“Yeah,” she murmured as she glanced up at him. “Me too. Other than Kin nearly breaking her hand, it’s been a great night. Tainted Knights have some killer potential.”
“Emmie thanks so. As soon as their contract is up with me, she has big plans for them.” He took another swallow of beer before turning those awesome eyes on me. “Speaking of future plans… I had two people call me this morning about you. One wants to talk to your agent about the song you performed last night. The other wants to know if you have any more they could hear.”
All thoughts of Jace, the bullshit I had to face at home, and the pain in my hand disappeared. “Are you serious?” I meant to ask it in a calm voice, but it came out nearly hysterical. No way. There was no way he was telling the truth. No one would want to talk about my song.
Right?
“I don’t kid around about things like that, Kin. These guys are some of the biggest names in the music world. I told them I’d pass their names and numbers along to you.” He pulled something from his pocket and handed over a folded piece of paper. “Give it some serious thought before you call either of them, though. If you aren’t eighteen yet, then you’re going to need a guardian to handle any deals you make.”
Lucy sat up a little straighter, her dark eyes narrowed on the paper in my hand. “Kin, that’s awesome. I’m so proud of you…”
“But?” I whispered, scared of what she was going to say.
“But…talk to Aunt Emmie about this, okay? See what she thinks before you make your decisions. Like Harris said, you’ll need a guardian to handle any deals. Do you think your father will have your best interests at heart? What about Jillian?”
I quickly folded the paper and pushed it into the front pocket of my jeans. Lucy was right. I would talk to her aunt about this when I got the chance and, if I needed to, I would wait until my birthday in February before accepting any offers.
Jace
My face was still stinging by the end of the show. All four of my bandmates snickered every time they looked at me while we waited on our beers up on the VIP floor. I flipped them off and downed my bottle of Bud in two gulps before demanding another from Nate, the bartender.
“I see Kin still has that fiery personality to go with that hair of hers,” Sin said with a cocky grin. “Damn, I knew I should have hit that before you could get your hands on her.”
If it came down to Sin and Gray both being in a burning building and I could save only one of them, I wasn’t sure if I would save either. Okay, so I’d probably go in after Gray because my sister and Alicia would kill me if I didn’t save his ass. Sin could burn. I despised both of them equally. The two were best friends. I guess like attracted like and all that bullshit.
A hand landed on my shoulder as I lifted my fresh bottle of Bud and debated knocking it over Sin’s head. Kale laughed good naturedly, but his hold on my shoulder was full of tension. “Let’s find a place to chill, yeah?”
I didn’t bother to answer as I shrugged his hold off and looked around the room for Harris. Hopefully Kin and her friend hadn’t left. I wanted to talk to her, tell her…
What?
That I was sorry for playing dirty and singing that song I considered ours? I wasn’t sorry about that. The look on her face told me that it had affected her emotionally before it had pissed her off and she’d smacked the hell out of me. She still cared, she still felt something strong for me and it wasn’t just hate.
I had no clue what I would say to her, I just wanted to have the chance to talk to her.
“Cash!”
My head jerked up when I heard Kin’s voice call out. She was on a leather couch in a back corner hidden from most of the other VIPs, but she stood and walked toward us. Blue eyes were focused on Cash as she sidestepped me and wrapped her arms around the bassist.
Cash wrapped her up in a tight hug. “Kin.” He was grinning when he pulled back enough to look down at her. “Good to see you, sweetheart.”
“You too.” She kept an arm around his waist as she smiled up at him. Not that she had to look up far. At five foot eleven barefoot she wasn’t much shorter than Cash who was only six-one. “Come sit with us?”
He shrugged. “Sure, babe.” She pulled him with her, her arm still at his waist.
I wanted to break his fucking neck as he draped an arm over her shoulders and walked with her. Swallowing another mouthful of my beer, I followed them and wasn’t surprised when the other three Tainted Knights members did as well.
