Fueled Obsession 1

by Amanda Heartley

  “Wow, do you travel to race?”

  “I’d like to but no, I really can’t, not with my mom the way she is. But when I get hooked up with Stockton, I’ll be traveling all over the place.” He squeezed my hand tighter and I thought about how different his future would be compared to mine. He’d be traveling and I’d be here, helping kids with cancer. I didn’t like the thought that we’d possibly only see each other every now and then. Maybe we were doomed before we even started.

  I pushed that thought from my mind as we drove down the street to where the race would begin. “Aren’t you guys afraid of the cops?”

  “Naw, we’ve been really lucky the past few races and rumor has it that Victor pays them off. They’ll stay away from this area during race time, for some serious cash on the side.” He looked at me, his eyes sparkling in the moonlight. “That’s his business, and I figure the less I know, the better.”

  We cruised slowly up the street. Jack revved the engine and the crowd yelled. It was dark outside now, except for the stars overhead and a big, bright moon. Cars lined the streets and the crowds screamed at him. “Fitz!’ ‘Fitz!” He nodded and waved, then some girl in a short skirt started toward us, until she saw me. “Jack, will I be okay here with all these people?”

  “Yes, you will. You’ll be sitting over there with Ernesto and his wife. I already let them know. They’re cool people,” he answered, but I didn’t feel any better about it.

  “Ernesto!” he called out to him and waved. The couple saw him, waved back and Jack stopped the car. People gathered all around it and he shooed them away as he got out. He came around and opened my door, taking my hand as if I was a celebrity—and this must be what a celebrity feels like, with everyone cheering him on. He put his arm around my waist and I felt a thousand eyes on me as he walked me over to where Ernesto and his wife were sitting. People were probably wondering who the newcomer was.

  “Ernesto, Maria, this is my girl, Mollie. Take good care of her, will ya?” he said. I couldn’t believe he’d said ‘my girl’. We weren’t even finished with our first date yet!

  “Sure will, boss. Nice to meet you, Mollie. Have a seat,” Ernesto replied.

  His wife chimed in, “Hi, I’m Maria. So we finally meet the famous Mollie.”

  “Oh, I’m not famous,” I said nonchalantly, and looked up at Jack. He was beaming, and then he leaned down and kissed me with those soft lips. My heart jumped in my throat, and all the strength washed out of my body. God, he kissed like an angel.

  “I’ll be back in forty-five minutes or less. Okay? You good with Ernesto and Maria?”

  I looked at his friends and said, “Yes, I’m fine. Break a leg. Or good luck. Or whatever I’m supposed to say. I hope you win!”

  “Oh, he’s gonna win,” Ernesto piped in. “He always wins.”

  I sat down and watched Jack walk back to the car. His swagger was perfect. Hell, he was perfect. I couldn’t figure out why everyone kept telling me he was so bad. I mean, there were a lot of people here, and all they were doing was racing, illegal as it may have been. I watched and waited, but didn’t see Jack anywhere. His car was at the starting line and I guess Ernesto saw me looking for him because he said, “He’s in with Vic. They do their good luck ritual before the race. You know—” He raised his eyebrows, wiped his nose with his finger and sniffed. “You know, right?”

  I didn’t want to seem like I was stupid or something, so I said yes. I watched and waited and nothing was happening, then I saw Jack walk around some cars and get into his own. The crowd went wild as he revved the engine and looked over at me. He smiled and gave me the thumbs up. I had no idea what Ernesto had been trying to tell me, but he must have been crazy because Jack seemed exactly the same as he was before he left me here.

  The three cars waited at the start line. Some skinny, blonde-headed girl stepped out with the flag. The crowd cheered her on and when the whistle blasted, she dropped the flag. They were off!

  Maria explained to me how they would go around the ‘track’ four times. First, down Meridian Street, turn right on Cumberland, take another right on Clarion, right again on Stanley and finally, right on Meridian again to the finish line. She said that this end of town was deserted and no one used the old warehouses down here anymore. We heard the cars coming back down Meridian for the first time and saw that Jack was in the lead.

  “Woo-hoo!” I yelled as if he could hear me over the deafening sound of the engines. My heart was pumping and the adrenaline rushed through my veins. I could understand how someone could get hooked on these races, it was so exciting.

  He sped down the street, and accelerated further ahead of the red car, then the red car must have floored it and surged past Jack as they approached the first turn. It was a really good race and I found myself cheering as loud as all his other fans.

  “Ernesto! Look! Aren’t they a little close?” I asked as I looked into the distance. I was genuinely worried for Jack and a little scared at the same time.

  “He’s alright, Mollie. Fitz is the best driver this side of the Mississippi. He’s got it down.”

  I heard the engines roar as they changed down the gears, and tires squeal as they made the turn onto Cumberland. No doubt, Jack was an excellent driver. But my heart was racing and I couldn’t believe how proud I felt that he’d brought me to the race. When they went past us for the second time, I saw the other guy in the black car trying to run Jack off the road. “Hey, that’s not nice. Ernesto, did you see that?”

  “Yeah, I did. He’ll be disqualified. This isn’t stock car racing.”

