Page 5 of Break Me

Translation. You and I aren’t done talking about how close that run came to turning into a body count.

Raven elbows him lightly. “Not now.”

Knox ignores her, because of course he does. “You coming straight from here, or do you have other plans first?”

“Straight from here,” I answer. “I have to finish patching up your sister’s car before I head back to the clubhouse. Pretty sure this thing’s got more attitude than she does.”

“It’s not that bad,” she argues weakly, but the smile tugging at her mouth says she knows damn well her car’s a disaster.

I raise my hand, palm out, showing her the busted knuckles again. “You sure about that?”

Her smile falters. Just a little. Her eyes trace over the swollen skin, the dried blood, the split knuckles that are threatening to reopen.

“That wasn’t my car,” she says softly.

“No,” I admit. “But your car’s trying to finish the job.”

She lets out a breathy laugh, half worry, half amusement, and reaches like she might touch my hand, then stops herself at the last second, fingers curling back around the tray instead.

Knox steps in closer, his posture shifting in a silent back-off warning. “Let’s go,” he says. “I’ll drive you home.”

“On your bike?” she asks, hope flickering across her face.

“No. In my truck.”

She deflates a little. “Why? It’s not even icy.”

“It’s cold,” Knox says flatly.

Raven rolls her eyes hard. She doesn’t argue, out loud, but her mouth is set in a mutinous little line that tells me she wants to.

Knox gives her elbow a little tug. “Come on.”

Her eyes drop to my bloody knuckles once again. “Make sure you clean and wrap those before tonight,” she says softly.

I lift a shoulder. “If I have time.”

Knox shoots me a look sharp enough to cut steel. “Try not to bleed on the tools. They’re expensive.”

Raven shoots him a glare. “Knox.”

He lifts both hands as though he's the picture of innocence. The smirk pulling at his mouth ruins the act.

Raven’s lips curve in a faint smile that makes the whole damn morning worse and better. “See you later, Wolf,” she says.

They head for the door, but Raven stops and looks back once before stepping out into the snow.

It’s only a heartbeat. But it hits hard enough that I feel it all the way down to the ribs that bastard kicked last night.

The door opens, letting the cold rush in. Knox glares at me like he’s seen more than I wanted him to. Then, they’re gone.

Mouse whistles. “You’re dead, man.”

“Shut up,” I mutter, but my pulse is still tripping over itself.

I lean back over the engine, but my hands won’t steady. This thing between Raven and me, whatever it is, whatever it’s becoming, is getting harder to hide.

I’ve tried to shut it down, but it’s too late. I’m already in way deeper than I should be.