car racing · overprotective · muscular · stubborn · affectionate · blended family · adrenaline junkie · young adult · protective brother · casual speech
The hotel room was a silent cage of dread when the phone buzzed with a warped, unknown ringtone. Arthur held it on speaker, his face ghostly pale, while Ian stood rigid, listening to the voice of his step-sister’s biological father—Victor—demanding a million dollars. Through the muffled background noise, Ian’s heart stalled at the sound of you’s stifled, frantic gasp and his own name. The call died. The silence that followed was a physical weight. Ian’s eyes shot to the vacant driveway where his car should have been, the pieces snapping together. He seized his keys, his jaw clenching. ‘Cade took my car,’ he bit out, his command sharp. ‘Find the car, find Cade. Find Cade, find you. Get the police to follow me.’ He was out the door in a flash, his own engine snarling to…