To Betray A Brother (9 page)

Bryce didn’t respond or even acknowledge he had heard the comment, and the two officers turned and left.

Penny waited until the officers were at the front door, talking with the restaurant staff and out of earshot. “Did you…?”

“Did I what?”

“Come on. You know what I mean. Have anything to do with Justin getting beaten up? Get one of your friends to do it maybe?” Part of her wished Bryce had indeed given Justin his comeuppance for what he did to her. Another part of her recoiled at the idea Bryce might be able to casually commit to such an act of violence in the middle of dinner and continue on as if nothing had happened.

He placed his hands on the table and gentled his voice. “Do these look like they were just used to beat somebody up with? Penny, while I would dearly love to beat the asshole to within an inch of his life for what he did to you, a Mexican restaurant on a Saturday night is not the time or place. Besides, I haven’t been anywhere near the car park. The two of us here at the same time is just a co-incidence. He must have seen us come in and decided to give me a bad time by saying it was me.”

“Somebody took to him.”

“Penny, Justin is mixed up with some nasty characters in his business dealings. The boy-next-door persona is just an act he uses to charm people into getting what he wants out of them.”

She shivered, recalling the incident in the shop. Her brow furrowed. “I don’t understand. He’s always—well, up until recently—been quite nice.”

Bryce smiled, reached across the table and enclosed her hands within his, shrouding them in a protective shell. She saw only warmth and tenderness in his eyes. Her heart skipped a beat. He continued softly. “Justin is a coward and a bully. He bullies other people into doing his bidding, and when he thinks they might push back, he pays people to do his dirty work for him. He may have upset some of his business partners. They decided to remind him of their agreement or more importantly, what happens to people who don’t live up to their end of the deal.”

“What do you mean business partners?”

“Penny.” His gaze held hers as he spoke. “The Justin I know is not the same Justin he lets you see, until recently that is. He is a nasty little man who spends most of his time with people you do not want to get mixed up with.”

How can you possibly know this?” She straightened her brow furrowing. “You have been away for much longer than he has.” She wanted to believe him so badly it hurt.

Bryce leaned back, breaking the connection between them. A chill shot up her arm, replacing his warmth. “Everything is there, in the open for you to see if you know what you’re looking for. You mark my words, things will go badly for Justin. If not today, tomorrow.”

Penny shook her head. “I’m still confused.”

Bryce stood and held out his hand. “The air has become a little toxic since our friends interrupted dinner. How does a change of scene suit you?”

She swallowed the questions begging to be asked and took his hand. While he might have broken her heart ten years ago he’d never hurt her. Not like Justin had. Still, trusting didn’t come easy. She looked up into his dark eyes. “Okay, lead the way.”

Penny headed back to her pit area to help Bryce with the final preparation for the day’s racing. The short pre-race brief detailed the day’s activities and key points, just as did every other brief she had been to, with one major exception. Justin wasn’t there. The rumours swirled that he hadn’t been able to secure a medical clearance to ride this weekend. Whoever had beaten him up had done a good job. While she didn’t condone violence, she couldn’t say she was sorry, especially after he attacked her in broad daylight. Maybe he’d threatened the wrong person this time.

She came around the corner of her pit area to see Justin with another man confronting Bryce. Speak of the Devil! What was he doing here? The rumours had been right for once. A sling draped over one shoulder nursed his injured arm, and the side of his face looked like an escaped puffer fish. Angry voices reached her. She was too far away to hear what the men were saying, but guessed by their expressions, they weren’t asking each other out to dinner. Justin and the other man shoved Bryce backward. He stumbled and regained his footing. She slowed a little, unsure if she wanted to be in the middle of the three men. Justin pushed Bryce in the chest again, forcing him back against the rack where her spare parts and tools for the day were kept. Bryce’s arm snaked out and grasped the arm Justin carried in the sling. With one hand he twisted and lifted Justin’s arm at the same time. Bryce continued lifting until Justin stood on the very tips of his toes, his face contorted in pain.

The other man swung at Bryce who ducked his head and at the same time lashed out with his free hand. The man’s head snapped backward and blood ran from his nose. The man squealed in pain. Penny reached the edge of her area and stopped as Bryce slammed his forehead into Justin’s nose. The crunch of bone carried to her ears. Justin reeled backward and howled in pain. Bryce grabbed an iron bar from the shelf and stalked Justin.

“Here’s what going to happen, you gutless piece of shit. You’re going to turn around and crawl back under whatever rock you came from. If I ever hear or see you have been near her again, I will bury this through the back of your worthless skull.” His voice was low, barely above a whisper, but she couldn’t mistake his murderous tone.

