Page 54 of Full Throttle 2
“At the expense of her health?” Frustrated, Liam rubbed his hand against the back of his neck. “Man-to-man, I want Colby to quit this shit. Racing is going to kill her.”
Cyrus understood exactly where Liam was coming from. “As a father who has already lost a child to this sport, I agree. But try convincing her of that?”
Liam felt a pang of guilt telling Cyrus, of all people, his predictions, but it didn’t change his opinion. “You better believe as soon as Colby is out of this hospital, we will have this conversation.”
“Good luck, and I hope you’re successful, but I have a feeling the pushback is going to be ferocious. How do you tell a person who has racing built into her DNA to quit? It’s not just what she does, it’s a big part of who she is.”
“I’m tired of hearing that!” Liam was doing his best to keep his voice down and control his anger, which was mostly his fear of not being able to protect her. “Are you looking at what I’m looking at? Colby is not eating, and she’s not sleeping. We’re watching her waste away right before our eyes! And for what?”
The albatross of guilt hung heavily around Cyrus’s neck. He didn’t know what to do or how to help his baby girl. It was his love of racing that infected his children. He’d already lost Rodney and was terrified of losing Colby too.
Colby groaned, effectively tabling Liam and Cyrus’s conversation. Her moans were the first sounds she’d made since arriving at the hospital.
Quickly, Liam went over to her bedside.
It took a few tries, but Colby’s eyes fluttered open. She had a massive headache, and her throat was on fire.
Liam linked his hands with hers. “Hey, I’m here.”
“Liam?” Surprised, Colby turned toward him. That movement caused a sharp pain in her head. She whispered, “What are you doing here?”
He lifted her hand and kissed the back of it. “My girlfriend is in the hospital. Where else am I supposed to be?”
Colby smiled weakly. “I hate you had to fly all the way home over nothing. Aside from a little headache, I feel fine.” She turned to her dad. “I am fine, right?”
Cyrus was awash with relief as he came and stood on the other side of the bed. “You bumped your head pretty good, and they need to get some fluids in you, but all in all, you’ll be just fine.”
Colby expelled the breath she’d been holding. “So, I’ll be able to race in Atlanta?”
Cyrus glanced up at Liam. “We have to adhere to concussion protocol.”
They could see her calculating the time in her head. She nodded. “It’ll be down to the wire, but I should be able to be evaluated by the physician and released prior to the race.”
Liam spoke through clenched teeth. “I think the most important thing right now is to get you healthy and home.”
Since Colby had settled it in her mind, she agreed. Still, she had questions. “What happened?”
“Not sure. What do you remember?”
Colby closed her eyes and searched her brain, but she couldn’t remember. “I was coming around the third curve, and everything went blank.”
Cyrus nodded. “That tracks. Coming out of the curve, the car seemed to have a mind of its own and went out of control before clipping the barrier tires and then going airborne.”
Colby was surprised. “My car went airborne?”
Cyrus nodded. “Yeah.”
“Oh, my god. Is it totaled?”
Liam’s voice was tight. “Who the hell cares? It’s you we are worried about.”
Colby squeezed Liam’s hands. She did her best to reassure him. “I’m fine, but we don’t have a lot of discretionary cash to spend on fixing a car before my next race.”
Liam wanted to throttle her. “Colby, you’re lying in bed with a concussion and hooked up to multiple IVs, and you’re worried about your car. I need you to makeyoumore of a priority.”
Mild concussion, Colby thought.Just a bump.
Colby turned toward her father. “Dad, can I talk to Liam for a minute?”