Page 44 of Unmasked Prophecy

My voice is steady, and I don’t waver, not even for a second.

“You’re not going to shoot anyone.”

I grin. “Try me.”

He glares, but I see the flicker of uncertainty. He doesn’t know me anymore. He doesn’t know what I’m capable of. I see it in his eyes—the doubt, the surprise. Like he can’t believe the girl he thought he owned is standing here, gun in hand, defying him. It’s enough to shake him.

I love every second of it.

“Fine,” he snaps. “Get in. But you’ll regret this.”

I lower the gun slightly, enough to let him know I’m still in control, but not enough to give him any ideas. I move around to the passenger side, my heart still thundering from the run, from the fear, from the knowledge that I’ve just turned my back on the only people who were really willing to help me.

I get in, and the door clicks shut, the cold leather seat pressing against my skin. It takes everything in me not to look back. I know by now the club has probably figured out I’m gone, and I know that right now, Talon is feeling something I never wanted him to feel.

Pure betrayal.

Cyrus drives, his jaw tight. “You think you have the upper hand, Nia. But you don’t know what you’re dealing with.”

I keep the gun pointed at him, and I know I’m more than willing to pull the trigger if I have to. “I know exactly what I’m dealing with. That’s why I’m not scared of you.”

The darkness surrounds us, and I feel it closing in, suffocating, but I don’t let it show. I’m in the car with the enemy, heading straight back to a place that almost broke me. But this time, I’m not the same girl I was. This time, I have something to fight for.

I am going to get Lily out.

Ivowit.

The familiar landscape blurs past, and I feel a strange, sick twist in my stomach, a mix of fear and determination. I did this. I made this choice. I try to convince myself it was the right one, but doubt claws at me, vicious and relentless.

“What the hell are you thinking?” Cyrus mutters, his voice laced with anger and something else—a hint of admiration, maybe. “You think you can just walk away from them and come back like it’s nothing?”

“I think you underestimate me.”

His lips curl into a sneer. “You’re still just a scared little girl, Nia. You’ll fall in line soon enough.”

I don’t answer, focusing instead on the road ahead, the stretch of asphalt leading me back to a world I thought I’d escaped. My grip on the gun tightens. I can’t afford to be scared. I can’t afford to be weak. Not now, not when I’m this close.

I will shoot if I need to.

Oh, and I’ll enjoy every second of it.

10

Cyrus drives slowly past the towering gates, the compound looming ahead, just as fucking awful as I remember. The car rolls to a stop near the main building, and my heart thunders as I see familiar faces turn to look at us. I don't give anyone a chance to approach.

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