Page 67 of Cold Hard Truth

“Let me guess.” Jude glances at me. “Lyla?”

Fucking Lyla. Of course it’s her. She’s been the center of my universe as far back as it’s worth remembering.

Jude passes a glance at Crew. I haven’t said much to either of them about the fact that she’s back. And even when she was around back in the day, Jude only knew what little I was willing to tell him. He doesn’t know she was it for me, just that I was a different person after she left.

“I never really told you why she left town.” I lean back, taking a breath. “Some guys were after Kane, and shit went south. They took Lyla and her sister to settle the score. I didn’t even know she was gone until after we found her because she’d been mad at me for being an idiot.”

“I remember that,” Jude says.

After all, he was the one pouring me shots while I bitched about her nonstop.

“When we found ‘em, her sister was dead. And Lyla was just…” I wipe my hand over my face. “We were all fucked after that.”

Jude drops onto the bench across from me. “That’s the night your dad died, right?”

“Yeah.” I nod. “All because I let Lyla go. I should have kept her there, made sure she was okay. But she justlooked at me with that broken fucking stare, and I don’t know… I lost my mind.”

Standing up, I walk over to the bag and punch it again.

“Fuck!” I yell.

Crew walks over to me and plants a hand on my shoulder. I let out a breath and tip my head to the bag, steadying it.

“I couldn’t make her stay even if I wanted to.” Turning, I face Crew and Jude, who are both watching me. “And I really fucking wanted to.”

“Sometimes people need to walk away,” Jude says.

He would know better than anyone. After all, he left Fel, knowing she was the love of his life because they were both so broken, they needed time to sort out their shit before they could make it work.

“Besides”—Crew shakes my shoulder—“she’s back now, right?”

Back.

Broken.

Hurt.

I don’t even know where to start picking up the pieces of what we were.

“The shit she went through…” I swallow hard. “I didn’t realize how bad it was. I don’t know how to fix it.”

“Yeah, you do.” Jude stands up, walking until he’s stopped in front of me. “You slaughter the assholes who did that to her, and you figure your shit out so you can move the fuck on. And then, when it’s all done and buried, you don’t fuck it up a second time.”

“That simple?”

He smirks. “That simple.”

“Thanks.” I shake my head.

Jude shrugs. He’s a dick of a friend sometimes, but at least he’s not scared to tell me how it is.

Besides, he’s right. There’s only one thing I can do to make up for the time I’ve lost, and that’s to get the revenge I should have gotten for Lyla eight years ago.

Once I do, I’ll figure out how to handle the rest.

“All right, are we still gossiping and talking about our feelings, or are we going to hit something?” Crew rips his Avenged Sevenfold T-shirt off and strikes the punching bag dead in the center.

“You’re complaining about us talking about our feelings?”

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