Page 188 of Twisted Trails
I shake my head. “Never.We’re gonna be each other’s nobody forever.”
His eyes warm before he swoops down and kisses me. It’s a thanks and a promise, all tangled up in one perfect, breath-stealing press of lips.
When we break apart, my gaze drifts back to the blank television screen. “Dane,” I say, quietly. “What now?”
“Now?” he echoes. “We wait. See what comes from it. If they truly self-report and provide statements, that’ll change things. It won’t fix what happened, but it’s a start, I think.”
Mason trails his fingers down my arm and takes my hand, and I glance at him with a smile before nodding at Dane. “Yeah. It is.”
Dane and I hold each other’s gazes for a long time, all the pain and suffering of the last seven years thick between us, and my chest aches with something I can’t name. Relief, sure, but something else too. Pity?
For Isaac?
After everything?
Luc claps his hands together like we’ve just finished brunch and not had the literal foundations of our lives rewritten.
“Okay,” he announces. “Now is the time. We’ve got todosomething.”
Everyone turns to him.
“What?” Piper asks, frowning.
Luc throws his arms out like it’s obvious. “Believe me, if I’m good at something, aside from looking like sex in compression pants, it’s media. Perception, building a legend.” He grins widely. “Now’s the time to rebrand and reshape the image. To put Mase’s reputation back together.”
Mason’s hand tightens around mine. “And how exactly do you want to do that?”
“We go back to how things were before, to what people loved about us.” Luc levels him with a look, eyes gleaming. “The rivalry’s back, Pretty Boy. Raine’s out. Greer’s out. Alaina’s out. It’s justyou and me.”
Holy shit.
He’s right.
Itisjust them now. They’re the last two standing in the race for the overall.
“That’s an amazing idea,” Dane mutters.
“Fucking brilliant,” Otis echoes.
Mason looks over at his dad, who is still a little red-eyed, as he nods. “He’s right. Use the momentum, be who you want to be.”
Mason looks down at the floor for a beat, and when he lifts his head, there’s a real smile on his face. “Then let’s fucking go.”
“That’s the spirit! Come on.” Luc grabs his arm like he can’t physically hold the energy in anymore and drags himtoward the back of the house. “We’re going to do a live on the socials.”
“Why the hell does it have to be live?” Mason protests, giving me a look of amused surrender over his shoulder.
Dane and Finn stand, and before I can move, Dane pulls me into a tight hug. “We’ve made it, Speedbump.”
The words split something in my chest, and I hug him back fiercely. “Thanks for never giving up on me.”
“Never,” he promises, giving me one last squeeze before letting go.
Finn threads his fingers through mine before looking over at Dane. “We’re gonna go supervise. Make sure they don’t blow up their reputations while trying to save them.”
Piper snorts and hands Toulouse over to Otis, who sits down next to her on the couch. “Good luck.”
We step outside into the soft gold of late afternoon light, the trailhead just visible past the edge of the lawn.