Lucy and Harris took up one end of the couch, Lucy tucked close to Harris with her feet on his lap. Kin sat down beside Lucy, and Cash took up the rest of the couch. In a chair close by, the guard—who seemed to always be with Lucy—was watching everyone. Kale pulled a chair over to our group and Gray and Sin followed suit. I took up root on the arm of the couch next to Cash, ready to break his fingers if he touched Kin for longer than I thought he should.
“Lucy, this is Cash.” Kin was introducing. “That goofball is Kale, then there are the douche twins.” She pointed at Gray and Sin, who tilted their chins in greeting.” She settled back against Cash’s side a little more. “And you know Jace.”
Lucy sat forward, shaking hands with the other four guys, a warm smile on her face. “I’ve heard a lot about you guys, actually. Aunt Emmie has some exciting plans for your band.”
“Aunt Emmie?” Kale lifted a brow for half a second and then nearly dropped his beer. “You’re Lucy Fucking Thornton, aren’t you?”
Pink filled Lucy’s cheeks and she sat back. Harris wrapped his arm around her shoulders and she seemed to become at ease once again. “Yeah. That’s me.”
“What’s it like having a Demon for a father?” Sin questioned with new interest in his gaze.
“He’s a great dad, if that’s what you mean.”
“It’s not.” Sin shifted in his chair. “What I meant was how is it having your personal life always out there for the world to see?”
“It sucks,” Lucy assured him with a hint of steel in her tone. “And it’s what your life is about to turn into. So if you don’t want the paps reporting every single move you make and with whom you make it, then get out now.”
“Ignore Sin,” Cash told her as he glared at the other bassist. “He’s an ass half the time, and the other half he’s a bastard.”
Sin didn’t bother to deny it. With a shrug that more or less agreed with Cash’s assessment of his personality, Sin swallowed the rest of his beer and set the empty bottle on the floor at his feet.
Kin turned to face Cash better. “Have you spoken to Caleb lately?”
“Nope. He’s been busy with school. Otherwise I would have already known you were on the West Coast and would have come checked on you.”
Her face tightened up. “Do me a favor and don’t tell him that we’ve seen each other.” Her gaze lifted to mine for only a millisecond before turning back to Cash. “I’m not ready to deal with the drama that will follow if he knows I’ve run into you guys. You know he will tell Angie.”
“Noted.”
The others didn’t stick around for long. Kale left first to go find something else to drink and never returned. Sin and Gray each went trolling for a hookup for the night, but Cash stuck around so there was no way I was going anywhere either. We hung out for over two hours before Lucy finally told Harris that she had to get home. The two chicks stood and Harris pulled Lucy close for a long moment before reluctantly letting her go. “I’ll call you,” he promised and she gave him a bright smile.
Kin gave Cash a hug, shot me a nasty glare and then took Lucy’s hand. “Thanks for having us, Harris.”
He inclined his head, a smirk on his face. “My pleasure, Kin. But let’s try to keep the bodily harm down to a minimum next time, okay? I don’t want my club becoming famous for the hot chicks slugging my entertainment.”
A grin teased at her lips and she cradled the hand she’d slapped me with earlier close to her. “I’ll try my best.”
As the girl
s started to leave I stepped in front of Kin. She’d ignored my every attempt to talk to her all night long, but I couldn’t let her go without saying something. “I’m sorry,” I blurted out because I still had no clue what else to say to her. “I’m sorry about everything.”
Auburn brows lifted. “O-kay. You’re sorry. Good to know. See you around.” With that she tightened her hold on Lucy’s hand and walked around me, leaving me standing there with my heart in my throat.
Chapter 9
Kin
Scott had left for Canada to film on location for his newest movie, so I was left alone at home with the step-monster and the two perfect step-bitches. If it were possible, things at their house became even more unbearable.
I’d never been one for Disney princess movies, but I could suddenly relate to Cinderella a little more. That chick’s need to have a night off from her terrible family was totally relatable and I was able to get that with Lucy.
