Page 79 of Dagger

“Got it,” she replied. “Be careful and keep me posted on injuries.”

Suddenly, a loud boom filled the air. It was so forceful that the room seemed to shake with the strength of it.

“Gotta go,” Atlas barked, and the line went dead.

“What the fuck was that?” Cara asked, eyes wide with disbelief.

Kennedy’s lips twitched as she looked at Sophie, who looked back at her with an eye roll. After a pause, they both said one word in perfect unison.

“Kit!”

Cara busted out a laugh. “Do you think he’s blown them up?”

“Probably,” Kennedy confirmed, making an ‘eek’ face.

“Are you going to call Iris?” Layla inquired, her tone impatient.

“I’m not your fucking receptionist,” Ned muttered, passing Layla her cell. “You do it.”

Layla snatched the phone from her. “My cell phone’s probably underneath a table somewhere. Sorry to inconvenience you by checking Iris and my kids are safe.”

“They’ll be fine,” Kennedy replied, exasperated. “Iris isn’t stupid. She’d have called if there was a problem. Right now, she’s probably the safest out of all of us.”

“Ned’s right,” Sophie said reassuringly. “But you’re right to give her a call, if only to put your mind at rest.”

Layla shot Kennedy a dark look before turning her back on us, her fingers flying over the cell’s buttons. Iris must have answered immediately because Layla walked away, talking urgently into the phone.

Sophie narrowed her eyes at Kennedy.

Ned huffed. “What?”

“Why do you have to yank her chain?” Sophie demanded. “We’re getting ambushed by a rival club, and instead of working together, you go for Layla’s jugular.”

Ned shrugged nonchalantly. “I’ve still not forgiven her for the Freya thing.”

“What Freya thing?” I asked curiously, glancing at her across the room, talking with Adele.

“When everything came out about Freya and Colt, Bowie and Layla took John’s side and turned their backs on them.” Kennedy informed me. “It pissed me off because, from what I’ve been told, it was Freya who had Layla’s back when Bowie fucked her over at the beginning of their relationship. When Freya needed the same loyalty, Layla left her swinging.”

“Ned—” Sophie began, but Kennedy cut her off.

“Don’t defend her. They turned against Freya for falling in love. It was a shitty thing to do, so why should we brush it under the rug?”

“Kennedy,” Sophie interrupted.

Ned slashed an angry hand through the air. “I don’t want to hear it.”

I caught a flash of red-brown hair at Kennedy’s back, and my heart dropped. “Umm, Ned—” I began.

Kennedy cocked a hip and punched a hand to it, continuing her rant. “If I fuck up or Cara fucks up, we’re called out on it, so why shouldn’t she be held accountable, too?”

“I didn’t agree with Bowie,” a soft voice murmured.

Sophie’s eyes bugged out at Kennedy, and she said with gritted teeth, “That’s what I was trying to tell you; Layla’s right there.”

Kennedy spun around to face the other woman and sighed. “I’m sorry you had to hear it like that, but I have a problem with the way you treated Freya.”

“Obviously,” Layla replied sarcastically.

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