The track where the first stage of the Nevada Nitrous Circuit race was to take place was packed. Cars of every kind could be found lining up along the starting line and the stands and pits were equally crowded with people. A big banner with the words 'Nevada Nitrous Circuit' was strung above the stands. The air was saturated with feverish excitement and the spirit of competition was high.
"Gee willikers, this is gonna be one humdinger of a race!" Jett said in a fake southern accent.
"Can you not do that?" Paige said with a squeamish look. He grinned.
"You've been teasing me and Reece nonstop since you got back, I think I'm entitled – hey!" Jett jumped out of the way as Paige aimed a punch at his gut.
"Missed me!" He said cheekily. Paige rolled her eyes and turned to Payton, who was standing silently leaning against the railing with his arms folded.
"Penny for your thoughts?" She asked. He gave a wan smile.
"Just keeping an eye out," he said.
"For what?"
"Don't know. Could be anything. Can't shake this feeling that something bad is gonna happen." Paige's expression turned serious and she pulled him aside.
"Payton, I know you're still upset about what I told you—"
"About today? No, that's not what's bothering me at all," he said, shaking his head. "I told you I trusted you on things, Paige. I don't go back on my word."
"Then what's bothering you? Are you worried about—" Paige whispered a name very quietly, "finding us here?"
"While that is a possibility, no. You said his last whereabouts were still centered in Vegas, right?"
"Yeah."
"It'll take a while for him to track us up here. I'm only afraid that word will get around in these parts that we're showing our faces at the NNC. That might draw his attention to us."
"And that bothers you?"
"Partly."
"What else?"
"It's something that happened two days ago..." Payton's brow creased in thought as he turned to Paige, "You know how when things happen, they seem to happen all at once?"
"Yeah, too well," Paige said darkly.
"First Ross crops up, then this shit with Zhang, and then..."
"Then?" Paige waited on tenterhooks for him to speak.
"A guy showed up at the dealership a couple days ago," Payton finally replied, "looked like a customer. But something felt way off about him, he looked familiar. I can't stop thinking..." He stopped on seeing Trish, Jada, and Austin approach and Paige turned to them.
"Race starts in fifteen. Where's Brook?" Trish asked bluntly. Paige snorted and glanced over her shoulder.
"Getting his good luck kiss," she replied. Trish turned and saw Brook wrapped in Michelle's arms near his car, broad smiles on their faces and she scowled.
"Jada, you fill 'em in. I'm gonna get myself a drink," she said bitterly and stomped off. Paige had a hard time holding back the burst of laughter that bubbled in her throat. Jada pinched the bridge of her nose in vexation.
"Could you at least try not to antagonize her?" She asked Paige.
"Hmm. Let me think about it. Nope," Paige replied flippantly. Jada sighed.
"Whatever. I'm just here with an update," she said. Payton straightened up, listening intently.
"We've been digging around for information and word on the street is that someone's been buying off petty gangs and getting them to do dirty work for them – mostly trashing any organization with ties to you."
"I guessed that much, don't you have anything new?" Paige asked.
"It gets better," Austin said tonelessly. Jada continued, "Whoever's paying these gangs is discarding them after they've served their purpose and having them thrown in jail. A bunch of small-timers have even vanished off the face of the earth, no one seems to have heard from them since they got put away. A lot of criminal activities have reduced as a result – more than half a dozen gangs have been convicted after these arson jobs."
"So it's a 'use and throw' deal," Payton summarized.
"Appears so. But they must be smart because whoever's hiring these thugs is also digging up dirt on them in advance and using it against them after they've gotten the job done. And whoever it is, they're loaded because they're paying big money for trivial jobs."
"Jobs that so far haven't been a threat to us, only serve as a warning," Payton said thoughtfully.
"They can't be working alone, they must leave some trace of their presence behind," Paige said, hoping Jada wouldn't give the name of the person away with the crew standing so close by.
"If they have, we haven't been able to find it yet. And unless someone's willing to take a trip to the penitentiary, we can't get any more information."
"So take that trip," Paige said. Jada blinked.
"Excuse me?"
"We want information, Jada. We agreed to this. We're taking the risks here by shielding you against Zhang. So I suggest you put in your best efforts into uncovering who's really behind all this and what they're after," Payton said vehemently. Jada's expression became cold, but she nodded.
"We'll see what we can do," she said and walked away with Austin. Paige turned to Payton.
"He knows we're here, Payton," she said soberly, "everything about us and our past is based in Ginswell. It's only a fluke he hasn't turned his attention here yet. I wanna know why."
