Page 301 of Rogue Riders Duet

“I can’t race with these fingers.”

He nods, not seeming at all surprised. “So what’s the plan? How do we fix it?”

“I was thinking duct tape.”

He huffs a laugh and raises a brow like he thinks I’m joking, gliding a hand down my arm again in a soothing gesture.

“I don’t want to talk about it,” I say, lightly shaking him off. “It’s just hard, okay? Everything’s fucking hard. I’ve basically just realized that I won’t be able to do what I came here to do. The thing I spent years planning. And then there’s the other thing.”

He frowns. “The other thing?”

“I screwed up,” I say softly, avoiding his gaze. “I wanted to help you, fix things for you.”

He seems stunned by that for a second, then asks, “How were you gonna do that?”

“I don’t know.” I pull the towel tighter. “Get Isla to confess. Get close to her, maybe, but she’s done with me.” Tears threaten, but I sniff them back, frustration boiling over. “Probably because I crashed, and now I’m not good enough anymore for her to be interested.”

Isn’t that the whole damn problem?

“Hey,” he says quietly, tenderly. “That’s not true.”

“It is.” My voice cracks. “Everything keeps circling back to that. That I’m not enough, not strong enough, or fast enough. Not worth it.”

“Bambi.” Mason cradles my cheek with his rough hand, his thumb grazing the ridge of my cheekbone. I lean into the touch before I can stop myself. “You spent years in pain for this plan, and you’ve just hit a huge obstacle in it. One that might make the plan not work.”

My chin wobbles under his touch, and his eyes soften with something almost reverent as he continues.

“After all that, what has you here, wanting to crash out by yourself in this dingy bus, is that you think you failed me.” He holds me a little firmer, making sure I’m looking him directly in the eyes as he says, “You’re the best of all of us. This is not about you not being good enough.”

“But Isla⁠—”

“No.” He cuts me off. “Honestly, I don’t want you to make her confess anything. I already told you once, I don’t want you to get in my shit and fight my battles for me.”

“But you didn’t do it! It’s not fair.”

“I know that,” he murmurs, still stroking me like he can soothe the words into my skin. “You know. Luc knows. Everyone who matters to me knows that, okay? And since I have you guys in my corner…” He exhales slowly. “It doesn’t feel so bad anymore.”

“But it still ruined your name and reputation. And there’s the sponsors and⁠—”

He slides his hand to the back of my neck and leans in, his mouth brushing my ear, sending a shiver down my spine.

“My name is just a name. I prefer being nobody.” He pulls me in so our foreheads touch. “I’ll keep standing, keep doing what I’m doing, and with you guys by my side, I’m fine. More than fine, really.”

He moves his head and nuzzles against me, then grazes his lips over where my neck meets my shoulder, the touch so soft that I can barely breathe.

“Don’t do reckless shit for me,” he whispers against my skin. “Don’t get close to her, only to get found out. I’d rather you stay safe than have my name cleared.”

“But why would you⁠—”

He tilts up my chin and kisses me, full of quiet conviction, pouring every unsaid word between us into it.

“Because the secret of the girl I’ve just realized I’m madly in love with is way more important than the shit anyone says about me.”

“Mason,” I rasp, barely more than a breath, my heart stumbling over itself.

“You’re my nobody, Alaina. But I want you to be my everything too.” He cups my face in both hands, his eyes burning into mine. “I know we said we want each other if Luc’s in the picture, but that’s not enough for me. I want us, you and me. Not just because we both belong to him, but because you want me too.”

I stare up at him, blinking through the ache behind my eyes as my heart flutters so fast it hurts.