Chapter 39
Manny’s car crossed the finish line 0.1 seconds after Narissa’s. He hit the brakes in a daze. ‘What the hell just happened in those few seconds?‘
Manny tried to piece it together, but his mind was blank. He couldn’t recall any of it.
Manny wasn’t the only one. Even Jaylen and the others, who’d been watching the entire time, were baffled. They were sure they weren’t blind.
But how Narissa passed Manny and won, none of them could remember the exact moment. It was just a blur, like she’d flown by in a flash.
‘So–Narissa really did win?‘ Jaylen thought.
“Oh my god! Did I see that right? She actually won?”
“No way. Maybe she skipped a lap.”
“Yeah, she probably cheated.”
“Where are the refs? Pull up the video footage. Count how many laps that chick actually ran.” Stuart jumped to his feet and barked the order.
The surveillance footage was pulled up quickly. As the officials began to count the laps Narissa had completed, Jaylen and the rest held their breath.
Honestly, even they thought it was possible Narissa had skipped a lap.
“Four… five… six… seven! What? She really ran seven laps?” someone muttered.
Stuart sat down with the tablet in disbelief. “No freakin‘ way.”
“What do you mean no way? We won!” Gilbert was bouncing back to life.
Gilbert thought, ‘No hands need to be cut off. A win–win for everyone!
Just as Stuart was about to make one last desperate move, Narissa walked over. “You bet, you lost. Who’s cutting their hand off?” she asked coolly.
At that moment, Manny also walked over, his face dark. “A bet’s a bet.”
Narissa didn’t even look at him. “Then do it.”
Manny had lost all his earlier arrogance. His back was soaked with sweat.
Manny knew exactly how strong he was. Even if he’d underestimated her at the start, he had still used ninety–nine percent of his skill.
Manny wondered, ‘How the hell does a girl manage to outdrive me like that?
‘The answer is simple–she isn’t ordinary. Do I seriously mess with the wrong person?‘
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Chapter 39
Meanwhile, Stuart, sensing he was about to be called up to sacrifice a hand, tried to sneak away.
But Gilbert didn’t have it. He and a couple others blocked Stuart’s escape. “Narissa, what do you want us to do with this guy?”
Stuart knew his time was up. He immediately threw himself at Narissa’s feet. “I’m sorry. I didn’t know who I was messing with. Please let me go.”
Narissa shot Stuart a cold glance but locked her gaze on Manny.
Someone from Manny’s crew quickly stepped forward, smiling awkwardly. “Hey, it’s just a race, no need to take it this far.
“We’re all law–abiding folks here–no one’s actually getting their hand chopped off. That was just trash talk.”
Obviously, they were trying to back out.
Gilbert kicked Stuart and snapped, “Trash talk, huh? If we had lost, you wouldn’t be saying that. Narissa, don’t let them off the hook.”
Gilbert’s words pissed off one of the gang members. He said, “Watch your mouth, kid. I said it was a joke, so it was a joke. You trying to get yourself killed?”
The man suddenly turned threatening, scaring Gilbert into silence.
Jaylen, hoping to de–escalate, stepped in to smooth things over. “Maybe we should just call it even-”
But Narissa beat him to it. “A bet’s a bet,” she said firmly. “Their hands–I’m not letting it go.”
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