Hanging out with her, however, meant I was at First Bass more often than not, it seemed. I was okay with going in on Wednesday nights since I’d been getting some attention for my songs that I played during open mike, but Thursday nights I would rather deal with the three hags than have to watch Tainted Knights perform and then watch one girl after another chase after Jace.
Jace mostly ignored them, but there was more than one time he’d let the groupies get close and they had been all over him after the shows. I tried to tell myself that I was immune to seeing him with other chicks, but he and I both knew that was a lie. How could he not know that it hurt like a paper cut to the heart every time I saw a girl touch his arm, whisper in his ear and giggle, and then kiss him?
It fucking destroyed me a little more each time it happened and before long I wasn’t going to the club nearly as often, which meant I had to deal with Jillian and the step-bitches more and more often. I got a lot of reading done, and I was pretty sure I’d done all the homework for the entire semester during the nights I locked myself in my room ignoring them all. At least my history grade was staying steady and my GPA was exceptional.
There would be no ignoring the evil bitches tonight, however. Jillian and her daughters were going to some Halloween party and I could either go with them, or go to First Bass with Lucy. Seeing Jace was definitely the lesser of the two evils and I dressed to kill in a cop outfit I’d been able to find at Party City. Lucy hadn’t been thrilled about dressing up, but somehow I’d talked her into it anyway.
Getting her out of her house dressed like any guy’s wet dream wasn’t easy, though. Jesse Thornton would have had an aneurism if he had seen what his daughter was wearing, so I wrapped her up in an old trench coat I’d found in my father’s hall closet and distracted Jesse while Lucy hurried out of the house.
My heart was still racing from the thought of what would have happened if Jesse had seen Lucy’s outfit as we entered First Bass. I took off my jacket and handed it over to Tiny as we stopped at the bottom of the stairs that led up to the VIP floor.
“Miss Thornton, it’s always a pleasure to have you with us,” Tiny told her as Lucy started to take off the trench coat.
She gave him a warm smile as she shrugged it off and handed it over. Behind us I heard Marcus mutter a curse, the first real sign of emotion out of him I’d ever seen. Tiny’s reaction wasn’t much better. His eyes nearly bugged out of his head. Clearing his throat, he folded Lucy’s coat over his arm. “Shall I inform the boss you’ve arrived, Miss Thornton?”
“No, please don’t bother him, Tiny.” She gave him a sly grin. “I’d like to surprise him, if you don’t mind.”
I saw the hesitation in the big man’s dark eyes, but after only a second he nodded his head and stepped aside so we could climb the stairs to the VIP floor.
I wasn’t used to heels as high as I was wearing, and neither was Lucy, but the five inches on the killer stiletto knee-high boots made our legs look endless paired with our ultra-short black shorts and ripped, black leggings. We both wore matching gun belts and our tops barely covered Lucy’s assets, but we looked hot and that was exactly what I was going for.
I wanted to make Jace sweat that night, and I knew Harris would definitely be unable to hide how affected he was once he saw his ‘best friend’ all dressed up. It was slightly amusing to see how much Harris worshiped Lucy, yet how hard he tried to hide how much he really cared.
Guys were so stupid.
As soon as we reached the top of the stairs it seemed like we were surrounded by a horde of guys dressed in varying costumes. Lucy laughed as someone told her she looked hot and pushed her long, straightened hair back from her face. It was crazy that the chick didn’t understand just how beautiful she really was.
Slowly, we made our way toward the bar. We would leave a group of guys only to be surrounded again by a new group, each one a little more daring than the last. Marcus kept his distance, but I could almost feel his tension even from the ten feet that he kept between himself and Lucy.
There were five guys in the newest group who wanted to tell Lucy and me how hot we were. Again Lucy laughed at the compliment, and taking that as a sign that she was flirting with him and wanted more attention, one of the guys took a step closer to her.
“What’s your name, beautiful?” the guy to my left asked as he moved closer to me.
“Holly,” I told him with a smirk. There was no way I was telling this tool my real name. I gave him a tight smile before turning my attention back to Lucy. The guy who was now only a few inches from her was eyeing her chest like it was a Christmas present he was dying to unwrap.
