Rhett’s brow creased with concern as he brushed his fingers over my cheek. “Can I help?”
A warmer smile tugged my lips and my heart. “Help me think? I wish you could.”
“If you’re feeling guilty about yesterday,” Tom interjected, his sneer permanently in place, “you’ll be pleased to know the cops aren’t coming to talk to anyone. The whole thing has been swept under the rug, which is kind of impressive considering there were five bodies to clean up in the middle of the day.”
Flo jabbed Tom with her elbow and hissed at him to shut up, but he ignored her as he smirked in my direction.
“It’s gotta make us wonder what’s so fucking special about you, though,” he continued, like this was an idea that’d been eating away at him. “They shot two security guards when they coulda just shotyou. So why didn’t they, huh? Why’d they want you alive,Billie Bellerose?”
I bristled at the accusation in his voice, my eyes narrowing. “What are you implying, Tucker?”
He gave an exaggerated shrug, still ignoring Flo’s attempt to shut him up. “I’m not implying anything. I’msayingthat you haven’t been honest with us. You said you witnessed the Riccis kill some waitress bitch. So what? They just proved they can clean up murder in broad daylight. So why do they careso muchabout trackingyoudown?”
Ice formed in my belly, and Grayson stiffened beside me. Did he know? If he’d found Angelo’s phone number in my pocket, then heknewI’d seen Angelo.
“Tom, leave it,” Rhett snapped.
Tom was like a shark circling a wounded seal, though. “Nah, nah, this bitch is lying to us all. Aren’t you? So what’s the deal? Did you steal from them?”
My jaw dropped. “What? No! I didn’t steal—”
“So it was a lovers thing, then? Lemme guess, you and Angelo have been bumping uglies this whole time and he caught you with another guy? Or…guys?” He gave an accusing look at the way both Grayson and Rhett were holding me. “You nearly got Flo killed yesterday, so you’d better start telling the truth.”
“Tucker,” Grayson rumbled, “shut your fucking trap. You sound pathetic.”
Tom flicked a hurt look in Grayson’s direction, then refocused on me. “We’re in New York now; shouldn’t you be leaving us? Why are you still here, Billie? Trying to get knocked up with a rock star baby so you can bleed one of my friends for eighteen years of child support?”
Oh wow. It was totally untrue but still cut through me like a knife.
As if on reflex, my gaze shifted to Jace. He just stared back at me, though, a frown marring his brow as though he was also questioning my motives. He sure as shit didn’t speak up in my defense, and quite frankly, it wasstupidof me to think he would. The Jace Adams who’d once owned my heart was nothing but a distant memory. One I’d be better off without.
“How about the back pay of Bellerose royalties Billie is still owed?” Rhett argued back on my behalf. Always my dark knight. “How about the legal ramifications of Jace literally using her name for our band—and plastering it across all our platinum records—without ever asking her permission? Those seem like pretty good reasons for her to stay. Not to mention—”
“I asked her to stay,” Grayson cut him off, taking the blame for my extended stay. “Because I like her. Is that a fucking problem for you, Tucker?”
Tom seemed momentarily stunned at that, then his sneer was right back in place as he practically oozed slut-shaming. “Both of them? What do you have, a fucking cocaine-laced pussy or something?”
“Tom, shutup,” Flo shouted, rising out of her seat as she glared down at him. “You sound like a fucking pig right now.” The limo slowed to a stop, and Flo peered out the window. “We’re here. Let’s go put on an epic show, alright?” Her hard gaze took in Jace, Rhett, and Grayson, then softened when she looked at me.
I’m sorry, she mouthed, and I offered a weak smile in return.
Somehow, Tom had gotten right under my skin. He’d left me flailing and without a comeback, so thank fuck for Rhett, Gray, and Flo.
Fuck Jace. He could go to hell.
Everyone started to climb out of the limo silently, but Tom gave me a glare, indicating that he’d be watching me, before wrapping his arm around Flo and dragging her off ahead of us.
“That bastard needs to take a short trip off a tall building,” Grayson muttered, making Rhett snort a laugh.
“Maybe we can accidentally leave him behind when we head over to Europe,” Rhett pondered out loud. “Sure would be a shame if he got caught with an ounce of coke in his bag while passing security.”
“We should take a side trip into Thailand,” Grayson said with a slow smile. He didn’t elaborate, and I had to assume that country had really terrible consequences for drug smuggling.
I tried not to let the warmth of their support fill me. Their protectiveness did things to me that I wasn’t ready to examine. Not when I had to leave. Why would I hurt myself more than needed? But still, I’d never been the chick that thought I lost my feminist power by allowing others to care for me too. Balance worked for me.
Rhett and Grayson balanced me.
Fuck my life. Just fuck it.
