“Because Rari knows it’s important to the sponsors. This one is small, but it’s close to home and it’s good publicity. Her team is here to practice and she’s here to support them. Anastasia doesn’t feel it’s big enough for return on investment for her personally.”

  “Do you think she’d hire someone to sabotage Rari’s vehicle?”

  “I wouldn’t put it past her. She resents Rari, and not just because of the racing.” Alex turned and leaned his hip against the wall, folding his arms. “Anastasia blames Rari for the break-up of her and her boyfriend two years ago.”

  “And who was that?”

  “Joe Dunn. He owns a bunch of racing accessory stores for the track groupies in the south. He gives free products to social media influencers like Anastasia and Rari to post pictures of themselves in their everyday cars wearing or using the products. Anastasia was his biggest influencer, but he really wanted Rari too.”

  “And did Rari agree?”

  “She did, but that was a deal breaker for Anastasia, so when Rari signed a contract, Anastasia went nuts and accused her of stealing her boyfriend. She even gave an interview stating that Joe and Rari had an affair and how heartbreaking that had been.”

  “Ouch,” Justice said. “What did Rari do?”

  “Nothing. She didn’t even deny it. Of course, Joe did, and they were never seen together, other than at a few tracks for promotional purposes. The story eventually died down, but every once in a while, Anastasia brings it up. Any chance she gets to make Rari look bad, Anastasia will go for it.”

  “And what does Rari do when that happens?”

  “She takes the high road,” Alex said. “She doesn’t like confrontation, and believe it or not, she hates being the center of attention.”

  “I can understand that.” Justice had a few friends who were professional athletes, and they were the same way. They loved their job and thrived on the roar of the crowd, but didn’t like having microphones shoved in their faces, or photographers following their every move. “The press is going to want her to make a statement.”

  “I don’t think that’s a good idea,” Alex said. “Why put her in front of a camera over this? We should let the authorities and the Motor Sports Association handle any formal or informal statements about the incident.”

  “That’s fine to start, but I might want to change the spin.”

  “What do you mean?” Alex asked.

  Justice had been working for the Aegis Network for about two years. He’d heard of the organization from a friend who served with the co-founders. He’d been skeptical about doing this kind of work. He thought it would be boring and not enough of a challenge. However, he’d left the military because he wanted to take care of his mother, who’d just been diagnosed with breast cancer.

  For a second time.

  He’d left home when he was eighteen, and not on good terms. For nearly fifteen years, he barely had a relationship with his mother, and she hadn’t told him about the cancer until it had reoccurred and the prognosis wasn’t good.

  He still couldn’t forgive himself for the way he left home, or the fact he didn’t try to mend fences sooner.

  His mom battled hard, but she lost her fight three months ago, and Justice still hadn’t been able to move forward. He missed her so much that his heart felt empty.

  The Aegis Network had given him purpose, but there were moments he thought about re-enlisting. As a car sped past, skidding around the bend with the tires making a screeching noise, his adrenaline kicked in, and he wanted that feeling again.

  Only he never wanted it to go away.

  He wanted his heart to pound in his chest, until it didn’t. But he put on his brave face and acted as if he believed his mom was in a better place and that he was grateful she no longer suffered.

  Except he was angry, she’d been ripped from his life when he’d spent most of it being a selfish prick doing whatever he wanted with no thoughts for other people.

  Alex snapped his fingers in Justice’s face.

  Justice jerked his head back. “What the hell did you do that for?” He blinked. His thoughts had nothing to do with the issue at hand.

  “Because you left the fucking building,” Alex said. “You’ve got to stop doing that.”

  Justice rubbed his temples. Nothing else needed to be said between him and Alex because Alex knew everything. Justice had cried on that man’s shoulders like a pathetic baby more times than he could count. Alex was more like the brother that Justice never had.

  “Has Rari heard from her family?” Justice asked.

  “I called her mom, but her mind isn’t all there, so she really didn’t understand what I was saying. She has no one else.”

  “I’m going to put someone in the nursing home.” Justice needed to cover all the bases just in case someone tried to get to Rari through her mother. “We have a trained nurse at Aegis Network, and he’s available.”

  “What’s that going to cost?”

  “It’s part of the package.”

  Alex arched a brow. “Don’t go and cut us deals or cover costs. We can pay—”

  “Relax,” Justice said. “I have a couple of bosses to answer to, so if I need to charge you more, I will.”

  “I also know what your mother left you and how guilty you feel about it.”

  Justice swallowed the bile that smacked the back of his throat. He’d been trying to figure out ways to give away his inheritance, but it wasn’t that easy. He didn’t want to live in his mother’s house, but he couldn’t bring himself to move out, and he hadn’t listed it.

  Yet.

  He was holding onto his childhood memories, even though they weren’t that great.

  But they weren’t horrible either.

  “I’m not going to use my mother’s money,” Justice said.

  “I need your word on that.”

  “Fine. You have my word.” And Justice wouldn’t go back on that, so there went that plan up in smoke. “How does Rari do in front of the cameras?”

