Page 250 of Rogue Riders Duet

The problem is, I don’t even know where to start. I don’t know when they’re leaving for Val di Sole, or what the next steps are, and I’m not about to stalk the girl I already broke. So, since Luc sent that message, it’s now or never.

It doesn’t help that Dane is still pissed. Not even cold-pissed, but scalding. The kind of fury that takes years to burn off. And honestly? I can’t blame him. There’s probably nothing I can say or do that’ll make that right. I betrayed him in every way that matters.

But if I can be there for her, even just quietly, from the sidelines, I’ll take it. That’s what I’ve been trying to figure out. How to support her without making her life harder. How to be there when she needs me without pushing my way into spaces I don’t deserve anymore.

I’m starting with something simple. Buying a beat-up car from some sketchy dealer ten blocks from the hotel, so I can drive to Val di Sole on my own and not be a burden. I’ve got an appointment to check it out this afternoon. It’s cheap and ugly, but hopefully functional.

Not unlike me.

Walking toward the wing I remember, my nerves build again with every step. The halls are too clean, too quiet, and my heartbeat thuds louder than my footsteps. Then I turn a corner and freeze.

Just ahead, clustered near the nurse’s desk, are Dane, Alaina, Payne, and Delacroix.

Shit.

I step back fast, pressing myself flat against the wall, just out of sight, and my lungs lock like they forgot how to work.

So much for being brave.

Peeking around the edge of the corner, careful not to be seen, I see Alaina holding a paper bag, its edges crinkled.

Dane eyes it, brows furrowed as he asks, just loud enough for me to hear. “What’s with all the meds? I thought they said the fingers are healing well.”

She shrugs a little, adjusting her grip. “I asked them to give me enough painkillers to last until we’re back in Snowshoe.”

Dane’s voice drops. “You feel better with them?”

Alaina nods. “Yeah. I don’t hurt.”

Beauty. That’s good.

That’s fucking good.

My shoulders sag with relief. At least the physical pain is under control.

Dane’s next words come quieter, tinged with something that sounds like fear. “And what happens when they run out?”

A cold shiver runs down my spine at the dread I hear in Dane’s voice, but Luc’s hand is already wrapped around Alaina’s, and she looks up at him, gaze soft. “Then we’ll find something else that helps me.”

Delacroix smiles, leans down, and presses a kiss to her temple. “Oui, we will, Petite.”

Dane is just standing there, staring at the two of them. His mouth parts, and it looks like tears are welling up in his eyes, but it’s hard to tell from this distance. Then he steps forward and crushes Alaina against his chest.

“Fuck, Dane,” she groans. “I can’t breathe.”

He releases her with a choked laugh and then reaches out for Delacroix. Dane grabs him by the head and pulls him in, foreheads touching, almost like brothers. “Who would’ve thought that you, idiot, would be so good to have around?”

He chuckles. “I like you, too, old man.”

They’re laughing, hugging, healing, and I stand there like a ghost, watching it all from a distance I don’t know how to cross.

Delacroix looks good for her. Strong. Steady. Present. He’s not the idiot I got to know anymore. He changed for her. He holds her pain like it doesn’t scare him, and maybe he doesn’t just look like what she needs.

Maybe he is.

I changed for her, too, the last few days, didn’t I? Gutted my whole life to try to make space for the kind of man she needed, but apparently, I’m still not him, never was.

I swallow hard and step back fully, pressing my head against the cold hospital wall. Maybe this time, the right thing to do isn’t to fight, but to know when to let go.