License to Love

Chapter 21 Opposite Sides of the Line

Just some background vibes. ⤴

"So it wasn't an accident," Brook repeated thoughtfully after the crew had finally told him and Michelle everything they discovered after he had been discharged from the hospital. They were back in the hotel where they were staying and had gathered to go over the situation.

"I want you out of that race right now!" Michelle said in a high-strung voice. She turned to Paige.

"You told me it was an accident!" Michelle accused her. Paige averted her gaze.

"I didn't want to worry you last night." Paige defended. "And I didn't specifically say it was an accident."

"Either way, if someone's trying to sabotage Brook, I don't want him in that race anymore!" Michelle insisted. She turned to Brook with worry in her eyes. "I never wanted you to be a part of this and even more so after what happened."

"I gotta say, I agree with her," Payton said seriously. "This whole deal was a waste of time anyway. It's not like the Nightshades have proven to be of much help to us."

"Yeah, Paige, why are you still trying so hard to enlist their help?" Reece asked suspiciously.

"You know we're more reliant on our own. We've got our own resources," Jett said.

"I didn't want us to get attention!" Paige retorted, folding her arms in defiance. "When I started this investigation, it was clear that whoever is after us is targeting everyone known to be associated with us! Which makes each one of us a target! They made that clear when they attacked Payton and Brook, and I'm not gonna let that happen again!"

"And I don't want us to be a target anymore either!" Michelle added fiercely.

"But whoever's after us should have found out that the Nightshades are also associated with us, which means they'd have gone after them too," Brook reasoned.

"Well – so far, we've been lucky they haven't!" Paige spluttered, unable to think of a better excuse.

"So far, it looks like we've been garnering all the attention while they've stayed in the shadows undercover. That's not working out for us," Reece said.

"And it's not easy for us to investigate who sabotaged Brook's Ford when we're being sidetracked a lot," Jett added.

"Which brings us to the present – what do we do now?" Payton voiced the unspoken question hanging in the air.

"We drop out of that stupid race, we conduct this investigation ourselves and we don't put ourselves at risk anymore," Michelle spoke with finality before anyone else could answer.

"Michelle—" Brook began but was interrupted by a knock on the door.

"Did you order room service at a time like this?" Payton asked Jett incredulously. He shook his head with vigor.

"No, it wasn't me!" He said. Payton opened the door.

"Hey, mind if I come in? We need to talk." Trish stood at the door alone, looking uncertain. Payton frowned.

"Now's not a good time," he said, intending to close the door. Trish placed her palm on it and pushed it wide open.

"Yes it is, you guys will wanna hear this." She said and walked in. Michelle glared at her, irritated by her overbearing attitude. She didn't miss the concerned look Trish gave Brook.