  “She’s great when it’s about the cars, or products, or on the podium, or anything planned. But if you put her on the spot, she might stumble. So, she’s good at avoiding them until she’s at events like this when she’s got a ton of stuff in her head to talk about. Only now, I’m worried about when the newscasters go off topic and ask her about the tampering of the car, and you.”

  “She’ll just need to stay on script. You did give it to her, didn’t you?” Justice asked.

  “She had your made-up two-month history and doctored pictures in her possession when she went to the meeting with the Lamborghini people. If she gets accosted between there and here, she should be fine. Normally she waves her hand and says she’ll answer all questions at the scheduled press conference, which is in two hours.”

  “I want to be seated next to her.”

  “Already done,” Alex said. “But are you prepared for what they might ask you.”

  That was a damn good question.

  Chapter Three

  Rari sat in the air-conditioned tractor-trailer and swiped her finger across the screen of her tablet as she studied her dating history with Justice, which she found amusingly accurate as far as what she’d been doing for the last two months.

  And the pictures?

  It shocked her that anyone could be that good at creating authentic-looking fakes. Even she had started to believe she was smitten with this guy.

  Well, she had stared at him while he’d been swimming in her pool last month.

  “Hey,” the sound of a slightly familiar voice caught her attention.

  She glanced over the screen. “Hello, boyfriend,” she said with a sarcastic tone.

  Justice laughed. “I’m sorry that you weren’t informed of that plan before I showed up.”

  “If I had been, I would have shot it down,” she admitted. “Honestly, it’s a stupid idea, and it’s not going to work.” She set her tablet on the small TV table next to her chair and pulled her ponytail tighter. “You’re going to make me look like an asshole in the end.” She folded her arms across her chest.

  He leaned against the workbench. “I’ve worked highly classified, top-secret missions when I was in the military. Our backstory is solid. It can’t be proven otherwise. We have witnesses and documents that prove every detail of the last two months based on your movements.” He smiled. “And mine.”

  “Just because you stayed with Alex, on my property, doesn’t mean we can prove anything.” She let out a long breath. “You were there grieving. Not hooking up.”

  Not that this was any of her business, but if they were going to play the part, she should know some of the truth. And it might make for a sympathetic start to their romance.

  Oddly, his mother would probably approve of him using her death to help a young woman in need. In spite of his strained relationship with his mom, she’d always been so proud of the man he’d become, and that was something he also struggled with simply because he didn’t think he’d been a good son.

  “The loss of my mother did bring me to Sebring. The first three weeks after my mother died, I didn’t leave her house other than for the funeral. I was truly devastated. And then, and this is true, Alex showed up one day and dragged my ass from Orlando to your estate where I got a chance to heal my soul, and I met a beautiful woman who is slowly stealing my heart.”

  She shook her head and laughed. “That is such a cornball line.”

  “I’m a pathetic romantic,” Justice admitted. “A quality I got from my mom.”

  Rari unfolded her arms and rubbed her hands on her thighs. “I know I’ve said this before, but I’m so sorry for your loss. Alex says your mom was a real good woman.”

  Justice nodded. “My mom and I weren’t close until I left the military, and I will always regret that.”

  “But you came back and helped her through her cancer. I’m sure that meant a lot to her.” Rari knew a thing or two about watching someone slowly die right in front of your eyes. Her mother barely recognized her anymore, and that just broke her heart. “And Alex did say being at my place helped you through a rough patch.”

  “I never did say thank you for that.”

  “You’re welcome,” she said. “I have to admit that I’m a little scared at how easily pictures were doctored and made to look like you and I were having a grand old time at my house.”

  “Not as easy as you think to make them look authentic, and I suppose a forensic expert could figure it out, but I doubt anyone would find it necessary to go that far.”

  “I get that I’m a bit of a recluse, so when I’m not at the track, the public doesn’t necessarily see me, and my home is in the middle of nowhere, but you weren’t there the whole time. What are we going to say about that?”

  “There is a timeline in those documents. That is all factual. So, the last three weeks, we haven’t been able to spend much time together either because of my work, or your racing. I’m supposedly taking some vacation time to be with you at this race, and then your race up in Daytona. After that, it will depend on if we’ve cracked the case or not.”

  “Don’t you think people will be suspicious that this is a setup because you work for the Aegis Network?”

  He smiled. “Had I not been at your house, yes. But that changed everything. That’s why this will work, and now I can be at your side.”

  “You could have done that as my bodyguard.” She cocked her head.

  “Yes. But people would have seen me as the enemy and I can’t have that. I need to become part of this world quickly. I need people to trust me.”

  She covered her mouth in order to stifle a laugh. “I’m sorry. But that’s impossible. You know shit about racing. You’ve said so yourself.”

  “True. But I’ve been reading up on the sport and I’m a fast learner. Besides, I don’t need to know the ins and outs. I just need to know enough to make conversation.” He stretched out his arm and took her hand, helping her to her feet. “The more important topic of conversations need to be about us.”

