too fast. Lily watched, horrified as both cars bounced off each other again.

That final hard slam sent Nikoli’s Mach 1 over the finish line, while the Chevelle hit the side of the building, smashing the front end up into the dash.

Nikoli’s car came to a halt, and Lily ran, despite Luther shouting for her to wait.

She needed to see that he was okay, that he wasn’t dead.

The car took a beating, and she knew Nikoli had as well.

The door was flung open, and she reached him just as he fell out onto the pavement.

Dropping to her knees, she grabbed his face and pulled it up so she could see his eyes.

He gave her a half smile before dragging her closer for a kiss full of fear, passion, and need.

It left them both breathless. He stared at her in shock when he pulled away from her.

“I love you,” she blurted, and Nikoli blinked. She knew she’d shocked him. She could see the shock in his eyes. She hadn’t meant to say it. God, she hadn’t meant to, but how was she going to take it back?