Page 208 of Rogue Riders Duet

He leans back like I hit him, dragging a hand down his face. “No way.”

“Yeah.”

“Fucking hell.” He shakes his head. “Why haven’t I seen this?”

“I know, right?” I let out a dry, bitter laugh. “I’m thinking the same thing. How the hell didn’t I notice? The way she rides or how Dane acted around her.” The ache pushes higher in my throat. “I had her right there in front of me, touched her, held her, and I still didn’t see it.”

Because it was easier to believe she was just some oddball kid, riding like a demon, than Alaina Crews back from the dead.

He’s still reeling, eyes wide. “I… that’s insane.”

“Yeah.”

“Crazy…” he says again, then, with a crooked smile, “… but damn, she’s bloody good.”

“What?”

“She outrides you and the others. You guys crush the women’s times by at least a minute, not seconds, and she’s at the front of your pack? That makes her the best female downhill racer in history.”

Shite, he’s right.

And he’s not done. “She’d tear the women’s category apart. It’d be a bloodbath.” He chuckles and shakes his head. “Honestly, it’s embarrassing for you guys, and I love it.”

I clench my jaw. “Dad, that’s not the fucking point.”

“No?” He cocks his head. “Then why is she racing the men’s elite?”

“I…” I pause. “I don’t know.”

“You don’t know? You found out something like that and didn’t ask why?”

And there it is, the thing that’s been clawing at my ribs since we left France.

I didn’t ask.

I didn’t stay to find out, even though Luc asked me to.

I ran away from her and the truth because the second I saw her lying in that bed, bruised and small and real, I didn’t want to be mad anymore, and I hated that I didn’t know how to forgive her either. So I left.

Because I don’t know how to ask why when I’m still stuck on how could you?

“I mean,” I mutter. “I did ask why she lied to me, and she didn’t have a real answer.”

Dad is still crouched beside the open door, arms braced on his knees. “But she didn’t lie to you, did she? She lied to everybody.”

I snap my head around, frustration bubbling back to the surface. “Why is everybody saying that like it makes it better?”

“Because it does, depending on her reasoning. If you had something that big to reveal, would you tell anyone? That doesn’t mean you’re targeting people or that you had ill intent.”

“Well, fuck. I don’t know.” I stare at the dashboard like it will give me answers. “But she did lie, and I don’t know why.”

“Exactly. Because you didn’t ask why.” He jabs a finger in my direction. “She was hurt badly back then, wasn’t she? I remember wondering how the hell a bike could snap like that, but, yeah. They said it was serious.”

“The headlines said she almost died that day.” My chest tightens when I think about my Bambi having been through all that.

Dad whistles low. “Shite. What a comeback.”

I groan. “Dad, stop being impressed by her.”