Page 46 of Bully's Darkness
“Why?” I whisper, my breaths coming out hard as he continues to stare deep into my soul.
“Because of Lila.”
My blood runs cold. “Who’s Lila?”
“Ask him, Liv. Ask your old man all about Lila Carson.” He leans in, brushing a kiss over my lips, quick, deliberate,wrong.Then he turns away. “Now, go upstairs like a good girl,” he calls over his shoulder, “and don’t come out until I’ve gone.”
I back up, taking each step carefully but watching the space where he was. I get to the top, and the sound of gunfire stops. I hold my breath. Waiting. Listening. There’s nothing. I step onto the landing as heavy boots run up the stairs, and I freeze, sagging with relief when Bully appears. His eyes narrow. “What are you doing out here?”
I smile, too relieved to care about his snappy tone as I throw my arms around him. “Are you okay?”
He holds me too, his face buried into my neck as he inhales deeply. “Everyone’s fine.”
“Good,” I whisper. I run my hands over his face, tears stinging my eyes. “Good.”
He looks amused. “Are you okay?”
I nod a little too quickly as a tear escapes down my cheek. “Who’s Lila Carson?” His sharp intake of breath is so loud against the silence, it takes me by surprise. “Who is she, Bully?” But I know. Deep down, I already know that whatever his answer is, I won’t like it.It’s going to break us.
“Where did you hear that name?” he asks, removing my hands from his face and holding me at arm’s length. “Where, Liv?” he suddenly snaps, shaking me.
“Oh god,” I whisper as pain squeezes my heart. My hands go to my mouth as more tears escape. “You did it again.”
“Who told you about her?” he demands.
“Dagger,” I say, barely a whisper. My smile is sad, my heart breaking. “Dagger told me.”
“Pres, we need you down here,” calls Boss, breaking the tension between us.
Bully lunges for me, grabbing my upper arm and dragging me towards the bedroom. “Stay in there until I come back. Don’t fucking move.”
I can’t stop my sobs as they leave me, painful and loud. “If you leave me now, without an explanation, I’m walking out of here.”
“No,” he says firmly. “You’re not going anywhere.” And he slams the bedroom door shut, locking it.
I fall onto the bed, crying into the pillows.
Bully
Downstairs is chaos. Furniture is tipped up, bullets lodged into anything wooden. The windows have all gone, now shattered across the floor, twinkling in the low sun like cruel little stars. The air tastes scorched, and there’s a faint hum in my ears, adrenaline or maybe the echo of gunfire still vibrating off the walls.
“Have you checked in with the women?” I ask, scanning the room for any movement. Boss nods.
“All accounted for. No injuries. Is Liv okay?”
I nod, though my head is pounding. Not from a blow, just pressure, noise, too many thoughts crowding into one skull. I’ve got so many damn questions, and none of them have answers.Not yet.
Taz kicks a chunk of splintered table across the floor. It skitters to a stop against the bar. “Shooting up the front of the club,” he mutters, brow furrowed, “it makes no sense. Why not force their way in? They must’ve realised we were unarmed when we didn’t fire back.”
His voice cuts through the ringing in my ears. The logic of it all doesn’t hold, but then it hits me, cold and sharp. “It was adistraction,” I say, the words sticking in my throat. “He wanted to talk to Liv.”
Silence drops like a weight. Boss shifts beside me as Taz looks up sharply.
“You think he . . . Dagger used all this just to get to her?”
I nod slowly. “She knows,” I add, “about Lila.”
There’s a beat before anyone speaks. Dust dances in the sunlight, drifting through the blown-out windows like ghosts. The kind that don’t rest easy. “Shit. You think he got to her in our own damn clubhouse?” mutters Taz. The thought he was so close to her . . .again.I shudder.Fuck.I turn and head for the stairs. I need answers.Now.
