Page 62 of Bend

Lena, of course, is still craning her neck like she’s watching the best reality show of her life. “Can I at least—”

“No,” Reign says immediately.

“But—”

“Absolutely not, celona mou,”

She throws me an apologetic look over her shoulder that says we’re talking later, and I already know I’m screwed.

Draygon lets out a slow breath through his nose, still staring at me. Not angry exactly. More like deeply offended and somehow more interested because of it, which feels very on-brand for him.

“This isn’t over,” he says.

Andre doesn’t even look at him. “Did I say keep talking, Draygon?”

Draygon’s mouth shuts as Andre turns and heads back to the office.

Wolfe lowers his head for half a second like he’s hiding a smile, which only makes Thorne look more irritated.

Talon grabs his gloves off the bench so hard the leather snaps and Sayshen rubs a hand over the back of his neck and mutters, “Well. That went well.”

I look at him. “You have a truly insane definition of ‘well.’”

He grins, quick and crooked. “Nobody died.”

“Yet.”

Thorne lingers for one beat too long. Not enough for anyone else to really notice, maybe, but I do. He drags a hand over his buzzed head, jaw tight, bright blue eyes flicking toward me and then away so fast it almost feels like it didn’t happen.

Almost, and just like that, he’s gone too.

Sayshen heads over to his bay, turning to look at me one last time.

“You diagnosed it,” he says, jerking his chin toward the bike in Bay Three. “Now fix it.”

I glance at the bike, then back toward the bay doors where the rest of them are heading out toward the track, then back at Sayshen.

“Right,” I say. “No pressure.”

He folds his arms. “Pressure’s part of the job, lil sis.” and then he walks off too, like he didn’t just experience the world’s messiest emotional pileup within his own team.

The garage goes quieter after that. Not silent. Never fucking silent. Just quieter in a way that lets the morning settle back into itself. Tools. Music. The low hum of fluorescent lights overhead. The sound of the first bikes lining up outside.

I let out a breath and look down at the half-open bike in front of me.

Well.

Guess I’m doing this.

Apparently the morning’s gone from walk into the lion’s den to trigger emotional warfare between three hot idiots and your reluctant brother to prove you deserve to be here before lunch.

Business as usual, really.

Chapter Nine

Draygon

By the time the sun starts going down and half the shop’s cleared out, I still can’t get the whole situation with Echo out of my head.