by K. Bromberg
My storm before the calm.
My angel breaking through the darkness.
My ace.
My chest reverberates as the cars fly down the backstretch. Fifty laps in and I’m still a nervous wreck, my eyes flicking between the track and the television monitor in front of me when the cars are at my back and out of my sight. My knee jiggles, my fingernails have been picked clean of nail polish, and the inside of my lip has been chewed raw. And yet Colton’s voice comes through confident and focused at the task at hand every time he speaks on the headset I’m wearing.
Each time he talks to Beckett or his spotter I feel a trickle of ease. And then they hit a turn, cars side by side—masses of metal flying at ungodly speeds—and that trickle of ease turns into a pound of anxiety. I check the monitor again and smile when I see “13 Donavan” under the number two spot fighting his way back to the lead after a pit stop prompted by a caution.
“Dirty air ahead,” the spotter says as Colton comes out of turn three and heads toward traffic a lap down.
“Ten-four.”
“Last lap fastest yet,” Beckett pipes into the conversation as he studies a computer screen several seats down from me that’s reading all of the gauges in number thirteen. “Doing great, Wood. Just keep her steady in that groove you’ve got. The high line has a lot of pebbling already so stay clear.”
“Got it.” His voice strains from the force of the car as he accelerates out of turn number one.
There is a collective gasp from the crowd as a car comes into contact with the wall. I turn to look, my heart jumping in my throat, but I can’t see it from our position. I immediately look to the monitor where Beckett is already focused.
“Up one, Colton. Up!” The spotter yells in my ears.
It all happens so fast but I feel like time stops. Stands still. Rewinds. The monitor shows a cloud of smoke as the car that hits the wall first slings back down the track at a diagonal. The speeds are too fast so the remaining cars are unable to adjust their line in that quick amount of time. Colton had once told me you always race to where the accident first hits because it always moves afterwards due to the momentum.
There’s so much smoke. So much smoke, how is Colton going to know where to go?
“I’m blind,” the spotter yells, panicked as the mass of cars and the ensuing smoke is so large that he can’t direct Colton. Can’t tell him the safe line to drive with his car flying close to two hundred miles per hour.
I watch his car fly into the smoke. My heart in my throat. My prayers thrown up to God. My breath held. My soul hoping.
Motherfucker.
The smoke engulfs me. The blur around me now gray with flashes of sparking metal as cars collide around me. I’m fucking blind.
Don’t have time to fear.
Don’t have time to think.
Can only feel.
Only react.
Daylight flashes on the other end of the tunnel of gray. I aim for it. Not letting up. Never let up. Race to where the crash was.
Go, go, go. C’mon, one-three. C’mon, baby. Go, go, go.
The flash of red comes out of nowhere and slings in front of me. No time to react. None.
I’m weightless.
Lifted.
Weightless.
Spiraling.
Spinning.
White knuckles on the wheel.
Daylight again.
Too fast.
Too fast.
“Fuck!”
I see Colton’s car rise above the smoke. It’s up on the nose. Spiraling through the air. I hear Beckett yell, “Wood!” It’s only one word, but the broken way he says it has lead dropping through my soul.
I can’t react.
Can’t function.
Just sit in my seat and stare.
My mind fracturing to images of Max and Colton.
Broken.
Interchangeable.
Spiderman. Batman. Superman. Ironman.
Stay tuned for the conclusion of Rylee and Colton’s story
in the third and final book of The Driven Trilogy,
CRASHED
Wow! Where do I even begin to start? When I started this writing journey a little over a year ago, it was more of a challenge to myself. Can I do it? Not only can I do it, but can I create a story that creates visceral reactions in the reader and at the same time makes them fall in love with Rylee, Colton and their story? When I finished Driven, I liked it—but that meant nothing— the question was, would you, the reader, be taken by it?
Never in a million years did I expect that response to be yes! At first I thought it was a fluke to be honest. I knew I was in love with Rylee and Colton and the boys—but that was a given—and then the messages and emails and posts started coming in. You actually loved them as much as I did—my damaged alpha and heartbroken heroine. I’ve always thought the job of an author is to make the reader feel in extremes—and you all let me know that I did just that, broken Kindles and all. (Seriously, I’ve received pictures of broken Kindles after they were thrown at the ending of Driven). So more than anything, thank you to my readers. Thank you for taking a chance on this independent author and her debut novel—flaws, grammatical errors, and all. Thank you for talking about Driven, recommending it to your friends, creating FB pages and posting reviews anywhere and everywhere to help get the word out. You have no idea how much that kind of support means to a self-published author such as myself. So once again, I thank you from the bottom of my heart. I’ve read in numerous places that the second book of a trilogy is often the downfall—full of filler, fluff, and no real plot—all I can say is, I hope that Fueled lived up to and exceeded your expectations.