"He may be stalling us along, lulling us into a false sense of security... Then again, we still can't discard the possibility that it may be someone else who's after us altogether..."
"Or?" Paige sensed there was something more. Payton looked grim as he replied, "or else Ross really is behind it all and is closer than we think." Paige felt uneasy at that. Reece came up just then and she terminated her conversation with Payton.
"Yo, guys, we might wanna take our places. Race is about to begin," he said.
"Somebody'd better tell Brook that," Paige said with a sly smile as she glanced at Brook and Michelle. Michelle was readjusting the jacket Brook was wearing for the tenth time, patting his chest.
"Are you sure it's okay?" She asked him. "It's not too snug or anything?"
"Michelle, you gotta stop worrying about the jacket okay? I love it, it's just my size," Brook said with a smile. Michelle had gotten him a new denim jacket that day as a good-luck charm and he insisted on wearing it to the race.
"You do look good in it..." Michelle mumbled, sneaking approving looks at him. He leaned down and rubbed his nose against her cheek.
"Anything you pick out for me is trendy," he said, "although I should call the cops on you for stealing my attention in that sexy outfit." Michelle giggled. She was wearing a pink laced crop top and black denim mini skirt, revealing much of her skin that had Brook driven to distraction and drooling.
"I needed to look the part of your cheerleader," She said with a wink at him.
"Consider me cheered up," he said, tracing circles along her bare arms. They both laughed.
"So, you ready to race?" She asked. He looked vague.
"Mmm... maybe I need a kiss for motivation—" Michelle was already pressing her lips sensually between his before he could finish.
"Admit it, you're really excited to be in this race, aren't you?" Michelle asked him between kisses.
"Well, I can't say that I'm not looking forward to tearing it up on the track," Brook replied, his fiery blue eyes flickering to his car. "It'll be like old times, only now I have a reason to win."
"What's that?"
"You." The one word that came out of his mouth made Michelle reconnect her lips with his and they ignored the rest of the crowd as they exchanged passionate tongue-tangling.
"Er, guys? Two minutes." Jett appeared awkwardly beside them. Michelle withdrew, pink-cheeked.
"Go get 'em, Brook," she said, blowing an air kiss at him. He winked roguishly at her as he got into his yellow and black Ford GT, sinking comfortably into the seat. He had given it a long test drive that morning and found himself easily adapting to his old car. Now he had no discomfort driving it to the starting line.
"Looks like we got a good turn out folks!" A commentator blared through the speakers. "We have old pros like Hamilton and Dex Demetrius at the starting line, returning runners-up Kane Olezka and Holden Lee about to battle for dominance, and a few new faces ready to flaunt their new skills on the track. And what do we have here? Long-time reigning street racing champion Brook Havens returns to the road!" A cheer rose from the crowd as several people recognized Brook and the Night Blazers. Michelle hollered a cheer at the top of her voice in the stands, watching Brook's car. Jett pulled out a camcorder and began filming.
"Gotta tape this – Brook's first run in the NNC in years!" He explained to Michelle.
"Good idea!" She said, taking out her own phone to film Brook.
"Why bother? The entire race is being filmed anyway," Reece said. He pointed upwards.
"What are those?" Michelle asked, seeing something like miniature helicopters hovering over the stands.
"Drones. They'll be recording the entire race from different parts of the track and live streaming it," Reece said.
"Pretty awesome, isn't it?" Jett said. "Ah, modern technology. You gotta love it." A handful of men suddenly walked up to them and Michelle paled. It was Zhang and some of his men.
"You maggots actually had the nerve to show up at my race," he growled at them. "I should've crippled you before you could set foot on my turf." Soriano appeared in front of Michelle just then, shielding her from Zhang's view. The rest of the crew except for Brook who was already in his car also gathered around defensively.
"Watch that filthy hole of yours, Zhang," Soriano threatened him menacingly. "You lay a finger on my kids again and I'll break your hands off."
"Big talk for a retired cop," Zhang sneered at him. "But you've trained these whelps well. Raises the bar for the competition and makes it more interesting. But make no mistake about it, Morgan. I'll make sure your young stock doesn't walk away from this alive." Michelle sucked in a breath, fear gripping her. Payton laid a steadying hand on her shoulder and gave her a bracing look.
"Oh, and one more thing," Zhang said as he turned to walk away, "don't even think about pulling out of the race. I want the pleasure of destroying Havens myself." He walked off, his words echoing with terror in Michelle's head.
"Don't let him get to you, Michelle," Payton comforted her, "he's nothing but a," he called Zhang a name not meant for innocent ears.
"Yeah, that wuss is shaking in his boots, that's why he's trying to intimidate us," Paige said, continuing to glare in Zhang's direction.
