Page 57 of Cross Me

A metallic roar shook the glass windows. Everyone in the box flooded toward us. I pressed to the glass, panic crashing through me. This time it wasn’t a bumper that had been clipped. A car had flipped over, landing upside down on the track. My stomach turned at the sight, my body remembering the accident I had tried to forget. I clutched it, willing my food to stay down and felt an unmistakable flutter. I held the place where my child grew protectively, feeling as helpless to keep him safe as I did to help now. Teams rushed onto the track, followed by paramedics, battling through the smoke pouring from the wreckage. Every second seemed to last an hour, and I couldn’t turn away from the number displayed prominently on the car’s backend. I’d never remember every driver’s number, but there was one I wouldn’t forget.

Anderson Stone made an impression.

CHAPTER TWENTY

CLARA

Anders’ car looked like a crumpled tin can. From a distance, it was impossibly small, less than half the size it was supposed to be. No matter how much I stared, the whole scene was surreal. The only thing that seemed to make sense was that this was not simply an accident.

Next to me, Henry had gone into crisis mode, but I couldn’t process what he was saying. It wasn’t until he touched my arm that I even realized he was speaking.

“They’re going to have to cut off the doors to get to him,” he said. “They’ve ordered the other drivers into the pit.”

Henry’s words stuck in the cloud that fogged my brain. Was this how Alexander felt after arriving to my accident? Because I felt helpless, like nothing I could do would matter.

Then I remembered I wasn’t powerless. I was the most powerful woman in the country. I snapped out of my daze, my eyes scanning the room for Brex and Georgia.

“Brexton,” I called when I spotted him. “Send our teams to clear the streets. I want emergency vehicles to be able to get through quickly.”

“They’ll probably need to bring in a helicopter,” Henry said softly.

I nodded, but this time I said what I was thinking. “Other people will still need to get to the hospital. See if his family’s here. He said his mother was coming, make sure she can get to him quickly.”

Brex reached me first and lowered his voice. “This is not really our job.”

“It is now.” He was accustomed to taking orders from Alexander. It was time he learned to take them from me. “Once you’ve gotten everyone going, let’s get the car and head to the hospital.”

“I think it would be better—” Brex began as Georgia joined us.

“That’s an order,” I said, leaving no room for further discussion. Brex looked like he was struggling to follow my command but Georgia yanked him away.

Amidst the chaos around me, my mind strayed to Alexander and to my own car crash. I tried to remind myself this was different. I didn’t know how fast Anders had been going, but it had been fast enough to destroy half of his car.

I’d been too distracted to see what had led to the crash. Henry filled me in on the way to the hospital. I listened without speaking as Brex navigated us through the streets. My eyes on the empty streets that we’d cleared. The drive there felt like its own race, but one that had life and death stakes.

Another driver had lost control while going around the corner heading into the straight. When that car began to spin out, it crossed in front of Anders. This left Anders with two choices: he could let the other car slam him into the wall, or he could try to cut inside the other car, even though he was going too fast to turn that sharply. In the end, Anders waited too long. By the time he tried to cut inside, he could no longer avoid clipping the other car. As soon as he hit it, his car went airborne and tumbled nearly a quarter mile down the straight.

I couldn’t bring myself to ask if he would survive.

Everyone around discussed details as they came, but I blocked them out. If he wasn’t going to make it, I didn’t want to know. I’d told Alexander he’d been worried needlessly, but now I realized how dangerous these games were.

What was Anders doing racing cars? He was playing with fire. That wasn’t what the Sovereign games were supposed to be about. It was supposed to be about bringing people together, not destroying lives. All the belief I had in the good I was doing drained away. If Anders died, it would be my fault. I had pushed the games to go on.

The waiting room was packed, full of Anders’ team and other drivers. We’d halted the race. It made me sick to know that usually a race would continue, even if someone’s life hung in the balance. But no one here appeared unshaken by the tragic turn in tonight’s event. Everywhere I looked, heads were huddled and people were speaking in hushed voices.

Henry had tried to convince me to go to a private area, but it felt wrong somehow. I’d spent the last few weeks getting to know these guys. My place was here. Henry had kept up a steady stream of conversation, no doubt in a bid to distract me. I hadn’t heard any of it until he called across the room. “Rachel!”

I looked up to see who he was talking about and caught sight of an older woman with sandy blonde hair. My heart plummeted into my stomach. She was slight, not nearly as tall as her son, but the terror on her face gave her away. It was Anders’ mother. It had to be.

I didn’t know what to say as Henry introduced us. Rachel took my hand, hers shaking slightly, and shook it.

“It’s an honor to meet you,” she said, her voice hollow. She was going through the motions, her mind elsewhere. I couldn’t blame her. If it was my child I wouldn’t be able to think straight, let alone politely introduce myself to someone.

“Rachel used to work in the household,” Henry said as he placed a comforting arm around her shoulders and drew her close.

I didn’t know what to say. She was going through her worst nightmare and Henry was taking a trip down memory lane. I wanted to offer her some solace. Although Henry might be right by distracting her. “You worked for Elizabeth?”

“Yes, before she died,” she said. “It was a long time ago. I didn’t think anyone remembered me.”