Page 105 of Blood & Throttle

I’ve been keeping busy. Because grief’s like a fucking parasite. If I stop moving, it sinks its teeth in.

So I solder. I build. I rig explosives into things that probably shouldn’t explode. Because forward is the only direction that doesn’t kill me.

“Toss me the signal dampener,” I say.

Bishop lobs it over without looking. “Track layout?”

“No map,” I say, slotting the dampener into place. “Dead Zone’s just a black fucking hole. No lights. No GPS. Riot’s onboard system won’t read anything underground. I’m loading backup heat scans and motion pulses. If something breathes near us, we’ll know.”

Bishop grunts. “Smart. Half the fuckers out there are going in blind.”

“And the other half?”

He shrugs. “Won’t make it out anyway.”

I don’t laugh.

The new district’s already a graveyard waiting to happen.

The Hollow used to be a mining city before it turned into a pit of ash and abandonment. Now it’s tunnels and silence and The Dead Zone eats whatever stumbles inside. The only light comes from worn LEDs strung across scaffold remnants.

Across the hangar, I spot Jace.

Because of course I do.

He’s leaned over his bike with that smug, predator look, like he already knows whose blood he’s gonna taste. And beside him? Vex. His new ride-along.

Lean. Pale. Patchwork leather and cybernetic eyes that glow faint green like a bad habit. Rumor says he’s from District Omen. Cut an entire crew to pieces while they slept and smiled through the whole thing. Now he’s Jace’s new shadow.

A ghost with teeth.

And the two of them together?

Yeah. They’re a problem.

But it’s not just them. Other racers are pairing off now. Tandem setups everywhere. Riot and I started it without trying. But now?

Now everyone’s trying to copy the kill dynamic. One rider,one shooter. One to steer, one to slaughter. Two eyes and one goddamn death machine.

But they don’t know what it takes. What it costs.

They’re copying a warship without understanding the war.

I glance back at Riot. He hasn’t moved. Still watching me like he’s daring someone to touch me.

He’ll kill them if they do.

I know that now.

I don’t doubt it anymore.

But this race? The Dead Zone?

It’s not just traps and collapsing tunnels.

It’s the moment Kane’s been waiting for.

He’s running out of patience. Every breath I take is another chance for the truth to crawl out of the shadows. Another step toward the secret he buried, and Kane doesn’t do loose ends.