Page 19 of Broken Breath (Rogue Riders Duet #1)

I cough hard. Once. Twice. But it’s no good, my chest seizes with it.

Suddenly, it’s not just a cough, it’s fucking pain.

There’s not enough space for air. I grip my handlebars for life as I fold forward, trying to swallow it down, trying not to make another sound.

My pulse jackhammers, but the debris coats my throat, rubbing it raw.

I. Can’t. Breathe .

I look toward Mason as he tilts his head, angling his body toward me, and I catch my reflection in his goggles. I’m folded over, shaking.

Something about that forces my panic to pause, like a hand on a volume knob, turning the fear down just enough for me to remember myself.

Get it together.

I suck in a slow breath. It’s shaky and shallow, but it’s enough.

Calm the fuck down. You’re fine. You’re okay .

There isn’t a branch in your lung.

The air tastes like dust and shame, but I’m breathing again at least. As discreetly as possible, I slowly straighten my posture as if nothing happened.

An almost imperceptible nod comes from Mason, so small, I think I might’ve imagined it.

“ Pardon, Petit. Did I leave you in the dust?” Luc lifts his goggles, eyes full of mischief and fire.

Mason lifts a foot and kicks Luc’s rear tire. Hard.

Luc’s eyes narrow dangerously. “Oh, you did not .”

Still on his bike, he launches forward and slams into Mason. The impact knocks them right at me in a blur of limbs, metal, and fury.

I scramble backward, dragging myself and my bike out of the way just in time as they crash into the space I vacated.

They hit the dirt hard, half-wrestling, still tangled in their bikes, neither apparently willing to give the other an inch.

“Stop it!” I yell on instinct, forgetting myself and letting my voice come out way too high. Fuck . My breath catches in my throat as I scan the trail. Riders could come flying through any second. I force my voice lower, almost a hiss. “You’ll get disqualified if the wrong person sees this.”

They either don’t hear me or don’t care.

I shove my bike out of the way and throw myself between them, jamming my body into the narrow space where fists are still flying.

When Luc rears backward, I slap him hard across the helmet. “Enough!”

His arm shoots out, shoving me aside. My foot catches on that loose Polish dirt, and I fall backward, tumbling over the edge. Right into the rock garden.

I slam into the ground on my side. My left hip takes the brunt of it, a jagged stone punching through muscle just before I roll and roll, eventually coming to a stop at the bottom.

I only get one dazed second before the pain explodes through me.

A scream claws up my throat, but I choke it down so all that comes is a raw, gasping sound somewhere between a cry and a curse.

The world tilts, and I roll onto my side, curling in on myself. The nausea that’s been simmering all morning seizes that exact moment to roar up and strike.

I can’t feel my fingers as I fumble at my helmet strap, shaking all over as I tear it off just in time.

This morning’s energy drink and that half-dead cereal bar burn as I heave them up, worse than the dust in my throat before. My ribs contract painfully with every retch as my stomach tries to turn itself inside out.

Fuck.

My ears ring from the pain, and my vision is blurry with tears I desperately don’t want to let loose. My hip screams in a different way than its usual soreness, the pain coming white-hot and sharp, like someone is trying to carve it out of me with a dull blade.

When I finally stop retching, I’m left a sweaty, trembling mess.

“ Merde , I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to. You okay?”

Luc’s voice is wrong as he drops to his knees beside me. Too high. Too real .

Just like mine was. Does he have a fake voice too?

I glance up, and his blue eyes are wide, flicking over me, trying to assess the damage while also acting like he didn’t just cause it . His jersey has been pulled off one shoulder from the fight, and he’s covered in dust. He looks like a fucking mess, his eyes completely panicked .

Probably because he knows damn well he could be kicked off the circuit for this.

I wipe my mouth with the back of my gloved hand as he reaches toward me, a small tremble in his fingers like he doesn’t know what to do.

I lurch back. “Don’t touch me, asshole.” My voice comes out harsh and low, and it wasn’t even a mask this time.

His hand freezes midair, and he looks like I slapped him again, this time without needing to lift a finger. Maybe he realizes his charm can’t fix this.

I breathe through my teeth as I turn away from him to catalog my injuries, blinking fast against the tears that still want to fall.

Gritting my jaw, I heave myself up onto my knees.

Fuck, it hurts.

I have to plant a hand in the dirt just to keep from eating it again.

Black boots come into view, and even with my brain partially checked out from pain, I know it’s him. Mason stands silently over me with my bike in one hand and his other hand held out to me.

Another one of his offers.

I hesitate for one shaky breath, but then I take it. His grip is solid as he helps me to my feet, then steps back so I can get to my bike, like it’s nothing to him.

But right now, for me, it’s everything.

I don’t even care that he touched my bike as I swing one leg over with a grunt of pain and no grace or skill, but it doesn’t matter because I manage it.

“Should I call a medic?” Luc asks from somewhere behind me, sounding guilty. “I didn’t mean… fuck . I didn’t see you.”

I don’t answer him. I can’t.

I’m afraid to open my mouth .

Pulling on my helmet, I focus on nothing but forcing my legs to pedal just enough to nudge me into the line of the trail. Every bump brings fresh fire in my hip as I descend slowly, paying no attention as other riders overtake me. When I look back, I’m not surprised to find Mason riding behind me.

Silent support.

The only kind I can handle, apparently.

Every breath is a battle, every pedal a struggle, but I don’t stop.

I make it down the mountain one aching push at a time, and when I finally coast toward the bus, my vision is so blurred and spotty that I can barely see it.

I need ice.

I need pain meds.

And I need to be alone so I can fall apart for real.