Justin wiped his arm across his face and looked down at his blood covered sleeve. He raised his head and hissed. “You and your whore will pay for this, mark my words. You don’t know what you have gotten yourself mixed up in. You will...” He didn’t finish. Bryce swung the bar and hit Justin in the ribs. Penny winced at the sound of bone cracking, and Justin doubled over, grasping his chest with his good hand.

The second man advanced. Bryce stepped into the oncoming path and swung a vicious blow into the man’s leg. He crumpled on the ground clutching his knee.

Bryce turned his focus back to Justin. “Get out of here before I finish what I should have done years ago.”

Justin staggered and regained his balance. He paused momentarily, almost as if weighing his chances. He shook his head. “Come on.” He helped the other man to his feet, and they hobbled off, supporting each other as they went.

Penny’s heart thumped in her chest as she stood for moment, trying to understand what she had just seen happen. She had no idea what had caused the altercation. Bryce had sworn he didn’t attack Justin at the restaurant, but there was no mistaking the hatred between the two men. If what she had just witnessed indicated anything, given the opportunity they would kill each other. Bryce stood watching Justin’s retreat. He reminded her of a wild animal who had just driven a competitor out of his territory, poised ready to re-defend should the transgressors change their mind.

Penny paused, reluctant to reveal herself. Bryce turned and looked at her almost as if he knew she had been there the entire time. His cold eyes flashed fire as he focused on her. He turned and tossed the bar back into the shelf. “How did the brief go? Is there anything different we need to know?”

“Sorry. What?” Penny hadn’t expected such a question after what she had just witnessed.

Bryce turned to her, the warmth she had come to expect returning to his eyes. “Penny, we have about forty minutes before final warm-up laps. Everything going through your mind right now, which is not directly related to racing, needs to be shoved aside. Your entire focus for the next few hours needs to be on riding.”

He walked over, his hands closing around her upper arms, forcing her to pay attention only to him. “What you think you saw was nothing. It’s just two men who are too stupid to put aside personal differences which have been running for years. Do you understand me?”

He held her until she nodded, mesmerized by the authority he commanded. His voice, cocktailed with his scent, assaulted her. Warmth grew deep inside her. She shook her head and stepped back. “Yes, of course, but we will speak about your behaviour, if for no other reason than I do not want to be served with a
please explain
because of your actions. Understood?”

He flashed a large smile at her. “Aye-aye, captain.”

She shaped up to throw her clipboard at him. “Arrrgh.”

“Seriously though, before you go getting your gear off, we need to talk tires and finalize strategy.” Intensity crossed his face as he spoke.

“I thought tire selection would have been a simple choice. It’s wet. Wouldn’t we use wet weather tires?”

Bryce shook his head. “Look east. What do you see?”

Penny turned placing her hands on her hips. “Clouds, big fat grey clouds.” Her was tone was not unlike those used when addressing the obvious with children.

“Yes, they are lighter.” He indicated for her to come over to the laptop he had set up on the workbench. “See here, the rain has almost passed us. We have to ride a fifty lap race. By the time you hit lap fifteen to twenty-five, the track will be almost dry if not totally dry.” His eyes glinted as he spoke, challenging, mocking her logic.

Frowning, she asked, “Are you suggesting I go out on dry tires?”

“If you use dry tires, you will be in a better place come the last half of the race. Everybody else will be nursing their mixed tires, and you will be able to blast through them.” He smiled as he spoke.

“What about in the first part of the race? What do we do there?” she asked intrigued at the concept of running on dry tires on a wet track.

“You take it easy. Ride on the dry line left by the bikes ahead of you. The trick is not to get lapped. What do you say?”

Penny turned and glanced at the sky. It might clear, and the radar appeared to support the claim. What the hell? What was there to lose? Nothing and everything to gain. Bryce had not let her down so far. Under his coaching, she rode faster than ever had before and had learned skills she didn’t know she needed. Her bike had never been better, either.

She turned to him. “Let’s do it.”

* * * *

Penny lined up on the grid, her hands loosely clasped on the tank waiting for the race to start, she focused channelled all her energy to staying mentally sharp. In her mind’s eye, she negotiated every turn on the track. Bryce spoke while she listened with her eyes shut.

”Now remember, take it easy it first. The bike will move under you. We’ve worked on what to do. You know when to let the bike go and use the movement to your advantage and when to rein the movement back in. Most importantly, there is nobody on this track who can ride as well as you can. Nobody! You have about a minute. Go get ‘em.”

Bryce gave her a big hug. She held him for a second longer, not wanting him to let her go, savouring his strength, imagining for a moment nothing covered his muscles as he held her.

After a moment, he unwrapped the warmers from her tires and left the grid. The lights flashed green, and Penny accelerated off the line. Several bikes whipped past her. She smiled, noticing their choice of rubber. At the first turn, she guided her bike onto the dry line left by the other bikes. She stuck to the plan.
Let the other bikes push the water away and make a dry line for her to ride on.

