Page 75 of Reckless

And just like that, Ghost is moving again.

Bear reaches me, and I watch Koa disappear down the embankment to check on Mace before Koa’s voice carries back toward us.

“He’s up!” Koa calls out.

Relief slams into me so hard my knees almost give out.

A minute later, Mace appears, one arm slung over Koa’s shoulders. He’s limping badly, every other step making him grit his teeth, his cut torn open across one shoulder where he’d hit the gravel. Dirt streaks one side of his face, blood trickles from a split above his eyebrow, and both palms are scraped raw despite the gloves he’d been wearing. One knee of his jeans is shredded clean through, and even from here, I can see him favoring his ribs every time he breathes.

“Well,” Mace mutters as Koa guides him back toward us. “That was rude.”

A bark of laughter escapes Deek before he immediately remembers he’s supposed to be angry. “My bike!” He stalks over to the mangled Harley lying on its side, pointing accusingly at the twisted front wheel. “Did you bastards see what they did to my goddamn front end?”

Bear snorts. “We also saw Mace eat half the shoulder.”

“I’m aware!” Deek throws his hands in the air. “I’m capable of being angry at multiple things at once,” he says as he holds out his leg, showing the tears in his jeans from the impacts.

Ghost drops into a crouch in front of Mace before he’s even settled against the roadside barrier. His hands are already checking him over, pressing carefully along his shoulder and ribs, his eyes fixed on Mace’s face instead of the injuries.

Deek finally tears his attention away from what used to be his front wheel and actually looks at Mace. His gaze drags from the blood running down the side of his face to the shredded knee of his jeans before settling on the awkward way he’s protecting his left side. He blows out a slow breath through his nose. “Well…” He points at Mace with two fingers. “You look like shit.”

Mace shifts on the barrier, trying to find a position that doesn’t hurt. “Thanks.” He winces. “I was aiming for rugged.”

Bear laughs. “I think you overshot.”

Mace flips him off without looking. The movement immediately makes him suck in a sharp breath, his free hand instinctively finding his ribs.

Ghost notices it straightaway, moving over Mace’s ribs, and I wrap my arms around myself to stop my body from shaking with the adrenaline rush. “So… ribs? Broken?”

Mace grimaces. “Yeah… probably.”

Deek folds his arms across his chest, studying him for another second before quietly shaking his head. “You scared the hell outta us, bro.”

The words hang there. Just long enough for Mace to glance up at him with raised eyebrows. Then, because Deek is physically incapable of leaving a sincere moment alone…

“If you scratch another bike, I’m charging you with crimes against humanity.”

Laughter ripples through the group. Even Mace manages one before immediately regretting it, grabbing at his side with a groan.

“See?” Deek points triumphantly. “You laugh, you’re alive.”

“That’s not how modern medicine works,” Mace mutters through clenched teeth.

“But it is how I check. You laugh… you’re good.”

Ghost doesn’t even look up. “It’s not how it works, Deek.”

Deek waves a dismissive hand. “You’re ruining my diagnostic process.”

Ghost completely ignores him, his attention never leaving Mace. “You dizzy?”

“A little.”

“You black out?”

Mace shakes his head. “No.”

“You remember going down?”