Even though the sky was already pitch dark with barely any stars illuminating it, the stoplights all around the racetracks made it seem like it was still morning. But Asher's body, especially after his accident, told him it was already night. The adrenaline had long since bled out of Asher's system, leaving only the dragging weight of exhaustion pulsing through his muscles. He just wanted to get home, sink into those thousand-thread-count sheets and forget that today happened. Forget his grandfather...his stealing, overbearing, and fucking annoying half-brother. Perhaps that sleep would soothe the throbbing at the back of his skull from when he had hit it on the floor while jumping out of a race car.Never try this at home, kids.Anyway, that's why he left the tracks as soon as he changed back into his suit, and now, the Uber was rolling up the quiet street toward the apartment complex he owned. Yes, unlike Zane's, which he'd gotten from the family (namely their grandfather Robert) a
The smoke was thick in the air as the crowd began pouring onto the racetrack like a swarm of hornets. Panic rippled through them, and their yelling voices overlapped as they rushed toward the crumpled remains of Blaze's Corvette."Shit, someone get a fire extinguisher!""Call 911! There's no way he would survive this unscathed. The poor fucker just healed from the last accident!""Ryder was right. West shouldn't have raced Mason. Fuck!""Do you see him?! Is he in there?!"A few of them scrambled around the bent metal, coughing through the smoke. Their eyes darted all around, searching for Asher. But they didn't find him or a body or even blood. All that was left was the stink of burning rubber and twisted steel.Everyone was shouting over each other. Someone let out curses and slammed their foot against the car. Even Ryder, who was usually a cocky bastard, looked genuinely alarmed.There was only one question on everyone's mind as they looked around. Where was Asher?""Wait! Look!" A
Asher stepped out of the Uber and stretched, the muscles in his back aching from sitting in one spot for two hours. The two-hour drive had left him stiff and irritable, but the moment his boots hit the pavement of Southside Racetrack, Asher felt right at home. The track was nestled behind a row of abandoned warehouses, surrounded by sagging chain-link fences and faded banners from past underground sponsors. It wasn't fancy by any means, but it was a world Asher fit right into.The whirring sounds of engines echoed across the wide open stretch of asphalt as men leaned on car hoods, laughing loudly at a joke Asher didn't quite catch. Cigarette smoke curled in lazy rings around the clusters of men who were in worn tank tops, while some of them looked like they'd walked straight out of a magazine. But all of them had that same wild, gleaming look in their eyes. The look of men who craved speed, danger, and ego."Holy shit, guys! Is that our golden boy back from the dead?"A tall guy in a
Asher was dumbfounded at his grandfather's accusations. The moment he heard about Robert's health, he rushed to the hospital as fast as his legs could carry him. He sat beside his bed for hours, even slept at the damned hospital, and yet, Robert had no idea of this.He wanted to argue about it, but honestly, Asher was damned tired of explaining himself, and something much more daunting was at hand. He needed fucking answers."Why did you give Zane my position?" Asher snapped in a voice taut with ill-concealed fury. "LexiPharm is mine. You had no right to hand it over like...like some fucking participation trophy! You made me CEO, dammit."However, Robert's icy blue eyes only narrowed into slits as he spat. "And I regret it every damn day!"The air punched out of Asher's lungs, leaving him reeling. But the old man didn't stop there."You ran Lexipharm to the ground, you useless retard. Do you think I don't have the quarterly reports already?" The old man shook his grey head of hair, an
Asher was quiet as he peeled his body from the desk. The sound of water running in the bathroom that used to be his was the only sound in the office as Zane had left earlier to clean himself without a backward glance at Asher after releasing inside him. He reached for his shirt that lay crumpled on the carpet along with his dignity. As he collected his clothes, which were strewn all about the office, the lump in Asher's throat grew thicker. He was halfway through buttoning his shirt when the bathroom door pushed open and Zane stepped out, looking put together like he hadn't just spent the last half-hour railing Asher into oblivion, humiliating him and marking him in the most degrading, filthy way possible. If not for the smugness rolling off his half-brother in waves, Asher would have to pinch himself multiple times to convince himself that Zane was the same person who had been inside him just a few seconds ago.Asher tore his eyes away and they unfortunately landed on the wet spot
The sight of Zane lounging in his chair with that smug, infuriating smirk tugging at the edge of his lips struck Asher like a lightning bolt, leaving him dumbfounded and frozen in the doorway of his own office. His brain floundered trying to understand what the hell Zane could be doing here. The last he knew, Zane was still interning at the WestCare Hospital, and he was supposed to be on duty today. Has Zane gotten so delusional because of the few times Asher allowed him to fuck him that he thought he could come into Asher's office and throw his weight around?"Oh, you're finally here," His half-brother finally drawled in a voice as rich as honey, breaking the strained silence between them. "I was beginning to think I'd have to send your things to you. Since you're here, though..." he motioned lazily towards a box in the center of the other table in the office. "Might as well finish packing up and leave."The words snapped Asher out of his stupor, as a tidal wave of hot rage crashed t