“You threatening Oaks over her says otherwise.”
That lands.
Hard.
I clench the side of the announcer table so tight the wood creaks.
Legend softens but only barely.
“You’re my brother,” he says.“You’ve earned every stripe on that cut.But I need to know one thing.”
I meet his eyes.
“Are you in control,” he asks.“Or is Becki?”
The question slices straight through the truth.My pulse spikes.My throat tightens.My breath comes short and sharp.
Legend sees all of it.
And he steps even closer.
“Royal,” he murmurs, tone rough and honest, “I’ve seen what happens when a King loses himself over a woman.”
His voice dips.
“I’ve lived it.”
Sophie’s silhouette flashes behind the bar, back to him, shoulders stiff with anger.She hasn’t looked at Legend since he stormed off.The wound in him is obvious, bleeding under the surface.
Legend jerks his chin toward her.
“Don’t make my mistakes,” he says.“Don’t lie to yourself about what this is.If she’s just a prisoner?Treat her like one.”
My stomach twists.Because she is something else.She’s been something else since the moment she defended me as a kid.But she was always Legends to throw away.
Legend waits.The crowd chants for the next fight.The mayor barks because someone dropped popcorn.The lights buzz like angry flies.I say nothing.
I can’t.
Legend blows out a breath.
“All right,” he says.“Then hear me clear.”
His voice drops to a leader’s command, granite and fire.
“If your obsession with Becki puts this club at risk, I’ll put you on your knees myself.”
My eyes snap to his.
“And I’ll make you choose,” Legend finishes.“Her or us.”
That cuts harder than any blade.Legend steps back, leaving the words like a loaded gun between us.Then he turns, heading for Sophie.
She doesn’t move when he reaches her.He stands behind her, regret thick on his face.She doesn’t turn.He waits anyway.
They’re a mess.Just like me.Just like Becki.Just like all of us who crawled out of that cult and got marked by someone we shouldn’t want.
I grip the edge of the rail, steadying myself.
