The Road Goes Quiet Again
After the officers took over, the riders left one by one.
No applause.
No speeches.
No performance.
Just engines starting softly and motorcycles returning to the highway.
Cole passed Rook and gave him a small nod.
Dean checked on the rider who had nearly been clipped, then rode away as though it were any other Tuesday.
Rook stayed until Leah was safely inside the patrol car with Officer Mitchell.
Before she left, he reached into his vest pocket and held out a black pen.
“Keep one with you.”
Leah looked at it.
Then she took it and held it tightly.
“I will.”
Rook put on his helmet.
The road ahead opened wide again, bright beneath the Colorado sun.
But it did not feel like the same road it had been that morning.
Somewhere on that highway, a young woman had pressed her hand to a window.
And someone had finally seen her.
