Chapter 2

POV: Kit Garrison 

"You must be crazy!" 

I whistled as I polished the helmet tucked between my arm.

"Kit. Listen to me." He said trying to will the impatience out of his voice.

I knew I was a hard man to convince especially when I had my mind set on whatever the fuck it was I wanted to do. Anything contrary was just noise. White noise.

"I can hear you loud and clear buddy," I said casually as I tried not to indulge him too much.

He sighed one long heavy sigh, then, "I hope you crash and die."

I laughed in spite of myself. It was funny how he sounded like an innocent kid. 

"If that's the case then you'd have been long dead." 

He considered what I'd just said for a while then shrugged. I could sympathize with him on his frustration (my stubbornness was an annoying trait I'd admit) but that was as far as I was willing to go. I wasn't going to go the extra mile and hold hands while sharing heartbreaking stories as we watch the sunset.

I looked around at the bikers and daredevils willing to risk their limbs and every bone in their fragile body riding on a track that was deadly even for animals just for thrills. Some of them were risking it for the cash price. Others just wanted to look cool. They all had something pushing them; something they were drunk on. Honestly, I didn't give a fuck. I was there to try something new.

"There she is. Psycho bitch if you'd ask me." One rider said to his pal.

I followed their eyes. They were staring at a woman dressed in all red. Her leather jacket was red and her helmet too was red. She had it on which was straight since the race wasn't going to begin in the next half an hour.

"Bob watch it!" His pal bawled at him. "She's a legend bruh."

"She ain't lost a race in three years!" He added balling his fist.

"The red fox of Graymore." The rider mocked and they both burst out laughing.

I gave the girl another look. She was way too small to even be allowed on a bike, to begin with. Then I noticed how she held her petite body with some confidence. There was something about her that made me gulp even though I was sure she was as harmless as they come.

***

Shit! Shit!

Why did she try to cut me out like that?

I switched my engine off and ran to the dark thicket by the side of the tracks to find a ditch hidden just out of sight.

"Hey! Are you down there!" I yelled and got no response.

I could tell she had crashed into the ditch from the tire tracks I saw leading straight down. With that tiny body of hers, there's no telling how many unbroken bones she'd still have left.

"Hey!" I shouted as I stepped carefully towards the ditch. " Can you hear me?"

No response. What if she's dead? I thought as my hands went cold and my mouth dried up.

"If you can hear me reach out!" 

I moved closer as I took meditative breaths to calm my alarmingly fast heartbeat. 

Just then I saw something move in the darkness below. It was a hand. My breath caught in my lungs. She's alive!

"Nice job! I can see your hand. Now I'm going to pull you up. Okay?"

There was no response.

I reached down and my hand grazed hers. The contact sent ripples of chill through me resting on my spine. I had the faint reflex to withdraw my hands but I controlled the impulse.

I edged closer as carefully as I could and tried to grab hold of her hand but then it was gone. She left!

"Hey! I need to get you out now." I shouted a little panicky.

There was no response.

This was the worse possible situation that could have happened. I need to rescue her and fast. I moved my hand from side to side curbing the impulse to shout again.

Then she grabbed hold of my hand.

"One... Two... Three." I counted as I pulled her as gently as I could.

I had to admit she was heftier than I thought she'd be. Pulling her felt like I was trying to lift an adult-sized bull.

I pulled her out completely and she stumbled into my arms. Her body disappeared into my chest to my greatest discomfort. There was something different about her scent. Something peculiar.

"Thought we lost you there for a minute." I sighed.

She moved away from me giving me a look over and her face registered confusion.

Her helmet was off now and I could see her face. She had bright red hair that was braided. Her small face and small even features gave her a sly yet innocent foxy look. That explains the name the biker and his friend had called her.

"I- I, I'm fine," she said with a weak smile.

Her eyes were brown like chocolate left under the sun. She turned away from my gaze. I controlled the urge to gulp.

"You don't sound fine. You don't look fine either." I said taking in her pale skin and the slight tremble that plagued her hands. I could also hear her heartbeat and it confirmed what I already knew. She was scared.

She gasped touching her face.

"Not that. You just look very pale." I chuckled.

She relaxed a little.

"The- the race!" She said with difficulty. "Is it still on? The race."

"Sure."

She smiled. Her smile would have made the devil run for his dear life. She had an idea I knew I wasn't going to like.

"Hell no! You're in no condition to finish the race. Your bike is probably at the bottom of that ditch right now looking like death ran over it." I said ruffling my hair.

She evaded my space, walking closer to me with a dark smile on her face. I was scared of her. She was terrifying in so many ways and it made me hysterical.

I almost tripped and had to stop when I bumped into the fender of my bike. She had pushed me till I had run out of space and now she stood looking at me with the smile still in place. If she was trying to unnerve me then she had succeeded.

"You can't race in this condition. You can barely hold your hand up." I said trying to reason with the mad woman. She was terrifying but strangely cute at the same time which was an overwhelming concept for me to wrap my head around.

"Who said anything about me finishing the race," she said in a pinched voice. "We'll do it together, big guy."