chapter440

Chris' head snapped up the moment he heard Lydia's voice.

"Lydia!" Relief washed over his face as he called out to her.

The guys heard the commotion too. When they spotted Lydia, their eyes lit up with interest that was anything but friendly. One of them shot Chris a smirk. "Huh? Is that your girlfriend?"

Connor was walking right next to Lydia. Without even breaking stride, he nudged a pebble on the ground with his toe. It sailed through the air and hit the loudmouth right on the head. The rock was tiny, but it packed a punch. The guy yelped, clutching his head, then pointed at Connor, furious. "What's your problem? Are you looking for trouble? You think you can sneak up on me?

Connor's eyes were icy, his whole vibe dark and menacing, like he'd just walked out of someone's worst nightmare.

"It's you who are looking for trouble."

The guy who got hit-Archie-looked ready to storm over and throw hands, but his captain, Rory, grabbed his arm and hissed, "Don't mess with him."

As Connor stepped closer, Rory finally got a good look at him and realized he looked a lot like Chris. Everyone knew who Chris was he came from the Jefferson family, and that name meant you didn't mess around. Of the three Jefferson brothers, Chris was the easygoing one, just fresh out of college. But Connor was the mysterious, ruthless one. Just looking at him, Rory felt a chill run down his spine. He had a bad feeling they'd just crossed paths with the real deal.

Rory cursed his luck. His family worked in politics, and they'd had some dealings with Neil's family before. Neil's family got in trouble because they'd messed with the Jeffersons. Now, with this international race, Chris' team was their main target. Rory had planned to use this chance to rattle Chris and mess with his team's confidence. He never thought Connor would show up here. He wasn't even a racer. How did he get in?

Archie didn't recognize Connor, and after taking a pebble to the head, he was too angry to care. He glared at Rory and spat, "What's there to be scared of? This isn't their country. We don't have to take their crap."

"You seriously don't know when to quit," someone muttered.

Aiden stepped forward, cool as ever, and pulled out a black pistol, pointing it right at Archie. He had no patience for punks like these and always thought a little force made things simpler.

The whole Team Country D froze. Even Rory stared in shock.

"Whoa, hang on, man. Let's not get crazy," Archie stammered, his tough act vanishing. He threw his hands up, eyes wide and scared.

Get down on your knees and apologize. Aiden's voice was sharp. The only way to deal with jerks was to be tougher than them.

Archie looked helplessly at Rory, but Rory wasn't about to save him. He'd warned him not to mess with the Jeffersons, but Archie hadn't listened and now he was paying for it.

Regret was written all over Archie's face, but he had no choice. He dropped to his knees in front of Connor and Lydia, grinding his teeth as he begged, "Connor, please, just let it go this time. I didn't mean what I said."

Connor just snorted. "Slap yourself. You don't want me to do it for you."

Archie froze, but he knew better than to talk back. He gave himself a weak slap.

"Louder." Connor's tone was flat and cold.

Archie winced, then hit himself harder, the sound sharp and clear in the quiet night.

Connor finally turned to Lydia. "What do you want to do with them?"

Lydia gave a soft laugh. "Didn't they say we are trash? Let's settle it with We'll see who the.. a race trash.

is. Losers have to kneel and shout

three times, 'We are trash.

Connor's lips twitched, almost a smile.

174

He shounds good. It's your call

He shot Chris a look. "If you can't"

win this, don't even botherntent.

showing up for tomorrow's race

Chris was confident about beating them, but he knew his teammates weren't as

strong.