I don’t answer. I already know.
Dominic Balterra came on the scene five months ago. And proved himself an asshole the moment he opened his mouth. He’s lucky I didn’t cave his teeth in when he told me I’d look better bent over his hood than behind a wheel. Best revenge? Iate his ego on the track. My cleanest, most satisfying win. He’s hated me ever since.
Remi scowls. “Yeah—fucking Balterra. He’s been talking so much shit. Saying you’re bitching out because of Cole. Can I just run him over?” She pulls a butterfly knife from the strap on her thigh, snapping it open in a smooth figure-eight. “Or I can carve him up real pretty. Just say the word.”
“He’s just goading us. Let him talk. It’s all he has. Two more weeks, and I’ll be there to take his money and his pride. In the meantime, you got this.”
Her mouth curls into a grin. “Then I cut him.”
I shove her playfully. “Remi!”
She winks. “Oh, I’m joking.”
We both know she isn’t. If shit ever goes sideways, neither of us will flinch. It’s how we were raised—strategy, instinct, and survival. Taught young that the world isn’t what it seems. There’s an underground network out there, operating like reapers. Blood oaths. Death contracts.
Growing up, we learned two things: Always stay ready. Never hesitate.
“Let’s get moving.” I stand too fast and a hot jolt rips down my leg, making me stumble. Remi’s on me in a second, both hands steadying my shoulders.
“Easy, Val.”
“Fuck, I hate this.”
“Me too. But it’s temporary, remember that.”
I blow out a breath. “Yeah. Let’s go. Hermes, Apollo come.”
Remi grabs my bag and falls into step beside me.
“By the way, since I can't run that bastard over, I'll need to make sure I smoke his ass. I'm thinking of swapping the pulley on Raze’s supercharger. The boost curve just doesn't hit right in the higher gears,” she says, jabbing the elevator button. “It'schoking past six grand. Maybe if I tweak the ECU and clean up the timing—get cleaner throttle out of corners.”
I raise a brow. “Didn't you just upgrade it last month?”
“Yeah, but I’ve been chasing that perfect pull, Val. She’s still not breathing right,” she says with a shrug. “I’ll get her dialed in, though. She deserves it.”
I laugh under my breath. “You talk like she’s a lover instead of a car.”
“Like you’re one to talk. I bet you’re missing getting your hands on Poison Ivy.” She isn’t wrong. “And absolutely. She just costs more and screams louder.”
“Touché.”
“The parts should be here in two days. I’ll wrench it myself.”
“Of course you will,” I say with a smile, nudging her shoulder.
Remi’s face softens, and her eyes drop to my cast. “Don’t worry. I got this. You just heal up…and don’t you fucking scare me like that again. I can’t lose you.”
My first instinct is to crack a joke and break the tension, but I can see the raw fear in her eyes. “I love you, Rem. And I’m not going anywhere.”
Eighteen
MAKSIM
“You look like someone with a lot on their mind.”
I fight the urge to startle at Silas’s sudden appearance, keeping my eyes fixed on the framed photograph in my hand until he slides a drink across the desk. With my back to the door and my thoughts a million miles away, I hadn’t heard him come in. I shouldn’t be surprised—this is his office, after all—but I’ve never liked being caught off guard, even by someone I trust as much as Silas.
Our relationship isn’t like the one I have with my mother. Hell, I’ve never called him anything other than his name. Not because he hasn’t earned the title, but because the man I once called father, and everything that followed, left scars too deep for that.
