003 An Out— The Race.

~KELSIE~

Different emotions swirled inside of me; anger, frustration, shock, you name it. But I didn't want to pay attention to any of them, not now. I needed to address this. The Red Room suddenly took a spinning turn, but I forced myself to keep calm.

"There's no way this is happening, Dad. He's..." 

"The only person capable of keeping you in check?" He arched his brows, and my murderous gaze heightened. "That's right." 

It took all of my resolve not to scream into his face. Instead, I swiveled to face my Dad. He's the only one I had business with.

"I don't want this, Dad. I can handle the Red Room by myself. I don't need him."

"Trust me, you do, Elsie." Kendra chipped in, adding to the fiery furnace brewing in the pit of my stomach.

My gaze darkened. "You're supposed to be on my side."

She let out a smile. "That's why I suggest you accept him. With Dad being gone often, some of the guys might try to challenge your authority..."

"Seeing as you're so small, un-intimidating and all..." He chipped in, behind me. 

My eyes snapped closed as I let out a whoosh of breath, pinching the bridge of my nose. "Can someone tell him to stop talking," I growled with my eyes still closed. I heard Kendra’s stifling chuckle, right before I opened them and found him right in front of me.

"But I'm willing to give you an out..." He started, just as I was about to scream into his face, recklessness be damned.

"And what could that be?" I asked, interest totally piqued. He better not make me angrier. I swear I'll—

"Race me." He interrupted my inner swearing.

Huh? My brows arched.

"Beat me, and I'll walk out of this place and never bother you again." 

I tilted my head to the side in thought. Even though I had never raced him and was completely oblivious to his skill, I was willing to try.

"Deal.." I eagerly agreed, before one realization struck me... belatedly.

"Wait...what if I should lose?" Not that I was counting on it. I trusted my racing skills.

His smirk grew wider. "I'll not only be your bodyguard. But I'll also be your biker prince..." 

For several seconds, everything went blurry. Like classic I-just-got-myself-into-trouble blurry.

I directed a near-helpless gaze at my Dad.

"He's joking, right?" 

My Dad let out a soft laugh. "Lesson number one, daughter: never rush into agreeing to a deal with a biker till all cards are on the table." He replied with a firm tap on my shoulders, causing me to blink repeatedly as I glanced at Kendra.

"In other words, he's not!" I croaked after my dad's retreating footsteps. He halted at my words, giving me a curt nod. 

"Are you scared you'll lose, princess?" He asked, his voice laced with mockery. "Do you wanna back out?" 

I'd rather bruise my knee on the asphalt than let him mock me. I'll do this.

"I'm not backing out, psycho. See you on track." I swished past him with adrenaline pumping through me, making my knees weak. 

I just agreed to a race whose result was unknown. Was I fucked?

Maybe.

                ~~~~~~~~~~

I was already straddling my Harley Davidson X440 by the time he stepped out, his physique filling the doorframe as he regarded me with that smirk that seemed as though it had a permanent residence on his lips.

I rolled my eyes and looked away, but not before catching him striding towards me in a tad menacing way.

"It's not too late to back out, Red." He muttered, standing too close to me— too close that the scent of his cologne wafted through my nose, prompting me to almost snap my eyes closed and bask in its cherry scent. But I reminded myself that I had a race to get to.

How badly I want to wipe that smug smile off his face.

"It's that your way of getting me to back down because you're scared of me?" I pinned him with a hard glare with a sardonic smile.

I gestured to other members of the Vipers who had started gathering around.

“I guess you should ask them about me before gloating. I could make you lick the asphalt.” I muttered with a mock smile.

"Dream on, Red. You just lost your chance to back out honorably." Then he winked, and not waiting for me to comment, he started marching down towards the car.

My nails dug into the helmet as I stared hard at his retreating. 

"I'll make sure you eat your words, dude," I muttered, swinging my head into the helmet with a bravado that was reserved only for the Andersons.

                ~~~~~~~~~~~~

A few minutes later, our Harleys were already stationed at the starting line, our gazes pinned on the girl who tied a red bandana on her head, her arm cradling a red flag indicating the onset of the race. 

I stared ahead, gauging the road as usual. I had raced here a hundred times— not literally though— so, I was used to the nooks and crannies, and the skills I had usually used to defeat other vipers.

But this race wasn't like the others. I already knew the capacity of the vipers, but not his. 

Landen...lorden.... I couldn't remember the name Dad called him. Mostly because I wasn't paying attention.

"Your last chance, Red." His deep cherried voice boomed beside me and I was forced to look at me. 

Biting his lips, he winked at me, just in time for the red lipstick bandana girl to shout, “Go!”

He surged ahead, the revving of his engine, kicking me out of my reverie and I followed suit with a curse, reaching him after a few rides.

"Nice try, Landen."

He chuckled, glancing at me through his visor. "It's Lancelot." 

I threw him a bored look. "Whatever." Then I lunged forward, already sighting the first corner. This was usually where I got the upper hand on all the races. 

He revved beside me, engine rearing in the air, mixing with the crouching sound of the asphalt. 

As soon as I got to the bend, I counter-steered, pushing the right handlebar to lean the bike in with my knee out and body off the seat. That gave me an edge and a little distance from him.

A curse flew past my ear right before he closed the distance with an apex line. A technique I had never been able to pull off, no matter how much I tried.

His apex line was tighter, sharper. His knee puck skimmed the asphalt, sparks shutting off as his bike bent, knees almost touching the asphalt, but it didn't. 

That gave him the lead, sending a wave of discomfort through me.

I surged forward with steely determination, the finishing line a couple of miles away from us.

Finally, I caught up with him. Our bikes roared in sync, and our bodies bounced with the energy and speed of the bikes. He shot me a glance, I could feel it, but I didn't want to stare back, to give him another chance to get a head start.

Another corner approached and he slowed down but I didn't despite its sharp bending, with full speed, I dove into his slipstream braking deeper and causing my bike to dip so low and tight that my elbow almost touched the asphalt, causing a gasp to tear through me.

Damn, that was close.

"That's risky, Red." He called after me, but I ignored him, pulling ahead.

The next minute he closed in, and we hit another stretch, neck to neck, our engines revving like a war cry. Adrenaline pumped through me, alongside a sickening feeling_ fear.

But I had already decided to give that Apex line a trial at the last corner. That was the only way I could beat him. 

I did it, trail-braking deeper into the corner, my weight shifting forward, front tire biting harder than intended. 

Then I dropped low, knee out and my body hanging off the bike like gravity had lost its grip on my soul.

"Scrrrrk..."

My knee puck-kissed the asphalt, causing pain to shoot through me. I bit my lips to steady myself.

That tactic earned me a lead, but as I approached the finishing line, already feeling the joy of victory replacing the sickening feeling in my stomach, he pulled into my slipstream, riding past me with a speed that left a gust of wind in its wake, and before I could match up to him, he crossed the finishing line so swiftly I literally saw stars.

He pulled over just beyond it, and turned, pulling off his helmet to hold my gaze over the shout and clap that filled the lot.

Tears burned in my eyes as I stared back at him, willing them to go back.

I bruised my knee and still ended up losing to him. Fuck!