Chapter 45 Adeline
Adeline's POV
I was expecting for the trailer to be full of doctors or at least someone to give me a massage, but the trailer is silent and insulated from the roar of the track outside. The mix of lavender and antiseptic in the trailer is a little bit uncomfortable in the way clinics usually are.
It matches the scent coming from Sienna. I don't know how to tell her the smell made me uncomfortable, but since we would soon be done, I just sucked it up and moved to position.
I lay on a massage table with a towel draped over my lower half. My left leg, the scarred and expensive one, is exposed. Sienna isn't a physical therapist. I know that, which is why I am surprised that she is the one massaging the calf muscle, her thumbs digging into the tissue with surprising strength.
"You’re tense here," she murmurs, working a knot near the incision scar. "You’re carrying the stress of the crash in the muscle memory."
"It hurts," I wince, gripping the edge of the table.
"Pain is information," Sienna recites smoothly. She doesn't stop, choosing to press harder. "It tells you where you are weak, and we do not want to be weak, do we, Ghost?"
"No," I breathe.
"Good." She moves her hands up, her touch clinical yet possessive as she traces the line of the titanium rod beneath the skin. "I read the full report, you know," she says casually. "The break. The collapsed lung and... the pregnancy scare."
I freeze. How did she get ahold of that information? "That... that wasn't in the official medical file, Sienna."
"I told you," Sienna smiles, her eyes not leaving my leg. "I’m thorough. I found the hospital logs from the night of the accident." She looks up at me then. Her gaze is heavy and uncomfortably direct. "It must have been terrifying. Thinking you were going to be a mother. Thinking you were going to lose your body to something so parasitic."
"It wasn't parasitic," I defend automatically, though my voice shakes. "It was a mistake. A clerical error."
"And how lucky that turned out for you." She sighed blissfully as she resumed the massage.
"A child would have ruined you, Adeline. It would have anchored you to the ground, and you, my dear, were meant to fly."
"Sienna..." I want to tell her to not talk about my mistaken child that way when she leans in closer, her voice dropping to a conspiratorial whisper. "Does he know that?"
"Percy?"
"Yes."
"Know what?"
"Does he know that you’re relieved?" Sienna asks. "Or does he look at you with those sad puppy-dog eyes and wish you were barefoot and pregnant in his kitchen, safe from the big bad world?"
"He supports me," I say weakly. I know he's not like that, but convincing her is hard. "He’s here, isn't he?"
"He’s here to guard you," Sienna corrects. "He’s terrified of what you are. He checks your brakes because he doesn't trust you to handle the speed. He reads your contracts because he doesn't trust you to handle your business." She presses a thumb hard into a pressure point, making me gasp.
"He wants to keep you in a jar, Adeline. A pretty little butterfly in a jar."
"That’s not true," I grit out.
"Isn't it?" She releases the pressure instantly, smoothing her hand over the skin in a soothing gesture. "Why is he waiting outside right now? Why did he try to barge into a private medical session? Because he can't stand the idea of you being in a room where he isn't in control."
She steps back, wiping her hands on a towel.
"You can get dressed now. We have the strategy dinner tonight."
I sit up, my head spinning slightly as I arrange my outfits around me.
"Strategy dinner?"
"Yes. Just the core team. Me, you, Kenji, and the data analysts. We need to go over the past tracks for tomorrow’s time trial. It’s at the compound. 8 PM. Wear something elegant. You’re the face of the brand now."
Percy's POV
The door to the trailer opens, and Adeline steps out. She looks flushed, and her hair is slightly messy. She’s walking better. Her limp is gone, but she looks rattled.
Sienna follows her out, looking cool as a cucumber.
I step forward instantly. "What took so long? It’s been an hour."
"Deep tissue work," Sienna answers for her. "Adeline, the car is waiting to take you back to the penthouse to change. The strategy dinner starts at eight."
"Dinner?" I ask, stepping between them. "We didn't agree to a dinner."
"It’s a team meeting, Mr. Akilov," Sienna says, her voice bored. "Reviewing the track data is essential for tomorrow’s safety protocols. You’re always talking about safety, aren't you?"
"Fine," I say. "I will get my laptop."
She looks at me and then back at Adeline. A small, pitying smile plays on her lips. "Oh, Percy. I’m afraid the strategy sessions are strictly internal. We didn't have time to clear non-personnel."
"I’m her legal counsel," I snap. "I’m cleared for everything."
"Not for technical telemetry," Sienna counters smoothly. "Clause 9. Team strategy and all that." She turns to Adeline.
"Adeline, tell him. It’s boring technical talk. He’ll be miserable."
Adeline looks at me with a tired resignation in her eyes that lets me know that she won't fight Sienna on this.
"Percy," she says softly, putting a hand on my arm. "It’s just a work dinner. It’s probably going to be hours of looking at graphs."
"I don't care about the graphs," I say, lowering my voice so only she can hear. "I care about her. She’s isolating you, Adeline. Can't you see that?"
"She’s just doing her job," Adeline whispers back, a flash of annoyance in her eyes. "Stop making this a fight. Please? I just want to focus on the race."
Her words make me stop in my tracks. I can't believe she is putting this on me. Adeline is so far gone in Sienna that she can't see what's right in front of her, that Sienna is turning her against me. Sienna is making me seem like a controlling boyfriend.
"Fine," I say, pulling away. "Go to your dinner."
Adeline looks relieved. "Thank you. I’ll text you when I’m done."
"Don't wait up," Sienna adds, steering Adeline toward the waiting black SUV. "These sessions can go late."
I watch them get into the car. Sienna slides in next to Adeline. As the door closes, I see Sienna say something that makes Adeline laugh.
I stand alone in the pit lane, trying to comprehend what just happened. My buzzing phone jerks me out of my thoughts. It's a text from Tiny.
'Background check on Sienna Moretti came back. It’s clean. Too clean. But I found an old forum post from a mechanic in Italy. Talks about a rider named Luca who rode for her three years ago'
I type back instantly. "What happened to Luca?"
Tiny’s reply comes immediately.
He died from a crash at Imola. Brake failure. The investigation was inconclusive, but the team folded the next day. Sienna collected a $10 million insurance payout.
I stare at the screen. The blood drains from my face. The "twitchy rear end" Adeline complained about today. The way Sienna ordered her to push through the wobble.
I look at the empty track and connect the dots in my head. I’m going to that compound, and I’m getting Adeline out. Tonight.