Because of you, a little voice whispers in my head.
Right.
Because of me.
Dane exhales, rubbing a hand over his face. “I hope you get everything you want from this, Alaina. But you know it’s not guaranteed, and fuck, I’m still not sure it’s worth it.”
I don’t answer right away because he’s right. It’s not guaranteed, but when I close my eyes, I can already see it. The moment I win and rip off my helmet to laugh in Isaac Raine’s stupid, punchable face when I tell him who just left him in the dirt.
The one he left for dead, only for her to come back and show him that no matter what he does, no matter how hard he tries to keep us from racing, karma will always come back for him.
And karma wears the name Crews.
The simple truth is Isaac Raine can’t win if one of us is at the start.
And when the whole world sees what I did?
There will be consequences.
They won’t let this stand. The UCI will strip my name from the records, say my times don’t count, and they’ll probably sue me for fraud, rule violations, and whatever financial damages they can dream up. Hell, they’ll probably try to charge me for emotional distress. Isaac Raine’s, of course, anything to erase me from the sport entirely. The MTB world will explode. Some will call me a legend, others a disgrace. It won’t matter, though. I’ll never race again. They’ll make sure I can’t.
One more time, I stare at myself in the mirror, at the girl I used to be.
The one who loved racing for the rush, the freedom, and the feeling of flying before it became a mission, a fucking debt to be paid.
I should have died that day.I almost did.
And maybe I was supposed to. Maybe that was the ending I was meant to have crushed beneath shattered bones and broken breath, forgotten before I ever reached my peak.
But I didn’t die.
I lived.
For this.
And when I have it, when I take everything from Isaac Raine the way he took everything from me, I’ll finally end this, like it was supposed to end seven years ago.
Dane will have to put the blame on me to get out clean. That’s the plan, it has to be, but he doesn’t want to be in the MTB world anymore, anyway. He’s done. He’ll move on. He’ll be fine. Everyone will be fine.
And me?
I won’t be here to care.
My fingers tighten around the braid, and with a sharp breath and steady hands, I raise the scissors.
And cut.
CHAPTER TWO
Alaina
The second my boots hit the dirt outside the bus, Dane lets out a long, exaggerated whistle. “Damn. Look at you.”
I turn, already scowling before he even finishes. “Say something stupid, and I’ll run you over with my bike.”
“Nah, just…” Dane smirks, making a show of looking me up and down. “Didn’t realize I’d wake up with a brother today.”
“Shh,” I hiss, looking around to see whether anybody heard us before I punch him in the arm. Hard.
