Page 89 of Broken Breath
“And I heard all about you and your injuries, what you went through. You’re like…” She pauses as her thumbs dig into a knot on my lower back, making me twitch. “You’re one of the ‘how bad can it get?’ examples we get in the med prep courses.Literally.When you apply to work on the circuit, they show you examples of what can happen if you don’t pull riders fast enough, or when someone keeps going with a rupturedthisor fracturedthat. But here you are.” She presses a thumb into the side of my hip as she says it, like punctuation. “Alaina Crews. The cautionary tale. The‘almost died on track, never raced again’slide.”
“Wow.” I swallow past the lump in my tight throat. “Didn’t know I was famous.”
Piper snorts. “You are. I mean, you dethroned Delacroix last Sunday.”
I huff. “Raine dethroned him. I just showed up, and Luc had a bad race. It wasn’t about me beingthatgood.”
“Well, Delacroix is off his game lately.” Piper rolls her shoulder as she moves around the table. “Apparently, he’s in love.”
My brain turns into a pretzel.
I wonder if she can massage that too?
I scoff, “Luc?In love?”
Just today, he was all over me. His breath, his hand, his body, hard against mine. His mouth was at my throat like he was starved for the contact. So if he’s in love with someone, why the hell would he do that?
“Sure it’s not just another rumor about him?” I add, trying to sound less interested in the answer than I am.
Piper hums under her breath. “Delacroix told me himself. He’s all moody and distracted. Apparently, he’s been trying to charm someone who keeps shutting him down.”
No. It can’t be me, can it?
Piper keeps working, but her voice goes soft. “He’s got a type, huh?”
My mouth is dry as I ask, “Does he?”
She laughs under her breath. “Looks like it’s quiet, broody boys with dangerous cheekbones and rage issues.”
I almost laugh. Almost.
Piper catches my eye from the side, a little too knowing. “You noticed how much attention he pays to you?”
“He doesn’t like me. He doesn’t even know me,” I argue, too fast, even though my stomach flips.
“No?” she asks. “Could’ve fooled me. He practically ran after you mid-conversation this morning.”
I roll onto my side. “He’s just weird.”
Piper grins. “Weird and obsessed.”
I have nothing to say to that because some part of me wants to believe it, but a bigger part of me knows it’s averybad thing if it’s true.
“Well, your legs might not kill you now.” Piper wipes her hands on a towel. “For at least twenty-four hours.”
I sigh heavily. “Bless you.”
She grins, cocking her head. “So. Are you gonna put him out of his misery anytime soon?”
“Who?”
She gives me a look. “Delacroix.”
“Piper.” I laugh. “He still thinks I’m a guy.”
Her eyebrows go up before she chuckles. “Even better. No wonder he’s losing his shit. You’ve really messed with his head, and it was already pretty fucked.”
“Anyway.” I sit up slowly, sore in about sixteen places. “You said you’re kind of a doctor too, right?”
