Something twists in the center of my chest. “I love you, Elijah Drakos.”
He crashes into me like a wave that’s been starved of the shore. His lips capture mine, void of any hesitation or gentleness. I feel a need so raw and deep for him that my bones rattle together.
The road getting here was unpaved, confusing, and the bumps along the way hurt like hell. But this is where I was meant to be this entire time.
Early this morning, Fay called everyone into this emergency group meeting. When Elijah woke up, startled by Leonidas’s shouts from the first level of the bus, I thought I could send Elijah off and get more sleep time. Turned out, Fay wanted me there as well.
“Fay, what could possibly be this urgent to call a meeting at”—Elijah pauses to check the time on his phone—“twelve o’clock?”
Deadpan, she raises a brow. “As you just stated, it is, in fact, not the morning, but the afternoon.”
He twirls his finger in the air, gesturing to both bands in the room. “Rock stars, if you didn’t notice.”
“And what does that have to do with anything?”
“We’re known to stay up late!” Axel exclaims, all grumpy, from the corner of the room.
A chorus of tired yeses fills the room.
“Business never rests, beautiful boys and girls. I have something important to discuss with all of you.”
“Something good, I hope.” Trinity picks away at her nails, which I’ve learned is a nervous tic.
Wanting to show her support, I grab her arm and squeeze. Sending me a small smile, she grips my hand and faces forward.
“It all depends on how you view this. It’s good and bad in a sense.” Fay looks right at me, and panic alarms each cell in my body.
Why is she looking at me?
This time, Amelia takes the open seat beside me and grabs my other hand.
“Lily, you’re getting a lot of online attention.” Her voice is too chirpy—definitely a tactic she’s using before she drops a bomb on me.
“I’ve heard it’s gotten intense.” My laugh doesn’t sound happy, but full of anxiety.
Every pair of eyes in this room is trained on me. That’s an introvert’s worst nightmare. I find the one person who grounds me, seeing he’s just as worried as I am. He moves across the room and stands behind me with his hands on my shoulders.
“Rumors just seem to be getting out of hand—potentially harming both your personal life away from the tour and Times Three. Elijah and I have been in talks about the next steps due to the fact that the old record label is feeding into these lies, and we think it’s best if we pursue a lawsuit.”
“Because of everything that’s going on with me?” I blurt out, my eyes bugging out.
I’m shocked that it’s gotten to this point. I haven’t been online lately. I’ve only heard little things that Elijah tells me, so Ihave no idea what people are truly saying about me now. It must be very bad for Fay to be considering a lawsuit.
“It’s not specifically you. It’s the fact that Times Three’s old label is lying and feeding into these rumors,” she says with a frown. “However, these guys need justice for all they’ve done to them for years.” She points to Elijah and his siblings, who have quickly become family. “I have talked about this with everyone in this room individually and have gotten the green light. That just leaves you. Are you okay with us proceeding with this legally?”
I bite the inside of my cheek. Elijah’s long fingers press against the built-up pressure in my neck.
“Do it … I hope they cry.”
FORTY-FIVE
LILY
“Let the fake fans stay mad,” Amelia grumbles, lying on her stomach and swinging her legs.
Trinity says behind the paperback she’s reading, “And even if you were a groupie, getting passed along, you would be the hottest to exist.”
“I appreciate you both so much,” I say, cuddled beneath my covers, “but you’re my friends, so I know you’re being biased.”
