One-Knight Stand (White Knights #3) - Julie Moffett Page 0,8

running the course in reverse. Unfortunately, Frankie didn’t seemed concerned in the least as she hummed, “Don’t Worry, Be Happy,” while taking turns so sharp we could feel the training wheels balance us.

We jerked to the right when she missed the sign for a hairpin turn, and the professor took control of the car. He calmly reminded her of the importance of situational awareness and turned the controls back to her.

I wanted to scream at him to keep control of the car, but Frankie already had us back up to speed. My words died in my throat as we barreled toward the town.

“Ms. Chang, despite your best efforts, your adversaries have closed the distance behind you and are now within range of being able to shoot at you should they choose to do so,” Professor Grange warned.

Frankie floored it, and my heart rate exceeded what I’m sure was the maximum recommended level for a teenage girl. Despite being belted in, we were being tossed around in the back seat like rag dolls.

Every bump Frankie made was bone-jarring. She swerved to the right and left, slamming me first into Jax, then Wally, as the car rocked erratically. I didn’t have a freaking clue how to brace myself.

To my surprise, Jax snatched my hand, sliding his fingers between mine and holding it tightly. I gave him a grateful look and he dipped his head before we were jerked back to reality.

I swallowed a shriek as Frankie rocketed through a stop sign, avoiding a few cars parked strategically in the intersection, and veered hard to avoid a mannequin on a bike that was crossing in front of our path. We ended up on the sidewalk, headed straight for what appeared to be a street sign. I closed my eyes as we crashed through it. Surprisingly, I heard only a little thump.

As she peeled back onto the highway, Professor Grange explained that many of the obstacles we would encounter on the track were actually made of foam, as they were safer and cheaper than replacing real things and caused much less damage to the cars. For some reason, this comment made Wally start laughing hysterically.

“That was foam? Ha-ha-ha-ha-ha.”

He couldn’t stop laughing—he’d totally lost it. I snapped my fingers a couple of times in front of his face, and when that didn’t work, I smacked him hard on the arm.

“Hey,” he said, looking at me in surprise. “Why did you do that?”

“Pull it together,” I hissed.

He stopped laughing and gripped the armrest.

Frankie kept her foot hard on the gas pedal. I had no idea why Professor Grange didn’t tell her to ease up. He talked to her calmly, like we were on a Sunday drive or something. I couldn’t always make out what he was saying because of the loud roaring in my ears, the grinding of Jax’s teeth, and Wally’s gasping breaths. But the professor’s tone remained unruffled, which might have been good for Frankie but only made me more nervous because he wasn’t stopping the car or taking control from her.

Eventually, we drove onto a dirt road and approached a small rise. I yelped as we flew up the rise and over a small ditch, causing us to land with a teeth-snapping thud on the other side. Without hesitating, Frankie pulled hard on the wheel, accelerating into a ninety-degree sliding spin to negotiate the next corner.

“Aaaaagh!” I screamed as the rear tires tossed up dirt and dust. My seat belt locked out with a sharp pain along my ribs and shoulder.

At this point, Jax released my hand and pulled me tight against his side, holding me there the best he could. I heard him suck in air until Frankie managed to control the spin and shot the car forward again. Professor Grange instructed her to take the next left, where we drove onto a paved surface at the slalom area.

Seeing the finish line in sight, Frankie gave a loud whoop and angled toward the rightmost course. Without even waiting for instruction, she began to accelerate. Over the noise of the shrieking coming from us in the back seat, I could barely hear the professor tell her she didn’t need to take the slalom at top speed the first time.

But Frankie seemed determined to do it.

She barreled into the first turn. The tires squealed as she jerked the steering wheel back to the left. Her timing was off and the car was going too fast, so she skidded through the turn, clipped a series