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Lucy was right in the middle of coaching another driver, when Fred Graves walked up behind her. “A good day for the team, isn’t it?”
“Fred, I don’t have time for this,” she replied, looking around to see if anyone was nearby, someone who might come to her rescue. “If you have something to say, you probably need to wait until Rex and Luke are around.”
“You’ll make time. What I want to say to you doesn’t require an audience,” he explained, grabbing her by the arm and pushing her in a nearby camper, a fifth wheel owned by one of her drivers.
Once inside, Fred shoved a package in her direction. “Here. I owe you this.”
“What is it?” she asked, looking down at a bulging manila envelope.
“This is what I was asked to relinquish by those two idiots you hired.”
“Rex and Luke aren’t idiots. They’re my boyfriends. Soon they’ll become my husbands.”
He jerked, shook his head, and then started to say something. Thinking better of it, apparently, he said, “I don’t care who they are. You tell them you saw me. You make sure they understand that I have a reputation to protect. My family is well respected in stock car racing. If I have to, I’ll go to my father. He’ll take care of this in a court of law.”
He was bluffing, of course, but the last thing Lucy wanted was to see this situation tried in a court of law. They could reach a settlement between them. She thought they already had.
Lucy opened the flap to the envelope and pulled out the discs. After she tucked them safely away again, she said, “Fred, thank you.”
“I don’t want your gratitude. I want you to protect me like I’m now protecting you. I’ve scratched your back. I could’ve taken those copies straight to the McDavids. There are certain graphics captured that I don’t think you’d want your men to see.”
“I appreciate you,” she said, following his meaning. She remembered the time she’d spent with Fred. She understood how much she’d opened herself up to scrutiny.
“Remember what I said. Tell them to back off.” He stormed away and slammed the door behind him. Lucy sat down on a nearby chair, placed the envelope on the table and stared at the only evidence of a past she hoped to eventually forget.
Minutes later, Rex and Luke rushed inside the trailer. “Where is he?” Rex demanded.
“He’s gone,” she replied, arching a brow. “How’d you know he was here?”
Luke dug into his shirt pocket and revealed a small pair of binoculars. “We kept you in our sights.”
She smiled. “I should’ve known.”
Rex pointed at the table. “Is that what I think it is?”
“Yes,” she replied, pushing the envelope his way. “I’d rather you didn’t watch these, but if it’s something you need to do, then view these when I’m not around, okay?”
Luke took her in his arms and held her. “Honey, we don’t need to see those.”
“You aren’t curious?”
“No,” Rex assured her, too. “Why would we want to watch you with someone else? You please us in every way imaginable. We don’t need to see how or where you gained your experience.”
Luke kissed her then, his tongue parting her lips with a slow and seductive kiss. “I love you, Lucy. You’re my heart.”
“You’re mine,” she assured him. Turning to Rex, she said, “And you’re mine.”
“Yes,” he agreed. “I certainly am. And I’ll love you until the day I die.”
“Sometimes I think both of you have loved me since the day I was born.”
Luke shrugged, shot Rex a knowing smile, and then said, “Sometimes I think you’re right.”
“Put this someplace safe. I need to go out here and congratulate a driver,” she said, patting the delivered package.
“The race isn’t over yet,” Rex said, looking confused. “There should be about fifteen laps left to go.”
“That sounds about right, but when you belong in the winner’s circle, you see a victory coming from miles away.”
