The Past Between Us novel Chapter 19

|Present|

The air felt colder.

I wrapped my arms around myself as I watched the numerous motorcycles along with their riders lined behind the starting line.

A burly man stepped out from the crowd and came to stand in front of them.

"Good evening gentlemen. I see we have many strong participants today." He briefly glanced at Hunter and then at Ryder. "You know the rules; there are no rules. May the best man win."

With that being said, he slowly withdrew a pistol from his pocket and aimed it towards the sky.

My breath hitched when my eyes locked with Hunter's. He was looking at me with an unreadable expression. His lips drew into a slow smirk when he caught my gaze on him. Slowly, he put on his helmet before turning his attention back in front.

"Ready!" The man shouted.

The sound of revving engines filled the air.

I watched as the man pulled the trigger.

The noise of the gunshot was overshadowed by the roar of engines and screeching tires.

I gasped as I watched the motorcycles whiz by at an impossibly fast speed. The crowd cheered and some people started running after them but of course they couldn't keep up. I watched as the bikes disappeared from sight, leaving a mist of dust and smoke behind.

My heart was in my throat.

Oh God!

What if something goes wrong?

What if Hunter get's hurt?

I could feel myself panicking.

"They have to take a full round so they'll come back here to finish." Jace's voice cut in.

It took me a minute to register his words.

A flare of anger ignited inside me.

"Why the hell did you bring me here Jace?" I demanded.

He didn't answer me, which angered me even more.

"Did you just assume that I enjoy going to illegal races or is this some sort of sick joke to you?" I seethed.

He didn't even look surprised by my outburst.

His face was completely serious.

He studied me grimly for a while before speaking. "No Scarlett this isn't a joke. I brought you here because you're the only one who can make a difference." His voice was quiet.

I gave him a confused look.

What was he saying?

Nothing made sense.

My stomach twisted uneasily.

Minutes ticked by and nothing happened.

Hunter was racing?

Since when was he into illegal motorcycle racing?

"How long has Hunter been doing this?" I asked Jace.

Jace's eyes were trained where the motorcycles had disappeared. "He started a while after you left." He answered softly. His lips lifted into a sad smile. "He's pretty good at it. The best actually."

My mouth dropped open. "He could seriously get hurt!" I spat out.

"I think he's already hurting pretty bad Scarlett." He responded softly.

I was about to ask Jace what he meant by that but the sound of people shouting and cheering excitedly caught my attention.

My eyes widened as a familiar black motorcycle skidded to a stop in front of us.

Hunter!

He was back.

He had won!

I couldn't deny the gush of relief I felt when I saw him there unharmed.

I watched as Hunter took off his helmet, he ran a hand through his tousled hair. His eyes scanned the crowd, he was searching for someone.

His stormy eyes finally met mine.

He was searching for me.

I watched as he steered his bike in my direction, the crowd parting for him like he was some kind of royalty.

He came to a stop a few feet away. He leisurely got off his bike and stepped forward till there were only a few inches separating us. He leaned forward a little, so that he was staring directly into my eyes. I suddenly had trouble breathing.

"W-what are you doing?" I breathed out pathetically.

"I'm here to claim my prize." His gaze was so intense. I was completely captivated.

My eyes widened, my mouth refused to form words.

Sounds of screams and gasps suddenly filled the air.

Hunter's eyes suddenly trained on something behind us.

"Someone crashed." He murmured.

I turned around and watched in horror as two men carried a man's limp, bloodied body away.

"We need to call an ambulance!" I screamed as I reached for my phone.

Hunter snatched it from my hand deftly.

"That's not a very good idea sweetheart. This whole gig's illegal. It'll get everyone including you into trouble. Besides I don't think there's much we can do for him now."

I was about to argue further but a cold voice stopped me.

He was still painfully beautiful.

A beautiful catastrophe.

"Why did you start racing?" I whispered.

He didn't look at me but I knew that he had heard me. He didn't answer me.

"Do you get money out of it?" I asked.

This time he chuckled. "Yes, I get money, lots of it. But if it makes you feel any better that's not why I do it."

"Then why? You could get killed for God sakes!" I could feel my temper rising.

His features softened.

His knuckles brushed against my jaw softly.

"Why?" I asked again, my voice was quieter this time.

He sighed and turned to look at me. The hollow look in his eyes made my chest tighten.

"It's the only way I can still feel alive." His voice was empty.

I swallowed. I could feel the lump growing in my throat.

I didn't know what to say to him. I couldn't say anything.

I focused on something else.

"What does that mean?" I asked pointing towards the bold black letters tattooed across his wrist.

"Ho ottenuto ciò che ho dato." I read the words out loud.

Hunter looked at me intently for a while.

"It means: I got what I gave." He finally responded.

My eyebrows furrowed together in confusion.

"I don't understand." I whispered.

His eyes were still locked on me. "It's incomplete. Look at the whole thing, it'll make sense then."

He bought up his other hand and I noticed a single word tattooed in the same font on his other wrist.

My heart stopped.

'Dolore'

I already knew what that word meant;

Pain

He placed both his wrists together so that the tattoo formed a single sentence; 'Ho ottenuto ciò che ho dato dolore.'

"I got what I gave; pain"