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“They newcomers?” I ask Ruthless, nodding to the men in question, and he nods.
“Friends of The Beast,” he says with a shrug. “Been here a few times before.” I rub my chin at the new information and purse my lips. “That one is Adrian something or other,” he says pointing to a larger man, scowling at his friends. “Then there’s Kaleb, Derek, and Greg.”
I narrow my eyes when the large man, Adrian, leans down, having a heated discussion with a shorter man dressed in black, hiding his face from view under a ball cap. Shaking my head, I shrug off the odd feeling building in my chest in a warning. Whatever they’re discussing sends Adrian on his way with a scowl. By the way, his head soars above the crowd; he’s a few inches taller than the Beast I destroyed. Speaking of…
I peer back at the giant still laid out in the octagon, mumbling to the shorter man who was with him until they hoist him up and cart him off the mats.
Collecting my shirt and earbuds from the stool where I left them, I take a few steps toward River and Rad, standing in the back of the crowd, just as the big man knocks into both of them, flinging River to the ground. My damn heart jumps out of my chest, and my jaw clenches. She shrieks angrily, her entire body disappearing from view.
My lip raises in disgust when he looms over them, poking a finger into Rad’s chest. With every poke the big man gives, Rad’s face tightens, and his nostrils flare as he goes toe to toe with him and doesn’t back down. Fuck. I have to get over there and help him, despite our differences these days. He’s still my oldest friend, no matter the weird tension we’ve felt lately between the band. We’ve never been the same since we left Central City. Or since River West.
I curl my fists, laying my shirt over my bare shoulder, and beeline it toward Rad, whose reddened face gives away his rising rage. He’s two seconds away from snapping on the man, just like I am.
“Watch yourself,” I grunt, getting into Adrian’s face and bumping his shoulder as he continues leering down at River, sprawled out on the sticky floor.
“You watch yourself. You think just because you won against him, you could win against me?” he growls, grinding his teeth together.
He inches his face toward mine, snarling as he takes me in. I roll my eyes at his attempt to rile me up and shove a hand into his chest, knocking him back a step.
“Shut up and leave,” I say, folding my arms across my bare, sweaty chest. “Or you’ll have the same fate.”
Blinking a few times in my direction, he chuckles at me. A smirk lifts at the edge of his lips when he peers down at River again, letting his eyes roam the entirety of her body. A deep growl works its way up my throat at his apparent interest, and I step up again, forcing him to look at me. Not her. No one looks at her like that.
He smirks at me and waves a hand like I’m not worth the effort. “Sure, I will,” he chuckles without another word and leaves the building without fanfare.
“Fuck’s sake,” River grumbles, slapping Rad’s awaiting hand away, climbing to her feet.
Rad frowns, bringing his hand to his chest. “Rude,” he grumbles, shaking it out.
River’s nose wrinkles as she brushes the dirt from her jeans and rights herself. “What an asshole,” she huffs angrily, watching where he disappeared. Turning her gaze to mine, she raises an expectant brow. “So, fighting. Huh?”
I blow out a breath, running a hand down my face. How the hell do I explain this to her and keep our contract intact? I might not want this anymore, but Kieran’s sanity depends on this damn gig. If he doesn’t have music in his life, I don’t know what he’ll do. And the other two haven’t said they’re ready for a change. Not that we fucking talk anymore, but still.
“Um, yeah-yeah,” I stammer softly, getting lost in the expanse of her green eyes that soften at my voice. “Better than drugs,” I mutter as dread fills my system.
That was a different time when my open wounds still bled from the lies, and I took things into my own hands to forget the misdeeds of the woman I loved. The poison was too accessible, and we had too much money at our fingertips. Only, it didn’t work. It never took the pain locked in my damn bones away. It didn’t even numb the ache in my chest and left me craving more. After days of detox, I sought other forms of relief. Then came fighting. One knock to the skull, and all the pain hidden inside my body disappeared into thin air, and sweet oblivion took hold, letting me forget my misery.
Blowing out a breath, she shakes her head almost in disappointment at me. “Okay, well. Obviously, we need to have a little chat. So, let’s roll,” she says, waving a hand and taking off toward the door without another word or looking back.
“Sorry, man,” Rad murmurs, standing close to me as we follow her through the exit and step out into the warm air. “But you weren’t exactly discreet with your escape. Next time, roll your bike to the damn gate or something.” He side-eyes me with disappointment.
I shrug, poking at a children’s bandage plastered to the side of his face. “Why are you wearing so many?” I grunt, pulling my shirt over my head and situating it against my sticky skin.
He rubs the back of his neck, looking at River, who walks ahead of us and then back to me with apprehension.
“I, uh, fell off my bike, and her kid patched me up,” he says softly, keeping his voice low.
I snort. “With fifty bandages? Damn. You hurt?”
“So, you don’t know either, do you?” he whispers with discretion, stopping our retreat by curling his fingers into the front of my shirt and bringing us chest to chest. His dark eyes widen with desperation.
“Know what?” I ask, trying to pull away from him, but he clings on.
“You should see her, dude.” His whisper comes out with strain, holding back tears and swallowing the emotions. Shaking his head, he swallows hard. “She’s the spitting image of him.” His lips roll together, and he shakes his head. “Do you ever feel that something isn’t right about how we left and what happened? Like something feels so fucking off right now. Have you ever felt that way? Like everything was set up just a little too easily?”
“What are you talking about? Who is she? And who’s the spitting image of who?” I ask through my confusion. My heart falls into my ass as the past rushes forward at his words. He had the video. I had the picture. It was as clear as day as to what happened. She cheated. We left. End of fucking story.
“Lyric,” he mumbles, wincing when River calls our names from the parking lot and puts her hands on her hips. “River’s daughter. Kieran’s daughter.Ourdaughter.” The way he says our gives me pause.
