I didn't go to work the next day.
I couldn't face Kyler. Not after what Zane said. Not with the weight of his threats hanging over me.
Instead, I sat by my bedroom window, watching the rain. It felt like the sky knew what I was feeling—heavy, gray, broken.
My phone buzzed.
Kyler: You're late.
I stared at the message. And then, a second one.
Kyler: If something's wrong, say it. Or I'll find out myself.
I swallowed hard. No point in hiding. He would find out.
Still, I didn't answer.
An hour later, there was a knock at the door.
This time, softer. Patient. Like he wasn't here to threaten. Just… to see me.
I opened it.
Kyler stood there, coat soaked, eyes searching my face.
"You didn't come," he said.
"I couldn't."
He tilted his head. "Why?"
I stepped back to let him in. Something about him… it felt safer now. Even when everything else didn't.
He sat down at my kitchen table like he'd done it a hundred times. I poured him tea without asking. And we sat there, just staring at each other, the silence screaming.
Finally, I spoke.
"My boyfriend… he knows about you. About the club. He's using it against me."
Kyler didn't react right away. But his hands curled into fists.
"Did he hurt you?" he asked.
I hesitated.
He stood slowly. "Did. He. Touch. You?"
My breath caught. I didn't want to say it. Didn't want to see the rage I knew lived under his skin.
But I nodded.
Kyler's jaw locked. His entire body went still—like a man who'd been shot in the chest but refused to fall.
"What did he say?" he asked, voice sharp and low.
"That I'm nothing to you. That I'm a tool to both of you."
Kyler stared at me then. Not like a boss. Not like a mafia king.
Like a man who was about to burn the whole world down for someone.
"Come with me," he said.
"Where?"
"Somewhere he can't find you."
I shook my head. "I can't run. I have to face this."
His gaze softened just a little. "You're stronger than I thought."
"And you're not the cold-hearted monster I thought," I whispered.
He looked away, jaw twitching. "Don't make that mistake, Ash. I still am."
But something about the way he said it… didn't feel true.
He left not long after that. But the space he left behind felt filled with a strange warmth I didn't know how to explain.
That night, I received a final message from Zane.
Zane: You're mine, Ash. Don't forget that. He can't save you.
And even though I was scared…
Part of me knew that maybe Kyler could.