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“It’s about to be.” I try to pull my arm loose to tuck her back behind me, but Deacon isn’t budging.
Mateo tosses his head back and laughs. This entire situation amuses him, and I hate it.
“You’re funny, man. You wanna make this your problem? Fine. How about this?”
Keaton stops, listening to every word with her back turned to him.
“Mami came here to race? So, race.” She turns, spinning on her heel to take in his wide grin.
“You win, consider your debt paid. You lose,” He lifts his gaze to meet mine again, “the car is mine.”
“Hell no,” she shouts, turning back to face me, shaking her head. “No.”
Mateo’s grin widens, showcasing his pristine smile. He knows he’s got me, and damn it, I know he does too.
I look Keaton in the eyes. “You’ve got this, babe. Just drive like you always do and you can walk away from everything,” I urge her, and her eyes go wide with panic.
“Bodhi, I won’t bet your car,” she says, panic coloring her tone.
“You’re not. I am,” I say.
She jerks her head back like I’ve slapped her, but I know how good she is. I know that she’ll win this race and finally be free from this asshole. There are too many witnesses here for him to pull the same kind of stupid shit he pulled with her brother. I won’t let him.
I try to convey to Keaton that I have her. That everything will be okay, but her eyes are still wild and pleading when I lift my gaze to Mateo’s.
“She’ll do it,” I agree before she can protest any more, and Mateo nods.
“Good man. I knew you had it in you,” he says.
“Bodhi, what the hell?” Keaton hisses, her hands thrown wide.
Just as I open my mouth to justify my actions, Mateo interrupts me for one final blow.
“Good thing I brought my best ride. I hear you’re quite the competition, Mami. I’m looking forward to it,” he says, disappearing back through the crowd in the direction he came.
Chapter 45
I just stand there, unable to move or even really process what just happened. I have to have heard wrong, or blacked out or something, because I know that Bodhi didn’t just offer me up to Mateo like that. At least that is what I’m telling myself, because it sure as shit feels that way.
He walks past me, back toward the car, and I have enough mind to follow silently behind him. When he turns to speak, I cut him off, holding my hand out between us.
“What the fuck did you just do?” I ask, jaw clenched and doing my absolute best to keep my composure.
“Keaton it’s—”
“If you say that it’s not that big of a deal, I swear I’m going to hit you,” I say, shaking my head and doing everything to avoid his eye contact.
“Babe, I—”
“Bodhi, what the fuck?” I hiss, blinking furiously to keep the tears at bay, but my anxiety is creeping up on me with every second that passes, and I know that no matter what, there is no getting out of this mess now. “Why would you do this?”
“Because I saw an out for you and jumped,” he says, as if it were the only logical thing to do in this situation.
“Yeah, without looking,” I snap, anxiety turning into anger the longer we stand here. How the fuck am I supposed to go out there and race Mateo? I can’t.
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“You don’t know this guy—”
