To a racer, their car was their second life. Few would ever lend it to a near- stranger. These were high-performance machines built forpetition; what if the person tampered with it? She and Sellers had bonded over racing, yet even he had never driven Dawnlight. She and Joshua were nowhere near that close. Her gut instinct was to refuse.


    But she knew that if she said no, whatever potential existed between them would die right here.


    After a few seconds of hesitation, she relented. "Alright."


    After all, the car was just a tool to achieve her ambitions. It pained her, but she knew how to make sacrifices. It was just a car. If necessary, she could have another one built to the exact same specifications.


    Joshua''s face lit up with a smile. "Ms. Williams, you truly live up to your reputation. You''re as kind and generous as they say."


    "I''m just happy to meet a fellow enthusiast," Aurora replied with a polite smile.


    "Then I won''t waste any more of your time," he said, pulling open the driver''s side door and sliding in. He looked at Aurora, still standing outside. "Aren''t you getting in?"


    "A race is only fun if wepete," she said, casually pointing to another car in the garage. "I''ll use that one. How about a friendly match?"


    "Sounds good to me," Joshua replied.<fn92f6> Discover more novels at FindN()vel</fn92f6>


    Aurora turned and got into the other car.


    The starting pistol fired, and both cars shot off the line. Within


    moments, Dawnlight, with Joshua at the wheel, had pulled far ahead. Aurora watched him go,


    .n


    but instead


    of giving chase, she subtly eased off the gas. The car was receable; her life was not. She wouldn''t risk getting caught up in the reckless driving of a madman like Joshua.


    A few minutester, Dawnlight had vanished from her sightpletely.


    At the same time, her phone rang. She answered it through her car''s Bluetooth system. It was Israel.


    "Aurora, Joshua just left the racetrack in your car. He''s heading toward the city, making quite a show of it. I think he''s deliberately unting it."


    Driving Aurora''s car was the dream of countless racers. Anyone who saw him, especially her many admirers, would assume their rtionship was serious.


    "This guy," Israel said with contempt. "He''s making a big public disy to stake his im... just like any other man who gets a little


    encouragement and loses his head.. What a uniquely pathetic way to get your attention."


    Aurora continued to drive at a leisurely pace. "If he wants to drive it, let him," she said calmly. "It''s only a car. Israel, when he brings it back, have it discreetly destroyed for me."


    There was a stunned silence on the other end of the line. "You''re going to destroy Dawnlight?"


    It was the car that had been with her since the beginning of her racing career, the car that had won her countless championships. Was she really willing to just throw it away?


    As if reading his mind, Aurora said, "He''s had it alone. We can''t know if he''s done something toit Isracke sometimes you have to lose something to gain something more. If I cling to Dawnlight, I might lose my life one day."


    Israel knew she was right. But he was still shocked by how calmly, how utterly without hesitation, she had ordered the destruction of her prized possession.