Page 32 of Wrecking Boundaries (SteelTrack Racing #2)

Rivers Motorsports Headquarters, North Carolina

“Can I talk to you?” Boone looks up at me from his stupid thinking couch, and I refrain from a sarcastic comment. “I tried calling you last night.”

He took Maddie and left right after discovering me with Jake. His phone went straight to voice mail, and Maddie texted me to give him time. It’s the following day, and hopefully, that means plenty of time.

“My phone was off,” Boone says.

Maddie stands. “I’ll leave you two alone.”

Boone raises a hand, stopping her. “No, stay here. You’re going to be my wife; there’s nothing we’ll say that you won’t eventually hear about.”

Maddie gives me a pitying look as she sits back down.

“I want to explain what you saw. We were going to tell you.”

“Yes, I overheard that part. No explanation needed; I had a good look.”

Boone’s in a cold rage. They’re rare nowadays, especially since Maddie came into his life, and now I’m the target of one. We’ve had a few crew members quit because they find him intimidating. Unfortunately for Boone, I’m a Rivers, too, and he doesn’t frighten me.

“You saw us seconds before we were coming to talk to you.” He doesn’t react, so I try again. “It’s serious. We aren’t casual.” Still no reaction. “We plan to get married,” I say, finally raising my voice.

Boone shrugs. “Let’s see it then.”

“See what?” I’m confused.

“Your engagement ring. If Jake Knowles is serious about marrying you, let me see your engagement ring. Surely, he could do that much to show his undying love.” Boone opens his palm as if I trust him enough to hand it over.

“I don’t have one.”

“When’s the wedding?”

“I don’t know the exact date.”

“Where is it?”

I’m wise enough to know it won’t go over well if I tell him it’s at the courthouse. “Making different decisions than the two of you doesn’t mean our commitment is any less.”

Boone stands, and I feel like the foolish little sister again. “He’s using you, Sarah. I promised to destroy his career, and Jake Knowles did the same with me.”

“He’s not doing that, I promise,” I say, knowing it’s useless.

“He is, Sarah.” Boone’s voice softens. “He’s using you for his gain, and you’re going to get hurt.”

That strikes home. I once accused Jake of nearly the same thing. “I can see why you might think so. You’ve trusted my judgment many times before, big brother; I hoped you’d do so again.”

“Then let’s try another question. Where is he? If Jake Knowles is the hero you say he is, why isn’t he confronting me instead of you?”

Jake and I argued over this exact topic before I came to work. He believes he should confront Boone, while I want to take the first step. “He has a scheduled interview and an event with one of his sponsors.” It’s true, and it sounds lame .

“That’s a convenient excuse. He gets you to fight his battles while he can sit back and watch.” Boone’s expression softens, and some of the coldness fades away. “I’m not trying to ruin your happiness; I’m trying to protect it. If he doesn’t sign soon, he’s out of a job next year and out of the Cup Series. He absolutely would go after you to save his career. He will do that, believe me. You’re the ticket that will get to me.”

This conversation is veering eerily close to another. I’m not ready to face this. “That’s unfair, and I hoped you’d respect my judgment. I guess I was wrong.”

Behind him, Maddie raises her hand, signaling me to stop. She’s right. Boone isn’t going to hear anything I say.

“Time has a way of working miracles,” she says, telling us both that the conversation is over. “Sarah, are we still meeting about the museum later today?”

Relieved, I say, “Everything is ready when you are.”

I leave them in their office.

∞∞∞

“You like that movie?” Julian asks.

“It’s good. You weren’t paying enough attention,” Lily answers.

They are deep in conversation, like a pair of old friends, and I’m the intruder.

My presence is noticed, and they both shut up. “Sorry to bother you.”

“How did the armed stand-off go?” Julian asks, which means everyone at headquarters knows.

“As well as you’d expect. ”

“I would intercede on your behalf, but my contract is up for renewal next year, and I’d like to keep driving,” he says. Julian is on my side, but he won’t risk anything to help, either.

I can’t blame him, but that doesn’t mean I wasn’t hoping for a sympathetic ear. “I’ll leave you to it. There’s a project on my laptop begging for attention.”

I leave, and Lily follows me out the door.

Her skirt bunches in her fist as we walk together. “I’m on your side,” she says quietly. “You two helped me win yesterday, and that was nice of you. I just wanted to say thank you.”

Lily scurries away before I can respond, probably back to Julian or one of the empty offices.

Alone, I shut my door and put my head on the desk. Jake is busy with his responsibilities, or I would call him. Of course, that means bursting into tears, and I don’t want to do that, not during the work day. Plus, I already had my annual cry, and that’s enough.

Faced with no other option, I cover my head to better drown in self-pity.

“Sarah?” A familiar hand strokes my back.

“Jake. How did you get in here?”

“We have an ally.” He nods towards the door where Lily stands. “She snuck me in.”

“I owe you,” I say.

“Please don’t tell anyone I did it,” she says before leaving us alone. “I don’t want to get in trouble.”

“It’s our secret,” I call out, but Lily doesn’t hear.

