Summer

agged by in heav

er Racing's network hooks from my personal machine, mak

hone-the old work line I'd kept open for spo

area code flashed

bar and brought t

ny speaker, raw and furious. "Where the hell a

my ear, staring at the dust mot

esk, Grant?" I asked, m

dinner in four hours! Brooke needs you to pull up the high-altitude engine maps, and

ter laugh es

rd, Grant. Read the pap

a bag and play hard to get because I missed your birthday last night? I gave you

oice. "The free engineering support is over. If Brooke wants

't you dare

ed the

ce officials and independent spons

hrew the casing into the wall, and watched

jacket, zipped my boots, and rode i

d an entire city block

ormance tuning facility, but behind the sprawling corrugate

lickered behind b

in a neat, diagonal line out front-all

hadow of the loading dock, cut t

ctane racing fuel, burnin

ch stepped in front of the h

ed guests," he sai

d him the message o

d a radio clipped to his cut. "Ree

the speaker, low and unmistakabl

ved aside and o

as dim, washed

s were scattered around a battered

ol table. The prospect stayed by

t break

oncrete floor, my boot heels c

an Enforcer patch on his cut-jerked his chin toward a

g," the bart

ripped the brass handle,

metal shelving holding disassembled racing carbu

sed leather sofa beneath a

s sitting back ag

t wearin

scular forearms covered in intricate black ink, and his he

yebrow gave his face a p

d a lowball glass of ambe

n't st

sharp, gray eyes, tracking eve

, his voice a low, gravelly rasp

Whitmore," I said, stoppin

slow sip of

ked against

own, R

ng, my back strai

ialize. You said you had t

wn on the iron coffee

arms on his knees, his massive fram

dium," Chase said, his gaze pinning mine. "You packed your gear and rode straig

tional base. I have the intellectual property that decides who wins

s model current," I added. "His dashboard is showing

said. "You want my shop and my race crew b

d I can give you the pleasure of watching G

e you access to the dyno and the server room. If y

somewhere to s

tood up

broad width of his chest completely blocked

osing the distance between us until I co

ood, clean sweat, an

nd index finger catching the undersid

ough, firm, and

n my throat, but I

ht into his dar

him closer. "The business can wait until

s darkened

irk spread across

he whispered, his thumb b

tened

ck, his fingers tangling into my dark hai

rashed down