Page 132 of Broken Breath
She barrels through it, and when she shoots out the other side, it’s not only clean, it’sfaster.
Dane chuckles under his breath.“Holy shit,Speedbump.”
“Rookie! Rookie! Rookie!” The crowd erupts, the noise swelling so loud it rattles my chest.
Austrialivesand breathes mountain biking, and the fans have shown up in droves, packing the sides of the finish stretch tighter than I’ve seen all season. Goose bumps lift along my skin.
The next time comes up green as well, and now she’s four seconds faster than Luc. I glance his way, half-expecting to see cracks in that cocky grin of his, some sign that watching his lead get torn apart is getting under his skin.
But he’s standing, arms thrown high above his head, cheering right along with the crowd, like she’s his goddamn hero. His eyes are lit up with no bitterness or jealousy, just pure, unfiltered joy.
What the fuck?
I blink hard and drag my eyes away, glancing left. Mason is slouched low on his seat per usual, arms crossed, chin tucked, but even the grumpy fucker has got a big-ass smile across his face.
The hell is going on?
At least Raine is predictable, scowling as he glares at the screen, maybe thinking he can stare hard enough to slow her down.
Not going to happen, asshole.
I tear my eyes away from him just as Alaina barrels into the final stretch, with one jump left, the biggest one on the circuit this season so far, maybe the biggest since Snowshoe.
The one that broke her.
I watch her approach that lip, my heart pounding so loud I can feel it in my ears, but she doesn’t even flinch.
Shesendsit, launching off that lip so fast, the drone camera lags behind for a heartbeat, struggling to keep up with the sheer speed she’s carrying. The feed stutters before it locks back onto her as she hits the ground clean, tucks low, and rockets toward the finish line.
First place,fivewhole seconds ahead of Luc.
Five.
The announcer’s voice cracks over the roar of the crowd, losing his mind as he shouts over the noise. “This is history, folks! Fastest time ever raced in Leogang!”
I’m still frozen in awe when Dane pulls me into his side, yelling over the crowd cheering, “Did you fuckingseethat?”
I knew it.Felt it in my bones.
That wasn’t just a win.That was Alaina Crews burning the whole damn mountain down.
She stays low over the bars, folded into herself, like she spent every ounce of strength she had getting to that finish line.
She’s not even celebrating. No fist in the air, no grin behind the helmet, no soaking up the roar of the crowd that’s still chanting some variation of her fake name.
When she reaches us, she swings her leg off the bike with a stiffness that makes my stomach drop.
What the fuck happened?
Dane moves to steady her, one hand on her shoulder as she passes him the bike. Even though I can’t see her eyes behind the goggles, there’s something in the way she sags just slightly under his hand that tells me she must be hurting badly.
“What’s wrong?” Dane crouches to be on eye level with her. “You okay?”
She shakes her head, a small, jerky movement, barelymore than a flick beneath the weight of her helmet, then mumbles something I can’t fully hear over the crowd, but I catch the end.
“… watch the bike.”
With that, she pushes through the throng of people gathered at the finish, cutting a line through the noise. Hands reach out to clap her on the shoulder, to offer high fives and congratulations, riders and fans alike trying to pull her into the celebration, but she brushes past them all without slowing.
