That was all I needed to know. Getting out of here and on our way to the same destination as Angelo was all I could focus on. That and the plan to save him once we got there.
“I’ll call for a car,” Jace muttered, and it didn’t escape my notice that he was in a fucked up mood, a slightly triggering thing for me, especially since I didn’t trust that we were in the place where we could call out bad moods, or even offer casual, public comfort to one another.
But in the vein of healing and moving forward, I decided to give it a shot and see how he reacted.
Our first real test toward the “changed man” attitude he was working on. The first of many tests, no doubt.
Whatever, I had trust issues.
“I’ll get our bags,” Grayson said before I could confront Jace.
“I’ll help,” Rhett added, dropping a kiss on my cheek as he walked past. My smile was there before I could stop it; it was nice how genuinely happy Rhett made me. Each of them brought a different facet to my happiness, and Rhett’s was pure joy.
When they were out of the main living area, I turned to Jace, who was scrolling through his phone, no doubt looking for the car service’s number. “Everything okay?” I asked him.
My tone was blunt but not angry. I wasn’t angry. I was terrified we were about to go back ten steps again. It was our usual, after all.
Then, to my surprise, he took a deep breath and the tension that had been holding his features tight relaxed. He stopped scrolling his phone and gave me all of his attention, the full force of his lethal blue eyes and charismatic energy. “Sorry, Rose. I’m in a shitty mood.”
Okay, well… we were actually off to a good start.
“Worried about Angel?” I pressed.
He nodded, scrubbing his free hand across his face and through his hair. “Yeah, that’s the most pressing fucking worry I have. But also the tour. This is the second time we’ve had to cancel on fans, and you know… I never wanted to be that sort of musician. A flaky as fuck one. One who let down the very people who gave us fame and fortune. Who supported us when we were nothing, and now they think we’re too fucking famous for our own good. I didn’t want to be that sort of rock star, and yet here we are, disappointing them once again.”
My relief was huge that his mood had nothing to do with us or the regression of our relationship—yeah, probably a little narcissistic of me to think that everything was about me. But with Jace, that was kind of how it went. Instead, I got to do what I’d missed doing with him for years.
Support and comfort him through the hard times.
Stepping forward, I wrapped my arms around him, holding on tightly as I hugged him with everything I had. “I’m so sorry, Jace,” I whispered against his chest. “It’s not fair, and I promise you, the true fans will understand. They will know your heart and the way you give so much of yourself to the music and, through the music, to them. You’ve always shared big time with the fans, and when this has been dealt with, we will find a way to make it up to them.”
His phone hit the floor with a crack as he closed his arms around me, holding on even tighter than I was. “The fact that you usewewhen referring to the future makes it a lot better,” he rasped. “We will deal with it, and I’m just so fucking grateful that I have you. We’re heading home to find Angel. To find the last of Bellerose and bring him back to us.”
“Fuck yes, we will,” Rhett chimed in from nearby, making me jump. “We are Bellerose, and we won’t take this shit any longer.”
“Therapy is making him way too chirpy,” Jace grumbled before he released me slowly, almost as if he was reluctant to let go.
Rhett just laughed. “Dr. Candace might be a genius. I’ve only had couple of sessions, but it’s making such a fucking difference.”
“We’re so happy about that,” I told him, patting Jace on the chest. “Even this asshole.”
Jace grunted in the universal language of the man, and I headed for a Rhett hug. He dropped the bags he’d been carrying in time to catch me around the waist and swing me around once, before my feet hit the ground and his lips were on mine. “Love you, Thorn,” he said when he pulled away, leaving me a little dazed. “You’re the best fucking thing to stumble into my life. Ever.”
Damn, being this loved was potent… and addictive.
“I should send Giovanni some flowers,” I joked, “since his murderous ways are what sent me running into that alley.”
“Save the flowers for his funeral,” Grayson said as he dropped about six bags in the pile near Rhett, “’cause that’ll be the only time you get anywhere near that bastard.”
That was fine by me.
After that, Jace managed to retrieve his phone, which was only a little banged up, and call the driver to pick us up. The hotel staff got all the luggage down, and we just swaggered out like fucking rock stars, dark glasses and all because we were also rock stars in mourning.
When the cars pulled out of the hotel, there was a massive swarm of media and fans outside, and for a brief second, I thought we were going to have to stop.
“They’ll run them all over,” I gasped, when the driver told us to hold on, speeding up as he maneuvered the car to the left to try and get free of the crowd.
Jace, who was on my right, wrapped an arm around me, pulling me into his side. “They’ll get out of the way. The media might be vultures, but they’re not stupid vultures.”
