Page 67 of Unmasked Prophecy
It will all be worth it if it means dragging my father down from his fucking high horse.
That reckoning will be worth absolutely everything.
THE CROPS ARE TALLERthan I remember, corn stalks like brittle fingers clawing at the sky. I crouch low, my heart pounding in my ears, telling myself this will work, that I’ll pull this off. I am just reaching the corner of the compound, where I know I can get in, when I see a dark shadow.
There, standing by the fence, is Talon.
I could cry with relief, knowing he hasn’t gone in yet, but at the same time that means telling him the plan. He might hate me right now, but I know he won’t be happy when he finds out what we have planned. I was hoping he would already be in there, and he wouldn’t get the chance to argue.
"Nia?" His voice is disbelieving, then sharp, like the crack of a whip. "What the fuck—"
"We have a plan. The club is in on it," I say quickly, before I lose my nerve. He lowers the gun. “It is something that will save all of us. Then, I’ll be out of your hair before you know it. It’s the only way, Talon.”
“Tell me,” he growls.
I tell him the plan, from start to finish, then I hold my breath, waiting for his reaction. He stares at me, his face impassive, and I want to scream. I don’t know what he’s thinking. He is impossible to read. The gun hangs at his side, his other hand clenched into a fist.
"You're not goin’ in there. No fuckin’ way.”
I cross my arms, pushing my chin out. "You don't get a choice, Talon. I'm doing this."
"Like hell you are," he growls, voice low and lethal. "They'll see you coming. They'll—"
"I know what they'll do," I cut in, my voice shaking but strong. The memories flash through me—the cross, mostly. "But this isn't just about me. I owe it to the club. To Lily."
He closes the space between us in two strides, and for a moment, I think he might grab me and haul me out of here. If he does, I’m not certain I can stop him. But he stops short, his breath harsh in the quiet, his presence a wall of fury and fear I can almost touch. "This isn't a fucking game, Nia. You could die."
My heart is pounding. "I know," I whisper. "But with or without your help, I’m going in. I owe them this...I oweyouthis.”
His eyes, those perfectly mismatched eyes, lock onto mine with an intensity that makes me want to look away, to run. But I don't. I stand there, trembling but unyielding, while the silence stretches between us.
“He’ll fuckin’ kill you.”
“He can try, but if this works, it will all be over. Isn’t that what you want? Me gone? That’s why you’re here, isn’t it?”
He doesn’t say anything for a long time. Just stares at me, his face tight. Then, finally, he nods, a single dip of his chin. “Can see I don’t get a fuckin’ choice. We’ll do this, but if I see him even attempt to hurt you, I’m comin’ back. I will kill every last one of them, do you fuckin’ hear me?”
Something about his words makes my heart swell.
Maybe Kael is right.
I nod. Our eyes stay locked.
I need to ask him one more thing before I do this, even though I know he won’t like it. “Talon, if...if anything happens to me. If we can’t both get out, or if something goes wrong—” My throat closes up, and I have to force the words out. “Promise me you’ll make sure Lily is safe. That she goes to someone who loves her.”
“Do not fuckin’ say that to me, Nia,” he rasps, and the hard expression on his face finally falls away enough for me to see the man behind it, the man I have fallen in love with.
“Talon,” I whisper. “Please. Ineedthis.”
He doesn’t answer for a long moment, his face unreadable.
“I promise,” he growls, low.
We’re quiet for a moment, the weight of that promise settling in. I can see wheels turning in his mind, strategies, a map of danger and escape routes. It’s the kind of meticulous planning that’s kept him alive this long, and for the first time, I’m grateful for the darkness that’s shaped him.
“There is one more thing,” I say.
His eyes meet mine.
