Page 122 of Cold Hard Truth

Some moments happen sofast they move in slow motion.

Shards of glass fly through the air. The heat of an explosion is on my back as I wrap my body around Lyla’s. She’s shaking beneath me, and it drags my mind back to that basement. To the bloody girls on the concrete floor.

One moment and time splits us in half. A mirror that becomes our past and present happening simultaneously.

The butterfly of fate flapping her wings so fast the two sides blur.

Screams ring out around us as another explosion goes off almost immediately after the first one.

“Are you okay?” I tip Lyla’s face up to meet mine.

Her violet eyes are terrifyingly distant. They’re at peace when I’d prefer to be met with fear. She’s seeing something I’m not, and I don’t like how easily she’s accepting it.

“You’re not leaving me again,” I tell her. “Don’t you even fucking think about it.”

My words blink her back to me in this moment. She bats her lashes, and a glossy sheen coats her beautiful eyes.

“Stay with me.” I grab her hand and pull her through the crowd.

I need to get her out of here. She shouldn’t be back in LA in the first place. The second I tracked her down in Denver, I should have grabbed her and ran. I should have taken her with me. I don’t want to leave my life behind, but it’s no life without her.

I’ve been in suspension. Paused, waiting for her to return to me. I can lose anything as long as I don’t lose Lyla.

Pulling her around the corner, another explosion blasts through the clubhouse, and we duck as a hole is blown in the wall across the room.

Screams, blood. This place is ripping apart.

“Sage.” Kane slaps a hand on my shoulder.

I didn’t feel him following us.

“What the fuck is going on?”

He shakes his head. “They’re going to level the fucking club.”

I try to pull Lyla down the hall, but she’s frozen in place. Her eyes are fixed on someone standing a few feet away, and I look to see Helix approaching with Steel at his side.

“Lyla.” I try to tug her hand again, but she doesn’t move.

“It’s him.” Another explosion rings out, and I almost miss what she said.

“Who?” I look from her to Helix, trying to figure out what she’s talking about.

But when Steel continues toward us and Helix pauses, the darkest grin curls up in the corner of his mouth.

I go to reach for my gun, but he lifts his before I have the chance, aiming for the center of Lyla’s forehead.

“Don’t.” He fixes his aim on her.

She lets out her breath, closing her eyes. Looking too at peace. She’s not allowed to accept this; she’s not allowed to leave me.

“What the fuck are you doing, Helix?” Steel yells at his VP, and I slap a hand on Steel’s chest when he moves to take a step forward.

Any sudden movement might set him off, and I can’t risk losing Lyla just because Steel can’t keep a level head.

“This was supposed to be my fucking club, that’s what,” Helix spits, his gaze moving to Steel, even if he doesn’t take his aim off Lyla.

“I was promised this spot by your father,” he says to Steel, before his attention slides to Kane. “You took that bullet for him, and everything changed. Percy decided he owed you a favor for his life because that’s how that shit worked with him. But this was my fucking club. You shouldn’t even be here. You didn’t earn it.”

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