Page 70 of Too Fast To Fall
“Perfect. Let’s have a great race.”
Piper waited outside the paddock club for Bianca and Rico, but they never showed. It was way too close to race time for herto miss the start, so Piper headed upstairs and nabbed a primo spot for her and Gus.
“How are you doing, Gussy boy?” she asked as she gave him a treat. “Are we ready to root hard for Daddy?” Gus nudged her handwith his nose and Piper leaned down to let Gus give her a kiss, then she cradled his face in her hands and peered into hissweet eyes. God, she was going to miss this dog. There was no getting around that.
Emilio was ready for anything. And prepared for nothing. That was how Monaco often went. Thrill or agony. Victory or defeat.He watched as each of the five lights came on.
One, two. The car rumbled beneath him. Three, four. His pulse raced. Five. The lights went out.
He jammed the throttle like never before, which was risky as hell. The run to turn one was short and the track painfully narrow.He lucked out just like in Spain. An opening on the outside—the tiniest sliver of space for him to jump up two spots as otherdrivers were battling. He slipped into tenth position. Adrenaline coursed through his veins. This was what he loved. Thiswas racing.
“Emilio!” Piper shot up out of her seat, then quickly clamped her hand over her mouth and looked around the paddock club.Everyone else was either immersed in the race or focused on their food and drink. In other words, she’d been the sole personto react to Emilio’s move. Oh, well. The cat was already out of the bag.
“Gus, Daddy is kicking butt.” He licked her hand, and she ruffled his ears. Time to settle in.
Emilio wasn’t sure where this part of him had been, the part he’d tapped into in Spain. The part he’d been missing so badly.
Of course, Piper’s words rang loudly in his head.Everything you need is already inside you.She’d been so right. All along.
He’d never experienced Monaco like this before. He was seeing opportunities in places he never had. He passed one car andwas up into ninth place.
Now it was like a game. How many spots could he make up? He couldn’t wait to find out.
“My word, Emilio Baquero is having the race of his lifetime,” the announcer said. “And that is saying a lot since he won nearlyevery race last year. He’s up four positions in the Monaco Grand Prix. That’s unheard of.”
“Completely unheard of.” Piper thought of the times she and her dad had watched this race. It had never been this exciting.She wasn’t entirely certain of her F1 history, so she texted Mia.
What is the greatest number of places gained in the history of this race?
Michael Schumacher. 2006. He started in the pit lane and finished in fifth. The field was 22 cars then.
Piper could only hope Emilio would have that good a showing, but she also didn’t want to jinx it.
Thoughts on Emilio?
Amazing. Absolutely stunning.
I completely agree.
It just kept happening. Emilio kept seeing opportunities, he kept taking them and it actually worked. Every time. It was uncanny.He was now up to sixth place. He couldn’t help but feel like his fortunes were changing, which was a very odd sensation whenPiper was set to leave tomorrow. It gave him hope and courage, though. Maybe he could convince her to stay. Maybe he couldconvince her they could be something.
Piper could not sit. No way. She could only pace, just as she had in Spain. She could only shake out her hands, trying tosettle her nerves. It didn’t work. This queasy feeling was familiar now, but it was the final lap, and Emilio was in fifthplace.Just let him finish this lap. Just let him have this one thing.
Emilio zipped across the finish line. Emotion immediately took over. Maybe it was the stress of everything that had been happening.Maybe it was sorrow over Piper’s imminent departure, but tears streamed down his face.
“Absolutely unbelievable performance, Emilio. Up seven places in Monaco. I think it’s fair to say you’ve found your form withthe car.”
He was on the verge of sobbing. He swallowed hard, but not to stop the tears. He merely needed to express his gratitude. “Thankyou to everyone. The whole team.”
And thanks to Piper, for making my world a better place.
Piper screamed at the top of her lungs, then grabbed Gus’s leash and ran as fast as she could down to the Mega garage. Shestood outside the back entrance, but she could hear arguing coming from the corridor that led inside. She peeked, only tosee Andreas and Bianca, red-faced and gesturing wildly as they talked. Rico was pulling up the rear.
“They’re fighting,” he said to Piper.
“So I hear. Did you watch the race from the garage?”
“We did. That was a mistake.”
