Page 28 of Cold Hard Truth

“What was that? A week?”

“Yeah.”

Jude looks me over. “Well, shit’s good here if you want to head out and get some sleep.”

“I’m fine.” I drop down onto the couch in the lobby and stretch my arms out. “Did anything eventful happen while I was gone?”

“I mean…” He smirks. “Depends.”

“On what?” Mybody tenses.

As freeing as it is being out on the road, I don’t like leaving everything behind and wondering if shit’s falling apart while I’m gone. Especially when Lyla is back here.

Jude shrugs. “It depends on what you consider eventful.”

He’s fucking with me, which means whatever he’snotsaying is going to get under my skin.

“What happened?”

“Your friend dropped in a couple of times. Black hair. Purple eyes. Big fucking smile that says you probably did something Kane’s going to chop your nuts off for.”

Fuck. “She did?”

Jude nods. “So you’re not even going to try to deny it?”

There’s no point. Jude’s the closest thing to a friend I’ve got outside the club. And he’s not an idiot. The fact that my face probably tensed when he mentioned Lyla gave me away already.

“No.” I tip my head back and rake my hands through my hair. “Shit was easier when I was on the road.”

“I bet.” Jude shakes his head. “Because if she starts looking at you like that in front of Kane, you’ve got much bigger problems. Not to mention that look on your face the second I brought her up. You’ve got it fucking bad for that girl, don’t you?”

“Yeah.” And it’s been fucking with my head for the past week, figuring out what to do with it. “I’ll figure it out.”

“And I’ll be on standby to drive your ass to the hospital.”

“Funny.” But I don’t laugh, even as Jude smirks at me when I lift myself off the couch.

“I’m heading out. But I’ll be in tomorrow.”

“Sounds good.”

Turning to the door, I step back out onto the street. The heartbeat of LA is throbbing and the club next door to Twisted Roses is loud as always. I close my eyes and tip my head back, taking a deep breath.

Shit’s changed, there’s no pretending it hasn’t. But I don’t know what I’m going to do about it.

10

Lyla

Walking into the clubhouse,I sense something is wrong. The energy was off when I drew my cards this morning, and I know better than to test the universe. Still, I dragged myself out of the house and across the compound.

Something has started to tip. One inch and it’s all going to fall off balance.

Sage is finally back from his run, but I haven’t seen him since he returned two days ago. I’m not sure if he’s avoiding me or if Kane is keeping him busy, but it’s unsettling. The last time we saw each other, I was handing him my virginity and then sneaking out of his room, so I don’t know where we stand.

I want to think everything will be okay after what we did. But that’s not how things work when you fall for a biker. It doesn’t matter if Sage saved himself for me just like I saved myself for him. Once he officially patches inand the realities of the club start to settle, things are going to change whether he wants to believe it or not.

Turning the corner into the clubhouse, I’m met with a room filled with bikers. They’re calm this early in the evening. And I try to hold my smile as I search for Sage among them, only to find him standing at the edge of the bar talking with Tiffany.

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