Page 43 of Heartbreaker

“So how was it?” Demi asks when she opens the door for me before I even get there, probably watching the hotel’s CCTV to catch my approach. “I can’t lie, I didn’t think you’d be here this early.” Her face goes contemplative as I walk in, slowly closing the door behind me so it doesn’t slam. “Oh my god, was he bad? Did he—” she rambles, clearly misreading my silence. But it’s not because last night wasn’t amazing—I’m simply already in Maven mode and need to blurt out a theory.

“What if we have it wrong?” I ask, dropping her into the middle of the conversation I’d been having in my mind.

“What, you shouldn’t hook up with him? If you’re worried about Gabriel, you know he doesn’t really care about that kind of thing. He—” I shake my head, trying to keep us on track, to hang onto my train of thought.

“No, no. The mission. What if we have it all wrong?” Her face snaps from a teasing friend to something altogether different.

“In what way?”

‘What if…” I ask, trying to sort through my thoughts. “What if it started earlier?” I turn to look at Demi, who is watching me with intrigue. “What if they didn’t start when Rome came here, but it followed him here?”

“What are you…” She stops, tipping her head as if weighing something before her eyes widen. “They could have started earlier.” I nod eagerly, relieved she sees where I’m going with this.

“He’s an asshole and he’s arrogant, but he’s careful. Checks for things like wedding rings, tan lines, people trying to trap him. He knew he was on thin ice last season and was playing it safe, just he’s been doing here. He’s neurotic, Demi.” Guilt chases the words, and I shake my head. “Not in a bad way. In a good way. In a safe way. Fuck.” She smiles and shakes her head.

“You don’t have to justify it, Lana. I get it. He’s protective of himself.”

“He wouldn’t have hooked up with a married woman if he knew. He isn’t actually the bad boy.” She lifts an eyebrow. “Okay, well, maybe a little,” I say with a soft smile. “But not in that way. Not in a wants-the-attention way.” Finally, I tell her what Rome shared about his early years in Indy, about leaning into the image to feel like he had some control, to feel like he wasn’t just the guy whose dad owned the team. Part of me feels like I’m betraying his trust, but also knowing there’s no real way around it. I’m here for work, and I need to do what I have to do to keep him safe. At the end of the day, this is what makes that kind of entanglement or relationship hard while on the job: the job always comes first.

But I can’t help but think that he’s had enough people use him over the years—will he see me as doing the same?

“What if someone is trying to further the bad boy image so it hurts his career? Make him look like he’s unredeemable. What if someone saw it was becoming an issue and wanted him out?” I ask once I finish my thought. Demi’s face is blank as I ramble, causing me to second-guess myself. “Is this making sense to you, or am I compromised?” Nerves tumble in my stomach, and relief follows when she shakes her head.

“No, it makes sense. I think I’m just trying to wrap my head around this new angle. What would the motive be?”

“It could be anything. Someone mad he’s in Indy, thinks he doesn’t belong there. Someone who wanted him to leave Indy. Someone who just plain old hates him. Maybe they wanted to ruin his career and then got upset when he found a backup?”

“That would make sense as to why trouble followed him here,” Demi says, tapping a pen to her chin. “Who would have access to both circuits?” My gut twists with my first answer.

“His dad owns the transportation company Monster Smash uses to bring the trucks and equipment around the country.” I hate even to bring it up, since despite their clashes, Rome idolizes his dad. It would hurt him deeply to find out he was the one behind everything that’s been going wrong lately.

“Do you think that he would do this?” I lift a shoulder, a sinking stone in my gut.

“Everyone’s a suspect. Rome tried out for the team blind—no one knew who he was. Maybe his dad didn’t think he’d actually get in, but once he did, he was annoyed? Wanted to get him off his team, but didn’t want the fingers pointed in his direction?”

“What about another driver?” she asks. “Someone who wanted him out?”

“There’s clearly bad blood between him and Levi.” She nods, jotting down the name. “And Levi seemed to be friendly with Tyler. What if they were working together? What about one of the board members who didn’t like him being there?” The options are endless, and unfortunately, we haven’t even touched this new avenue. It’s almost like starting the mission completely fresh at this point.

“For this theory to have footing, we need to confirm incidents occurred at Indy. The first reported sabotage we have happened after he joined Monster Smash. We don’t know of anything earlier, but we haven’t been looking.” I nod, following along, but then she hesitates, looking at me with confusion.

“Liam told us that he was to target multiple drivers, but only Rome suffered. It would have to be someone who either knows or is in charge of the show schedule.” Beyond the small amount of intel Liam gave us, everything from him has been a dead end. All banking and cell data have come back to burners, and it seems Liam asked very few questions when taking on the job.

“That could be a lot of people,” I say, biting my lip.

“We don’t have access to Indy the way we do here—how are we going to find out about any other incidents?” She pinches her lips, looking hesitant and contemplative.

“We could bring Roman in, tell him everything.” My stomach seizes, not because I don’t think that he would have something to tell us—I’m almost certain now that I’m putting pieces together that he would be able to point out different potential sabotage that happened before his suspension—but because I don’t want to ruin this bubble he and I are in right now.

We’re so new, and so fresh, and this could absolutely destroy this tentative thing between us. I like it too much to do that.

“That’s the last resort,” I say, biting my lip. “I don’t think bringing him in just yet is the right call.” Demi’s brows furrow.

“Do you still suspect him?” she asks, surprise in the words, but I shake my head quickly, definitively.

“No, it’s just… he’s just getting his confidence back after the crash. I’d like to let him live in that peace before we tell him we think someone is after him.” Her lips tip into a knowing smile.

“You are so far gone,” she says. I don’t argue it because I think I am, though I don’t quite know how to handle that realization.