36. Lyla

It's almost three-thirty in the morning, and I can't stop looking at the clock. I'm exhausted, but all I can think about is when Sage will be back.

Echo's falling asleep on the couch, and if my nerves weren't on end, I'd probably be on the other end of it. Crew walked over and covered her in a blanket an hour ago, and she barely managed to blink her eyes open at him.

Fel and Maren, on the other hand, are each four or five drinks in and wide awake. I'm not sure how these two have the energy to party, but even Jude seems surprised every time he glances over at them.

I'd like to be enjoying the night—and I was. But the later it gets and each hour that passes, all I can think about is whatever situation Kane might have dragged Sage into.

Sage wouldn't elaborate on why Kane needed him tonight, but the Tower card kept coming up every other hand this week, so I know it wasn't for anything good. We haven't reached whatever is about to happen, and I'm bracing myself for the impact.

This sick pit in my stomach is widening, and even if I don't know where Sage is or what he's doing, I sense things shifting.

"Your deal." Maren hands me the deck of cards.

She giggles and shakes her empty glass, pouting in Mason's direction until he walks over to give her a refill.

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 on me. There's a gash above his forehead and a nasty bruise forming, but he doesn't seem to even notice.

"Hope the other guy looks worse," Crew says to him.

But Sage doesn't take his focus off me. He makes a beeline for me, and the path on the floor might as well be gasoline. The room is on fire. With every step I'm swept up in the inferno that comes with his attention. The need to be in his arms and for him to claim me with his body.

Around his friends, he usually keeps his distance, even if they all know what we've been doing. But right now, in this moment, something has shifted. And as he stalks over to me, there might as well be no one else in the room.

"There's blood on your shoes," I say, noticing the red splatter that coats the bottom of his jeans and the top of his boots.

I'm not even sure why I say it. I'm never nervous because he's never looked at me like he is right now, and it's throwing me off balance.

"There is." He hums, slowly closing the distance.

And when he reaches me, his hand goes to my throat, wrapping around the choker that circles my neck and presses my back flat against the refrigerator. His lips steal mine and my soul leaves my body.

He smells like a bonfire, like gasoline. He smells like nighttime and childhood and comfort. And as his warm body presses against me, I feel like I'm coming home.

Sage pushes my chin up with his thumb and deepens the kiss.

There's no him or me, there's only us.

He might not believe in the signs of the universe, but I saw it. Loving him will be the death of me, and I no longer fear it. He's worth a hundred lives and a thousand deaths if I can have him.

"On that note." Voices filter back into my consciousness as Sage pulls back, and I hear the group gathering near the door.

"Lyla better still show up for work next week; don't scare her away with your dick." Crew gets cut off by Echo telling him to cut it out, and Sage chuckles against my mouth at whatever they're saying.

I'm sure there's more to that, but I don't care.

There was a gap between us. Years of space we could only seem to fill with more time. But that was before. And what we have now is all that matters.

"Bye, you two."

Peeking around Sage, I spot Fel waving goodbye while Maren winks at me. The group disappears, and Mason closes the door.

"I'm hitting the sack," Mason says, walking past us. "Don't worry, I'll turn up my music."

"I feel kind of bad." I bite my lip as Mason disappears down the hall.

"Don't." Sage grins, picking me up and pinning me to the refrigerator. "I've had to listen to that dude fuck for months; this is payback."

I shake my head and laugh, raking my nails over his scruffy jawline. "So much for subtlety huh? That was a pretty public kiss. If your friends reported to Kane, I'm pretty sure he'd be at the door next."

"You see this?" Sage lifts my fingers to the blood dried over the fresh gash on his forehead.

"What about it?"

"Secret's out."

My eyes widen, and I run my fingers over his eyebrow again. "Kane knows?"

Sage nods.

"And you lived?"

"Against all odds."

"You know what that means, don't you?"

He shakes his head, kissing my throat. "What does it mean?"

"I was right." Tipping my head back, I moan as he sinks his teeth into me. "I'm not the death of you, Sage Jackson. You're the death of me."

Sage grabs the choker around my throat and looks down at me. "Nothing is going to happen to you, Lyla."

"That's not what—"

"Don't say it's in the fucking cards. I don't want to hear it right now. You're all that matters to me. And I'm telling you nothing is going to happen to you. I won't let it. You're mine, and I'm going to protect you."

"I'm yours?" It's impossible to bury my smile.

I'm strong-willed. I've never needed to belong to someone. And I have no problem telling Sage exactly what's on my mind or pushing his buttons if I'm so inclined. But there's something about how his hips pin me to the refrigerator. How he claimed me in front of all his friends. How he accepted my father's punch to officially claim me as his—makes me want to be that.

Forever.

"Good."

Sage picks me up and kisses my acceptance from my lips. He kisses me as the pieces are put in place. The universe setting itself into motion.

He can deny it all he wants, this love of ours is going to do exactly what the cards promised. But I keep that to myself for his sake.

I sink into Sage's embrace with the eyes of the universe watching us.

Destiny is coming full circle.

Ready to seal my fate. Accepting what comes, even if there's no preparing for it.