AllFreeNovel
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He moved on.
You're nothing.
I place the bike in gear. The robot on the screen widens her hands with red lights shining down at the crowd from her eyes. “Goin' In” by Skrillex makes its way through the speakers, and the race will start.
One
Two
Three
Skeletal hands widen like gates to a different hell, signaling to go.
I gun the bike, and it shoots forward ahead of everyone. I smile. Hell yes.
The traction catches from the back tire, and I smell burning rubber as I lean into the turns. I'm still ahead, but I see him on my heels. The crowd goes wild, and bets are increasing on the marker, causing excitement and chaos to erupt.
The next turn comes up, and he's gaining speed. I hate that I didn’t watch him race so I could study the way he drives. I feel the heat from the tires coming from his bike. I move low, and he moves high, getting ahead.
Shit.
Shit.
Come on, Lillith.
I gain speed when I should be slowing down because it's the only way to beat him. He's hella fast, and the man can drive. The crowd grows quiet because it seems like I won't make the next turn. The rest of the racers have fallen behind. The other guy wiped out after the second turn.
His voice pops up in my headset. "Don't kill yourself trying to beat me." He brakes, his taillight flashing red like a beacon, and I have no choice but to brake. "Come on, princess. I can't make it easier than that. It would help if you talked to me." I switch gears, gaining speed and moving low. His voice is like a ghost in my ear, but his words gyrate on my nerves. Cocky bastard.
"How about we start with a name? That always helps."
I stay quiet, knowing he will recognize me if he hears my voice. I gain speed, but so does he. We are on the last turn, and the pot is up to two hundred thousand, and I need the money.
Knowing this is the only way I’ll beat him, I pop the front wheel of the bike and hold it. The crowd goes wild, and I hear him curse as he slows down. When I know there is no way he could beat me, I let the bike drop and drop it into fourth. Then fifth.
"You're a bad girl, Pyralis."
I cross the finish line with him almost grinding his front tire on the back of mine.
Pyralis is still the champion. Some say that's cheating, but others want a re-match.
Shit.
They can't do that! I won.
"It's a race, not a stunt race!" one person shouts.
"She cheated!"
What the fuck?"
My heart begins to beat rapidly, and just when it couldn’t get any worse, my bike shuts off, losing power.Dammit.
I look up toward the black box where the real criminals are seated. The ones who control everything. The screen flashes in big letters REMATCH.
I'm fucked. How am I going to feed Niro until the next race? How am I going to beat Killian without him finding out the truth?
I'm waiting in my classic Cutlass parked on a dark street, watching the woman who beat me on the track. The one that wouldn't say a word through the headset. It didn't matter how much I pushed her or what I said. I couldn’t bait her. But her body language said enough to have me sitting on a dark street after I sent everybody to the hideout deep in the city.
