Page 13 of Cold Hard Truth

“Wishes or not, it was a nice thought anyway.” I dig my hands into my pockets. “Besides, I’m leaving in a fewmonths. Ellie’s boyfriend is getting a new place in San Francisco, and she said I can come crash with her.”

“You’re leaving LA?”

I nod when the lump in my throat makes it impossible to form words.

“Good.” He nods, but I don’t think he means it.

“Yeah. It’s better than the alternative.” I look around the clubhouse. “Nothing good follows my dad, and I’m not getting caught in the middle of it again. Besides, it’s not like there’s anything worth staying for.”

I want him to tell me I’m wrong.

I want him to give me a reason.

I want him to admit I’m not imagining what’s happening between us.

And I want him to tell me I’m worth him not officially patching in.

But he won’t. Sage was born and raised a Twisted King. And I’m just a girl who doesn’t stack up to the parade of women always prancing through here.

“That’s what I thought.” Turning, I reach for the door handle and pull it open, stepping outside and wishing it would bring the air back to my lungs.

“I thought you said we were destiny?” Sage says after me as I make my way down the steps.

But I don’t look back, no matter how much I want to. “And I thought you didn’t believe in fate.”

4

Lyla

There are daily clubhouseparties and then there are chapter mixers where members come from all around. Clubs come from far and wide to celebrate whatever new deals they’ve made while they get wasted. It’s mass chaos, and I’m usually banned from the clubhouse for the few days surrounding them.

But I’m eighteen now, and my dad is too distracted by patch bunnies to care what I’m doing, so he hasn’t even noticed that I slipped through the doors.

I tug at my cropped T-shirt and adjust the high waist on my skintight black jeans. My leather jacket was comfortable outside, but the moment I stepped inside, I had to ditch it to escape the heat.

My heart is racing as I glance around, telling myself I’m not looking for a certain someone in particular when deep down I know I’m lying to myself. Because themoment I spot Sage from across the room, my heart is lighter in my chest.

It does that thing where it floats. Or swoops. Or maybe it plummets. Because inside, I’m weightless, and I can barely handle it.

He’s wearing his usual dark jeans and white T-shirt with his cut. And even if I hate the fact that he’s a biker, I’d be lying if I didn’t admit how good it looks on him. The dark leather matches his endless eyes and thick hair.

His jaw is scruffy from a few days of not shaving, and it’s borderline torture thinking about how it would feel rubbing against my skin as he kissed me.

The more he avoids me, the more I wish he wouldn’t.

Sage Jackson kicks my senses out the front door. And when his eyes lock on mine from across the room, for a split second, I’m tempted to let him turn me into my mother.

This is bad.

I can’t be having these thoughts when his attention is on me. Sweat beads on the back of my neck from the humidity of the clubhouse, and my skin is clammy.

I’m rarely nervous, but Sage has me messing with my bracelets as he starts to cut through the crowd, making a beeline for me. My eyeliner is probably smearing, and my hair is likely flat from the heat, but he doesn’t take his eyes off me.

“You came.” Sage stops at my side, leaning against the bar beside me and scanning the room.

“Better than the alternative.” Staring at a blank wall in the neighborhood pondering my pointless existence.

Glancing up at Sage, he holds my stare. Light catches in his irises, brightening his obsidian eyes. His strong jaw tightens as he watches me, and I wish there was an easier way to cut through this tension.

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