Race to Redemption (6 page)

Chapter Nine

Chloe was in high spirits as she dressed for dinner. She met her brothers in the hallway and beamed at them though she was met with a somber distracted look from Seth, and an openly hostile glare from Brant. Neither could dampen her spirits and she smiled all the way down to dinner.

Trey wasn’t in nearly as good a mood. He was standing in the bathroom staring at his reflection in the half steamed mirror. His afternoon romp with Chloe had been a delightful surprise and he had enjoyed himself immensely. And then she had admitted that she loved him and he’d started thinking about showing her around Chicago, maybe even introducing her to his older sister, and even possibly his mother. And then she had made him promise to keep their relationship a secret until after the big race, at least, and reality crashed around his ears.

They were rivals, really; she was spotting for her brother after all. As much as he hated clichés and loathed Shakespeare they were quickly turning into a modern day Romeo and Juliet.

“No one is dying,” he muttered and sighed. He looked his reflection square in the eye and said, “A promise made is as good as law. You can’t walk into the dining room and kiss her, but it doesn’t mean you can’t make Brant see the error of his opinions. Lots of drivers are friendly off the track. I just have to tell him he’s wrong about me. I didn’t wreck his car; I’ve never touched another driver’s car. I can make him see reason, even if I can’t make him like me.” He took a few deep breaths. “This is not the scariest thing I’ve done in my life.”

Outside the dining room he paused when he saw Chloe and her brothers were already seated and almost finished their meal. He watched her sip her wine and laugh at something her brother said. She looked radiant.

She glanced up and her smile faltered when she saw him. He winked and walked over to the bar. Chloe returned her attention to Seth who was recounting his day at the track.

“So then this one woman, who must have been sixty if she was a day, she’s driving her son’s car in the Lipstick Laps and nearly takes out four other cars. I swear the old bat was blind. I only hope her son is a better driver or he’ll be humiliated tomorrow.”

Brant was chuckling. “The real race is always between the top half dozen racers. The rest are just there to clutter up the track.”

“I couldn’t have said it better myself.”

All three siblings looked up and Chloe’s heart nearly stopped. Trey Williams was standing next to their table with a fresh bottle of beer in his hand. He was smiling and all his attention was on Brant.

“Can I join you?”

“We’re not really interested in company,” Brant said, his smile disappearing and his pleasant demeanor turning hostile.

“Look, I’ve heard some of the rumours and I can understand why you’re not exactly thrilled to see me.”

“You’re right, we’re not thrilled. You can leave now. “

“Brant, I didn’t do anything to you. Whatever people are saying, it’s nothing more than rumour. Why would I do something that could potentially kill a man?”

“I don’t know,” Brant snarled. “But because of you we have to waste at least an hour every day just checking our car over for signs of sabotage.”

“I have never touched another driver’s car, and I have never set foot in your shop bay.”

“No,” Seth said. “Would you care to explain these?” He dropped a pair of oversized mirrored shades on the table.

“Me explain? I’ve been looking for those since yesterday. It’s one thing to accuse a man of, well, anything. It’s another to take his personal possessions.”

“I didn’t take them,” Seth said calmly, pocketing the glasses again. “You left them in my tool box last time you came in to tinker with Brant’s car.”

“I did no such thing and a pair of glasses in a tool box proves nothing. They could be anyone’s.”

“Even you seemed sure they were yours,” Brant said. He leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms over his chest.

“Anyone could have put them there,” Trey went on.

“Okay, guys, we’re starting to attract a lot of attention here,” Chloe said. She turned pleading eyes to Trey. “Maybe that’s enough arguing for one day.”

“Hey,” Brant said. “This asshole wants to come over here and lull us into a false sense of security right before the big race. I’m not going to fall for this crock of bull…”

“Watch your language,” Chloe snapped. “There are children in here. And stop being so…so…gosh-darned suspicious. Maybe he’s telling you the truth.”

“Can it, Chloe,” Seth said. “The glasses are pretty damn good proof.”

“They prove nothing or you would have taken them to the local racing authorities,” Trey said softly. “You’re a fool, Brant. While you’re busy chasing my shadow someone else is trying to take you out of this race.”

“I’m supposed to take you at your word?” Brant sneered. “Come on. If this joker won’t get lost then we’re leaving.”

“I’m not done with my wine,” Chloe snapped.

Seth grabbed her arm and hauled her to her feet. Trey’s temper flared and he was about to set down his beer and punch Seth for handling his girl so roughly. Chloe pulled free with a slight snarl and violence was averted. She grabbed her purse, forced a smile in the waiter’s direction, and said, “I’m sorry. I guess you can dress them up but you can’t take them out.”

She stormed out of the room, her chin held high, longing to stop and apologize to Trey or at least give him some sign that she really did believe him. With Brant and Seth waiting, their tempers too close to boiling over, she had no choice but to walk out.

Trey watched her go. Silently he cursed himself for putting her in the middle but what could he do now? He forced a nonchalant shrug and went back to the bar to finish his beer.

