Blackbird (A Stepbrother Romance #1)(23)

After a glance over at me, he nodded at the car.

I didn’t know cars, so to me it was just old and garish, a pearly white color with a huge multicolored decal of a fire breathing bird plastered across the hood. Victor rushed over to swing open the long passenger’s door, and after a moment of lip chewing and look back at the house, I dropped inside. I shouldn’t have been doing this, and I didn’t know why I was. I glanced over and saw that Victor’s door was locked, leaned over his seat and popped the button. He slipped into the seat and looked over at me with a secret smile on his face, like I passed some kind of test. I pulled my seatbelt on and locked my door. Victor did the same, shifted in the seat and stabbed in the clutch with his foot. When he turned the key I yelped and covered my ears. It was loud, like an old turboprop airplane. He revved the engine a few times and the noise increased.

I glanced over and saw Father and Mrs. Amsel running to the corner of the terrace. I couldn’t make out their faces, we were too far away.

Victor laughed softly, put the car in gear and let out the clutch.

The force of the acceleration threw me back in the seat, and I screamed. The back end of the car swung around behind us and he opened the throttle, pushing me back into the seat again as the car pitched around the curved, narrow driveway, towards the front gate.

Victor slowed as the car rumbled out between the gates. As he did, he pulled something from his pocket. He slapped a one hundred dollar bill on the dashboard in front of me. A piece of tape held it in place.

“Hey,” he said. “If you grab that, it’s yours.”

I blinked a few times. What was this, some kind of game? It was right there.

As I reached for it, he wheeled the car around and floored the accelerator. My fingers fell away from the dash as the acceleration crushed me into the seat. I screamed, out loud. If we went any faster I though the car would lift up into the air. I could actually see the front end rising. Victor laughed like a maniac, working through the gears with one hand, choking the wheel with the other, his hair blowing in the wind. The bill fluttered on the dashboard. I almost reached it when he shifted gears, but the sudden burst in speed sent me back into the seat. Then I found myself squeezing the bolsters at the sides as he took a curve in the road. He geared down and the car slowed, but I was too busy to grab for the bill. I thought for sure we would go flying off the road and slam into one of the trees that lined it. The tires screeched, and the car seemed to slide through the curve more than roll through it, until Victor turned the wheel sharply, cut through the oncoming lane and floored it, straightening out.

My heart pounded in my chest, my pulse throbbed behind my eyeballs, and I squeezed my legs together.

Every hill dropped the bottom out from under me, every curve sent a surge of naked fear through me, but Victor was in perfect control, his face a mask of concentration that only cracked with a smile in the straight stretches of road where he shot me a quick glance, studying me like I was some exotic creature.

Finally he slowed down on the road, and I noticed the ivy-lined wall flying past us. A wide swing to the right and he turned left across the road through the gates.

Our parents stood outside the stables. His mother had her arms crossed over her chest and a wry look on her face.

My father was as still as a statue, but purple with rage.

Victor pulled past the bay where he parked the car, swung around, and backed in. The sound of the motor grew to a teeth rattling rumble in the confined space before he shut it off.

“Relax,” he said, “I’ll handle this. By the way, did you like it?”

I looked over at him and my mouth worked, silently.

Finally I squeaked out, “Yes,” in a small voice.

“Come on. Let’s go get some lunch.”

Victor stepped out first. He rushed around before I could get my door halfway open and swung it the rest of the way for me.

He offered his hand. I almost glanced at Father but I didn’t dare, I could feel his eyes on me, burning my neck.

Victor did not pull back the offered hand. I didn’t want to be rude.

Yes, that was it. I didn’t want to be rude.

I took his hand. He pulled me to my feet and I stumbled a little, shocked by his strength. My hand landed on his chest. His very muscular chest. He smiled at me.

“Evelyn!” my father barked.

My hands shot to my sides, my eyes to the floor. I walked over without looking up, but I could feel Victor behind me, feel the strut in his step.

“Yeah, I just wanted to get a little air before I eat. Eve decided to tag along.”

“Evelyn,” Father corrected. “She is not to tag along with you again.”

“She’s a big girl. She can do what she likes.”

Father took a warning step forward. I looked up, biting my lip. I wanted to sink into the ground and disappear.

Victor was smiling at him. Dismissing him. He waved his hand and turned to his mother.

“Let’s go-“

Father’s hands shot out and seized him buy the collar.

“Listen here, you little-“

I didn’t know a person could move so fast.

Victor’s hands shot up, between Father’s arms, and he spread them wide, snapping my father’s grip, sending him stumbling back. Victor’s arms whirled, his feet spread, and he stood on bent, springy knees, his fists up.

“Victor!” his mother shouted.