Page 183 of Bend

His face is wet, and he looks straight at Andre.

“Tell me.”

Andre can’t.

Thorne turns to me instead.

For one horrible second, he doesn’t look like Thorne at all. No grin. No sarcasm. No attitude.

Just scared.

“Echo.”

My throat closes.

He steps closer.

“Tell me he’s alive.”

I can’t.

And I watch him understand anyway.

The helmet slips from his hand and hits the ground between us.

He doesn’t look down.

Neither do I.

Wolfe is gone.

Chapter Twenty-One

Thorne

My helmet hits the ground, rolls once, and knocks against the side of my boot.

Nobody picks it up.

Nobody says a fucking word.

I’m still staring at Echo, waiting for her to answer the question I already know she can’t, because apparently some completely useless part of my brain has decided that if she tells me Wolfe’s alive, then he is. Doesn’t matter what Andre’s been told. Doesn’t matter that Echo’s face is soaked with tears, or that Talon’s standing ten feet away with both hands locked over his head like he’s trying to hold himself together.

Doesn’t matter that Draygon hasn’t moved since he got off his bike.

None of it fucking matters.

I asked her to tell me he’s alive, so she needs to bloody tell me.

Echo’s mouth opens, but nothing comes out.

And that’s when I know.

Properly know.

Something inside me just switches off.

It doesn’t break. Breaking would mean I can actually feel something, and right now there’s fuck all. My body’s still buzzing from the bike, fingers aching from how hard I gripped the bars all the way back, thighs tight, shoulders burning, sweat going cold beneath my leathers, but all of it feels like it belongs to some other bloke.