Guns and Mirrors

ONE

♛Cameron Dawson ♛

The minute I open my car door, the deafening shout of my name from the crowd can be heard.

"Cameron! Cameron!" The crowd cheers with excitement. Numerous faces look back at me as I smile at another victory.  The car of my opponent pulls up and the people part for him. He climbs out, running a hand through his mop of curly hair before the tall guy walks up to me and smiles widely.

The crowd quietens down slightly, eager to hear what he has to say.
"You sure know how to knock a guy's self-esteem." The tanned man- seemingly my age- says in amusement.

I find my lips twitching upwards, "You race well. Definitely put up a decent fight." I compliment truthfully. Today's victory was not as easy to attain as usual.

He smiles, his green eyes twinkling. "This won't be the last you'll see of me." He grins and I chuckle.

"I hope not." I stick my hand out and he looks down at it before gripping it and giving it a firm shake to which the crowd cheers at. I'm expecting Emery to walk to me and announce my victory but instead it's Ben, another man, who does it.

"Your winner! Cameron!" He shouts and the crowd cheers more. As the crowd bustles about, I catch a glimpse of her between the crowd where I see Emery standing beside her. I frown and when Ben drops my arm, I push my way through the crowd in their direction, not heading straight to Clark like I usually do.

Emery's face is contorted into a deeply frustrated scowl but the balding man in front of Harley that seems to be seething with anger is what catches my attention. Harley's lips, however, curl up into a smirk just as she says something to the man who starts pointing an accusing finger at her.

"You're a little-"

"What's going on here?" I enquire as I approach and they all turn to me. Harley's face immediately breaks into a smile.

"Oh fucking great," the man mutters, "You're here now."

Emery cuts in before I can say anything. "You made a bet on a racer with her and she won. Simple as that."

"She knows the damn bastard! That isn't allowed! You of all people should know that Emery. Bets are on racers you don't know."

"This is an illegal racetrack, stop acting like nobody here breaks the rules." Harley pipes up, crossing her arms over her chest defiantly. Her voice is confident, challenging.

The man's eyes widen in anger and he clenches his fist before I step between him and Harley. Whether Harley is wrong or right, I will not let the man hurt her.

"You should go."

He looks up at me in amusement, dark brown eyes narrowing."And why the fuck do you have any authority over me? I ain't going to listen to some racer,"

"Leave her alone or get off my property." Emery pitches in. Emery's tone is final, authoritative, leaving no room for arguing. The man's eyes turn to him and surprise lights up his wrinkled features.

"You're serious?"

Emery's face hardens. "One hundred percent." His voice is cold and the man clenches his jaw in anger before looking at me and then Harley over my shoulder.

"Fuck all of you." He spits before stalking off angrily. When he's no longer in my line of sight, I turn around to Harley with a frown. However, the irritation etched onto my features is no match for that of Emery's.

"This is the third time you've done this this week." Emery voices tersely and Harley shrugs.

"I've only been caught three times." Harley clarifies smugly. "And yet I've done it every night." Her tone is cheeky, cocky nearly, and I purse my lips. No matter how much Emery likes her, she's still threading on dangerous grounds.