  “Good, ‘cause that was not cool.” I watched the Camaro straighten out and Jack was in the lead again. Two more laps around this makeshift track, and he’d be the winner. I thought about how much it meant to him. How he could help his mom, help the clinic and get into that professional racing group. His life was really looking up.

  In a split second, we heard tires squeal as they made the turn onto Stanley and everyone stood up and yelled. I wondered what was going on and then I heard “Oh fuck!” and, “Oh, my God, no!” followed by the eerie sound of metal crunching and tires screeching across asphalt. I looked down the street towards the noise just in time to see Jack’s car spin out.

  “Noooo!” I screamed, and everything seemed to move in slow motion. The Camaro rolled a few times across the street, across a ditch and landed up in the adjacent field.

  People ran to their cars and I ran as fast as I could to his smashed Camaro. My heart was thumping in my chest and I feared the worst.

  “Jack! Jack! Jaaaaack!” Oh, my God, Oh, my God! I tripped and fell down in the grass with a big thud, twisting my ankle. It hurt like hell, but I had to get to him, so I flipped off my heels and kept running barefoot. “I’m coming!” I screamed. “I’m coming, Jack!”

  Horrible thoughts ran through my head. We’d only just got together but he was going to die in this fucking stupid race. I’d run out of breath by the time I got to the crumpled car and I checked inside for him, but he wasn’t in it. Shit! It was so dark. “Jack?” I screamed. “Jack?” I turned on the flashlight on my cell phone and looked around frantically. Finally, I spotted him. He was about twenty feet away and I ran over to him. “Jack?” I looked him over and saw that his leg was obviously broken, but I couldn’t tell how bad he was.

  “911, what is your emergency?”

  “There’s been an accident and—and—” I blurted out to the operator.

  “Where are you, Miss?”

  “Fuck—I don’t know. Outside of town by the warehouses—Meridian—Cumberland— it’s so dark and I can’t tell if he’s breathing.”

  “Okay, Miss, the paramedics are on their way. What is your name?”

  “Mollie—Mollie DuBois.”

  “Okay, Miss, stay on the line.” I threw the phone down and I knew I shouldn’t move Jack, but I wanted to hold him. He moaned and tried to lift his hand.

  “Jack, don’t move. The paramedics are on their way.”
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  “Mollie…?”

  “Yes, Mollie. Don’t say anything. It’ll be okay.”

  “It fuckin’—hurts,” he moaned.

  “Jack, just hold on.” I touched his cheek. I could hear the sirens in the distance and hoped they’d find us.

  “I—can’t brea—my chest—”

  “Oh, my God! No! Jack? Jack! Jaaaaaack!”

  — Continued in —

  Fueled Obsession 2

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  Other Book Series from Amanda Heartley

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  Betrayal

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  Oceans Apart

  Oceans Apart 1

  Oceans Apart 2

  Oceans Apart 3

  Oceans Apart 4

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  Fueled Obsession

  Fueled Obsession 1

  Fueled Obsession 2

  Fueled Obsession 3

  Fueled Obsession 4

  Fueled Obsession 5

  FREE BOOK - Don’t forget to check out my other book series, Oceans Apart, featuring Tristan and Ginny. He’s in London, she’s in LA but love can’t keep them apart. Get the first book free right now in most online stores.

  Oceans Apart 1

  ...and Southern Heat featuring Tommy, a hot, hunky cop and his girl, Annie from the Deep South, together with her sassy BFF Marti and her Latino lover, Nick. The first book is also free in most places.

  Southern Heat 1

  Acknowledgements

  I’d like to thank my lovely readers again for your support. Y’all rock! Without you, there would be no reason for me to keep writing these books. You’re all wonderful and I so appreciate you from the bottom of my heart.

  I also want to thank my incredible Facebook fans, newsletter subscribers, beta readers and advance copy reviewers. I so appreciate all your help in making this story a success.

  I also want to thank my PA, Chris. Without her taking care of things, I’d never get much writing done and also big thanks to my editor, Cindy and cover designer, Barb who somehow make my words and ideas sparkle.

  About The Author

  Amanda Heartley is an Amazon bestseller and author of the sinfully sexy erotic romance series, Oceans Apart, Fueled Obsession, Southern Heat and Destiny Undone.

  She was born and raised in Oklahoma and subsequently transplanted into the hustle and bustle of Southern California. She's a country girl at heart with an insatiable weakness for sexy men and feisty women.

  At home, she plays Mom, chef, ninja, taxi, and nurse hanging out with her four wonderful children and three loveable mutts. You can find her drinking a green smoothie, relaxing in the back yard, writing another steamy story.

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  Copyright

  This book is a work of fiction. The names, characters, places and incidents are products of the writer’s imagination or have been used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to persons, living or dead, actual events, locales or organizations is entirely coincidental.

  Copyright © 2014 Amanda Heartley

  Published By: Heartley Publishing

  All rights reserved. Without limiting the rights under copyright reserved above, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form, or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise) without the prior written permission of the copyright owner.

  The author acknowledges the trademarked status and trademark owners of various products referenced in this work of fiction, which have been used without permission. The publication/use of the trademarks is not authorized, associated with or sponsored by the trademark owners.

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