Page 9 of Too Fast To Fall
Despite Mia’s explanation, she still lived in what seemed like a fantasyland to Piper. “Well, you seem like you’re doing great.”
Emilio was hopelessly distracted. He couldn’t stop ruminating over the moment he got sucked in by the new dog sitter. So shewas cute. Bubbly. Shiny blond hair and big blue eyes that stopped him dead in his tracks. So she’d reacted in a very sweetway to the fact that Gus had tried to lick her to death. What was the big deal? He needed to shake it off. He needed to focuson the task at hand—the race.
“Everything okay?” Emilio’s teammate Xander strolled into the garage with his helmet under his arm. “You seem distracted.”
“Just a lot on my mind.” Emilio longed to tell Xander more. He needed a confidant. He and Xander had been friends before thisseason, but never teammates. That added a whole new layer of complexity to their dynamic. It wasn’t a great idea to get tooclose to your biggest rival.
Xander nodded. “Isabel told me you got a new dog sitter for the day. That’s got to take a load off your mind.”
Xander was right. Gus was taken care of. Now he needed to focus on the only other thing he cared about. “Yes,” Emilio said.“And now it’s time to go racing.”
“What’s your take on Emilio getting forced out from Vermillion?” Piper asked when Mia returned from the bar with fruity mocktailsand truffle fries for them to nosh on. The race would be starting any minute—they needed refreshments.
“It’s a travesty, really. Emilio loved racing for his old team. But the team principal is untouchable, especially Tristan.He owns a big chunk of the team and everyone is afraid of him. Emilio made the mistake of speaking out against the one personon that team you never cross.”
“What institutions will do to protect powerful men, huh?” Piper asked.
“Right? As good as Emilio is, Vermillion has always seen their drivers as temporary. And I suppose that’s true of every team.There’s always someone younger or better coming up in the ranks and they’ll do anything to take your place.”
“And that’s what Vermillion did. They brought up the rookie from their driving academy and he’s done pretty well in Emilio’sseat.”
Mia slid Piper a sly smile. “You know your stuff.”
Piper felt a swell of pride. Mia was so well-known for having a nearly encyclopedic knowledge of the sport. “My life is prettysimple. Being an F1 fan is one of the most exciting things I do.”
Mia jutted out her lower lip. “Hopefully, getting to come to a race is a big upgrade.” She looked up at the television. “Welp.Looks like they’re starting the formation lap.”
Piper scanned the screen, excitement bubbling up inside her. “I wonder if Emilio can get up into the points from twelfth place.”Her heart raced as she watched the cars zigzag on the track to get temperature into their tires. She really did hope Emiliowould do better than his starting position suggested he might. She sensed he was an unhappy guy. Maybe a better result wouldturn that around.
Miami Grand Prix
The lights came on. One. Two. Three. Four. Five. Then out.
Emilio gunned the throttle and aimed to go right up the middle.
Unfortunately, Kenji Matsumoto had the same idea and got there first.
Emilio gripped the steering wheel tightly, jamming the brake, trying to find that right balance between speed and not crashing.There was so much traffic ahead as Emilio headed into the first turn.
He sensed he was about to get squeezed, and then he did, the tires of cars on either side of him coming dangerously close.He eased off the gas to get through to the first straight unscathed.
Finally, a bit of room. He wasn’t certain, but he would’ve sworn he’d lost at least one place. Possibly more.
“Gah. Down to fourteenth. What a nightmare for Emilio.” Piper frantically scanned the screen. Under the table, Gus boopedher hand with his nose. “Hey, buddy. You’re right. I need to give you some love, don’t I?” She gave him some scratches behindhis ears, then encouraged him to put his head on her lap, so she could stroke it. She’d always been very attuned to dogs’feelings, but she sensed that Gus might be on another level. It was almost as if he knew she was concerned for Emilio.
“He should be able to make up a few places,” Mia said.
“Xander’s doing great. Already up to fourth.” Piper popped a French fry into her mouth. “One more and he’ll be on the podiumif he can keep his position.”
“They’ve got another fifty laps to go. A lot can happen.”
This was a grueling race. It was unbelievably hot in the cockpit, and Emilio felt like he’d given everything he had for thirty-ninelaps. By lap forty, he’d made up three spots and was up into eleventh place, but there were no signs that he’d be able toget into tenth place and the points. “Can we do anything?” he begged to his race engineer. “A second tire change? Van Dijkis struggling with the rear of his car.”
“We are checking.”
Emilio didn’t like to dwell on the past, but he couldn’t help but think about where he’d finished at this race last year.He won by over twenty seconds. He qualified in first, got away cleanly, and no other driver managed to be a threat.
Boring, sure, but it was nice to win. He’d kept it clean. Minimal mistakes. Would he ever be that comfortable in the Megacar? Would he ever again see a race win? Hell, would he ever again see a podium?
