This war’s gonna get darker before it ends. But I’ll crawl out of it, for you.
The clubhouse is safe. Please wait for me.
—Jay
I hated it. Hated that Jay had left me there while he and the others rode out to hunt the Fangs. I thought last night had meant something to him. I’d trusted him to let me stand by his side—it was my fight too. Now, I was nothing more than someone to babysit until it was over.
The low hum of voices and clinking bottles was a weak shield against the fury that ran through me. I sat on the worn couch in the corner of the clubhouse, wrapped in a thin blanket that barely kept the chill at bay. Around me, a few prospects hovered, young, raw, but determined to keep watch.
I stormed into the bathroom, the one room they didn’t follow me into and braced myself on the sink. The bathroom door creaked open behind me. My stomach dropped.
Gabby.
Her lipstick was smeared, her smile mean. She shut the door and leaned against it, arms crossed. “Well, well, the princess was left all alone.”
I straightened, forcing my voice flat. “Jay said you aren’t welcome here.”
Her laugh was sharp. “Reaper’s not here, sweetheart. And trust me, he won’t always be. Men like him, they bleed, they fall, they die. Then what happens to little Lucy Kane? You think these boys will keep you safe out of loyalty?” Her eyes glittered. “They’ll use you up and toss you like the rest of us.”
The words stung because some of them rang too close to truth, but I didn’t let it show.
“Move,” I said, stepping forward and pointing towards the door.
She didn’t. Instead, she shoved me back against the unit, nails biting into my arm. “You think you’re special? You’re nothing. Just a weakness, and weaknesses?—”
I snapped. My hand shot up, fingers closing around her throat. I shoved her back hard enough that her head smackedagainst the wall. Her eyes widened, the smirk faltering as my grip tightened.
“You ever touch me again,” I hissed, “and you won’t walk away. I don’t need Jay to protect me. I’ll kill you myself.”
For a moment, the room was silent except for her ragged breath.
Then the door creaked open, and one of the prospects froze in the frame, eyes wide. He’d seen enough. Gabby stumbled past him, coughing, glaring over her shoulder.
The prospect looked at me like he didn’t know what to make of what he’d seen.
I met his stare, my chin high. “Not a word,” I said.
He nodded once, slow, and the door clicked shut behind him.
I stood there, chest heaving, hands shaking from the violence still burning through me. My reflection stared back from the mirror, cheeks flushed, eyes dark, lips curled in something halfway between fury and triumph.
I sank back onto the edge of the worn couch, hands pressed to my face, trying to steady the storm inside me. My chest still burned from the altercation, adrenaline coiling tight in my limbs. I hated that Gabby had rattled me, hated that Jay wasn’t there to stop the world from pressing in.
But more than that, I hated the way my thoughts betrayed me. Even now, after everything, I wanted him. The memory of the previous night, of the fire between us, made my fingers itch and my stomach twist. I wasn’t weak or naive, but for the first time in months, I realised that I needed him as much as I hated needing him.
The room felt colder without him, emptier. I clenched my fists, forcing my heart to settle.
My jaw tightened as I looked at the boys. They meant well. I could see the nervous energy in their eyes. But I wasn’t a kid who needed watching.
Jay didn’t see that, or maybe he did and decided I wasn’t worth the risk. The truth stung worse than any physical pain I’d felt since Caleb died.
I wasn’t broken—I was furious. When Jay came back, I’d let him know exactly how I felt, because I wasn’t staying quiet anymore.
Chapter 44
Lucy
Iheard the roar of the bikes and made my way to Jay’s room. The space smelled of sweat and gun oil, faint traces of him lingering in the corners. The storm outside rattled the windows, but inside, it was a different kind of chaos between my pulse, my anger, and the fire I couldn’t put out.
