The Reaper's Red Queen

Lila's POV "Throw the race or your sister is off the tube." Those words hit me like a fist to the chest. I stood there, frozen — expression more of shock than anger, as Kyle's icy eyes bored into mine. It felt as if my black leather jacket had tightened around me, squeezing the air out of my lungs. "I… I don't understand." I stammered. "What the f**k do you not understand?" He fired back. "We are in business with the Vipers, and throwing the race will…" he moved closer, dropping his voice to something almost casual, "let's just say it will benefit the future of our club greatly." I recognised that look on Kyle's face. That was the look of someone who had already been bought. *Future of the club, my ass.* He wanted to throw away my future for the sake of a few thousand dollars he had quietly pocketed. And to think that he was my boyfriend. "Why can't you ask Tiffany to throw her own race?" I tried to stay defiant. "I have not lost a race in six months." "Who the f**k do you think you are?" Tiffany cut in before Kyle could answer, stepping forward with her sorry gang of groupies trying to back her up. "Comparing yourself to me? I've been in this club way longer than you, b***h!" "b***h?" I squared up to her. "You've been here two years longer than I have, yet you're a weak-ass rider. You can't even stand next to me on a track." Her face went white with anger. She raised her hand to slap me — but Kyle caught her by the waist, pulling her back. Her body bounced against his and, just like that, she smirked and cooled down. I didn't understand why he always let her get away with it. "Listen, Lila." Kyle's voice rose so sharply that the DJ killed the music. Every head in the room turned to us. "As long as I'm the leader here, I am your alpha. Whatever I say goes. If I tell you to jump, you ask how high. And if I tell you to throw a f*****g race, you do not question me." "Kyle." I looked at him, searching his face. Why wasn't he defending me? Why was he standing there letting her bully me right in front of everyone? "And if you do not do as I say…" he paused, letting the silence stretch, "close your eyes and think about your baby sister. The one currently on a feeding tube, draining this club's money. Or do you think we run a f*****g charity here?" The betrayal stung deeper than anything I expected. He announced my most personal pain in a room full of people without a single flicker of guilt. "Throw the race, or your sister is off the tube. You know what no medical bill means, right? She already looks like a vegetable — don't test me." He turned and walked away, Tiffany trailing after him like an annoying fly. Kyle had always found ways to manipulate me. But using my sister's life as a bargaining chip? That was a line I never thought he would cross. I stormed out of the club, mounted my bike, snapped on my helmet and tore off like a raging maniac. I blew straight through a police checkpoint without slowing down, not caring whether they gave chase. They wouldn't. Kyle had long since paid them to look the other way whenever they spotted our club insignia. But my mind was stuck on one thing: *throw the race?* Walk away from becoming the number one undefeated female biker in the entire city of Texas? I had worked twice as hard as anyone else to get where I was, and I was just supposed to let it all go? I pulled a sharp U-turn and headed back. No. I was not letting it go. Kyle needed to hear me out. If he wanted to throw a race, he could use Tiffany or any other pushover in the club. Not me. I parked my old Sportster and walked into Kyle's apartment with my mind made up. I was not one of his goons, and I refused to be treated like one. And I was not going to let him hold my sister over my head. I didn't bother knocking. Kyle always retired early, and I was usually the last one at the club — training, drilling techniques, grinding to be better. He had stopped complaining about my late nights the moment my riding improved. Or so I had thought. I stopped dead in my tracks when I heard the sounds. Not just any sounds. These are the sounds of moanings.The thought of the club members using Kyle's home as a f*****g ground crossed mind. But I had doubts immediately, when I heard a familiar voice.“Oh Kyle”. Tiffany?! What's that b***h doing here? I pushed the bedroom door open, and the sight in front of me knocked the breath right out of my body. Kyle was sprawled on the bed with his hand hanging tight to Tiffany's waist. While she was thumping hard and riding Kyle's d**k, I could sense this was not their first escapade. I laughed. A long, sharp, genuine laugh. That was when they noticed me and jumped. First came the surprise. Then Tiffany's expression shifted into something smug as she leaned further into Kyle's chest. Stupid b***h. "Well, it's about time you found out." She didn't even flinch, let alone stop. "What the f**k are you doing here? Why didn't you knock?" Kyle barked at me. "Even if you were going to cheat on me, I expected better taste." I looked straight at him. "You picked her? This cheap slut?? You are a piece of s**t, Kyle." "Her riding game is way better than yours." He smirked at his silly joke and turned back to kiss her, performing just to irritate me. But strangely, I felt nothing. Maybe I had never been as into him as I'd convinced myself. "What are you doing here?" he asked again, irritatedly pushing Tiffany's naked body off him like she's nothing. "I'm here to tell you I'm not throwing the race. I don't care about your threats, you pathetic loser." "I wasn't threatening you, bitch." He climbed off the bed, not bothering that his d**k was dangling around, and he moved toward me. His eyes were dark in a way I didn't recognise. This was not the Kyle I knew. This was something uglier. "If you do not do as I say, you will rue the day you met me." He raised his hand and slapped me hard. Tiffany burst into hysterics behind him. "That's how you do it, babe!" she screeched. "You're my little b***h," he said, voice low and cold. "When I'm done with you, I'll throw you back where I found you — in the trash. That's where you belong. You will never be queen of the Serpents. You are nothing." "We'll see who's laughing last." I walked out, head high, refusing to shed a single tear.