"It might have worked," Michelle said with a tremor in her voice. "Is it really safe for Brook to be on the track?"
"Michelle, it's Brook we're talking about," Leslie reminded her. "No one can touch him on the track."
"And this is a public race, Zhang can't do anything but act big and tough since he knows his hands are tied," Reece added.
"But it looks like Brook will be racing against Holden," Jett said, peering through squinted eyes at the track. Holden Lee, who was in a white Chevrolet Camaro next to Brook's, saw Michelle and gave her the middle finger. Michelle's eyes widened in shock and Paige flared up.
"Why that dirty, rotten—" She lunged forward in rage, but Soriano held her back.
"Forget it, Paige. He's just trying to get a rise out of us."
"Oh I'll give him something..." Paige uttered viciously under her breath, her hands balled in white-knuckled fists.
"Racers! Start your engines!" The commentator grabbed their attention with a shout. Trish, Jada, and Austin also came near to watch although they kept their distance from Zhang's men. A skimpily dressed woman stood in front of the race cars holding up a flag. The signal was given – she waved the flag up and –
Soundtrack FOR RACE!⬇🎧
"They're off!" The roar of engines drowned out the commentator's voice as the cars shot off at a lightning speed, leaving a billow of dust behind them. Michelle turned to the jumbotron to watch the live footage of the race captured by the drones.
"It's a mile-long track folks with nine laps and our supercars are already fighting for dominance. There's Mendley in the lead – ho, ho! He just got railroaded into the dust by Olezka! Demetrius is weaving between them but Hamilton doesn't like it and is fighting back to back with 'im. There's Laghari coming up in his rear and he's trying to find an opening – oof! That was a heck of a slam he got from Cruz! Lee's taking advantage of it and going on the outside." Michelle folded her lower lip between her teeth and gripped the metal railing anxiously as she saw two cars slam into each other.
"Is that safe?" She asked.
"Sure it is! A little ramming is perfectly normal out there!" Jett said.
"And Brook is an expert at avoiding those," Reece said.
"Folks, it looks like Havens is lagging behind – is he out of the game already?" The commentator asked. Paige smirked.
"That's what he thinks," she said.
"Why? Doesn't he need to speed up?" Michelle asked.
"It's this stunt Brook does to avoid getting caught in the mess that usually happens in these street races," Payton explained. "Things almost always get dirty in the first and last lap – there's a lotta ramming out there. Brook steers clear of that at first and when a lot of them start swerving off course after all that slamming, he zips past them and overtakes them along a clear road."
"Wow," Michelle said, impressed. A smile spread on her face.
"Go Brook!" She shouted. Trish scoffed.
"You know he can't hear you," she said scornfully.
"Actually, he can," Reece said with a smug look, tapping his earpiece.
"We're connected to him live! We're his extra eyes and ears," Jett said.
"And I appreciate the support, Michelle," Brook's voice came through Reece's earpiece. Michelle smiled wider, leaning over the railing. Trish scowled and refrained from further conversation, folding her arms irritably at being wrong.
"Oh, Jared is trying a back ram! He just made Laghari's hit list. Oh, looks like Lee wants some attention, he's rising to the top zig-zagging his way past the stragglers! Cruz's taken the lead but he's fighting to keep it – with only two laps left, can he maintain his place?" The commentator went on.
"Brook, Jared is keeping Cruz distracted, now's your chance!" Jett said.
"Watch out for Lee, he's at your tail!" Paige exclaimed. Just as she spoke, Holden drove up close to Brook's Ford, but instead of overtaking it, he drove parallel to Brook, making it obvious that he intended to ram into him.
"Brook watch out!" Michelle screamed. Holden took a sharp turn right and was a second away from colliding into Brook's car – when Brook suddenly braked and hung back, falling behind Holden. Holden, jolted by his move, rammed into the railing instead, smashing up a good part of his car and howling in rage at having missed Brook.
"Whoa, what a move! Now that's some damn smart driving by Havens!" The commentator said with awe in his voice. "But it'll still take him some effort to catch up." Michelle squealed in excitement.
"You got him, Brook!" Brook grinned at the other end of the line as he drove past the mess of Holden's car.
"That should take care of him. Who's in the lead?" He asked.
"Cruz. Mendley is hashing it out with him, they all have their eyes fixed elsewhere, no one's paying any attention to you!" Reece said.
"Now, Brook!" Paige urged him. Brook nodded at the other end and suddenly sped up to a hundred and ninety.
