“Uh, yeah. Guess so. Theo goes through them fast.” I shrugged, trying not to make it a big deal. The last thing I wanted was to add to my sister’s stress. It was in the past now. Theo hated basically every single manager he had and was not one to mess around. He was known for his ‘I don’t give a shit’ attitude.So all in all, I was not worried about it. Matt could only fake being a good manager for so long. My mama taught me that bad karma was bound to catch up to those who deserved it. And, quite frankly, Matt didn’t deserve any space in my thoughts, let alone my sister’s. So I brushed it off and muttered, “See you after,” to her with a hug goodbye.
“Try and beat Alexander today, hmm? He needs an ego check.” Lucia smirked and I rolled my eyes at her. The two had been awfully close lately, agreeing to some crazy fake dating scheme where they were both totally not faking anything, and they were both just idiots. But who was I to talk anymore?
“Sure thing, I’ll just jump ten grid spots, no problem,” I sighed. Today was not the best start after qualifying for thirteenth position today.
“I believe in you,” Lucia said simply, as if it was that easy. I waved goodbye to the pair and tried not to look over to the dark-haired siren of a woman that had obviously put a damn spell on me.
I retreated to the back of the garage. Everything was humming. Crew was moving like clockwork. Tire blankets were warming, radios crackling. It smelled like rubber, oil, and adrenaline.
I ducked into the quiet of my driver room, the one spot where I could breathe.
I closed the door, went through my rituals.
Tapped my helmet, then my gloves.
I sank to the floor, ignoring the couch and crossing my legs then putting my headphones on.
Three deep breaths. In through the nose, out through the mouth. One for calm. One for focus. One for every stupid, messy feeling I had no room for right now.
The rituals helped. The stillness before the storm.
I reached into the duffel by the wall and pulled out the same silver chain I’d worn since karting—my nonna’s medallion. I tucked it under my suit, hiding it since we were not supposed to wear any jewelry while racing. But hey, it was my good luck charm.
I pressed play on my playlist. Same first song every time. Something that reminded me to move fast, stay loose.
Still, all I could see when I closed my eyes was her laughing at Carlos’s joke.
She looked happy.
I clenched my jaw, stood, rolled out my shoulders and let it all slip away as I got into the car and rolled out into formation.
Helmet on.
Visor down.
Emotions out.
The lights above the grid ticked down like a heartbeat.
Five.
Four.
Three.
Two.
One.
Lights out and away we go.
I slammed the throttle. Gripped the wheel tighter than I should’ve. The roar of the engine was the only thing loud enough to drown out the buzzing in my skull. The car jolted forward. Wheels worked hard. I cut inside on Turn 1, threading the needle between P12 and P11—two rookies too soft on the brakes. I wasn’t. Two positions up before we hit Sector 2.
That’s more like it.
My engineer’s voice crackled in my ear. “Great start, Matteo. Let’s settle into pace.”
But I wasn’t there to settle, I was going to score some damn points today. Every corner was sharper today. Every overtake,just on the edge of clean. I was driving like a man trying to prove something. Trying to chase a ghost in a navy dress with a wicked mouth.
