Chapter 328
Vic turned and even through the blood trickling from his nose I could see his smirk. “Prove it, sweetheart. Accidents happen.”
‘Accident?” The word came out sharp. “You sped up into him.”
‘He was in my way.”
‘He’d already won. He’d already crossed the finish line.”
“So?” Vic pulled off his helmet and spit blood. “He humiliated me. Made me look like a fool in front of everyone.”
“You ARE a fool,” Sarah said, appearing beside me. Her voice was shaking but her eyes were fierce.
“He got what he deserved,” Vic said. “Thinking he’s so much better than everyone else, showing off, making the rest of us look bad.”
“He IS better than you,” I said. “He’s better than all six of you combined and you can’t stand it.”
“Won’t matter if he’s dead,” Vic shrugged, actually shrugged, like Tristan’s life meant nothing.
I wanted to kill, to suck the filthy life off him.
The violence in my chest exploded outward and I moved toward him, my hands curling into fists, not sure what I was going to do but knowing I was going to hurt him, going to make him pay for what he’d done.
Orion caught me around the waist. “Athena, no. The babies.”
The babies.
The word stopped me cold and I looked down at my still–flat stomach, at the tiny lives growing there that needed me to stay calm, stay safe, not get into a fight with a man who’d just tried to kill their father.
“There won’t be a next time,” Orion’s voice cut through the air, that Alpha command that made humans instinctively back up. He was standing now, having left Tristan’s care to Derek, and he was moving toward Vic with Sarah right beside him, her hand in his.
Vic’s two friends stepped forward, trying to look threatening. Three humans against two Alphas and a very angry woman, they had no idea how badly
outmatched they were.
‘You want to do this?” one of Vic’s friends asked, a big guy with a shaved head and prison tattoos.
Derek didn’t answer, just grabbed the guy’s shirt and threw him aside like he weighed nothing. The man hit the ground hard and didn’t get up, clearly deciding this wasn’t worth it.
The second friend swung at Orion and Orion caught his fist mid–air, squeezed until something cracked, bones breaking with audible pops, and shoved him down. The friend screamed, holding his crushed hand.
Vic backed up, eyes wide, finally realizing he’d made a mistake. Finally understanding that Tristan had family, had people who loved him, and they weren’t going to let this go.
“You’re done racing here,” Orion said, his voice deadly calm. “You’re done in this city. If I ever see you near another track, near my brother, near
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Chapter 328
ANYONE 1 care about, I will end you. Do you understand?”
Vic opened his mouth to argue.
Derek hit him.
The punch was precise, controlled, catching Vic in the stomach and dropping him to his knees gasping for air.
‘He asked if you understand, Derek said calmly, then hit him again, this time in the jaw. Blood and what might have been a tooth flew from Vic’s
mouth.
Vic nodded frantically, wheezing, curled up on the ground.
“Good,” Orion turned away, dismissing him. “Get out of my sight. And if I find out you’ve raced anywhere, told anyone what happened here, or done anything other than disappear, I’ll find you. And it won’t be a fist you’ll have to worry about.”
The threat was clear, the dominance rolling off Orion in waves that made even the crowd back up. Vic’s friends helped him up and they stumbled away, Vic limping badly, his face already swelling.
The crowd parted to let them through and I heard the muttering, people already creating the story of what had happened, how Vic had tried to cheat
again and paid the price.
I was already back beside Tristan, taking his hand carefully. His eyes were open now, barely, unfocused and glassy, and he was trying to speak.
“Athena,” his voice was barely a whisper, thick and slurred.
“Don’t talk,” tears were streaming down my face, falling on his jacket. “The ambulance is coming, just hold on.”
“Did I… win?”
A sob–laugh burst out of me. “Yes, you idiot, you won. You beat all of them.”
“Good,” his eyes tried to close. “Wanted to… make you proud.”
“You did, you did, just please don’t leave me,” my hand gripped his tighter. “Please don’t leave us.”
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Sara Lili is a daring romance writer who turns icy landscapes into scenes of fiery passion. She loves crafting hot love stories while embracing the chill of Iceland’s breathtaking cold.