"Whoa! What's this? Havens is catching up at an unbelievable speed!" The commentator sent shockwaves through the crowds watching and the sound of surprised 'ohs' rose from the stands. The yellow Ford shot past the other cars which were occupied with each other and within seconds put a good distance between them. The other racers, realizing they had badly underestimated him, hurriedly left their battles and focused instead on getting to the finish line.
"And here they come, the last lap is gonna be brutal!" The commentator said. Heart in her mouth, Michelle watched eagerly as the yellow Ford zipped toward the finish line.
"Ho, look at that! Cruz is attempting a side slam but he's a little off in his calculations because there's no way he'll be able to reach Havens from there!" The commentator said. He was right because Cruz's failed attempt to push Brook off the road resulted in him slamming two other cars which in a chain reaction swerved, spinning off course wildly before they came to a stop.
"Damn, that'll cost them the race! Looks like Laghari, Cruz, and Mendley are out. Thirteen cars to go and Havens has taken the lead – AND OH, HE'S DONE IT!" The crowds went wild with applause as Brook crossed the finish line first, skidding to a stop in front of the stands. The rest of the cars also screeched to a defeated stop behind him. Michelle ran forward as he got out of his car and hugged him tight.
"Brook, you won! I knew you could do it!" She said excitedly. He grinned, hugging her back and spinning her around in a circle.
"That was just stage one, Michelle. There are four more to go," he said.
"Eh, you earned this one, big guy. Enjoy it," Paige said, coming near and punching him lightly in the arm. Payton also clapped him on the back.
"Nice job. Looks like the GT was all you needed."
"We won, we won, we won!" Jett chanted.
"Still the best, Brook." Leslie smiled at him and even Soriano beamed proudly at his star student.
"You'd put your old man to shame," he said.
"They announced the next stage of the race will take place in Carson City in a few days," Reece said.
"For now, let's go celebrate!" Jett whooped.
"Yeah, we still haven't had a party to commemorate Michelle's getting hooked either," Paige said with a wink. Michelle blushed, her fingers automatically rubbing the ring on her finger.
"Hang on guys, I need to deal with something," Payton said, taking out his phone. He withdrew from the crew to check it.
"Now let's go P-A-R-T-Y!" Jett spelled out to the others.
"Wait up, Michelle and I need to hang back and buy some new parts for her McLaren," Brook interrupted him. "Plus I need to pick up my prize for the race. They're giving away high-quality parts for hypercars you don't get anywhere else."
"Want us to wait while you get it?" Soriano asked, eyeing Zhang's gang in the distance. They looked sore as defeated tigers and had venom in their gazes. Holden and Zhang especially glowered at the crew with deathly stares.
"No need," Brook shook his head, "we'll pick 'em up and head out right away. You guys go ahead, we'll meet up for the party later."
"Are we taking the Ford?" Michelle asked him.
"Nah, she's reserved for racing only. It's back to the Bugatti for us," he said. Michelle sighed.
"Too bad, I kinda prefer the Ford now. She matches my McLaren." Everyone laughed and Payton came back looking serious.
"Guys, you'll have to go on without me. I'm heading to the dealership," he said.
"Why? What's wrong?" Paige asked sharply, not missing the tension on his face.
"There's been a break-in. The police have been notified but they got caught in traffic and it'll be a while before they get there. I'll be able to get there sooner in my Hennessey. It may just be a bug in the security system but I'd better check it out."
"Let me come with you," Paige and Soriano said simultaneously, stepping forward. Payton put his hand up, stopping Paige before turning to the chief.
"No, it's just a break-in. It probably won't take long. I'll find you guys later." Payton headed off to his car, Paige's eyes still intent on his retreating figure. Michelle noticed it and nudged her.
"Hey, if you wanna go, go," she said kindly. Paige gave her a little smile and sprinted off.
"Where's Paige going?" Reece asked, seeing her run off.
"She's gone to keep Payton company," Michelle replied. "They'll be back later."
"Then let's head out before the Nightshades invite themselves along," Brook said in a low voice. Michelle smiled in relief.
"I second that."
Paige meanwhile had hopped in her Corvette and waited till Payton was out of the parking lot before trailing him. She didn't want him to know she was behind him.
"Sorry, babe," she said as she drove, "You're stuck with me for life."
Whooo, feel that adrenaline! My days of Need for Speed really paid off here, it was fun writing a race. And of course, your heartthrob and mine came off looking good on top 😎. Yeah! But whatup with that break in? Any guesses who's behind it? Things might get ugly...😥
Ps, hope you enjoyed all the pictures, makes the whole thing come alive! Also, did you spot the picture from the original book? Couldn't miss it. 🤩
Keep up the adrenaline for the next chapter!