In the Fast Lane (21 page)

You met your match …

Hell, yes. A whole slew of memories flew through him. Kerri, standing up to him before the press conference the first day he’d met her. Giving him a chance to prove himself. Kissing him. Making love to him.
Loving
him.

And he’d fucked it up. Damn it. “I have to go.”

“So you said. Best get a move on, then.”

Ranger opened his mouth, closed it, then opened it again. “We’ll catch up soon.”
I need to ask you some things. I need to forgive you. I need you to be proud of me. But I don’t have time right now.

Al must be able to read minds, after all, at least a little, because he started blinking hard and fast and abruptly looked away from Ranger. But Ranger hadn’t missed the sheen of tears in his dad’s eyes.

He turned to the flight attendant. “It was nice to meet you.”

She grinned. “Good luck, Mr.—um—Ranger.”

With that, he bolted down the stairs, hoping that it wasn’t too late.

Chapter Nineteen

By the time Ranger muscled his way into the pit, the race was well under way. Kerri was heading into the final ten laps, and Grady was none too happy to see him.

“What the fucking fuck do you think you’re doing here, Colt?”

Grady was standing at the top of the ladder in the back of the stall, staring angrily down at him.

“I love her, Grady.”

Grady stared for what felt like an eternity before he finally nodded and moved away from the ladder. “I’m still gonna punch you as soon as this race is over.”

“Fair enough.” Ranger hauled himself up and grabbed a headset.

“—the lead if you think the tires will hold.” Kerri was in the middle of talking, and the sound of her voice was enough to thrill him.
Yes.
God, yes, he loved this woman.

As soon as she was done talking, he clicked the mic on and plunged right in. “I love you, Kerri.”

He heard Grady curse.

Damn it. He hadn’t meant to just blurt it out like that. He’d even composed a whole speech that he was going to give her before he told her.

“Ranger? Fucking—is that Ranger? Did you—what did you just say?”

At least she wasn’t shutting him down. He decided to go for it.

“Yeah, it’s me. I couldn’t do it. I couldn’t leave you because—because I love you.”

Silence. And then … “You love me? Then how—oh for fuck’s sake, never mind. Sign off, Ranger. I’m racing. This isn’t the time.”

Grady’s voice came through the line, even though he was sitting a foot away from Ranger. “She’s got six laps left and she’s barely holding on to the lead, Ranger. She’s right. Sign the fuck off. You can talk after the race. Right after I punch you.”

She had the lead?

“What the fuck, Grady? You’re planning to punch Ranger?”

More silence. Ranger glared at Grady.

“I might have made statements to that effect.”

“Goddamnit, you are both idiots. Now sign off! I’m racing!”

“I agree with Kerri.” Another voice broke into the conversation.

What the hell?
He didn’t recognize that voice. “Who is this?”

“It’s Simms.”

“What are you doing on my channel? Get back on your own! It’s not safe.” Kerri was shouting at the rival driver, and Ranger was starting to think that signing off probably was a good idea. But Simms kept talking.

“Hey, I’m defending you, here! Colt acted like a dumbass. Even I know that. Grady told me about it.”

Ranger reached out and smacked Grady in the back of the head.

“Considering you’re the world’s biggest womanizer, that’s an even bigger insult.” Another voice joined the line.

“
Now
who’s butting his pokey ass into my private business? Since when did this become a chat line about my love life? We’re in a race, gentlemen!” Kerri sounded frazzled.

Fuck. He didn’t want her to lose this race because he’d fucked up.

“Want to keep it private, darlin’, then don’t blab about it on your race channel.”

“I’m not the one who—Goddamnit, is that you Riggs?”

“None other. I’m gonna beat your ass today, by the way.”

“You’ll have to take me down first, grandma,” came Simms’s voice.

“Guys! Stick to the talking about the race or do as Kerri says and get off the line!” Ranger sounded annoyed.

“Whatever. I’ve gotta get off, anyway, ’fore Johnson has a heart attack up on the tower. Ranger, you’re an idiot.” With that parting shot, Ty was gone.