The elevator ride was silent. All three siblings were fuming and fully aware of the security cameras. Chloe tried to go straight to her room where she could throw the chain and lock her pig-headed brothers out until tempers cooled but her brothers had other plans. From the elevator she was forcefully marched to the room the boys were sharing and tossed in one of the padded kitchen-style chairs.

“What are you doing?” Temper edged her voice but she kept the volume reasonable. “I’m going to my room until you two jerks cool down a little. I can’t believe you would make a scene like that in a packed restaurant! What would Mom say?”

“You sit right back down,” Brant said, doing his best to imitate the brute force, thunder-deep voice their father used to demand obedience. “What the hell is wrong with you? Did Trey’s handsome face and leather jacket catch your fan-girl fancy? Or did you just decide to throw family loyalties aside for the hell of it?”

He’d cut too close to the truth and her feelings of guilt for her liking and she said, “I beat him in the trial laps, didn’t I? I’ll beat him tomorrow too. He’s just another rival racer. You’re the one making a fool of yourself, accusing a man of sabotage, in a crowded dining room, with no solid proof. If he’s innocent you could get in serious trouble for saying those things!”

Seth stepped closer. “The glasses…” he started.

Chloe growled, “No one cares about the damn glasses, Seth. They could belong to anyone! And even if they belong to Trey anyone could have put them in your tool box. It’s not real evidence!”

“It’s enough for me,” Brant snapped.

“And you’re judge, jury, and executioner!” She threw up her hands in frustration. “You’re also a close-minded, pig-headed, spoiled-brat, jerk-faced asshole—and you know it.”

“Don’t say something you’ll regret,” Seth hissed as Brant’s eyes flared.

“And you’re no better!” She turned on Seth. “What happened to not acting without proof? What happened to not tipping our hand? What happened to not giving him, or anyone else, reason to act against us?”

“I agree with Brant. The glasses are fairly damning.”

“Oh, no jury is going to convict a man solely on rumour and a pair of mirrored glasses that you can buy at any gas station on the interstate. You can’t be sure it was him.”

“And you can’t be sure it wasn’t,” Brant shot back.

“Brant, pull your head out of your ass. Trey Williams did not sabotage your car.”

“You can’t know that!”

“Yes, I can, Brant, because I saw Trey Williams last night after your first argument. He never had a chance to visit the garage last night and leave incriminating evidence.”

“You went to visit,” Seth said. “Even if you saw Trey Williams in passing that proves nothing. He’d still have had lots of time to get to the shops and back.”

“I didn’t see him in passing! I went to see him. I was with him the whole time.”

As soon as the words were out of her mouth she knew everything was over. There was no back-pedalling, there was no covering anything up. It was only a matter of time, and that time would be minutes, if she was lucky. She had made Trey promise to keep their relationship a secret even though she could see it wounded him and then she’d gone and spilled that same secret not four hours later.

Seth stood frozen in shock. Brant’s face was livid. His voice had dropped into that dangerous calm that shook with rage along the edges. “Just what were you doing with Trey Williams all night?”

“It doesn’t matter,” she said, desperate now. “You were wrong about him Brant. You have to get over that.”

“How the hell are you going to race tomorrow?”

“The same way I raced the other day. I intend to win, Brant. You may not realize it but I do know how important this is to you, and your all-holy career. I wasn’t planning on fucking this up for you.”

“Really? Because you’ve been pretty set on doing your own thing this whole trip.”

“So I wanted to have a little fun! What’s wrong with that? This is New York City, for crying out loud. What’s wrong with wanting to explore one of the most fascinating cities in the country?”

“Did your fun include Trey Williams?” Seth asked. He had that thoughtful look on his face and Chloe knew he was putting pieces together.

“Why are you both so obsessed about this?” she dodged, looking from one to the other.

“Is he the friend you went out for coffee with?” Seth pressed. “Because you got back awfully late that night. And you looked exhausted this morning.”

“It’s exhausting dealing with the both of you,” she muttered.

“You’re sleeping with him,” Seth said, very matter-of-factly.

There was nothing calm or rational about Brant. “Chloe, what the hell is wrong with you? You don’t know the man. You do know he’s trouble and a suspect in MY accident, and a rival racer. Those are damn good reasons to stay the hell away!”

“Yeah, and those reasons are all about you!” She cursed. “Look, I didn’t ask for this to happen, all right? When I met him I didn’t know the charming man buying me coffee was Trey Williams.” She opted to leave out the night club details. “After I got to know him a little it didn’t matter anymore. I do know him, Brant, and he didn’t do this to you.”

Brant strode calmly across the room and picked up the phone.

“What are you doing?” Chloe demanded.

“Yes, please put me through to Ticket Services at the New York International Airport.” He glared at Chloe. “I’m sending you home.”

“You can’t do that! I’m not a child Brant. And you need me, remember?”

Brant was ignoring her again. “Hello, I need to reschedule a ticket to an earlier flight for Chloe Bye from New York to Sturgis, Michigan. As early as possible. Yes, tomorrow morning is fine. Coach is fine. Yes, I have all that information right here, hold on.” He grabbed her flight information and began reading numbers and dates to the airport staff. “Thank you very much. She’ll be there at six am on the nose for pre-boarding and confirmation. Thank-you.”