38. Lyla

I wrap my wet hair up in a bun and make my way down the staircase. All the same pictures still hang on the wall that did years ago. Photos of Sage and his sister. Some with his dad, and a couple with his mom.

Reed looks so much like her. Even more so now that she's older. And as I stare at the images, I'm sure I was right about what I saw in her. There's a light that's missing from Reed's eyes now, and she wouldn't say what's causing it. But it gives me a sinking feeling in my gut.

At the bottom of the stairs is a picture of all of us as kids.

It's been a long time since I've seen a photo of Ellie, and it has my stomach in knots. People think that just because we were twins and looked nearly identical, a mirror would be the same as seeing her face. It isn't. Her soul doesn't live in my eyes, and her presence doesn't exist in my bones.

In the photo, I'm smiling at the camera, but she's looking at me. Her face is tipped toward me so she can whisper in my ear. And I don't remember what she was saying in that exact moment, but the smile I'm fighting back in the picture from whatever she said swells a familiar feeling inside me.

It's one thing to lose a sister—a twin—but she was also my best friend. She was my other half. She knew all my secrets before I did, and she deserved so much better than she got.

A knock comes from the front door, and it makes me jump. I've been staring at the photos, lost in my thoughts.

Making my way down the final step, I glance through the peephole and find Kane standing on the front porch, smoking a cigarette.

I still remember when Sage used to smoke. From what he said, he only recently quit when Fel wouldn't stop giving him crap about it, and I'm thankful she did.

"Kane." I swing the door open.

He narrows his eyes, hating that I call him that. But it's better than Dad when he hasn't really been one. I'm more likely to call him Prez. I might have half his DNA, but that's as close to family as we've been.

"Where's Sage?"

"Showering."

Kane looks up at my wet hair, and he takes in a long drag of his cigarette. He might as well burn the entire thing with one inhale, he's so tense as he breathes it in. At least it keeps him from saying anything about what he thinks of my relationship.

He's accepted it. Even if it's clear it only goes so far as he frowns and flicks his ash.

"Why? Is something wrong?" I step out onto the porch and close the door behind me.

Kane leans against the railing and dips his chin. It's been a long time since I've seen him show any sign of defeat, but whatever's eating away at him lately has his hair graying and deep wrinkles forming on his face.

Walking over to the railing, I stop beside him.

From the front porch there's a clear view of the clubhouse in the distance. A pinprick against the desert. Close enough to mark the center of the compound, but far enough that you can't hear the music this far out when they party late into the night.

Most people who come to the Twisted Kings compound from the outside don't get past the first turn, which is where Blaze's bar sits. But up here, it's exclusively Twisted Kings territory. And right now, a war is sitting on the edge of it.

"Nothing's wrong," Kane says, although he might be lying. "Steel's guys just arrived, so I was coming to get Sage."

"That's good." I think.

I don't really know if any of this is good. Just that the clouds feel lower in the sky today.

I woke up before the sun, and when I drew my cards, I got The Lovers and The Fool. The funny thing about fate is that it's unpredictable. Cards can be read in so many ways. What looks like peace can also mean cleansing. What might be a beginning can also mean an end.

While some might consider my hand a good sign, I've seen all the ones before it. Whatever scale has been on the verge of tipping is about to. Nothing about those two cards on this specific day is settling. So I put them away before Sage woke up and saw them.

The universe is talking, and I'm not sure I like what it has to say.

No matter what happens, we're all going to get clarity sooner than we're ready for it.

"Is Sage being good to you?" Kane asks, lighting a fresh cigarette when his last one is probably still hot on the end.

"Since when do we talk about relationships?"

Kane takes a drag. "Since I decided to let him live."

I roll my eyes. "How very fatherly of you."

"Humor me." Kane leans against the railing, glancing down at me.

In the light of day, his wrinkles are more drawn out. And even if he had me and my sister when he was too young to make the commitment of being a good father, he's much older than his years with all he's been through this past decade. In the eight years I was gone he's aged twenty.

"Sage is always good to me." I shrug. "You don't need to worry about him."

Kane gives me a skeptical frown, but it's the truth. I'm well aware there are many sides to Sage, and that my father's probably seen the worst of them. But he only ever offers me one—and that's the pure honest core of his being.

Sage takes care of me, and I know in my soul he would never hurt me. Not the same way I hurt him.

"Good." Kane nods, letting the smoke filter out through his teeth. "You let me know if that changes."

I can't help glaring at him.

"Just saying, there are worse things than killing a guy. He hurts you, and I'll make sure he regrets it."

