Chapter 16

Lot Of Love - Lithe

Tensions are high on the track. Sitting up in the bleachers with my brother and Bex, we watch as the guys line up on the track for the first heat race of the day. Cruz, like the cocky fuck that he is, pulled right up next to Christian. Though I didn't witness their little argument yesterday, I've been told it got pretty fucking heated. Not that I'm surprised. Cruz has never been one to let threats against those close to him go. Christian is just lucky he left Lena out of it, or he never would've walked away.

Granted, the whole team probably would've reacted the same way Cruz did. We might not be blood, and we may come from all different backgrounds and places, but we're a family. Now, Bex is a part of our family, too, and if Christian has to go down to protect her, we're all willing to pull the trigger. No regrets and no looking back.

Cruz and Christian exchange heated words at the front line. Sensing the tension, Reign pulls his bike up behind Cruz's. Bumping his back tire to draw his attention. Cruz looks back at him, clearly agitated. Reign shakes his head at him to stop.

"What do you think that's about?" Sayshen asks, leaning his back against the metal seat behind us.

"Christian's attempt to get Cruz's head out of the race," I explain. "Odds are Cruz is still pissed about last night, and because Christian knows he doesn't stand a chance of beating him fairly, he wants to distract him. Piss him off so much that it's not about the race anymore, it's about beating Christian."

"Wouldn't that be a good thing?" Bexley whispers as she pulls her knees into her chest to keep warm. It's overcast here today, leaving it chilly and cool. Pulling my Now Or Never hoodie over my head, I hand it to her.

"Here, put it on," I explain. Her eyes meet mine as she smiles.

"Thanks," she replies softly before putting it on. It's huge on her, as I expected. But fuck if she doesn't look adorable wearing it. Her dark hair is pulled back from her face into a high pony today, showing off her high cheekbones and gorgeous neck. Especially now that there's no sign of bruising on it. She isn't used to showing off much skin, probably due to always having marks on her body that she's forced to hide. Sayshen's eyes meet mine, and his lips pull into a shit-eating grin as he crosses his arms over his chest.

Cocky fuck.

"No problem," I add just as the horn blows, signaling the start of the race. All our eyes snap to the track, watching as the bike revs before taking off. After the first lap, Cruz is still in the front, with Christian close behind him. Reign is trying to keep up but it's clear to everyone in the bleachers that something is happening. Neither of them are using their heads. They're taking corners at dangerous speeds.

"What the fuck is he doing?" Sayshen's voice does little to hide his concern. Cruz takes the last corner before the straightaway, zipping past us with Christian right on his ass. As Reign passes, he looks up at us, shrugging his shoulders. Even he doesn't know whats going through Cruz's head.

"I don't know, but Cruz better slow it down. Beating Christian isn't worth the risk," I spit. Cruz and Christian tear down the straightaway, approaching the next turn before the third lap. Christian increases his speed, coming up along side of Cruz, trying to force him out. But Cruz doesn't back off. Instead, he pushes back, trying to use the upcoming turn to his advantage. The crowd panics. Gasping with terror, they watch the race before them.

Fucking idiot.

Pissed off that Cruz isn't giving up so easily. Christian inches closer, but at the speeds they're going, the bikes are barely controllable. Approaching the next turn, Christian tries again, pushing up on Cruz just as they're about to turn, but his front wheel wobbles just when they're taking the apex, and he hits Cruz's back tire. The impact causes Cruz's tire to lose its grip on the tarmac. Cruz's bike goes down, and he's thrown over the handlebars. The force sends him violently rolling across the tarmac. I watch. Unable to tear my eyes from my friend and teammate as his body is thrown around like a rag doll, rolling and tumbling across the track until it stops. His bike skids and cartwheels behind him before landing on top of him.

Crushing him.

The riders behind them don't have enough time to react. Reign tries to swerve but ends up going down right behind Cruz. He's thrown off and follows his bike as it slides across the tarmac. His bike ends up right in the path of one of the Nomads, who also goes down when trying to avoid it.

My heart stops. Around us, the people in the bleachers are all freaking out. Some running down the narrow metal stairs to get to the track. Others sobbing as we're all forced to watch the sheer carnage before us.

