Page 113 of Cold Hard Truth

I don’t know Maren well, but she’s always friendly. I’ve met her hanging around the shop a couple of times, and I know she’s best friends with Fel. They lived together before she married Jude, and even though Maren and Jude are like oil and water, they seem to have a mutual respect.

Maren strikes me as someone who gets along with everyone. She has warm energy and never keeps anyone out of a conversation. The first time I met her she hugged me, and she’s treated me like she’s known me her whole life ever since.

She laughs when she tries to hand me the cards and they fall from her hands, and her smile is infectious.

It’s been so long since I’ve had friends, I forgot what it feels like. It takes me back to when I met Reed and Sage when we were kids. We became a found family, a lot like the Twisted Roses group seems to be.

Glancing over at the clock again, I find myself frowning.

“I’m sure he’ll be back soon.” Fel rests her hand over the back of mine and pats it.

I’m clearly not hiding my worry, and there’s no denying Sage is all I’m thinking about at this point in the night. They’ve been understanding and trying to occupy me, but they don’t understand MC life like I do.

Everything those guys do is dangerous. Even the clubs that only involve themselves in legal business lose members every year. So I force a smile for Fel’s sake and pretend I’m not concerned.

It’s a lie.

I know too much. I grew up in that life.

Glancing up to the guys sitting at the kitchen island, I catch Jude staring at Fel, before he looks at me.

He’s worried too—even if he doesn’t say it.

Like the rest of this group, he’s never been part of an MC, but he and Sage were close back when Sage was prospecting for the Twisted Kings. He knows the stories, which is why he never really liked the club. And I remember overhearing him on more than one occasion talking about how it was going to bring Sage nothing but trouble.

Except, right now, the way he’s looking at me says Sage isn’t the only thing he’s worried about. He’s been skeptical about my return, even if I don’t think he’s voiced it to Sage. After all, he was there when I left Sage the first time. And from what little Sage has said, Jude is the one who helped him pick up the pieces.

Sage’s comment from earlier rings out in my head.

You broke my fucking heart.

The confession still rattles around inside me. It might have been past tense but the pain behind his words was real enough to be present.

And it makes me wonder what Jude witnessed when I was gone.

I don’t blame Sage for anything that happened in my absence because I get it. How do you hold on when there’s nothing but time and space with no end to the countdown?

“I’m going to grab some water.” I set the cards aside.

Fel takes them and tries to shuffle them but fails, which Maren finds hilarious. Even Echo opens her eyes to laugh at Fel, trying to clean up the mess she made all over the living room floor.

Jude watches me walk into the kitchen, leaving Crew and Mason to meet me by the fridge.

“He texted a little bit ago and said he’s almost done.”

“That’s good.” I grab a cup out of the cabinet.

“You hanging in there?”

Jude’s never been a warm person. And until seeing him with Fel, I didn’t think he was capable of actually caring about anyone. But there’s genuine concern in his eyes when he asks me that question, even if I know he still doubts my motives.

It might be for his friend, or maybe it’s nostalgia for the girl I used to be, but I appreciate it.

“I just want all of this to be over.” I take a sip of water. “But it never is.”

Jude nods, his gaze moving to Fel across the room. And I get the impression he understands that for one reason or another.

The front door opens and my heart jumps when Sage walks in. His stare sweeps the room until it lands onme. There’s a gash above his forehead and a nasty bruise forming, but he doesn’t seem to even notice.

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