"I know." But he won't. "And I'm sure you'd enjoy it."

Kane nods, a sick smile ticking up in the corner of his mouth at the thought. Thankfully, the front door opens and Sage steps outside before Kane has time to start considering his options.

Sage's dark eyes find me, and he makes his way to me. The electric energy that radiates between us is so thick I can taste it sparking in the air. And when he stops at my side and wraps an arm around my shoulders, I almost combust with his kiss on my temple.

For a moment, Kane's gaze narrows. But when he glances at me, something in his eyes softens the slightest bit.

Maybe there is a father under the MC president. Not that I've ever gotten to know him.

"Helix and the rest of the guys are here," Kane says to Sage.

"All right. Let's get this over with."

"I'm going with you," I say the moment Sage turns to me, and I feel him on the verge of a goodbye.

"Lyla—"

"Don't Lyla me. I'm going."

They don't feel the friction of the earth meeting the sky today. They don't sense everything on the precipice of a breaking point. I'm the only one who does, and I'm not leaving Sage's side when all of this goes down.

"It's not safe." Sage tries a different angle.

"None of this is." I take his hands. "But the only way to make things turn out different this time around is to do what we didn't do last time. We do it together."

His teeth clench as he swallows that statement. As much as he hates it, he knows it's the best chance we have.

"Stay by my side." He reluctantly hands me a helmet, and I don't argue as I climb onto the back of his bike.

We make our way to the clubhouse, and it's surrounded by bikes. Almost the entire Vegas club must be here, which means the war I'm imagining isn't as far-fetched as I wish.

Sage helps me off the bike and takes my helmet. He's quiet today. Too quiet. His dark eyes watch me as I fix my T-shirt. And when I stop beside him, he takes my hand.

Curling against his arm, I grip his leather jacket and breathe him in.

Peace.

My center.

I saw my future—and this was it.

We walk into the clubhouse, and it's packed with people. Bikers are crammed in from wall to wall. Kane leads us through them toward Blaze, who's talking with Steel and his VP, Helix, against the bar.

A chill runs my spine as we make our way through the room. An uneasy feeling ready to upturn the city.

Sage wraps his arm around my shoulders when we're in the thick of the crowd, and I don't mind that he wants to hold me closer.

"You good?" he asks, kissing the top of my head.

I look up at him. "Are you?"

Neither of us answers, which is answer enough.

Stopping beside Blaze, Sage tips his chin up at him.

"Full house," Kane comments.

Steel shakes his head. "Minus a few."

He and Blaze share a look, and Blaze turns to Kane. "We finally got into Bullet's phone. There were at least three more guys in on it with him. They're out back."

"They talking yet?"

"They're saying more than Bullet, but still not much." Steel glares, popping his bloody knuckles. "Someone's after your throne."

"What else is new?" Kane grits his teeth, and I hate how cocky he is about it.

Just because he's barely been a father doesn't mean I want him dead.

"Have you figured out who's leading this yet?"

"Nope, but it would be helpful." Helix is the one to answer—someone I've seen at a distance and never met.

I know him by name. By his position in the club.

But that voice.

It shakes something loose. It rattles an old memory. Something I didn't think I buried, but maybe I did. My gaze drops to the ground as my mind drifts.

They shoved Ellie and me in the back of a van with bags over our heads. They knocked us out, and when I came to, my hands were tied behind my back. The sack was loose over my face, so I could see out the bottom. And it was just enough to get a glimpse of everyone's shoes.

All the men were taking orders from someone—from a voice I never heard again once they brought us to the basement. But I heard it when I was in and out of consciousness. And I saw the symbol on his shoe without having the ability at the time to place it.

A symbol.

A name.

My gaze flicks up and Helix is already staring in my direction. I was too young back when he and Steel would come around the clubhouse, so I never spent much time around him. I don't know anything about him other than the fact that he's been a Twisted King as long as my father.

But I swallow hard with absolute certainty he was there that night I was taken. He's been involved in this all along.

My fingers dig into Sage's side and my entire body tenses as Helix watches me. At first, he just stares. But then the faintest, deadliest smirk crawls up the corner of his mouth.

"Something wrong?" Sage looks down at me because he must sense it. His intuition is greater than he ever gives himself credit for.

I open my mouth to answer him, but in a split second, everything changes. Helix reaches for something behind him, and the earth explodes.

At least, that's what it feels like.

The ground shakes as fire and glass spill into the room. An explosion rings out and Sage pulls me to his body. He wraps himself around me.

My ears ring and screaming echoes from all around.

The scales tip.