To the bloggers—the women who put endless hours into reading our books (good and bad), reviewing them, making collages for them, and promoting the hell out of them, just because of their love of books. For most of them, it’s their second job—the one they actually like—and they don’t do it for money or recognition, but because they love to be transported to another time and place. I’m not trying to kiss-up to them here, but rather thank them, because if it weren’t for their tireless passion, most of you would have had no idea that a book called Driven existed. So to the bloggers, thank you for pushing, promoting, joining Colton’s Cuties (aka the Driven Street Team), reviewing, and supporting the trilogy in general. Driven may have been a great story, but without you guys and your continued support, it might have lost momentum—so thank you!
There are few necessary shout outs I must make, and it doesn’t mean that other bloggers are less important, but just that these particular ones have helped me enormously in some way or another. Jenny and Gitte from Totallybooked: Where do I begin with you two? Thank you so much for answering the ridiculous PM’s from this newbie and treating me with the same respect as you would a New York Times best selling author. I appreciate the late/early chats, endless stickers, and words of wisdom—your kindness is immeasurable and your support astounding. I’m telling you, it’s the J&G effect! To Liz Murach with Sinfully Sexy Book Reviews: thank you for hosting a kick ass release week tour. Wow! Between the cover reveal and the actual tour, you knocked my socks off. Thanks to Autumn and Julie at AToMR for their incredible blog tour in September—as always, pure class. Thanks to Emily Kidman with TheSubClub for the endless encouragement and always when I seem to need it the most.
There are so many more bloggers to thank that I can’t even begin to list them all, but I’ll try, and if you’ve been left off, please note that it’s only because my brain is overtired from looking at this computer screen. So thank you to Donna at The Romance Cover, Tray at the BookHookers, Jessy at Jessy’s Book Club, Sandy at The Reading Café, Meagan at Love Between the Sheets, Ellen at The Book Bellas, Michelle at The Blushing Reader, Stephanie at The Boyfriend Bookmark, Mary with Mary Elizabeth’s Crazy Book Obsession, Lindsay with Beauty, Brains & Books, Liz with Romance Addiction, Stephanie with Stephanie’s Book Reports, Alicia at Island Lovelies, Jen at TheBookB
ar, Kimberly at Book Reader Chronicles, Jess at A is for Alpha, B is for Books, Stephanie at Romance Addict Book Blog, Cara at A Book Whores Obsession, Amy at Schmexy Girl Book Blog, Autumn at The Autumn Review, Lisa at The Rock Stars of Romance, Jennifer at Wolfel’s World of Books, Kim at Shh Mom’s Reading, Jamie at Alphas, Authors, & Books Oh My, Books by the Glass, and soooo many others I can’t even remember….Thank you, thank you, thank you!
Another set of thank-yous is owed to my beta readers. When I released Driven, I had no idea what a beta reader was. Only three people had read it before its release and I think if I’d had beta readers, the main criticisms I received with Driven, would never have made it to the final product. So to my beta readers Willy Schilling, Jennifer Mirabelli, Josie Melendez, Jodie Stipetich, Melissa Allum, Kim Rinaldi, Emily Kidman, Autumn Hull, Beta Hoo, and Beta Haw: Your opinions, remarks, and comments were invaluable to me and to the final version of Fueled. I appreciate your brutal honesty, the time you put in, and the second pair of eyes. You’ve helped to make the finished product that much more…
To my editor Maxanne Dobbs of The Polished Pen, thank you for taking the time to read and re-read my llllooonnnnggg book and helping me try to pare it down as much as possible. I didn’t like you too much when you told me Rylee was coming off as a bitch—but I’m glad you did because those adjustments made a difference in the reader’s empathy and lowered their frustration level. To Deborah at Tugboat Designs—killer cover once again…and to think that we got it right on the first attempt! Thank you! To Stacey with Hayson Publishing, thanks for formatting Fueled on such a short notice! You surpassed all expectations. To Jennifer at Polished Perfection, thank you for the second and third set of eyes!
To my A.C.E. contest winners – thank you for being a part of Fueled! In the Las Vegas scene at TAO, Colton and Beckett guess what Ace means, and these lovely ladies get the credit for those guesses: Lysette Lam for Colton’s guess of “attractive, charming, and exquisite” and Sandy Schairer for Beckett’s guess of “all consuming ego.” Thanks to everyone who participated in the contest, I had some good laughs over your definitions.
Music plays a huge part in my books, so thank you so much to the many artists for their talents in which I used their songs as inspiration to write several scenes. Nothing sets the mood for writing like a certain song. Special thanks to Matchbox Twenty, Rylee’s go-to therapy music and of course, as Colton so politely said, “Fuckin’ Pink” – thank you for the inspiration behind one of the most important lines of the book!
To my Son for watching old school Spiderman movies on Netflix—over and over ad nauseum—having those as the background to my writing provided me with the other two most meaningful quotes in this book. May you never have to repeat superheroes. Ever. I Spiderman you bud!
