Racing For Love

Chapter Seventy Six

Jono and I had just settled into our room at the hotel in Sochi when his phone rang. Jono had just gone to have a shower and I looked across, fully prepared to silence it, until I saw the name which had flashed up: Lorenzo.

He was travelling from Monaco and hadn't made it to the UK before flying solo to Russia so neither of us had seen him since the news had broken - well, not in person. I had seen plenty of shots circulating the internet to know he was not his best self. Despite our past, I couldn't ignore the call, and picked up on the third ring.

"Lorenzo - it's Annie."

"Miss Annie, did I call you? I was trying to speak with your boyfriend." I could hear the slur in his words as he spoke, and wondered if he had been drinking.

"You called his phone, but he's in the shower. Are you ok?"

"Yes, he needs to come join me for a drink!" As he continued to speak, I listened hard, but couldn't hear the sounds of a bar behind him. Was he drinking alone?

"Where are you Lorenzo?" I asked, looking up to see Jono come out of the bathroom - his eyebrow quirked as he heard me speaking.

"In the hotel, my room. You should come too! Come on, everything's in the past now isn't it? Can my friends come and join me for a drink?"

"What's your room number?"

"Erm, Top floor. I don't know which one. On the left? It's big."

"Don't worry - we'll find you." I replied, knowing that we needed to find him, that he needed us - he wouldn't have called Jono in any other circumstances. I hung up and looked up at Jono, who still had a bemused expression across his face. "Sorry - I wasn't looking at your phone intentionally, but I saw Lorenzo's name. I think he's drunk, and he needs someone."

"If he needs someone, I'll go - not you. Annie, I don't know if you reme-"

"Yes, I remember, but I also don't think you should go alone. We're both going." I said firmly, looking up at Jono and realising he was stood with just a towel wrapped loosely around his waist. "But in a minute," I added as I tugged at the fabric, watching it fall to the floor. I was sat on the edge of the bed, and found myself at the perfect height for Jono as I reached around and pulled him towards me. I kissed his hip bone, his stomach, his thigh, inhaling the smell of soap mingling with his musky scent. I saw him visibly harden and took him into my mouth as he let out an audible gasp. Lorenzo could wait an extra minute - some things were more important.

*

It was not hard to find Lorenzo's room, well - not when you're Jono Campbell and the concierge is a huge F1 fan. We were knocking on Lorenzo's door not long after and I took a deep breath in as the door swung open, steeling myself to deal with Lorenzo. Far from the manic, happy guy who rang, he now looked upset and after Jono went to greet him, I saw him crumble at the embrace.

"Hello to you too, Miss Annie. Please, come in." Lorenzo said, his voice hoarse as he led us into the seating area of his suite. Mini bar bottles littered the side behind him, along with a large bottle of Russian vodka that was already missing quite a lot of it's contents. "Drinks. Please - I was given this on arrival, vodka is Russia's national drink, so you must have some."

"I took the glass of neat, clear liquid Lorenzo presented and swirled it around in the glass before putting it down untouched. I was shocked at how manic Lorenzo was - he looked like he had been crying - his face was blotchy and his eyes bloodshot. I had expected coming here and having to sort out an excitable drunk, but Lorenzo had gone past that stage it seemed as I watched him slump into the chair opposite.

"So, Isa's left. My Dad's gone. My fucking career's over. Bianchi racing? What a disaster." Lorenzo said, his words still slurring and a look of utter dejection on his face.