Page 139 of Down & Dirty

I’d thought that Skylar had come into my life and knocked everything off balance. But it was the opposite. She’d righted something inside me that had been wrong so long I didn’t even see it anymore. That hollow place where I escaped, where nothing mattered and I didn’t have to care about tomorrow, or myself, or anyone—she’d buried herself there and grown up like a vine around everything I’d spent my life avoiding.

But I loved her now. I loved Micah. I had something I’d never had before. And she was right; I was risking my life every time I got on this bike. My life with them, playing on the floor with him, and holding her close. I’d never had enough weight on the other side of the scale to tip me away from chasing the thrill and telling death to fuck off. Now I did. Now I had them.

Nothing was the same, but I was still trying to hold onto what I knew. I was still trying to hide on this bike.Telling myself it was so I could provide for them? As if that was all she needed? Money and security. Maybe that’s what we were at the start, but not anymore. No, she needed a hell of a lot more from me. And she deserved it. She deserved so much better than this.

Another wave of pain hit. But this time as it crashed, I felt my lungs crack free from the strain holding me down. Because I knew it was over. All of this was over.

I was done.

I ripped off my helmet, gasping for air, and feeling my lungs expand like someone had unknotted the vice that had been holding them back. Catching the eye of the official who’d been watching me, I shook my head and starting toward the exit of the course. A smile slowly worked across my face as relief poured through me. I had no idea what the hell I’d do next. And there was no way this wasn’t going to come back to bite me in the ass in a lot of ways. But none of that mattered. Because I had more than this.

I just had to accept it.

I was finally ready.

As I rode slowly around the last corner, cruising past the confused looks from the sideline officials, I glanced up at the leaders coming toward me. Ronnie was in third, and I could see the hole he was going for as he tried to make a play for second. But the same moment, the number one rider shifted. He was trying to block the guy behind him, but he ended up shutting down the gap for both.

It happened so fast, and Ronnie had already opened it up, he was in midair before it became clear he had no place to land. As he came down, he got hit by the other bikes, and the three of them careened off the course in a mess of metal and limbs.

I spun, gassing it to the spot they’d gone off course. I hopped off while it was still moving, tossing my helmet and running as fast as I could to where the riders were piled up against the scaffolding for the camera tower. Ronnie’s bike was on top of him. I shoved the thing off, and knelt beside him.

“Fuck,” he gasped, holding his wrist against his chest, writhing in pain.

“You’re okay, I got you,” I said, taking a hold of his jersey to spin him around.

“Fuck, Cory, fuck.”

He never called me by my first name. Tears were in his eyes, as he looked up at me fearfully. His side was bleeding and I pulled back his jersey to see a gash as big as my hand.

“Shit,” I said, looking up at the swarm of officials and crew who’d run over. “We need help here,” I called to the first paramedic I saw.

He raced over with his bag, but after only a quick glance down at Ronnie, he grabbed for his radio and called for the ambulance.

“Hold this here, press down,” he barked at me, shoving gauze into Ronnie’s side as he grimaced. “The stretcher’s coming.”

“You’re gonna be fine,” I said, Ronnie’s eyes locked on me. I’d seen some gnarly crashes before, but looking around at the three men being worked over, this had to be one of the worst.

“Let’s get him out of here,” the paramedic said, as the stretcher and more medics arrived, taking over.

“Ellis?” Ronnie asked.

“I’m right here, man,” I reassured him, moving with the stretcher toward the exit doors.

“My sister is going to kill me,” he joked as they shoved him inside the ambulance.

I laughed, hopping up to ride with him. “Yeah, I’m pretty sure you just broke one of her cardinal rules.”

He shook his head, wincing. “Good thing she’s not my manager anymore.”

I stared at him, my smile fading a little. “I don’t think that’s going to save you.”

“Nah, you’re probably right.”

CHAPTER 46

SKYLAR

Looking at myself in the reflection of the elevator doors as it climbed to the floor my brother was on, I realized I probably should have taken a second to clean myself up before I’d bolted from the hotel. But when Elle called to tell me there had been a crash, my heart had stopped. Brushing my hair was the last thing I’d thought about.

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