“I second that, Colt. No man worth his salt gets involved with a lady and then leaves her for his
work
. Kerri’s like a sister to us, you know. I’ve half a mind to beat your ass down for messin’ with her like that and—shit!”

“What? What happened?” Kerri screeched.

Lee’s voice came through then, chuckling. “McFadden did a bump-and-run on Simms while he was being nosy.”

“Men are the most stupid—”

“Careful, baby. I might not be the smartest person that ever was, but not all men deserve to be tarred with the same brush just because I messed up.”

Silence again. That fucking silence was going to kill him.

The pack zoomed by the finish line. Five laps to go.
Was she still listening, at least?

He hoped so. He took a deep breath and tried to remember that whole speech he’d prepared. “Can’t you understand what it means to want something so badly that you go blind to everything else? When I started this job, all I wanted was to prove to my father that I didn’t need his money. I never had. But I’d already proven that. I just hadn’t realized it. And now that I know what I truly want, I’m not willing to let you just walk—or drive—out of my life.”

The announcer’s voice cut over the track. “Tom Nolan is making a move to get out in front of Kerri Hart. He charges on the outside and—oh! Hart cuts him off!”

Shit. Time to let her race. But one last thing—“I love you, sugar. And I’m not going anywhere.”

*   *   *

He loved her.

She’d had to stop talking because she’d seen that fuckbag Nolan coming up behind her, but she hadn’t stopped listening.

And now it was all she could think about.

That, and the fact that she was about to win this fucking race. Everyone else had dropped off her channel, thank God. It had just been her and the car for the past couple of minutes, and now she was just coming out of the last turn of the last lap, leading the pack. She was going to
win
.

She could see the checkered flag ready to drop.
Eye on the flag. Eye on the flag.
Lee’s voice came across the channel. “Nolan is coming up fast on your right, but you can take it. Hit it all the way on the straight and it’s your race, Sis.”

She and Nolan were neck and neck now. She could hear the scream of his engine as they drove, not bothering to look over at him. It was so close, so close. But she would win this, even if it ripped her tires to the rims. She pushed the gas all the way to the limit, making the RPM gauge flip its shit as she and Tom barreled neck and neck toward the finish line.

“You’re both at top speed, Kerri. Keep it up and you’ll win this one. Five hundred yards. Don’t let up. Don’t let—”

BANG!

The sound of metal hitting metal was deafening. Sparks flew up between their cars, coming in through the window and dancing around her peripheral vision. Either he was too close and his spotter had misjudged the distance, or Nolan was deliberately trying to push her off the track.

“Kerri! Nolan’s back tire is shredding. Pull forward, fast! Gun that sucker or you’re gonna—”

Too late. Nolan’s car slowed, spun, screeching and scraping as it started to turn into hers. Her own car started turning, too, pulling her to face the wall.

No. No no no! There was no way she was going to crash out of this race.
No way.
She and Nolan were both still moving toward the finish line, but the rest of the pack was coming up close behind. Please God. Please just let me cross that line. Please let me—

Another
BANG!
Nolan spun, slamming back into her right rear but this time his car was so low to the ground that it caught under her chassis, and Kerri’s car began to flip over.

“Goddamnit!” Ranger’s voice on the wire sounded strange. There was something in his voice she’d never heard before.

Fear.

Too late, she slammed on the gas, trying to pull away, but the momentum only drove her faster into the flip.

Oh, God.

The car flew up, rolling side over side, bouncing with every turn. Kerri couldn’t close her eyes. She couldn’t keep from watching as the world tumbled around and around, slamming her body unceasingly. She tried to open her mouth, to say something, even if just to scream, but the impact kept jarring her teeth closed and making her jaw tingle.

God, please don’t let me die. Please don’t let me die. Not like this, without having told Ranger that I love him.

Because she did. She might have been mad, but when she’d heard him come on the line, she’d nearly wept with relief. He hadn’t abandoned her after all. She could depend on him. She
could
.

It had made her want to win for him, too.

But now, God. Now all she wanted to do was stop rolling.

One, two, three—over and over she went, incapable of stopping the juggernaut that her car had turned into. Her shoulders ached. Her head was being jerked around, her neck hurt, and her legs felt like they were on fire as she held on for dear life, and she was starting to feel woozy.

