Chapter One — Ghosts in the Rearview
863 Words
The garage stayed open long after midnight.
Not because customers kept coming.
Because sleep was harder, Lee lay half beneath the shell of a black Nissan Skyline, one hand deep inside the engine, while rain hammered against the metal roof overhead. Music crackled softly from an old radio in the corner, fighting a losing battle against thunder.
“Your obsession with broken cars is getting weird,” Malik muttered from across the garage.Lee smirked without looking up. “That’s rich coming from a man who named his motorcycle.”
“She has personality.”
“She leaks oil.”
“She leaks passion.”
“That’s disgusting.”
Malik laughed under his breath, tossing her a wrench she caught without even looking.
People always thought she worked miracles.
Truth was, she listened.
Cars told stories. Fear lived in loose steering. Anger rattled in overheated engines. Desperation screamed through bald tires and cracked fuel lines.
And lies?
Lies hid in perfect machines.
That’s why she stopped racing.
Because the last car she built had been perfect.
And perfect things don’t crash by accident.
A pair of headlights suddenly cut through the rain outside.
Low.
Expensive.
Familiar.
Lee froze for half a second before sliding out from beneath the car.
The engine outside shut off smoothly.
Too smoothly.
Malik noticed her expression immediately.
“Oh,” he said quietly. “That guy again.”
The garage door rolled open halfway, and Rhett stepped inside without asking permission.
Rain clung to his jacket. Water dripped from dark strands of hair onto the concrete floor.
Calm eyes scanned the garage once before settling on her.
Always her.
“You planning to keep stalking my workplace?” Lee asked.
“You planning to keep pretending you’re not curious why I came back?”
Malik slowly took a step backwards.
“Right,” he muttered. “I suddenly remembered I have literally anywhere else to be.”
He disappeared into the back room.
Coward.
Rhett walked toward the workbench, gaze drifting across scattered tools and dismantled engine parts.
“You work alone?” he asked.
“Usually.”
“That safe?”
Lee leaned against the bench, crossing her arms. “Depends who’s asking.”
His mouth twitched slightly again.
That almost-smile.
It annoyed her more than it should.
“I need the car by Friday,” he said.
“You assume I said yes.”
“You haven’t said no.”
“That’s because I’m deciding how much trouble you’re worth.”
For the first time, Rhett looked genuinely amused.
Dangerous mistake.
People like him always looked harmless right before everything exploded.
“You know my reputation?” he asked.
“Hard not to.” She grabbed a rag, wiping grease from her fingers. “Underground king. Never lose. Never crashes. Never gets caught.”
“You forgot handsome.”
“You’re average on a good day.”
“That hurt.”
“No it didn’t.”
“No,” he admitted. “It didn’t.”
The rain intensified outside, thunder rolling across the city like distant engines.
Then Rhett’s expression changed.
Subtle.
But enough.
“You still visit the bridge?” he asked quietly.
The room went still.
Lee's jaw tightened instantly.
“You really like asking dangerous questions.”
“You never answered the first one.”
“Maybe because it’s none of your business.”
“That crash became everybody’s business.”
Her eyes sharpened.
“There it is.”
“What?”
“The real reason you’re here.”
Rhett stayed silent.
Which was answer enough.
Lee stepped closer slowly.
“You knew something about that night,” she said. “Didn’t you?”
“No.”
Lie.
She saw it immediately.
Not in his face.
In the pause before the word.
Rhett noticed her noticing.
And suddenly the air between them became razor thin.
“I watched your race,” he admitted carefully. “That’s all.”
“People died.”
“I know.”
“You were there before the cops arrived.”
A beat of silence.
Then—
“How do you know that?”
Because she remembered.
Not clearly.
Just fragments.
Rain smashing against shattered glass.
Smoke choking the air.
Blood ran down her arm.
And someone standing beside the wreck before disappearing into the crowd.
Watching.
Not helping.
Watching.
At the time, she thought it was shock twisting her memory.
Now she wasn’t so sure.
Lee looked directly into his eyes.
“You left someone behind that night,” she said softly.
For the first time since meeting him—
Rhett lost composure.
Only for a second.
But she caught it.
And once she caught something, she never let go.
“You should stop digging,” he said quietly.
“Or what?”
His gaze darkened slightly.
“You won’t like what you find.”
The storm outside cracked violently with thunder.
Somewhere in the city, engines roared to life again.
Another race beginning.
Another chance for someone to lose everything.
But neither of them moved.
Because this stopped being about cars the moment they recognized each other.
Now, it was about truth.
And truth was far more dangerous.
- Writer
