The deep hum of the Koenigsegg's engine pulsed through Parker's bones, a steady, powerful vibration that matched the slow, asured rise and fall of his chest. His fingers drumd lazily against the steering wheel, a picture of relaxed control, but his mind was anything but calm.
Sothing felt off. Very off.
His gaze flicked upward, locking onto the overhead cara, and the second he did, a wave of Ether energy slamd into his senses like a silent explosion. He could practically feel the manipulation in the air, subtle yet potent, threading through the cara's system like invisible hands twisting reality itself.
To the average person? It was nothing. Just a regular security feed doing its job.
To an Omni user like him? It was screaming.
Soone was watching. Closely. Too closely.
His jaw tightened, the smallest flicker of irritation flashing through his cold, calculating stare. He had a damn good idea who was behind it. And he hated it.
Parker despised being watched. Hated the feeling of being prey—because he wasn't. He was the one who hunted. This wasn't just so harmless curiosity, so bored rich kid snooping for fun. This was targeted. Personal. Intentional.
Soone had already marked him as an enemy.
His fingers curled around the wheel, but instead of showing any outward frustration, he simply humd. A soft, almost amused sound—like he had just figured out exactly how he was going to fuck with whoever was on the other end of that feed.
If they wanted to watch, then fine.
Let them seethe.
A slow smirk tugged at the corner of his lips, and just to be a complete asshole about it, Parker pressed down on the gas, revving the Koenigsegg's engine hard. The car let out a deep, throaty growl, the kind that sent vibrations through the pavent and demanded attention.
The response was imdiate.
Tessa's Bugatti snarled back, a violent rev that spoke volus without a single word being exchanged. Inside, she drumd her fingers against the dash, her head tilted slightly as if already composing the headline for Parker's high-speed funeral.
Next to her, Atalanta, ever the image of icy confidence, rolled her shoulders in her sleek Porsche, the subtle movent resembling a fighter warming up before a match.
The neon runway lights cast an almost ethereal glow over the underground racing strip, painting everything in a hazy, electric blue. The three cars inched forward, crawling into position at the starting line, their engines purring like caged animals waiting to be set loose.
The air crackled with anticipation.
They were seconds away from breaking every legal speed limit in existence.
Parker exhaled slowly, his grip loose but firm, his mind razor-sharp.
And as his gaze flickered toward the cara one last ti—he smirked.
*
The sound of leather creaking under pressure filled the otherwise silent VIP lounge.
Ashford's hand had tightened around the armrest, his knuckles stark white against his skin, his jaw locked in barely contained fury. His gaze was glued to the screen, watching the live feed from the underground raceway, his entire body radiating unspoken rage.
That smug, arrogant son of a bitch.
That nobody.
Parker Black sat behind the wheel of his Koenigsegg, smirking like he belonged there, like he was sobody.
Like he was worth sothing.
And worse? Far worse?
Tessa had been too close to him.
His breath hitched, muscles tensing under his tailored suit. He was supposed to be above this. Controlled. Cold. Untouchable.
Yet here he was, gritting his teeth like so jealous fool, his usually pristine composure cracking under the sheer, blinding rage clawing at his insides.
Because when it ca to one thing, when it ca to her—
He lost all fucking reason.
And now, that one thing, the one person he had claid before she even knew it herself—
Was right there.
Staring at another man.
Touching another man.
Wanting another man.
His fingers twitched, and for a brief second, the glass of whiskey on the table trembled, his barely controlled fury manifesting in the smallest, most violent ways.
Beside him, his bodyguard remained perfectly still. The tall, statuesque woman with the eerily blank expression and piercing gaze. Except now, her eyes glowed a deep, unnatural purple.
The unmistakable mark of soone wielding Ether manipulation.
Definitely the one controlling the caras.
Ashford's teeth ground together, his mind already painting a hundred different ways to erase Parker Black from existence. If it weren't for two annoyingly inconvenient facts—
One—Tessa was still right there, aning he couldn't risk doing anything reckless.
Two—They were currently in Wilder territory, which ant starting a war wasn't an option.
For now.
But then it happened.
Tessa stepped out of her car.
Not to check her engine. Not to stretch.
No.
She walked straight to Parker's Koenigsegg.
Her strides were fast. Purposeful.
She reached for the door. Ripped it open.
And before Ashford could even process what the fuck she was doing, like she was aning to show off, like she knew he was watching and she wad declaring a statent—
She grabbed Parker and shoved him against his own car.
And kissed him.
Fiercely. Desperately. Like she fucking ant it.
The world stopped.
The air in the room grew thick, suffocating, as the lounge plunged into an unnatural silence. The leather of the armrest groaned under his iron grip, and this ti, he didn't stop himself. His nails dug into his palm, sharp enough to nearly draw blood.
His breath ca short and shallow, his entire body seething in raw, uncontrollable fury.
The bodyguard beside him remained silent. Smart. She already knew what was coming. Ashford's voice, when it ca, was deadly calm.
"Find everything about that nobody." The woman didn't flinch. Didn't question him.
"And once you've confird he's not worth our caution—"
His lips curled into sothing cold, sothing lethal.
"Kill him."
The woman nodded once, lifting a single hand. The others in the room moved instantly, slipping away like shadows, vanishing to carry out his order without a single wasted breath.
Ashford didn't move.
Didn't blink.
His entire world had shrunk down to the image on the screen—the sight of Tessa, the girl who was supposed to be his, tangled up with a nobody.
His fingers twitched.
His voice was a whisper, low and seething.
"Scum. Nobody."
And to this insult?
Parker Black was going to pay.
With his life.
And Tessa?
She was going to be his.
No more waiting.
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