Page 21 of Tater
Ren rode in the middle like she promised. Tater was ahead of her, back broad, shoulders stiff, chain glinting on his bars whenever a light caught it. Every few seconds he’d glance in his mirror, making sure she was still there. He didn’t have to. Ren wasn’t going anywhere.
The dragon liked the rhythm. It matched its heartbeat to the bikes, a low, steady rumble under her ribs.
“He’s thinking too much,”it said.
“Always does.”
“He’s afraid.”
“Of losing control?”
“Of losing you.”
The thought hit somewhere under the scars. Ren didn’t answer.
They stopped ten miles out, near the old rail bridge. The place smelled of rust and creosote. The men killed their engines one by one until all that was left was the click of cooling pipes.
Eagle started checking maps under a pocket flashlight, talking strategy with Brick. The others wandered, stretched, smoked. The air hung quietly, waiting.
Tater walked over to Ren. His face was unreadable, jaw set like he’d swallowed glass.
“You good?” he asked.
She shrugged. “Define good.”
“You standing.”
“Barely.”
“That’ll do.” He studied her a second, then said, “You don’t have to prove anything tonight.”
“I’m not proving,” she said. “I’m reminding.”
He looked at her for a long beat, then stepped closer, enough that the smell of leather and smoke wrapped around her.
“When this starts,” he said quietly, “I need your head clear. No hero shit.”
“Hero’s not what they call me.”
“Doesn’t mean you can’t die like one.”
That shut her up for a second. The wind picked up, carrying the distant wail of a coyote, long and lonely.
“I’m fine,” she said finally.
“Yeah.” He didn’t sound convinced. “You will be.”
He reached into his pocket and pulled out the bent link from my chain, held it up between two fingers. “Still keeping this.”
Ren raised an eyebrow. “Souvenir?”
“Reminder.”
“Of what?”
“That sometimes running headfirst into fire leaves more than burns.”
She didn’t know what to say to that, so she didn’t. Ren just watched the way the metal gleamed when he turned it. Then she reached out, took his hand, and closed his fingers around it.
