Page 17 of Unmasked Prophecy

My knees weaken, but I stand tall. I won’t let him see the fear. I won’t let him think he’s winning. "If you’re here to try and take me, or threaten me, you’re making a mistake. I’ll never go with you. Not fucking likely.”

His face hardens. "Your mouth has gotten the better of you, hanging around with those sinners. I’ll warn you, Nia, you should be scared. Because if you don’t do exactly what I say, your little Lily is going to suffer. She’ll bleed for your mistakes. You know how it works."

Rage replaces fear. "If you touch her—"

He holds up a hand. "I don’twantto hurt her. She’s not my concern. But the leaders? They’re pissed. You embarrassed them. You betrayed them. And now they want blood. But they’re willing to bargain. You give them what they want, and Lily stays safe."

Blackmail.

I shouldn’t have expected anything less.

I grit my teeth. “And what exactly is it that they want?”

“Information. Entrances. Routines. Security. Everything you can give us about the club. We want to bring them down from the inside. You do that, and Lily walks away untouched.”

Bile rises in my throat as I stare at him in horror. “You think I’d betray the only people who’ve ever tried to help me? They’ve done more for me in weeks than any one of you did in a lifetime.”

His eyes flash. “You owe themnothing. They’ll turn on you the moment things get too hard. You’re just a distraction, something to bide their time until it gets too hard. Then what are you going to do? You have nobody out here, Nia, and you know it.”

His words cut deep, hitting me in the spots that are the most sensitive because I know he speaks a certain level of truth.

Even if I don’t want to accept it.

I take a step forward, fighting the urge to swing. “What I am is someone who isn’t afraid of you anymore. So go ahead, tell them I said no. In fact, tell them I saidfuckno.”

Cyrus’s lip curls. “You’ll regret that. I will give you one more chance. Do as I am asking or suffer the consequences.”

I don’t get the chance to answer.

A low rumble cuts through the tense silence.

My heart flips.

A motorcycle engine.

Cyrus hears it too. He stiffens.

The sound grows louder, closer.

And then I see it—Talon, roaring around the bend, his bike a deadly warning.

Cyrus backs up fast, moving towards his car.

“You’ll regret this.”

Then he leaps into his car and speeds off, spitting up dust and dirt all over me. I cough, pressing my hands over my faceto avoid breathing it in. Just as the dust clears, Talon comes to a stop, his expression so intense I actually take a step back, like that will do anything to protect me. His anger is intense, and it is written all over his face.

“Who the fuck was that?”

His voice is a whip, and his eyes move in the direction Cyrus took off in.

“Someone from the cult,” I tell him.

He jumps off the bike, and stalks over. His face is cold. “He touch you?”

“No,” I say. “But he did let me know they are watching, and they are going to make a move soon.”

I can’t tell him about what he asked me to do. I just can’t risk anyone getting angry and doing something they’ll regret. At least not until I know Lily is safe.

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