Page 59 of Dash

“Say that again.” His voice is low and terrifying. “I dare you.”

I grip the table edge harder, swaying a little.

Fin isn’t stupid. “I’m sorry.” He spits the words quickly, like ripping a plaster off.

Diesel releases him, but his stormy eyes stay locked. “Don’t disrespect my club again.”

I swipe at the blood again as it drips into my eyes, ignoring that wobble in my legs again.

“You’re bleeding.” Diesel’s words are sharp.

“I’m fine,” I lie.

He makes a noise in the back of his throat.

I lean against the bar as Diesel moves through the room. Fuck, I need to sit down.

Diesel bends, picking something out of the debris of glass and wood. It’s a stone. There’s a piece of paper wrapped around it with elastic bands holding it in place.

He glances at me before he pulls it off.

I make my way over to him, ignoring the dizziness and the fact my head is throbbing.

The paper has a scrawled message on it.

THIS IS JUST THE START

I stare at it.The start of what?

“Everyone knows we protect this part of town.” Diesel turns the note over, looking for any other clues.

I open my mouth to reply but my vision splinters and he grabs my arm, steadying me.

“Shit.” I blink through the fog and heaviness.

“You might have a concussion,” he says, almost clinically.

“I didn’t pass out.”

Diesel stares at me for a beat, then says, “Did you know that the human brain can generate enough electricity to power a twenty-five-watt lightbulb?”

What the hell?“Maybe I do have a brain injury,” I mutter.

“We should go to the hospital, just in case. Concussions can be silent.”

“Yeah, maybe?—”

That’s all I get out before everything whirls around me and my knees buckle.

Then everything goes dark.

FOURTEEN

DAYNA

I’m not watchingthe clock. I’m not.

But as the minutes tick down, the hollowness spreading through my gut becomes pain.

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