Jake is kneeling beside me, so I launch myself into his embrace. He falls back slightly before steadying and tightly wrapping his arms around me. We laid in bed longer than we should have this morning, and he held me then, too .

“Is he at least talking to you?”

“He’s interrogating me.” Boone’s questions were both reasonable and galling. My assertion that our choices may differ is fair, but the onslaught left me raw. “Don’t you have that sponsor thing?”

“It turns out rescheduling is easy when your sponsors like you.”

“Are you done today?”

“Done until we fly out since you’re coming with me. You can also cancel your hotel reservation because we aren’t hiding.”

I’m confused. “Where will we stay?”

“I have a trailer that needs to justify its expense soon. You’re staying there with me.” He strokes my cheek and tucks a lock of hair behind my ear. “I’m not leaving you, Princess. That was a promise, and I’m keeping it.”

“That’s good because I’m not wanted. Let’s go.” I stick my laptop in its case and pull my purse from the bottom drawer.

Jake watches but doesn’t make any move to leave. “What exactly did he say?”

A replay of that conversation won’t help matters. Getting caught without an engagement ring is embarrassing, and I’m not ready to share that yet. I prepared for a slew of questions requiring me to validate my commitment to the job and Jake’s character. Boone dismissing my decisions with such hostility was unexpected. Perhaps it should not have been.

“He threatened your career and claimed you did the same in return.” I don’t ask if that’s true. Boone initially led me to believe he shared their complete exchange after Jake wrecked Boone. Jake confirmed it, and if there’s more, it may be best that I don’t know. “He believes our relationship is part of your devious plot to hurt him.”

Jake rubs a temple with the tip of one finger. “I see why he would think that. What else did he say?”

Boone’s interrogation bothers me, but the last part hurts. “I pointed out that he’s trusted my judgment in the past.”

“Of course he did. You’re wicked smart,” Jake says. He pulls at my chin with his thumb and softly kisses me. “Listening to you is a path to victory.”

I almost smile because, like Boone, he can’t stop using racing expressions. “Not this time. I felt foolish, like a little kid who doesn’t know her mind.” Josie, Jake’s little sister, pops into my head. She’s a teen girl struggling to find purpose while all the adults insist she’s too young to know better. Her feelings probably aren’t so different from mine.

“You do.”

“I felt small.”

“You’re not.”

“I felt stupid.”

It’s probably unwise to complain about Jake’s biggest rival and my brother, but who else is there to talk to? Right now, there’s no one I trust more.

“Do you still feel that way?”

“Well, yes.” Some feelings don’t just disappear because you want them to. “You two don’t get along, but I worshipped him as a little girl.”

“Where is he?” Jake asks. He steps toward the door, and tension streams off his square shoulders.

“You’re angry.”

“What do you expect?”

“We should leave. Please don’t, not right now.”

Jake doesn’t even notice my plea. “You don’t deserve to feel that way, do you hear me? Not ever, not by anyone. ”

I’m not short, and yet Jake is difficult to keep up with.

He heads toward the garage like he has some weird sixth sense for his greatest enemy.

Sure enough, Boone is conversing with Pete Webb, his pit chief.

He notices the two of us approaching, Jake’s angry steps, and my desperate chase. “Are you spying on me so soon?” he asks. It’s casual, the way someone might comment on the weather, but Boone’s slightly spread legs show he’s ready for more than conversation.

The garage is busy with engineers and mechanics, all watching the show. This has the potential to be incredibly ugly.

“There’s nothing here worth my time,” Jake says, making it clear he’s talking about Boone. “You hate my guts, I get it. Fine. I don’t care. Leave her out of it.”

I pull on his arm, but Jake ignores it.

“That wasn’t a problem until you brought her into it,” Boone says. “Did you think getting to me through my little sister would work?”

Okay, that annoys me. “Shut up. He isn’t doing that, and I don’t appreciate you acting like I’m some little kid incapable of making up my own mind.”

Boone’s dark eyes settle on me, and his flat expression unnerves me. He rarely smiles, and it’s almost always with Maddie, but his dark looks are focused on me for the second time today.

“He’s using you. He’s angry that I stole his spotter out from under him.” Boone settles back on Jake. “Leave her be, and I might reconsider.”

Jake’s cocky smile makes clear what he thinks of that offer. “You think that will work? I expect more from you, Boone Rivers.” He draws a hand into a fist, contradicting the relaxed tone in his voice.

“Will you two please stop for a minute?” I don’t know if stepping between them will diffuse the situation or put me in the line of fire. “For me, please.”

“Enough, both of you.” Julian steps between them, physically shoving them apart. “Fight on the track, not the garage.”

Lily meets my eyes and shyly smiles before looking at the ground. She went to get Julian for me, the sweet girl. That makes two favors I owe her now.

Julian throws an arm over Boone, who shrugs it off. “You two assholes are so dumb that you don’t realize that you’re angry for the same reason.” He ignores Boone’s glower and claps him on the back. “Take Jake and get out of here,” he says.

Gladly. This time, when I grab Jake’s hand, he accepts.

“Everyone back to work. Now,” Julian yells, and the show officially ends.

“C’mon, Princess. It’s time to go.”

Jake pulls me against him, and we leave.

I don’t look back.