Page 44 of Heartbreaker

“Are incidents at Indy reported the same way that they are here?” I ask. Everything regarding maintenance and updates to the trucks over the past three years is monitored and logged in a system, including any incidents, no matter how small. It’s been useful in identifying which issues are normal and which might be something bigger, as well as confirming that the issues Monster Smash is facing are relatively new and seemingly began when Rome came.

“I could check,” she says. “Normally, it would take a long time, but I actually have already gotten a head start on hacking their system.” I raise my brows in surprise.

“You have?”

“Well, while you were out getting your back blown out⁠—”

“Demi!” I gasp, throwing a pillow at her, and she grins with a shrug.

“I don’t hear an argument, and I can’t wait to hear all of the gory details once we handle the boring work. But last night, someone leaked to a tabloid that Rome failed a drug test.” The world stops.

“What? There’s no way. He wouldn’t do that,” I say, though it feels like a weak defense: I don’t actually know him that well to attest to that, even if my gut says it’s not true, and I always trust my gut. “Right…?”

“You’re right—it’s fake. I was able to hack in and find that his most recent test came back clear, as did every test he’s ever done for Indy, but the timing is suspicious.” I nod, agreeing, relieved that my intuition isn’t off.

“Okay, so someone leaked it on purpose.” Demi nods, and I sit with that, mulling through thoughts aloud. “The theory that someone is working to ruin his reputation still stands. A failed drug test, or even a rumor of one, would shake the public’s trust and perception of him. But who would do it?” Demi lifts a shoulder, but since she’s been sitting on this info longer than I have, I know she already has a theory. Demi always has a theory.

“My top contenders are Tyler, Jordan, and Courtney. If he’s really been that hurt about the supposed abandonment when Rome went to Indy, Tyler would make a lot of sense. That’s my top contender.” Even though he’s the most logical suspect, guilt settles in my gut because, despite his tumultuous relationship with Rome, he’s always been kind to me.

“Courtney?” I ask. The woman has given me the ick since we first met her, far too into talking to the guys and far too invested in their careers, but I thought that was just part of her personality and more of a me issue.

But if not…

“Remember when you overheard Phil saying he loves when Rome came back to ride for Monster Smash because ticket sales improved?” I nod, even though that was over a month ago. “It stuck with me, and for a while, we had Phil on the list. But the further we get into this, it doesn’t track. He might want Rome to be stuck driving here, but he wouldn’t want his drivers to be scared. But who else looks good if there’s a lot of press and tickets are selling?”

“His publicist,” I murmur. “You think she could be creating drama to make her job easier or more exciting?”

“It’s not my strongest theory, but we’ve seen stranger situations. And with this new leak, it strengthens that case. He used to come back for one-off appearances, right?” I nod, slowly following her train of thought. “What if when he was here, she saw the press skyrocket? What if she got praised, promised, given a raise, but then wasn’t able to maintain that level of intrigue? It would make sense that she’d want him out of Indy and back where he started. If I were to guess, I’d say Rome is going to take a quick drug test this morning, refute the rumor, and have Courtney do a full press circuit on it to squash it before it travels too far.” My stomach churns, hating that this is the chaos Rome is going to wake up to.

“Another opportunity for her to flex her skills,” I sigh. “Okay, what now?” Somehow, I feel even more scattered than before, despite feeling like we have more solid leads than ever.

“I can start trying to research and find if there’s a system that monitors reports in IndyCar. I also want to dig further into the Monster Smash system, see if I can find anything new. Maybe some unexplained incidents from before he came here, or a few more that we haven’t linked. I also don’t think any of the other drivers are off the list. All of them could have the same motive as Tyler and Jordan.” I nod, and my stomach tenses when she looks at me with sincerity in her eyes because I know I’m not going to like whatever she’s about to say, no matter how gently she says it.

“You need to continue getting close to him.”

“I wasn’t planning to stop,” I murmur, though discomfort swells in my stomach, making me glad I haven’t had breakfast yet.

“You know what I mean, Lana. I need you to find casual ways to ask him about life before he came here. Anything he noticed, anything that he thought was odd. If he thinks this all could have started earlier, if he ever had issues at Indy.”

“Demi,” I start, that unease now a pulsing, living thing, festering in my veins, dancing in my gut with the guilt that seems to have moved in.

“I know. I know, it’s hard and it feels icky, especially since I think you’re really cute together. You’re good for each other. But first, we have to figure out who is doing this, so we can make sure you actually have a chance at a future with him.”

She’s right.

I like Rome. In a way, I can see a future beyond this mission, but if we can’t figure out what’s going on, something could take that chance away from us.

So I have to stick to the mission. I have to see what information I can get out of him without raising suspicion.

I have to continue to abuse his rarely given trust.

But that doesn’t mean I have to like it.

TWENTY-THREE

Primary Suspect list for sabotage based on current intel:

Tyler