  “There is no us,” she whispered.

  He tucked a stray piece of hair that had fallen from her ponytail behind her ear.

  “What are you—”

  He brushed his lips across hers, letting them linger for a long moment. “People are walking by, so I’m taking an opportunity to give them something to talk about.”

  “Oh.” She resented how much she enjoyed his tender kisses. It was one thing to admire him from her balcony while he swam laps.

  It was entirely something else to be standing in his embrace and trying to resist the urge to wrap her arms around his strong frame and cave to her sudden desire to get naked with this man.

  Of course, he was appealing because there was no possible future, and that was the best kind of guy to get entangled with for a short fling. And God knows she needed one. It had been a long time since she’d allowed herself a little romp in the sack.

  “I suppose I’m going to have to get used to a little affection in public.” She squeezed his hand. “And in twenty minutes, I have a Q and A, to which I’m told you want to be sitting next to me.”

  “I do. They are going to be asking you about the tampering of the race car, and it might be better if I answer some of those questions.”

  “What do you know about racing?” She patted the center of his chest before turning and ducking her head into the cockpit of her car. She pulled the hood release. Walking around the front of the vehicle, she lifted the metal and propped it open.

  “You drive really fast around a track. In your case, you’re not just driving in a circle. You get to make right-hand turns, and the track is longer.”

  She chuckled. “That’s funny.”

  “I’m glad you think so.” He planted his hands on his hips and glanced between her and the engine.

  “What did Alex tell you about this car and what happened to it?”

  “Someone fucked with the brakes. Why?” He cocked his head and narrowed his eyes.

  She nodded. “Where’s my brake line? My brake pads? My rotors?”

  “I’m going to have to say the pads and rotors are somewhere near the tires, and the brake line has to be attached to those.”

  “Not bad, but how do I access them?” She waved at the engine. It wasn’t a difficult question, and the boyfriend of any race car driver would know. Especially if they’d been dating for a while.

  “Since I’ve gotten my pads and rotors changed on my own car and I’ve watched them put it on a lift. I’m going to guess from under the car.” He ran a hand over his face. “But I have no idea where a brake line would start and how to find it. But I bet I could Google it.” He pulled out his cell and smiled.

  She shook her head. “This press conference should be amusing if you want to take the lead on the mechanics of my car.” She turned on her heels and headed for the press tent. “For the record, the brake lines start at the—”

  “It doesn’t matter if I know that or not.” He was two paces behind her, but caught up quickly, curling his fingers through hers and giving them a little squeeze. “I bet the reporters will find my lack of knowledge endearing.”

  “Now that’s really funny.”

  The closer they got to the media tent, the faster her heart pounded in her chest. She didn’t like doing these interviews to begin with, but to do them with a fake boyfriend made her want to crawl out of her skin. Even when she’d been dating someone on a regular basis, she never flaunted him in front of the cameras. Hell, she didn’t even acknowledge she’d been in a relationship. At one point, there was a rumor that she was gay and was secretly dating her business manager, but that soon died when Sasha married one of the pit crew guys.

  “Relax.” He leaned in and kissed her cheek. “Just be yourself.”

  “I am. I hate these things.” And that was an understatement. If she could avoid doing them, she would. But that wouldn’t be good for her career. And for the most part, everyone treated her with kindness and respect. However, every once in a while, someone tried to stir up trouble, and usually, that came in the form of something Anastasia said or did. “They are always trying to find out personal things that have nothing to do with my racing, and I’d rather stick with business or my charity work.”

  “Well, today they get a little treat then.” He gave her a good hip check.

  She couldn’t help it and she laughed.

  “You have a pretty smile. You should do it more often.” He pulled open the door to the media tent.

  A blast of air-conditioning slammed her in the face, cooling her skin. It was a welcome sensation.

  A group of reporters had already been seated, and their photographers raised their cameras and flashes filled the room.

  She did her best to keep a genuine smile as she took a seat at the table in front of the room with Justice to her left and a representative from the track to her right. She tapped the mic, just to make sure it was working. “Hello, everyone. I’m glad you’re all here. Let me first start by making a statement about what happened this morning.” She cleared her throat. “As I’m sure you’ve all heard by now, the police are investigating an incident that happened with one of my cars. Specifically, the one I was going to show off in today’s exhibition. Motor Sports, as well as the management at the track, are working closely with authorities to get to the bottom of what happened. I’m happy to say I will still be racing today, just with a different car.”

  Five reporters raised their hands.

  She pointed to one that she knew wouldn’t be overly aggressive.

  “What exactly happened to your race car?”

  “I’ll answer that,” Justice piped in. “Or actually, I’ll say the police don’t want us to give out the details, just know that someone did break into Rari’s trailer and tried to sabotage her car.”

  “And who are you exactly?” the reporter asked.

  “Justice Wilder. I’m Rari’s boyfriend.”

  That statement had every reporter with their hand raised and yelling out questions.

  Rari covered her mic and leaned closer to Justice. “Way to go, Romeo.”