“Great pace, Royce. How are the tyres feeling?” Marcel asks.
“Starting to wear.” There’s a slight pant to my voice.
We started on softs. Now, I’m not sure if it was the best move.
“How far is Griffin behind me?” I ask, taking the corner a little harder than I would have wanted. “Fuck, check for damage. Felt like I hit the bottom of the car out of that turn.”
“One moment, Royce.” The silence builds and it feels like a lifetime before Marcel begins to speak again. “Car’s fine.” His tone is curt. “Griffin is three-point-four seconds behind you.”
I go silent as I move down to the grid line.
“Box, box.” Marcel makes the decision.
I just hope we can get out just ahead of him. If not, it’ll be just behind. But every cloud and all that. I’ll be on fresher tyres. He still needs to pit.
“Just heard that Marques is going to retire the car. Power unit issue,” Marcel tells me.
I pull in and slow down to the correct speed for the pitlane, my crew rushing out. All four tyres are changed in record time and my back wheel spins as I pull away and crawl out of the pitlane. I manage to nestle myself just in front of Griffin.
“Excellent, Royce,” Marcel praises me and I smile.
“Now, let me drive.”
I shut him out and focus on the track ahead of me. I know I could get on the podium, but I need to lock in. A certain amber eyed beauty slips into my conscious and in the end, she is all I can picture.
Maybe she’s my lucky charm.
Chapter Fifteen
Athena
My heart isin my throat. I have Edel on video call. It’s five thirty am back home and we’re all holding our breaths as Royce crosses the line on lap fifty, still holding onto third. Anaïs stands next to me, her shoulder bumping into mine, her nails in her mouth.
“God, I feel sick,” I mutter as I watch the screen, headphones on.
“Same.” Her voice is soft. “So much can still happen.”
“Really?” I tear my eyes from the television and focus on her, seeing the worry etched into her face.
“Yup, this is the thing with Formula One, it’s anyone’s race, in a way.” She gives me a glance, one of her hands pressed against her headphone.
I swallow. “We have to think positive.” I nibble on my bottom lip.
“He’s got this,” Edel’s voice floats through the speaker and just as her words trail off, we hear a commotion.
“Fuck.” Anaïs rushes to the pit wall, and I have no idea what is going on.
The crew rush to the pits and my heart is racing.
“What is it?” I ask Nora.
“Cowan has gone into the barrier,” she says.
Right on cue, the camera pans to his car. It’s wrecked. My breath is caught in the back of my throat until I see him climb out of the car and the garage claps, relief waving through all of us.
“Safety car.” Anaïs runs in, but she seems happy about it.
“Is this good?” I find myself asking.
