Kris' expression changed, but all eyes were now on him, so he steeled himself and asked:
"How big are you talking about?"
"Not one car, or two. Your collection for mine. Winner takes it all."
Alex replied as he turned to open the door of his car, silently adding: "If you dare, let's go."
The sound of cold breath being sucked rang out. Kris' face flashed with shock, before he got scorched by the hot eyes that suddenly flashed with eagerness.
The bet in question was indeed big enough. Dozens of millions, enough for an average person to live a good life until death, for a bold person to go from poverty to wealth with good enough management and luck.
It was more than some might see in their whole lives, and it was about to be bet on a single race, a single competition of power, speed, and skill.
Suddenly, from just silent anticipation, a shout changed the atmosphere:
"Come on, Kris. You don't dare!?!"
"Yeah, Kris, bet with him!! You can do it!!!"
"Yeah, bet!!!"
"Bet!!! Bet!!! Bet!!! Bet!!! Bet!!!"
Alex sat on the driver seat of the dark SUV, and without waiting for his cousin's answer, started to drive forward, to the starting line.
Kris' face went through a plethora of expressions before he gritted his teeth, as he looked at the dark car advancing. He turned around, and went to his own car which he started, and drove forward, giving his answer.
Bet! Why would he not dare!?!
He arrived beside the SUV, and pressed on the accelerator to make his engine growl, as he looked toward the dark window hiding Alex's appearance.
*Knock* *Knock* *Knock*
Alex lowered the window on his side, and looked at the sleek sky blue Chevrolet of Kris, a Corvette too, but…
"2025 Corvette Z06 supercar. Custom made?"
Tyler, standing beside Alex's car, raised his eyebrows as he looked at Kris' ride, before he turned to Alex:
"His acceleration from zero to one hundred km is 2.3, with more than 300 kmph as max speed, and we don't know what modifications he did. Are you sure you can win against that?"
Alex smiled:
"Why can't I win? He just got a new car, and he came to show off. Even if he made some modif, it should not be anything extensive."
Seeing Alex's calmness, Tyler rolled his eyes:
"So what? I know that this track is about skills, with few chances for Kris to take advantage of his acceleration to the peak, and I don't doubt your skill, but why do you have to compete with a Range Rover Sport? You have less horsepower than him, and more weight. Will you be lumbering behind him?"
Alex raised his eyes to glance at the Chevrolet, then showed Tyler a smile filled with deep meaning as he asked:
"Don't you want to see Kim's work on this car?"
Tyler's eyes went wide, and he took a step to observe the Land Rover with more scrutiny. But it looked no different from how it should be.
Alex shook his head, and raised the window back:
"Alright, go back and wait for the result."
Tyler distractedly sucked his drink through the straw as he walked back while turning around every few steps. When he arrived beside Lance, the latter was standing on the hood of his Mustang to get a clearer view of the excitement.
"Tyler, what is it?"
"Kim worked on Alex's SUV."
Tyler shook his head, and focused on the black beast on the starting line, though his mind was on another black, the one of Kim's short hair.
Lance raised his eyebrows. He gave Tyler a look, then suddenly jumped off the hood of his car and ran to the front, sporting a grin that said he had an idea to make things more fun.
_ _ _
_ _ _
From the side, the sound of cars arriving resounded, and a red Audi with black hood and white back wings returned to the gathering around the starting point of the race with the Corvette it had just competed with.
The two cars stopped, and the drivers stepped out. They were noticed by the ones closest to them.
"Hey, Ron, you lost this time!"
Ron smiled without any bitterness, and asked with curiosity as he noticed the focus of the crowd:
"The situation seems exciting. Who are the ones racing now?"
"The Lenner brothers!"
"Alex and Kris?"
Faced with Ron's surprise,
"Who else? They are betting their car collection against each other."
At that moment, the screen that had been focusing on the previous races and displaying moments of highlights shifted to the two cars about to compete.
First focusing on the Land Rover, then on the Chevrolet, the screen shifted to display the both of them, before surprisingly moving away to show the dirty-blond-haired Lance holding a mic.
"Everyone!!! The night is still young, but it has already reached its zenith!!! You will have nothing more exciting happening tonight than an elder brother educating his younger brother!!! Or maybe it is the rebellious brother who will win!!! RIGHT!?!"
"YEAHHHH!!!"
The crowd was fired, the excitement climbing further with Lance fanning the flames.
In his car, Kris took a deep breath, and worked to relax the tension born from anger as he loosened his grip on his wheel. That was what was shown on the screen when the scene shifted to the pilots. And Lance didn't miss a beat before stoking the fire further:
"Oh? Everyone, look!!! The rebellious brother is getting angry!!!"
"HAHAHAHAHA…"
Lance laughed, then restrained his smile and made his expression take a dramatic turn at the same time as his voice turned deep:
"This race is unlike any we have had in the last year. It has stakes that have climbed up to dozens of millions. Luxury cars, supercars, vintage cars, old flagships of Chevrolet, Cadillac, Rolls-Royce… You name it, and you get it."
The deep voice tamed the noisy crowd. It built a tension thicker than before, and its owner looked like he was not done yet.