Oops, Wrong Girl to Bully Chapter 24

Aria's POV

I saw it coming before Tyler even touched the brake pedal.

The way his car dipped slightly. He was going to brake check me. Try to cause a collision.

Probably planned to reverse back and push my car over the cliff, make it look like I'd lost control and crashed.

In my previous life, I'd survived seventeen assassination attempts, three of them during races. Men with far more skill than Tyler had tried to kill me with far more sophisticated methods.

They'd all failed. Tyler didn't stand a chance.

Instead of hitting my brakes like he expected, I did the opposite.

I floored it.

The Nissan's engine screamed, RPM needle slamming into the red zone. I aimed for his rear left quarter panel—the sweet spot for a PIT maneuver.

My front bumper connected with his rear wheel well with a satisfying crunch of metal on metal.

Tyler's Porsche spun sideways, tires shrieking, his rear end swinging around in a perfect 180-degree rotation. I could see his face through his window—eyes wide, mouth open in shock and terror, hands fighting uselessly with the steering wheel.

But I wasn't done.

The moment his car completed its spin, I shifted into reverse, backing up twenty feet to give myself momentum. Tyler's Porsche sat perpendicular to the cliff edge, his door facing me, maybe fifteen feet from the drop.

Through his window, our eyes met.

He understood what was coming.

"No—" he started to say, his hand reaching for the door handle, probably thinking he could bail out.

Too late.

I slammed the Nissan into drive and floored it.

The car launched forward. Tyler's face transformed from shock to terror in the half-second before impact.

My front bumper connected with his driver's side door with a thunderous crash of metal on metal. I kept my foot on the gas, pushing, the Nissan's engine screaming as I drove Tyler's car toward the edge.

I caught one last glimpse of his eyes—wide with the terrible understanding that he was about to die, that there would be no mercy, no last-minute rescue.

Then his front wheels went over the edge.

I slammed on my brakes. The Nissan stopped instantly, its bumper still pressed against the Porsche's crumpled door.

Gravity claimed Tyler's car, pulling it forward and down. For one suspended moment, the car hung at a forty-five-degree angle, caught between earth and air. Tyler's final scream cut through the night.

Then the Porsche disappeared over the edge.

The crash of metal hitting rock. Once. Twice. Three times as the car tumbled down the cliff face.

Then silence.

Then a massive explosion as the fuel tank ruptured and ignited.

I shifted into drive, turned the Nissan around, and headed toward the finish line.

Kai's POV

The roar of engines and excited chatter filled the observation deck at Badlands Circuit. I'd come here with a few friends from the football teamâ€"Marcus, Devon, and a couple of cheerleaders who'd tagged along. We weren't huge racing fans, but Tyler "Apex" Cross was racing tonight, and watching a legend compete was always worth the trip.

The massive LED screens above the track showed different camera angles. I was halfway through a conversation with Marcus about next week's game when something on the screen caught my eye.

My breath hitched.

A racer in full gear was climbing into a Nissan Z. The helmet covered most of her face, but her eyesâ€"those eyesâ€"were visible through the visor.

"That racer..." I blurted out, my voice cutting through our conversation.

Everyone turned to look at me.

Those eyes. Dark, sharp, fearless. The way she moved, confident and lethal, like a predator sizing up prey.

*She looks exactly like Aria.*

But I swallowed the rest of that thought before it could escape my lips.

"What?" Devon asked, following my gaze to the screen. "What about her?"

I blinked, realizing I'd drawn everyone's attention. Marcus, Devon, the girlsâ€"they were all staring at me now, waiting for an explanation.

"Nothing," I said quickly, clearing my throat. I forced myself to look away from the screen. "Just... thought I recognized someone."

But my eyes drifted back to the screen almost immediately.

No. It couldn't be her.

Aria didn't know how to race. Hell, she could barely look someone in the eye without flinching. There was no way that fierce, composed figure on the screen was the same girl who used to hand me sports drinks after basketball practice.

This was ridiculous.

I was seeing things. That's all.

"You good, man?" Marcus nudged my shoulder. "You look like you've seen a ghost."

"Yeah, I'm fine." I shook my head, forcing a laugh. "Just tired, I guess."

Around us, the crowd was getting louder. Wolf shifters and humans alike were shouting, placing bets, jeering at the screens.

"Omega's daughter? Is she insane?"

"Girls should stick to cheerleading!"

"Tyler's gonna destroy her!"

"Ten bucks says she crashes in the first turn!"

The betting kiosks were going crazy. The odds flashed on a nearby screen: 100:1 against the mystery racer.

I tried to focus on the commentary, on Marcus's jokes, on anything other than that nagging feeling in my chest.

But I couldn't.

Because deep down, some primal part of meâ€"the Alpha instincts I'd been honing since childhoodâ€"was screaming that something was very, very wrong.

Or maybe... very right.

I shook my head again, harder this time.

*Get it together, Matthews.*

I'd been thinking about Aria too much lately. Ever since she'd changed. Ever since she'd looked me in the eye at the mall and told me I wasn't worth her time.

It was messing with my head. Making me see her everywhere.

That's all this was.

Just my mind playing tricks.

The starting lights flashed on the screen. Red. Red. Red.

Green.

The cars launched forward, and the crowd erupted in cheers.

I told myself to look away.

I didn't.