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Bronx chuckles. “Not one of us was paying attention to the movie, Kels. Though watching you take us all is a movie I could watch again and again.”

Jasper is already back in his favorite spot.

Kodiak and Golden are waiting for us. Waiting for Kelsey. They don’t hide their hunger.

She’s the devil’s lettuce to a stoner. The poetry in lyrics. The beat to a drummer. She’s the bassline. And the rhythm. The groupie. And the muse. She is an addiction and we’re all junkies here.

Bronx and I sit at opposite ends of the couch. Kelsey flounces down on the couch.

Bronx’s gaze is full of questions. Are Kelsey and I back together? What does that mean for them as men who want her? For us as a band? Has she finally come between us like I warned them all she would? Or is this a situation we can navigate together as her guys? Or as a band?

I shrug because I don’t have any fucking answers for him. Because seeing how she is with them has made me insanely jealous. Because I have always been possessive when it comes to her.

We were actively trying to hate each other—pretending there could never be an us again—and I was still forbidding them from being with her. Now we’re something...

I place my hand on her thigh. No, I don’t have any fucking answers yet. What I do know... I tell them. “Kelsey is coming to the show tonight.”

30

Kelsey

We’re running late by the time we get to the venue. There’s a whole itinerary that’s followed on show days, and my decision to join them threw the timing out when they’d all decided to stay at the hotel as long as possible and travel together.

There’s more safety in numbers or something. Which is probably correct. Except we’re talking about Marco and he’s already proven he doesn’t care who gets between us. When he decides it’s time... he’ll be coming for me no matter who I’m surrounded by.

Thankfully, there’s no time to dwell on Marco with crew running this way and that. Grabbing things the guys want while they finish getting ready.

“Your turn.” Jasper is down to three cards face up on three cards face down.

“Oh shit! Sorry.” He’s beating me, but this is still anyone’s game. I drop a nine on the pile. My brass knuckles catch the light. “When did you get so good?”

“I’ve been practicing.” He grins, but that grin fades when he looks at what he has to work with. “Damn it.”

“Nothing below a nine, huh?” I bite my lip and swing my well-heeled foot. Willa’s shoes have become a fast favorite, even replacing my motorcycle boots.

Jasper pretends to be cranky about the loss as he scoops up the pile and sorts through it. “I’m not here to play cards, princess. I’m here to keep you safe.”

“From what? That rack of clothing over there?” I point at a half empty rack of outfits. The guys travel light, but they like to have options and backups. Although... are those sequins? I drop a new card on the table. “Your move.”

Fucking sequins. I get up while he’s deciding on a card. I push garments aside one after the other. Gold sequins. White dress with gold flames. Gold. Gold. Gold. Motherfucker. These are Sonatina’s. What the hell are they doing here?

He told me he told her to fuck off. And she’s still singing at their shows? What the absolute fuck?

“Kelsey.” Jasper’s voice is like the buzzing of a bee. His chair scrapes the floor.

I storm toward Riot’s dressing room.

The door to another dressing room opens. Sonatina comes out of it. She’s dressed in one of the outfits she constantly rotates for their performance. There’s something in her hand...

She turns her attention on me. Her eyes light up like she just won the jackpot. She hides whatever is in her hands behind her back. “Slut.”

“Bitch,” I retort when she passes me.

He’s telling everyone they’re not together tonight. Maybe he asked her to be here so he could say it to her face. It’s fine. Everything is fine. He didn’t lie to me. He hasn’t been hiding shit with her from me.

It’s fine.

“Kelsey.” She says my name. Not Katie, not Slut. My actual fucking name. That’s the only reason I turn back. She holds up the thing she has in her hand. It’s a long piece of plastic. “I just thought you should know... before you get your hopes up...”