Page 17 of Cold Hard Truth

“I want to see each of you in church. One by one. We’re going to talk.” Kane turns to walk away. “Nick, you’re first.”

Nick rolls his eyes but follows, and as they do, I get up and walk over to Dad.

He holds a hand out, and I pass him a cigarette and a lighter.

“This is bad.”

Dad nods, lighting it and taking a drag. “Worse, they didn’t just take the shipment, they left a message.”

“What kind of message?”

Dad looks around the room, but everyone’s in their own conversations, not listening to us.

“It wasn’t an attack on the club so much as it was an attack on Kane specifically. They said they’re going to prove he’s not fit to run the Twisted Kings, and they’re going to prove it by destroying everything he’s ever built.”

“Fuck.” I finish my cigarette, putting it out in an ashtray on the counter. “Someone’s got a personal vendetta?”

“Yeah.” Dad nods.

“How far do you think they’ll take it?” I pull out another cigarette, and I can practically hear Lyla scolding me in the back of my head.

“Don’t know.” Dad shakes his head. “And I don’t think I want to find out.”

A couple of guys are laughing in the corner, too relaxed to be guilty. But then again, traitors are good at hiding in plain sight.

“I should get in there.” Dad pats me on the shoulder. “Watch your back, Sage. This might be on Kane, but who knows what they’ll do to get to him.”

Once more, my thoughts trail to the witchy, dark-haired temptress who has taken up residence in my head. Dad’s right. Who knows how far they’ll go. And I’m not sure I want to find out.

6

Lyla

Reed stops at thebottom of the steps and frowns at me.

“Don’t look at me like that, you’re supposed to be excited,” I remind her.

“I am.” She wipes a brown lock of hair off her face when the wind kicks it around. “I’m just nervous.”

“You have nothing to be nervous about. You’ve worked hard for this. And I’d know since you’ve been so busy lately that I’ve been forced to have all the fun without you.”

“Fun?” She quirks an eyebrow. “Is that what you call distantly pining after my brother?”

“I’m not pining. I don’t pine.”

“We could plant you in the front yard at this point you’re pining so hard.”

I roll my eyes, but deep down, I hope that it’s only obvious to Reed. Because I’d hate for Sage to have noticed and think he’s actively avoiding me for that reason. Findinghim attractive is one thing—but I’m not trying to make him my boyfriend.

At least that’s what I tell myself when my heart tightens every time he looks at me.

Which is less and less often lately. He hasn’t been around as much. Between him spending more time in the city at the tattoo shop, and going on runs with the club, he’s rarely at the compound.

And that was a relief after our last few run-ins.

But now that Reed is leaving like Ellie did, it’s going to be unnervingly quiet and empty around here. It’s already a ghost town, and I hate it.

Reed pulls her bag up higher on her shoulder and glances back at her dad’s house.

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