Page 47 of Rogue Riders Duet

My fists clench on the grips, and I stare down at the trail like I can burn a hole through it. I want him confused and shaken. I want him to feel powerless, as powerless as I did when I woke up in that hospital room. I want him to look up at the leaderboard and not understand why he’s losing.

I want him gutted.

Humiliated.

Ruined.

I want to take everything from him and make him watch.

Exhaling slowly, I try to ground myself, but I’m distracted when a rattle breaks through the trees.

Ah shit. Here comes Luc. Again.

He blasts into the clearing above us at high speed, but doesn’t slow as he approaches, just cuts the bars and skids to a stop right next to Mason. Way too close. Dust erupts around us in a thick, choking cloud, and the grit hits the back of my throat like a punch.

I cough hard. Once. Twice. But it’s no good, my chest seizes with it. Suddenly, it’s not just a cough, it’s fucking pain. There’s not enough space for air. I grip my handlebars for life as I fold forward, trying to swallow it down, trying not to make another sound. My pulse jackhammers, but the debris coats my throat, rubbing it raw.

I. Can’t. Breathe.

I look toward Mason as he tilts his head, angling his body toward me, and I catch my reflection in his goggles. I’m folded over, shaking.

Something about that forces my panic to pause, like a hand on a volume knob, turning the fear down just enough for me to remember myself.

Get it together.

I suck in a slow breath. It’s shaky and shallow, but it’s enough.

Calm the fuck down. You’re fine. You’re okay.

There isn’t a branch in your lung.

The air tastes like dust and shame, but I’m breathing again at least. As discreetly as possible, I slowly straighten my posture as if nothing happened.

An almost imperceptible nod comes from Mason, so small, I think I might’ve imagined it.

“Pardon, Petit. Did I leave you in the dust?” Luc lifts his goggles, eyes full of mischief and fire.

Mason lifts a foot and kicks Luc’s rear tire. Hard.

Luc’s eyes narrow dangerously. “Oh, you did not.”

Still on his bike, he launches forward and slams into Mason. The impact knocks them right at me in a blur of limbs, metal, and fury.

I scramble backward, dragging myself and my bike out of the way just in time as they crash into the space I vacated.

They hit the dirt hard, half-wrestling, still tangled in their bikes, neither apparently willing to give the other an inch.

“Stop it!” I yell on instinct, forgetting myself and letting my voice come out way too high. Fuck. My breath catches in my throat as I scan the trail. Riders could come flying through any second. I force my voice lower, almost a hiss. “You’ll get disqualified if the wrong person sees this.”

They either don’t hear me or don’t care.

I shove my bike out of the way and throw myself between them, jamming my body into the narrow space where fists are still flying.

When Luc rears backward, I slap him hard across the helmet. “Enough!”

His arm shoots out, shoving me aside. My foot catches on that loose Polish dirt, and I fall backward, tumbling over the edge. Right into the rock garden.

I slam into the ground on my side. My left hip takes the brunt of it, a jagged stone punching through muscle just before I roll and roll, eventually coming to a stop at the bottom.