Page 130 of Twisted Trails
I never thoughtthiswould be my brother’s line, but here we are.
My unwrapped fingers shake as I wave the duct tape at him with a glare. “Well, I can’t fucking do it myself.”
Our standoff is happening right outside the bus, the gentle light filtering through the trees is no match for our angry energy. I’m already in my gear, helmet strapped to my bike, gloves loose in my pocket, fingers throbbing badly enough to make me want to scream because the painkillers haven’t fully kicked in yet.
But qualifying starts in twenty minutes, and I amnotsitting this one out.
“The fact that youcan’tdo it yourself…” Dane says slowly, like he’s explaining something to a toddler, “… should tell you how bad of a fucking idea it is.”
“I can’t ride like this,” I hiss. “I can’t hold on.”
He crosses his arms. “Then maybe, justmaybe, you shouldn’t fucking ride.”
“Fine. If you won’t do it, I’ll find someone who will.”
He snorts. “And who’s gonna do that, huh?”
I clutch the duct tape to my chest like the treasure it is and march away, calling one name over my shoulder. “Luc.”
Dane’s footfalls thud after mine. “Even that crazy motherfucker wouldn’t risk you like that.”
“You confident about that?” I ask, upping my pace to the gondola station.
Mason, Luc, and Otis are all in various stages of gearing up at the gondola station while Piper stands by with Toulouse in her palm.
Luc looks up first, sees the fury storming across my face, and lifts a brow. “Somebody’s in amoodtoday.”
I chuck my duct tape at him, and he catches it midair with a frown. “What the hell is this?”
I stop right in front of him with my bike, then lay my fingers across the grip. “Tape my hand on, please.”
“Okay.” Luc tilts his head. “Say more words but make them makesensethis time.”
I huff impatiently. “I can’t grip properly, so tape me down. I’ll handle the rest.”
To his credit, he looks like he’s actually considering it when Mason snatches the tape from him. “Hellno. Are you fucking insane?”
I throw my good hand in the air. “I told you, I can’t hold on. I need something.”
“Not a death wish.”
I snatch the roll back from him and point it at Otis. “Willyou?”
He steps back like the tape might bite him. “No way.” He holds up both hands and laughs. “Not touching that. If I do it, at least three guys will kill me. Four, probably.”
I blink at him, then glance at Piper. “Piper. Please?”
“Nope. I know what that shit could do to you, so I’m doing you a favor.”
Dane slings an arm over her shoulder. “Go on, darling.Enlightenher.”
Piper sighs like she’s about to recite a well-rehearsed monologue. “Okay. Worst case? You reinjure your fingers so badly that you’ll never use them again. Or your whole hand. Your wrist. Your arm. If you crash, which, by the way, just happened, your bikewillfly out from under you, then you could rip the muscles on your entire left side.”
She pauses, letting that horrible image sink in, then looks me dead in the eye. “And if your bike decides to yeet itself down the mountain, it’ll takeyouwith it.”
Dread pools in my stomach, and I swallow hard. My body remembers my recent yeeting down the mountain of Les Gets with screaming nerves and phantom bruises. Fuck.
Piper raises both brows. “So, yeah. Not recommended.”