The Corner Marshalls begin waving their red flags simultaneously, signaling to the other racers to stop and exit the track. Sayshen takes off down the bleacher stairs. He finds Thorne at the bottom, and together they head out to the crash site on foot. Debris covers a large section of the track, some of which is completely engulfed in bright orange flames.

High-side crashes are always brutal, but the moment I saw Cruz's bike come down on him. My stomach twisted, and the world around us seemed to freeze.

The Nomad racer is up, walking around but clearly shaken up. Reign is moving, but even from here, I can tell it's not good. He's sitting up, rocking back and forth, holding his leg in his hands as he cries out in pain.

Cruz hasn't moved. His bike, still laying across his torso as thick black smoke billows out from it.

"Fuck. This isn't good," I mutter and I stand. Christian approaches the exit lane of the track and stops. He flips his visor open, and looks back over his shoulder at the chaos he created, before turning his eyes to where Bex and I are standing in the crowd. Even with only his eyes exposed, I can tell behind his helmet he's smiling.

"Go," Bex whispers from beside me. Her voice pulls me back to reality. "What are you waiting for? Get down there," she adds. But I know I can't. We all do. As much as I want to be down there checking on the guys, I can't leave Bexley alone. I can't leave Christian an opening to fucking touch her, and even if I went down there, there is nothing I can do for any of them that Sayshen and Thorne can't handle.

"No, I'm not leaving you," I reply as I watch Christian pull off the track and head back into the pits. Piece of shit. If having his blood on my hands was a possibility before this, it's an absolution now.

Christian Cordova is a fucking dead man.

Red and white lights, followed by the loud siren sound, signal the ambulance as it heads out onto the track just as Sayshen and Thorne reach Cruz. Working together, they quickly pull the bike from his body, and the second they do, I know from my brother's reaction that it isn't good.

Thorne collapses, pulling Cruz's limp body into his lap before trying to wake him up with no success. Sayshen's hands find their way to his head as he paces about frantically before waving down the ambulance.

The paramedics rush to Cruz. Checking his vitals before pulling off his helmet and cutting open the chest part of his suit. One of the paramedics makes his way over to Reign and tries to help him, but he refuses, telling the medic to focus on Cruz.

"I─I can't watch this anymore. I'm going to go find Lena," Bex adds. I grab her arm with my hand, and her eyes snap to mine.

"I'm coming with you," I reply. The last thing I want to do is leave my boys, but Bex is right. We need to find Lena. She nods, slowly taking my hand in hers as she guides me down the stairs.

As we head back to the pits, I take one last look over my shoulder to find black smoke billowing up into the air, and something inside me just fucking knows that today, we lost our brother. That our Demons family just lost a member. Though I'm not showing it on the outside, on the inside I am in fucking pieces.

Visions of the bike coming down on Cruz replay in my head as Bexley leads me through the pits. The sound of a chopper hits my ears before it comes into view, flying over the pits and campsite on its way to the track.

When we reach Lena and Cruz's trailer, the screen door is wide open, and the wind is banging it off the side of the trailer. Bex quickly releases my hand and heads inside in search of Lena. My hands find their way to my hair, gripping and pulling tightly at my roots.

"She's not in here," she explains as she emerges. "Do you think she would've gone out onto the track after hearing all the commotion?"

"Fuck!" I shout, kicking one of the lawn chairs set up under Cruz's tent. Bex rushes to my side. Taking my hands in hers, she wraps them around her small frame before pulling me into a hug. "I can't believe this is fucking happening. He's fucking gone."

"Shh. I know it's hard, but don't think like that. Not yet. Cruz is tough. He's a fucking fighter and we don't know all the facts yet, okay? The paramedics are with him, they'll help him. Just breathe. Stay calm. The team is going to need you, Talon. You have to be strong."

"I can't. Not right now." The helicopter flies overhead again on its way back to the hospital just as Andre pulls up to Cruz's trailer on a golf cart with Sayshen and Thorne. Bex releases me, and we both turn toward them as they park.

As he steps off the golf cart, my brother lifts his swollen and tear-stained eyes to mine.

"He's gone."