Page 105 of Beneath the Hood

I turn around to leave just as his front door swings open.

He’s shirtless, his tattooed abs and corded muscles on full display. But that’s not what shocks me into stunned silence, my chest tightening and my spine tingling with suspicion. It’s his look of surprise that morphs into guilt as he stares at me.

He jerks his head in a nod. “Are you okay?”

“Hey.” I cringe. “I’m so sorry to bother you.” I gesture toward the door. “I just... I was hoping you weren’t busy and could give me a ride to find Kayla. I umm...” I pause, wringing my fingers together. “Never mind. I can wait until tomorrow.” Casting him a sheepish glance, I turn to leave.

I wassoclose to never knowing. But then I hear a different voice and I spin around, my heartbeat surging to my throat.

“Is that—”

He stiffens, his eyes closing.

Shock forces me back a step. “Is that Kayla?Is shehere?”

The thought of her with Lennox reignites the fire in my veins and I shove by him, pushing the door open. He doesn’t put up a fight.

Kayla stands in the middle of his living room, naked, save for a white bedsheet around her body, her wide eyes staring at me across the space.

My mouth opens and closes a few times as my eyes bounce back and forth between them.

In any other situation, I probably wouldn’t have cared. But after tonight, all I can see is betrayal as it flows from her and soars across the room, wrapping itself around Lennox and binding them together. Emotion clogs my throat and stings the back of my eyes, my knuckles white from how tightly my fists are pressing against my sides.

One. Two. Three.

“Why, Kayla?” I force out.

She cocks her head, her lips turning down. “You know I’ve always liked him, Blakely.”

I cut my hand through the air. “Not that. Not Lennox. I don’t give afuckabout him. Why would you tell Sierra about us?”

Her eyes light up with recognition, and if I fool myself I can almost imagine the regret that flashes behind her eyes. But it’s gone in a millisecond, replaced by a smirk.

“Why not?” She shrugs.

“I’m sorry,” Lennox cuts in. “You did what?”

I spin and face him. “Oh, she didn’t share that during pillow talk? I confided in her about Jackson, and she ran and told Sierra out ofconcernfor me.”

Lennox’s brows furrow, his head turning sharply toward her. “What? Why would you do that, Kayla? That’s not your place.”

“Because she’s going to ruineverything.” She glares at me. “You don’t appreciate how things are handed to you on a silver platter, when the rest of us are out here working ourassesoff trying to make it half as big as you.”

I nod slowly as I take in what she says, flashbacks of our friendship playing on a loop in my mind, showing me all the ways she’s been bitter over who I am.

“I’m looking out for you, Blakely. That man will ruin you. You can’t just go around secretly dating anybody you want and think everything will be okay.”

“Wow.” I laugh. “You’re saying this to me while wrapped in my bodyguard’s bedsheet. ‘Jake’I presume. Pot meet kettle.”

She breaks eye contact. “That’s different.”

“Oh?” My eyebrows shoot to my hairline.

“I love him,” she states, her shoulders lifting.

I grin, my face tilting toward the ceiling, the trembling inside of my body vibrating through my bones, making me feel unsteady. It’s a miracle I’m still holding it together when everything around me feels like it’s starting to collapse.

The curtain has been pulled, showing me that I’ve been living happily in my bubble for who knows how long, letting these people dictate my entire life when really, they’ve all been doing whatever the hell they want anyway.

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