Something smacked against her helmet, slamming the hard shell into her skull. Ow! That hurt pretty bad. That wasn’t supposed to hurt so bad, was it? Her helmet was supposed to protect her. So why was her head was feeling impossibly heavy?

Flip. Flip. Flip …

Her eyes were beginning to close, even though she was fighting it with every ounce of energy she had left. Don’t pass out. Don’t—

At least the car was finally slowing. Each rise and fall of the cage was coming less frequently. But her vision was blurry, and she could no longer figure out whether she was upside down or right side up.

Vaguely, she realized that the crowd was shouting—something. What were they saying? It was a roaring wave in her ears.

Waves … like that day on the boat that she’d spent with Ranger. He’d loved her, then.

The car came to a stop, rocking back and forth.

“I love you, too, Ranger,” she finally managed to whisper.

And then the world went black.

Chapter Twenty

“I’ve never seen a man do something like that before. He practically tore the door from its hinges. It’s gonna have to be replaced.”

“Don’t be a shit-for-brains. The whole goddamn
car
is gonna have to be replaced.”

Kerri frowned. That was Bit’s voice. What was Bit doing in her dream? And why was he telling Grady that they were going to have to replace a car? They didn’t have enough money to replace a car. Or wait—they did now. Ranger, that asshole, had given them money.

But no. He wasn’t an asshole. Not completely. He’d said he loved her.

What I truly want … I love you … I’m sorry.

He’d come back for her. He’d come back and she’d crashed, flipping and slamming into the asphalt over and over and—

She came awake with a gasp.

“Oh, shit! Kerri! Hot damn, you’re awake! I’ll be fucked. Just goddamn
fucked
.” Lee was staring at her, wide eyed, spouting all kinds of nonsense from where he stood at the foot of her bed.

“Watch your language!” Mom smacked Lee in the shoulder before moving up to Kerri’s side.

Grady and Bit had been sitting on the deep ledge beneath the window, but they’d jumped up and were staring at her as though she were Lazarus raised from the dead.

She certainly felt like she’d died.

“My head hurts.” Her voice came out as a croak. How long had she been out?

“You got a concussion. One of the cage bars—” Bit’s gravelly voice broke off, wavering.

Wow. It must have been bad for even a seasoned old grouch like him to get emotional.

“One of the cage bars bent and broke through your helmet. You’re lucky to be alive. Doctor says the concussion is a small fracture on your skull and you should be fine soon enough. These things heal completely in about six weeks or so.”

Kerri was surprised to hear Grady say something like that in such a calm way. Was it really only racing that got his emotions pumping too hard, too fast?

Mom fussed over her, fluffing pillows and arranging the blankets as Kerri looked around at the faces of all the people she loved. Well,
almost
all.

“Where’s Ranger?”

She had to shut her eyes, just in case. What if it had all been a dream? If they told her he’d gotten on that plane after all, and he was gone, she’d cry. And she didn’t feel like crying in front of anyone else.

“He’s talking to some guy out in the hall.”

Lee said it so casually that Kerri almost asked him to repeat himself. But then Mom leaned in and whispered, “He shot out onto the track as soon as you wrecked. We tried to stop him since there were a lot of cars still out there. But he did it anyway. I don’t know what it is, baby, but you seem to be drawn to men who love putting themselves in harm’s way for you.”

He had been there. It hadn’t been a dream. That meant that the things he’d said to her …

I love you.

It made her need him. Now.

Kerri managed to huff out a laugh, and Mom smiled, her eyes shining with tears of relief, amusement, and love. “I’ll go fetch him for you.” She straightened and gestured for the others to leave. “Come on, boys. Time to get out of here.”

Lee grumbled a bit, but tramped out of the room with the others. Within seconds, Ranger practically ran in, stopping just short of her bed when he saw her eyes open.

“Kerri, you-you’re—”

“Ranger, I need to tell you something.”

They both spoke at the same time, but he stopped and gestured to her to keep going. She looked right at him and found concern in his eyes, and something else that gave her the courage to say what she needed to tell him.