Chapter Twenty-Three #2
Wolfe’s mother hugs Andre, then Talon and Sayshen. She holds Reign longer than I expect, presses one hand against the side of Revel’s face when he can’t seem to find anything to say, and when she reaches Thorne, he goes completely rigid.
For half a second, I think he might step back.
She doesn’t give him the chance.
She wraps both arms around him, and Thorne closes his eyes.
Draygon stands beside him with one hand resting against the middle of his back until the hug ends.
Then she turns toward me.
Her eyes search my face.
“Echo?”
My throat tightens. “Yeah.”
She stares at me for another second, and there’s something almost knowing in her expression.
“He talked about you.”
I don’t have anything clever for that. No joke. No sarcastic little shield.
“Oh.”
Brilliant.
She reaches for me and pulls me into a hug before I can find anything better.
“I’m sorry,” I whisper.
“So am I.”
Her voice breaks against my shoulder, and I hold her tighter.
When she steps back, she keeps both hands around mine.
“He was happy here.”
That nearly does me in.
I blink hard. “He made us happy too.”
Her mouth trembles, and neither of us tries to keep talking.
The organizers are doing a tribute before the first starts. We’ve known about it since yesterday, but knowing and standing here while the screens are being prepared are two completely different things.
By the time the riders are supposed to start final prep, nobody looks like they want to get near a motorcycle.
Talon stands beside the transporter with his arms folded. Sayshen’s helmet is still on the bench. Reign hasn’t zipped his leathers. Revel is sitting on a tire-warmer case with his forearms resting on his thighs, while Draygon leans against the wall and Thorne hasn’t even picked up his gloves.
Andre looks at all of them for a long moment.
Finally, Talon says what everyone is thinking.
“I don’t want to do this.”
Sayshen exhales through his nose. “Neither do I.”
Reign rubs both hands over his face. “Its feels so fucking wrong without him.”
Revel looks across the paddock toward Wolfe’s family. “They came all this way.”
Andre turns toward him. “And I already told you all, that does not mean you owe them a race.”
“I know.” Revel’s voice stays low. “That’s not what I mean.”
I understand what he does mean.
None of us believes Wolfe’s family expects anything from them. His mother would probably rather every one of them get on a plane and never touch a motorcycle again.
But they’re standing here because this race mattered to Wolfe.
The TT is about to say his name over the speakers in front of thousands of people because he came here to race, and somehow leaving before that happens feels like giving the course the final word.
Thorne is the next one to speak.
“I’m riding for him.”
Andre’s eyes settle on him, and Thorne looks toward Wolfe’s empty bay, jaw tight.
“This was supposed to be ours. All of us. So if we’re doing it without him, then I want it to mean something.”
Talon’s expression shifts.
“A tribute.”
“Yeah.” Thorne swallows hard. “A final ride for our mate.”
Draygon pushes away from the transporter first. “I’m in.”
Reign glances toward Lena, then gives a slow nod. Sayshen reaches for his helmet, his face set, while Revel gets to his feet beside him.
Talon looks around at all of them before turning back to Andre.
“Then we finish it for Wolfe.”
Andre’s jaw tightens, emotion flashing across his face before he gives one firm nod.
“Then we do it right.”
My stomach twists as I listen to them agree, one by one, and before I can overthink it, the words are out.
“I want to race too.”
That gets everyone’s attention.
Talon’s expression hardens first, while Draygon straightens beside the transporter and Thorne looks at me like I’ve just announced I’m planning to ride straight into the sea.
Sayshen’s brows pull together, and Andre stays quiet, watching me in that way he does when he’s trying to work out whether I’m serious or just running headfirst into my own grief.
Talon shakes his head.
“Not a fucking chance. We just lost Wolfe on that course, and you’ve spent the last two days barely sleeping. I’m not pretending I’m okay with putting you out there too.”
Draygon’s jaw tightens in agreement.
“Neither am I. I trust you on a bike, but that doesn’t mean I want to watch you disappear onto the same road that took him.”
Thorne drags a hand over his face and starts to pace.
Their fear lands harder than the refusal, because I understand it. I feel the same thing every time I look at their leathers, their helmets, the bikes lined up behind us, but that doesn’t change what I want.
“I know exactly what I’m asking,” I say, keeping my voice steady.
“I’m scared too, and I’m not trying to prove anything.
I’ve ridden the course in practice, I know the bike, I know my limits, and I know when to back off.
You’re all choosing to go out there because this race means something now, because you want it to be a tribute to Wolfe. I want to be part of that too.”
