Finish the Mission

4

[Katalina]

Twenty minutes later, I pulled up in my Corvette. The driver got in his own Mustang, and we got ready to race.

I watched Austin grab his flag, but before he could give us the signal, the guy was off.

I cursed him as I accelerated. "Dirty cheater," I muttered. That was the second time I had let him do that, and I was pissed at myself for it. I did my best to gain on him, but he made it very difficult. Eventually, he slipped up and allowed a gap around a curve. I sped through the gap and passed him, then swerved to keep him from passing me. As we straightened out onto the final stretch of the race, sirens sounded behind us.

"Shit!" I yelled as I thought about what to do. The other driver drove around me and positioned his car so he was running me off the road onto the exit ramp. I went with it and drove onto the ramp. The driver shifted down and drove through the grassy median and drove behind me. The cop missed the exit, giving us a head start to find somewhere to pull into and turn the cars off, but not long, because he turned his car around and drove after us. We were probably 30 seconds ahead of him, but seeing as it was dark, our brake lights had to be taken into consideration. I turned my lights off and the other driver followed suit. I made a sharp turn onto a back road and pressed the gas pedal all the way down, going at least 150 miles an hour. My competition was right behind me the whole time. I saw blue light reflecting off the low sitting clouds about half a mile behind us. We drove for a good ten minutes, the cop tailing us from a distance the whole time. I saw a dirt road and had an idea. I drove down the road for about 5 seconds, and quickly turned around, leaving dust in the air, then continued driving up the paved road with the stranger. We pulled into the woods several yards ahead, turned the cars off, and grabbed our weapons just in case. We watched from in between the trees as the cop car passed the dirt road, stopped, turned around, and drove down the road, following the trail of dust I had thrown up.

"Come on," I said after a few seconds, getting back into my car, then I stopped. "What's your name, Apicella?"

He rolled his eyes. "I'm not that bad a driver," he said. "It's Grant. Yours?"

"Katalina."

He was saying something else but I cut him off by turning my car back on, the lights still off. He ran to his car and did the same, and we drove quickly back into the city. I pulled into my workshop, pulling over so there was room for Grant's car. We turned the cars off and I closed the garage.

He got out of his car and took a deep breath

"What the hell just happened?" he said

I chuckled dryly, leaning against my car. "Never been in a police chase, freshman?"

He just rolled his eyes. "Oh yeah, I've been in tons of them. You know, I'm a regular. Always have the police after me for the crimes I've committed," he said. There was a hint of sarcasm in his voice and a bit of dry humor.

I just looked at him.

"You're an illegal street racer," I said

He stopped talking and met my eyes.

"Get used to it, is what I'm saying," I finished

He scoffed. "How many times have you been in a police chase?" he asked

I looked at the ground. "I don't wanna talk about it," I said, throwing him a blanket from the closet in the back of the room.

"Do you need food?" I asked

"No, I ate before the race," he said

"We will spend the night here, and go to work tomorrow. I don't want to risk getting caught tonight," I said. "Sleep on the couch." I pointed to the couch, and he nodded.

He looked back at my hand. "Nice ring," he said

"Thanks," I said as I walked out of the room to grab another blanket, then I got into my car

"Wait, you're not sleeping in your car," he said, getting up from the couch

"Yes, I am, now get your ass back on that couch," I said

"No, you're not. You're sleeping on the couch, I'm sleeping in my car," he said

"No, you're not," I said

"Yes, I am. Get out of your car and sleep on the couch," he said with a little more force

"Sleep on the couch or get out of my workshop and take your car with you," I said calmly

He stopped talking and glared at me. "Really, you're going to play that card?"

"Yes, I am," I said

He muttered something under his breath and got back on the couch.

I smirked

"You're unbearable," he said

"If you plan on sticking around, that's another thing you're gonna have to get used to," I said, leaning my seat back and closing my eyes.

"Fine," he said. I had a feeling Grant and I were going to make annoying each other our life goals.

The following day, I rolled over and checked my phone. As expected, there were no missed calls or texts from mom or dad. They didn't even give a damn where I was. Thanks, guys. I got out of the car, grabbed a pack of cigarettes off of my dashboard, and opened the back door of the workshop. I usually didn't smoke, but sometimes I just needed the relief. I listened to the early morning traffic on the road from the back of the building as I smoked.

"Morning," Grant said as he walked outside. He had a cigarette in his hand as well, and I offered him the lighter. We sat for a few minutes in peaceful silence.

I sighed. "I should probably call Austin and see how Joshua is doing," I said, getting up and grabbing my phone out of my car.

A few hours later, Grant had left to go to his shift at work. I was still in the workshop, working on my car. I checked the oil, checked the brakes, filled it up with gas, washed it, and waxed it. We were supposed to have more races tonight, but I told Austin to cancel them because of the police last night. They would probably patrol more tonight, and there was no point in risking it for a few hundred bucks.

I decided since I had no plans, I could get Rebekha and we could go grab a few drinks. I called her and confirmed the plans. 

Part 4! I know the parts are really short right now, but they will get better as the book goes on. Thank you for reading!--Kayleigh