Page 11 of Cold Hard Truth

I roll my eyes because the guys are always giving me crap for my cards and my fortunes. But they also always secretly come to me when they want to know something.

“They can say what they want.” I shrug, flipping over a card. “I’m not scared of the future, and if they are, that’s on them. Besides, if my cards bother anyone, they can walk away and not watch.”

“You’re the one who insists on hanging out in the clubhouse.” Sage narrows his eyes as I flip over another card. “Can’t you do this shit in the neighborhood?”

The neighborhood.

Some name for a place that’s more like a ghost town lately.

It was originally built so the council could keep their families close and safe. But in reality, it’s just another form of control. Proven by the fact that all the guys still have rooms at the clubhouse, including my father.

Anything interesting at the Twisted Kings compound doesn’t happen in the neighborhood. It happens here.

Something Sage knows as well, which is why he’s never there. He’d rather crash in the city at that place above the tattoo parlor or at the clubhouse than in his dad’s empty house that sits next to mine.

“I’m fine here,” I tell him. “It’s too quiet in the neighborhood. I can’t stand it.”

“Fine.” Sage pulls out the chair across the table from me. He spins it around and straddles it. “What kind of spells are you casting today?”

“They’re tarot cards. Not spells.” I roll my eyes. “And you can judge me all you want; you aren’t going to scare me away. Just because you’re too afraid to know your fate doesn’t mean everyone feels the same. Just ask Nick and Bullet. They were over here a few minutes ago happy to hear their fortunes.”

Sage glances over his shoulder at the guys milling around the clubhouse.

“You’re Kane’s daughter,” Sage says through gritted teeth. “They shouldn’t be talking to you.”

“Why not? It’s just conversation. It’s not like they were trying to get in my pants.”

His glare cuts back to me so fast. “Because they’re twice your age and fucking dead if they try.”

Something edging on possession brims in his tone, and I bask in it.

Leaning forward, I run my teeth over my bottom lip just to see if he’ll take the bait, and when his stare dips for the briefest second, I accept the win.

“You’re talking to me,” I point out, returning to my cards.

“That’s different.”

“Is it?” I challenge him. “At least they’re nice, unlike you.”

“They shouldn’t be nice; they should kick fucking rocks.”

“Because of their bad intentions?” I mock him. “Like you’re so innocent. Or is that what this is about, Sage? You’re actually trying to remind yourself to stay away from me?”

His jaw ticks. “Don’t need to.”

“You sure about that?” I push the cards into a single stack and fold my hands over the top of them, facing off with him.

With all the boredom that comes from being stuck at the Twisted Kings compound, at least pushing Sage’s buttons provides some entertainment.

So, if he’s going to follow me around acting like I’m a damsel in need of a knight in shining armor, I’m going to push them. Especially since I’m not blind to the way he looks at me every time I walk in the room lately.

When I first moved to the compound, I was a little kid, and he was Reed’s annoying older brother always bossing us around. But now, we’re both grown up. No longer the same aimless children who made it our life mission to drive each other insane. Things have been changing slowly over time. We might be around each other less now that he’s officially a prospect and is balancing that with working at the shop, but when we are around each other, the tension is brimming.

It might not change the fact that I’ll never settle down with a biker and he’d never cross my father, but the undeniable attraction is there. No point trying to escape it, so instead, I use it to get under his skin.

“I don’t need to remind myself to stay away from you, Lyla. Unlike the other guys around here, I’m clear on what a fucking nuisance you’ve always been.”

He’s trying to be an asshole to push me away.

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