I was about to say something to send the guy and his four friends packing, when Lucy’s new ‘friend’ suddenly paled and stepped back. Turning my head in the direction he’d just glanced in, I realized quickly why he had been ready to tuck his tail and run.
Seeing Harris, Lucy forgot all about the guys calling her ‘hot,’ and hugged him. All five guys silently disappeared and I couldn’t help but laugh at how easily one deadly glare from Harris Cutter had gotten rid of the wimps who had been trying to get into our pants.
“I’ve been looking for you,” Lucy told Harris as she stepped back and did a little twirl, showing off every detail of her costume. “You like?”
From the look in his aquamarine eyes I was pretty sure Harris was about to have an aneurism of his own at the sight of Lucy all dressed up. “How the fuck did you get out of the house in that, Lu?” he demanded. “Jesse Thornton is going to kill me dead if he finds out you’re dressed like that in my club.”
Lucy grinned and hugged him again. His arms tightened around her and I saw him close his eyes as he breathed her in. “Kin helped me sneak out. As far as Daddy knows I’m dressed like a nun.” She pulled back, still grinning up at him. “Please, can we sit down? I hate these damn boots. My feet are killing me.”
Harris looked relieved that she wanted to sit down. He took her hand and held on tight as he led us to a leather couch in a back corner. My excitement for the night drained when I saw Jace was already sitting there.
Great.
I knew I would have to deal with him that night, but I’d thought he would be off finding a hookup and I wouldn’t have to see too much of him. As we grew closer I saw Jace’s eyes narrow when they skimmed over me, and I felt each touch of his eyes like a physical caress.
Harris took his place on the couch and pulled Lucy down beside him. Reaching for the zipper of her boots and pulling them off, he pulled her feet onto his lap and started rubbing her arches. The first moan of pleasure that left Lucy’s lips nearly killed him. I saw the look that crossed his face and knew it was taking everything in the poor dude not to kiss her then and there.
I couldn’t help but wonder why he didn’t. Was he scared of messing up their friendship?
Or was he scared of Jesse Thornton?
Either were good reasons not to touch Lucy, especially when the latter could get the dude ugly dead. Still, I knew that if he wanted Lucy he needed to man up and
just tell her or he was going to lose her. Lucy might not talk about how she felt for Harris, but she couldn’t hide it from a blind man—let alone me. If Harris cared, Lucy cared just as much if not more. I was pretty sure they were both in love with each other and, while I was happy for them, it was kind of like a kick to the chest to see them together and happy.
I’d had that once. I’d had a guy look at me like I was his everything, like I made it easier for him to fucking breathe. I’d had the soft touches and the whispers in my ear. I’d had the passion and the love.
And he’d walked away from me when I’d needed him most. Like it had been the easiest thing for him to do.
Sure, I understood why he’d done it. And sure, I agreed that he should have followed his dreams. I hadn’t wanted him to give them up for me. To have even asked him to do that would have been selfish and proved to him that I was too immature to take our relationship seriously.
I’d just wanted to mean a little more to him than anything else, and have him there to hold my hand when I buried my mother.
Now, I had to sit beside him on a leather couch like none of that had happened.
Yeah. Sure. I could do that.
Not.
Jace shifted and turned so his back was in the corner of the couch and he was half turned toward me. His left hand went along the back of the couch and I felt one of his fingers stroke over my hair. “I haven’t seen you in here much lately.”
“I had better things to do,” I lied and pulled my phone out of one of the side pockets of my cop utility belt. I brought up my messages, saw that I had missed a few from both Angie and Caleb and turned my full attention to returning them.
I was missing the twins like crazy. Talking to them and Carter every day was bittersweet. I needed to hear their voices, to share what was going on in their day-to-day lives, but it hurt every time I got off the phone with them. My entire body ached from the pain when I had to end a call. The goodbyes felt just as raw now as they had when I’d left them waving at me outside the airport as I’d gotten on the plane that had taken me three thousand miles away from them.