Page 37 of Cold Hard Truth

She always deserved better than what her father gave her—what the club gave her. She deserved more than what I gave her. And still she became a pawn in this game. All this time Nick was working behind Kane’s back to take him down, and he tried to use Lyla and Ellie to do it.

“We need to get out of here. Kane—”

Lyla shoots upright, backing up to the cement wall and shaking her head. “No. I can’t go back there, Sage.”

“Lyla—”

“This is all his fault.” She’s shaking as she pulls herself to stand, and I have to grab her waist when she nearly topples over. “Nick told me I’d pay for what he did. That he didn’t deserve his title and they were going to take it from him. That we’d pay for Kane’s sins.”

They.

Confirmation Nick wasn’t working alone.

“I’m not going back there.” Lyla shakes her head. “I’m his daughter, that’s all I am to them. They’ll just do this again.”

“I know.” And I fucking hate it.

A sob rips out of her, and I catch her weight as she collapses forward against my chest.

She’s shivering in my arms, and every shake pulls her apart a little further. When she finally tips her head back, I brush her black hair off her face, baring those violet irises to me.

She’s so fragile. So small.

So perfect.

And they fucking hurt her.

“I’ll protect you, Lyla. Not Kane,me,” I say. “Just trust me, okay? I’ll fix this. I won’t let anyone hurt you.”

“You can’t.” Lyla’s eyes widen as she shoves at my chest, pushing me a step back. “You’re one of them, remember?”

Her fists clench, and she plants her hands on my cut. Her eyes drag to my member patch, ready for tonight’s ceremony.

“I tried to stay.” She’s crying now; her eyes are filled with fear. “I tried for you. But look what they’ve done. You can’t take me back there.”

Genuine fear fills her gaze when she looks up at me.

And it isn’t like the people in town who avoid making eye contact when we roll through. It’s the kind of fear that burns from the inside out. The kind that says she doesn’t trust me to keep her safe.

She’s the only person in the clubhouse who has ever mattered. The only light those walls have ever seen. And she’s pulling away from me.

“Don’t take me back to him, Sage. If you care about me at all, you won’t make me go back there.” Lyla’s violently shaking her head. “Kane won’t understand.”

“Won’t understand what?” I try to reach for her hands, but she claws at me. Her palms brush mine as she pulls away.

“Why I left.” She stumbles as she shoves past me. “I’m sorry.”

I should chase her. Kane will string me up for letting her out of my sight. But I’m frozen, staring at the back of her head as she runs up the staircase. As I watch the only love I’ve ever felt leave me.

I used to tell her it was naïve to read the stars. That it was ridiculous to believe in soulmates. But now, watching her disappear, I’m not so sure. Lyla needed a soul in this basement, and in letting her go, I handed mine to her.

13

Lyla

I used to associaterainy days with peace. A calm that only comes when the sky is washing the earth clean. I'd stand outside and wonder if it could do the same for me. But rivers coating my skin never ran deep enough.

Maybe if this was Kansas, and the clouds weren’t saturated in pollution and the sins of the city, it would be possible. Maybe then the rain would save me.

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