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“And we’re all going to act like we have no idea she’s listening in. Until we either come up with a better solution or get rid of her. Conversations like this one... things we don’t want her to hear... we find places outside of the buses and hotels to have them. Everyone in agreement?”

11

Kelsey

“Girls’ night out,” a woman shouts as she enters the suite. She holds a magnum of champagne aloft. Her pink hair falls in natural waves to her waist.

Her blue eyes light up the moment she spots me. She shrieks, hands the champagne to her companion—a gorgeous slender woman with almond shaped eyes and long brown hair that is woven into an intricate ropy ponytail—and pounces on me before I can manage to get off the sofa.

She whips her reedy arms around me. “Oh my God, Kelsey. When I heard you were back, I just had to come and see you. Your hair... It’s red. I haven’t seen you since... shit, let’s not talk about that right now.”

“Riot told you?” I’m not surprised, I guess. His family was always tight.

“No. West heard it from Rogue who heard it from Rebel who talked to Riot...” She bounces up and down. “Anyway, I just knew you were in trouble...”

“Dizzy,” the other woman admonishes.

Dizzy gasps theatrically and clamps both hands over her mouth. When she removes them, she’s grinning ear to ear. “Of being bored to death. Being stuck with all these boys. It must be so... so... hard.”

She winks at me.

“Dizzy.” I hug her back. She’s the best surprise I could ask for. All that vivacious, deranged energy is exactly what I need to get me out of this funk I’ve been in since Sonatina announced she was joining the tour. “What are you doing here?”

“I just told you. Checking out your hard situation.” Riot’s sister-in-law nudges me with her elbow.

I crack up.

“What?” She stares at me with a straight face, like she has no idea what she just said.

I’m pretty sure West is the only person who can actually tell when she’s serious and when she’s not. “Whatever your reason, I am so glad you’re here.”

“We had some business,” the other woman says.

“So I thought why not tag along and crash a rock tour. Check out all the rock gods. Where are they, by the way?”

“Practice.” The four of them went to a nearby studio to rehearse some of their new stuff. And since I’m not talking to three of them, and Sonatina had a promo this afternoon, they didn’t argue when I told them I was staying behind.

Well, Kodiak had looked like he would argue for a second... but then he hadn’t.

“Well, that’s disappointing.” She pouts.

“That’s not why we’re here,” her friend reminds her.

“Right. We’re having a little girls’ night out and you’re coming.” Dizzy jumps up and runs around the couch to link arms with the other woman. “This is Willa. She’s totally the best. You’re totally going to love her. She’s like if I had a baby with West. Oh wait...” she giggles. “We did have a baby. Babies, actually.”

Oh, they did? While my world imploded, all the brothers went on and had families? I’m not sour... just sad because it’s a reminder of what was supposed to be. I paste on a genuine smile, though, because I truly am happy for her. “Congratulations. How many?”

“Twins,” she says. “Asher and Oleander. We call him Leander for short. Because Oleander is a toxic plant, and while that’s exactly what we were going for, we don’t want him to be picked on for it. At least not until we’ve taught him how to deal with his enemies.”

Yep, she’s still as worryingly unhinged as she was at the wedding when she was kissing FBI agents for funsies. Or to make West jealous. Maybe both?

“Their boys are both as wild as their mother,” Willa says dryly. “Poor West can’t keep up.”

“He keeps up very well.” Dizzy’s gaze sparkles with mischief. She elbows Willa in the side. “With both me and Soren.”

“Soren?” I’m pretty sure I’m the one that can’t keep up. There’s a familiarity to that name, but I can’t place it.

Riot walks into the room with another man. The new guy is tall and rakish. Dressed head to toe in black. A long white cord hangs out of his back pocket in a knotted loop that extends almost to his knee. His arms and neck are covered in tattoos—the one on his throat is a word—and he has two metal hoops through his lip.