“It’s not a big deal. I put a stop to it before he got carried away,” I add.
Rome’s expression darkens. He’s in front of me before I have a chance to take a breath, his arm winding around my waist possessively.
“It is a big deal,” he says, tone low and slow. “And I have no problem making him pay during the race.”
“You shouldn’t be thinking about anything other than what I’m telling you while on the track,” I remind him. “Leave Vinny and anything else out of it.”
“I wonder what your brothers would think if I happened to slip up and tell them.”
My nostrils flare. “Don’t.”
The smile that slides onto Rome’s face makes me pause.Oh God.
“I’m really going to like having something to hold over your head…Chief.”
His chuckle mocks me as I follow after him down the alleyway.
“Rome.”
“See you tomorrow,” he says, not bothering to look at me. “I expect those changes to be made to my car before I get there in the morning.”
My jaw drops. The audacity!
“You don’t get to call the shots!” I shout after him.
He gives me one last look, eyes glimmering with mischief. “You sure about that?”
I follow his line of sight and land on my brothers, standing near the curb, waiting for their vehicles. I glance back at Rome, and his smile deepens, which irritates me like no other.
I get into my car and take off from the venue but make a left instead of a right.
As much as I don’t trust Rome, I have a feeling he follows through on his threats, and if my brothers learn about Vinny’s disgusting behavior, it’ll do nothing but bring more drama to our team. And with Rome’s recent presence stirring up a bunch of shit, I’m better off playing it safe.
So off to the office I go.
“Run it again.”
“It’s still tight,” he snaps.
I can’t help but laugh, which pulls on every one of Rome’s tight strings. He jumps up from the simulator, his headset flying across the room. “Did you make the changes?”
Unlike the rest of the engineers in the room, I stand my ground. “You know I did. You just can’t admit that they’re wrong.”
Rome’s broad shoulders tense, his black t-shirt straining against his tight muscles. We stare–I mean,glare—at one another from across the room, and the longer I hold his eye, the faster my pulse races.
I’m thankful my dad is no longer showing up at HQ unannounced, because if he were here, I’d have to play nice to keep up with the charade that everything isjust finewhen, in reality, it’s the opposite.
I keep my eye on Rome. “Everyone out.”
No one argues.
The only one willing to go head to head with me is the devil across the room.
There’s a faint brush against my hand, and I look up to see Dylan, one of the engineers we pulled from working with Van and Noah.
He peers at me with a worry line etched in between his eyebrows. “You sure you’re okay being alone with him?”
I laugh softly. “I’m not afraid of Rome Pierce. But thank you for asking.”
