chapter63

"You only won with cheap tricks. Pathetic!"

If murder wasn't illegal, Chris would have dealt with these three right then and there. No one messed with his friends and got away with it.

Neil gave a cold laugh. "Winners take all. You lost, Chris. Just admit it. Can't handle losing, huh?"

The only thing stopping Neil from going after Chris directly was the Jefferson family's pull in the city. So, he'd picked on Chris' friend instead. And just as he expected, Chris was fiercely loyal. The second his friend got hurt, he threw the whole race out the window.

"Hey. Are we racing or not? If you're done, I'll just take that as you giving up." Lydia's voice suddenly cut through the tension.

Neil turned, his smile twisted. "We're doing this. You'd better believe it."

"Then let's start. I don't have time to waste," Lydia said, looking them up and down like they were nothing but a joke.

Neil thought she was just a clueless little girl full of herself. If she was in such a rush to humiliate herself, he was all for it.

Chris caught the tone in their voices and turned quickly to Lydia. "You're really going to race them?"

Lydia nodded. "Yep."

"No way." Chris didn't even think before shutting her down.

Lydia might be a better rider than he was, but Neil and his guys were total dirtbags. They didn't care about rules and would pull anything to win. Lydia wouldn't stand a chance against that.

Neil jumped in with a sneer. "Chris, you haven't even paid up on your lost bet. Maybe worry about that before you start worrying about other people."

Lydia ignored Chris and looked at Neil. "We'll settle your bet at the same time as the race."

Neil nodded. Fine. But don't even think about running off while we're racing. If you do, I'll make sure everyone hears Chris is nothing but a coward who can't take a loss."

Chris was shaking with anger, his eyes burning. He looked at Lydia, all seriousness now. "Lydia, you can't race them."

She shot him a calm, steady look. "I know what I'm doing." Her voice was almost cold. She motioned to Neil to get on his bike. Well? Are we starting?"

Neil snapped his fingers. That's what I like to hear. Let's go, boys.

Chris could see there was no changing Lydia's mind, but he still couldn't relax. He quickly gave a few words of warning to his teammate. Watching Neil and his crew fire up their engines, Chris grabbed his helmet and swung onto his own bike.

He had to keep up. He couldn't let anything happen to Lydia.

Neil's crew had their bikes blocking the road, so Lydia had to start behind them. The second they were all on, they totally ignored any sense of a fair start and just blasted off, engines howling as they tore ahead.

A dangerous, icy smile played on Lydia's lips. Anyone who knew her would know that smile meant trouble was coming for someone.

"Lydia! What are you waiting for? Go!" Chris shouted, panic in his voice as he saw Neil's crew disappearing down the road. He thought she was waiting for a real start and their cheap move had caught her off guard.

Lydia glanced back at him, cool as ever, like a teacher about to show how it's done. "Watch and learn."

Before the words even finished, she twisted the throttle. Her bike screamed to life, roaring forward, the engine roaring like a wild symphony. A trail of black smoke curled behind her like a snake, then vanished into the night.