To my baby girl: thank you for typing on my working copy of Fueled as often as you could. My betas thought I had randomly typed license plate numbers mid-paragraph—nope, that was just CJ making sure she’s heard! I love you crazy girl!
To my oldest daughter: thanks for trying to sneak a peak at my screen every chance you can because now, you can read, and Mommy’s nervous about what you just might be reading on her computer. Thanks for your patience and unending questions in regards to “do people really read what you’re typing?” Let’s hope they do. Love you too bug!
To my husband: Thank you for being patient during this whole process. Thank you for inventing places to take the kids so that I get a few hours alone here and there to write uninterrupted. Thank you for being okay (well mostly) with take-out or food from a bag because I need to get a scene finished. Thank you for not complaining that laundry takes a whole lot longer now and the house is a little bit messier. Thank you for going to bed by yourself several nights a week while I stay up and then fall asleep with Colton instead. (Sorry ladies, it’s one of the perks of being the author!) Thank you for understanding that the computer is now glued to my fingertips and the woman who never forgot anything, is now a tad bit absentminded—just blame it on those damn people in my head. I love you!
To my family and friends: thank you for your unending support and my random ramblings about people who exist in my head and in the hearts of all of you readers.
Names are funny things to pick in a book. For instance in Driven and Fueled, my kids names make an appearance. I usually opt for names that I really like or ask my oldest daughter for a random name she wants to make her feel a part of the whole experience…but there is one name in particular in Fueled that holds special meaning in our house right now. The name is Parker—the kind man in the bar that kept Rylee company. My seven-year-old daughter has had the sweetest little boy in her class the past two years. In April, sweet Parker was diagnosed out of the blue with stage 4 nueroblastoma. His little body is currently fighting as hard as he can to beat this horrible disease and his mom and dad are superheroes right along with him, doing anything and everything they can to raise money to help his fight https://fundrazr.com/campaigns/fUHge …so I decided to give a quiet shout out to Parker in Fueled to let him know we are all thinking about him. If anyone in your life has been touched by cancer, you know what it’s like…so if you get a chance, stop by and give him a few words of encouragement on Facebook at Team Parker for Life with a little ‘#Fueled’ so he knows we’re all pulling for him!
My final comment will address what I’m sure will be flooding my email and Facebook page when you finish reading this book, when is Crashed going to be released? I do not have a set date yet. I’m sorry, but I refuse to give a date and then have to adjust it and push it back a few months from now. I’ve been frustrated when authors do that and I don’t want to make you feel that way. Rest assured though that Crashed will be the final book in the trilogy. The story of Rylee and Colton will be completed.
Are you still thinking about that ending? Thought so. Feel free to join ‘The Driven Trilogy Group’ on Facebook where you can discuss like crazy (spoilers and all) with other people that have finished it. The link is: https://www.facebook.com/groups/394768807306804/
Thanks again for reading. I hope you enjoyed Fueled.
I race you!
K.
K. Bromberg is that reserved woman sitting in the corner that has you all fooled about the wild child inside of her—the one she lets out every time her fingertips touch the computer keyboard. She’s a wife, mom, child rustler, toy pick-er-upper, chauffer, resident web-slinger, LaLaloopsy watching, American Girl doll dressing multi-tasker of all things domestic and otherwise. She likes her diet cokes with rum, her music loud, and her pantry stocked with a cache of chocolate.
K. lives in Southern California with her husband and three children. When she needs a break from the daily chaos of her life, you can most likely find her on the treadmill or with Kindle in hand, devouring the pages of a good, saucy book.
Fueled is K. Bromberg’s second published novel and is the highly anticipated second book of “The Driven Trilogy.” Driven was her well-received debut novel and Book #1 of the series.
Contact K. Bromberg at:
Email:
[email protected]
http://www.kbromberg.com
http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B00CRSG9EE
https://facebook.com/authorkbromberg
http://www.goodreads.com/Kbromberg
http://pinterest.com/kbrombergwrites/
@KBrombergDriven
@ColtonDonavan
Table of Contents
Prologue
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
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Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty-One
Chapter Twenty-Two
Chapter Twenty-Three
Chapter Twenty-Four
Chapter Twenty-Five
Chapter Twenty-Six
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Chapter Thirty
Chapter Thirty-One
Chapter Thirty-Two
Chapter Thirty-Three
Chapter Thirty-Four
Chapter Thirty-Five
Chapter Thirty-Six
Chapter Thirty-Seven
Chapter Thirty-Eight
Chapter Thirty-Nine
Chapter Forty
Chapter Forty-One
Chapter Forty-Two
Chapter Forty-Three
Chapter Forty-Four
Chapter Forty-Five
Chapter Forty-Six
Acknowledgements
About the Author