Andre studies me for a second before asking, “Is that really what you want, or is this grief talking?”
“It’s what I want.”
Sayshen looks at Andre, then back at me. “She can ride.”
“I know she can,” Andre says, his attention never leaving me. “That’s not the part I’m questioning.”
Talon gives him a sharp look, but Andre keeps going.
“There is an open entry. The organizers cleared Wolfe’s slot for a reserve, but if you take it, you have to take it as part of this team. Officially.”
I stare at him.
“What does that mean?”
“It means you won’t be a mechanic filling in for a rider. You become a Speed Demon, and you take the start he left open.”
The words hit harder than I expect.
I look toward Wolfe’s empty bay before forcing myself to look back at Andre.
“I’m not replacing him.”
“Nobody is,” Andre says immediately. “That isn’t what this is.”
Talon’s shoulders are still rigid, but Sayshen looks more thoughtful now, and even Draygon’s expression has shifted from outright refusal to reluctant worry.
Thorne is the one I look at last.
“You’re asking me to stand here and trust you to ride that course because you need to do it,” I tell him. “I’m asking for the same thing back.”
His eyes stay on mine for a long moment before his jaw tightens.
“I fucking hate that you’re making sense.”
Before anyone can say more, movement at the edge of the bay pulls our attention.
My father is walking toward us with Wolfe’s parents.
Dad takes one look at the group before his eyes land on me.
“What’s going on?”
I answer before anyone else can.
“I want to race.”
His face changes instantly, surprise first, then fear.
Wolfe’s mother looks between me and the bikes before settling her attention on me.
“You want his start?”
I swallow. “The open start. I don’t want his number, and I don’t want anyone thinking I’m trying to take his place.”
Her expression softens immediately.
“Oh, sweetheart, no one could.”
She steps closer, her eyes already shining.
“Wolfe loved you.”
My throat closes.
She looks past me toward the rest of the team, and when she speaks again, there’s grief in her voice, but there’s pride too.
“He loved all of you. He talked about this team like it was home. Talon, Sayshen, Reign, Revel, Draygon, Thorne… all of you. You were his family out here, and he knew it.”
Nobody says anything.
Wolfe’s mother looks back at me.
“He loved you very much, Echo. You could hear it every time he talked about you, regardless of how fast it happened.”
My eyes burn so fast I have to blink hard.
She reaches for my hand.
“If someone is going to take the start he can’t, I can’t think of anyone he would rather see there.”
Wolfe’s father nods beside her. “Neither can I.”
That does something to the whole group.
I never needed Wolfe’s parents permission, but hearing his parents give me their blessing, makes this feel less like stepping into a hole he left behind and more like carrying one piece of him forward with the people he loved.
My father looks at Andre. “Can she do it?”
Andre doesn’t hesitate.
“Yes. She knows the course, she knows the bike, and she has the skill. She just has to ride her own race.”
Dad looks back at me, fear still written all over his face.
Then he gives one slow nod.
“If this is what you want, then go for it. You have my support.”
Talon exhales hard and looks away clearly annoyed everyone is okay with this, but Sayshen steps closer and puts a hand on his shoulder.
“She’s ready.”
Thorne gives me one long, miserable look before finally nodding. “Stay inside your limits. Don’t chase anyone, and if anything feels wrong, you bring it back.”
“I will.”
Talon is the last one still holding onto the fear.
I step closer to him.
“You trusted me with your bike. You trusted me in practice. I’m not asking you to stop being scared. I’m asking you to trust me anyway.”
His expression shifts.
For a second, he just looks at me, then reaches up and squeezes the back of my neck.
“You ride smart.”
“I will.”
“And you come back.”
I swallow the lump in my throat. “I’ll do everything I can.”
He nods once and that’s enough.
Andre looks around at the rest of the team, then back at me.
“Then it’s settled.”
My chest tightens.
He gives me the smallest nod.
“Welcome to the Speed Demons.”
For a second, all I can do is look at him, then at Talon, Sayshen, Draygon, Thorne, my father, and finally Wolfe’s parents standing beside them.
Wolfe’s mother is still holding my hand.
Behind all of us, his bay is empty.
This is not how I imagined joining the team.
But none of today looks the way any of us imagined.
If Wolfe’s final race with the Speed Demons has to happen without him, then I can carry one small piece of it forward.
His place on the grid.
One final ride for him.
Andre reaches for his clipboard. “What number?”
“Three.”
He looks up at me for half a second, then nods and writes it down. “Three it is.”
Three.