Page 212 of Bend

We don’t have to.

My heart starts climbing into my throat.

I can hear Wolfe’s voice if I let myself.

Static.

That calm certainty in his tone when he knew there was nowhere left to go.

At least I got to know you both love me.

I close my eyes for half a second.

No.

Not again.

When I open them, the board changes.

Thorne’s number updates.

Finished.

The breath leaves me so fast I almost double over.

“Oh, thank fuck.”

I see his bike a moment later, and whatever professionalism I still had disappears completely.

I run.

Someone calls my name behind me, probably because sprinting through a working paddock is objectively a stupid idea, but I don’t give a shit. Thorne rolls in, gets one foot down and has barely pulled his helmet free when I slam straight into him.

He staggers backward and catches me automatically.

“Bloody hell, Echo.”

“You took too fucking long.”

His arms tighten around me. “I’m here.”

I bury my face against his leathers and grab the back of them with both hands.

“You took too long.”

His hand slides up the back of my neck.

Then his voice drops beside my ear.

“Told you I’d come back.”

My throat closes and the tears come before I can stop them, relief mixing with everything else until there isn’t any point trying to separate one emotion from another. Thorne holds me through it, cheek resting against my hair, and a second later Draygon reaches us and wraps one arm around both of us.

When I finally lift my head, the whole paddock looks different.

My father has Talon and Sayshen close, one hand gripping the back of each of their necks while he looks like he’s trying very hard not to fall apart himself. Lena is with Reign. Cece has her arms around Revel, who is pretending he doesn’t have tears in his eyes and failing spectacularly.

Andre stands a few feet away with his headset hanging around his neck.