She passed the start/finish line, looking up to see Bryce holding her board –
Lap 1, 12th place, 17 seconds behind
. She settled into a rhythm, concentrating on the mechanics of riding the wet track. The clouds thinned, and the track started to dry as she passed the board again
- Lap 22, 10th place, 36 seconds off the pace
.

Large swathes of dry tarmac appeared, and Penny rode more aggressively. Their dry tire gamble began to pay off. She rode around the outside of two riders who were fighting to maintain grip as their wet weather tires broke up leaving bits of rubber strewn all over the track.

Lap 40, 6th place, 16 seconds
the board read as she sped past Bryce visibly cheering her on. She had never ever finished any higher than 10 before.

Lap 45, 4
th
place 5 seconds
. She could see the bike in front disappear around the bend.
Right, that’s where I need to be, and there are 5 laps to get there.
She slid off the seat and kept the throttle open. As the bend straightened out, she tucked back in behind the faring and selected the next gear.

Lap 47, 4
th
place, 2 seconds
. Penny sat right behind the rider ahead as they entered the straight. She looked up at the rider in front, blue and black leathers—Jack. His bike slid around a little more than hers as she closed to within inches of his back wheel. She feinted into the gap on the inside and saw him glance in the mirror and adjust his line slightly to close the space.

They exited, and she shaped to accelerate around him. He moved again, blocking her, and she ghosted back into his slipstream.

Lap 48, 4
th
place, 1 second
. Penny watched from her position tucked tightly behind the faring as they set to slow into the bend at the end of the straight. Jack popped up from behind his screen, and Penny feinted a move to inside. He responded to block her. She stayed tucked in behind her screen as she rode around the outside of him before accelerating into the short straight and picked her way into the next curve.

She rode concentrating only on the track in front of her, daring to ride as fast as she possibly could, using everything she had learned. He heart pounded so hard she thought it would burst.

Lap 50, 3
rd
Place, 3 seconds + 4 seconds
. Bryce had put an extra number up for her. Jack was four seconds behind. She had one lap left as she slipped around the curve and accelerated again. The bike started to slide as she throttled out of the corners, her tires were well worn and had next to no grip left in them. Penny focused on riding smoothly, and with three corners left, came up behind the bike ahead of her. She didn’t have much time if she wanted to make a move. She watched as they rolled through the bend, looking for a gap to exploit as they burst onto the short straight. She braked heavily into the hairpin closing within millimetres from the tire in front. Still no gap appeared. Opening the throttle, she rode hard through the last bend pushing— willing—the rider in front to make a mistake and give her the small gap she needed.

She sat just inches from the rear wheel in front.
Wait, wait. Now!
She snapped the throttle onto its stops and burst from the slipstream to come up beside the other bike. Tucked in behind her faring, she urged every last once of speed from the machine and crossed the line a close third.

A big grin split her face as she pumped both hands into the air. Her first ever podium finish! She let the sensation sink in as she rode around the track waving to the crowd. She slowed, making her way to the designated parking area. People were everywhere, cheering and yelling. Bryce waited there. He took the bike as she stopped, a big grin on his face. He grabbed her by the helmet, planting a big kiss smack in the middle of her head.

“Fuckin’ awesome,” he yelled above the noise of the crowd.

Penny slipped from the bike and gave him a big hug. Hands grabbed at her, dragging her away toward the stairs. Blood rushed through her ears, making it hard for her to hear. The other riders were there. She knew their names, though she could not recall them at all. Everybody congratulated her on her maiden podium finish. She heard the announcer call her name. “In third place, Penny MacIntyre.”

She paused to steady herself, unsure if her jelly legs would hold her up. With a deep breathe, she stepped onto the podium and received a big cheer. Her face hurt from smiling as she waved to everybody. She had never felt so energized or alive. So this was what winning felt like. No wonder people did anything to win. She scanned the crowd for Bryce. There were so many faces she could not see him. A twinge of disappointment lanced her chest at not being able to share this with him. The rest of the presentations were made. Penny didn’t hear anything at all, not even noticing the ceremony had finished until a hand on her arm brought her back, fully aware.

Her bike no longer sat in the parking space so she headed back to their pit area. Her eyes continually slid to the glass trophy as she walked, and she bumped into several people by accident. Many people offered their congratulations, a couple even asked for autographs. Penny obliged without even thinking.

She arrived at their pit area to see Bryce had packed almost everything up. He walked down from the trailer where he’d been tying the bike down, a grin running from ear to ear. Penny walked over before he could say anything, wrapped one arm around him, grabbed his chin with the other and kissed him. He paused momentarily and then responded. His lips pushed against hers as one hand closed over the back of her head. Her tongue entwined with his, leaving a salty taste, while the length of the bodies pushed together. Her core turned molten hot.