Page 149 of Off the Grid

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CHAPTER FIFTY-FOUR

Riggs

My heart is a steady staccato in my ears. A constant thump as the sound of my breathing fills the interior of the helmet and the car around me vibrates my entire body.

It feels good to be back in the cockpit.

To have my apologies about what happened during Monza and my mediocre finish in Singapore be heard by my crew.

To have Hank’s confidence in me restored.

To have that slow, even nod and, “All right,” from Carlo Moretti after I faced him and admitted fault.

None of them made it easy for me. Stone faces were the norm with doubt present in their eyes.

But I busted my arse to prove to them that I meant what I said. That I knew I was wrong, and that the whole of the team comes before the individual ego.

And I needed that before I could face this race. Before I could walk in the footsteps of the only giant I’ve ever wanted to be like at the only track I ever could get the chance to—Suzuka.

Dad. Please protect me. Please direct me. Please make me be okay.

I glance up at the sky. At the puffs of white clouds just beyond the light tree. At the stretch of racetrack that leads to the turn that changed my family and my fate forever. At the Sharpie on the dash with his initials.

And then I let it all go.

All thoughts.

All fears.

All need to prove everyone wrong or right or in between.

All comparisons to the man whose name I bear.

And for the first time in my life, I may be racing for Team Moretti, but I race for me and me only.

I race for Spencer Riggs.

For my future.

Not to outrun ghosts I can’t outrun.

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CHAPTER FIFTY-FIVE

Camilla

She looks nothing like him.

She’s petite with blond hair and blue eyes.

She’s quiet and pensive with a soft voice and a quiet smile.

She’s worried—noticeably—by the tight grip on my hand. We stand side by side and watch the man we love battle lap after lap to finish a race on a track that is an emotional powder keg for this family.

She must be terrified and proud of her incredible son.