twenty-seven
BILLIE
Jace was tight-lipped about what Giovanni had tried to push through in that contract, but he did say that it was an insult. Giovanni hadknownthe band wouldn’t agree to it, so he was just being a smug shit by pretending to offer a way out for them. As long as Giovanni Ricci owned the label, he’d find ways to keep Bellerose under his thumb, purely for pride. I’d seen the dark, disgusted look he gave Angelo when his son had stood with us, and it scared me.
“Can we stop for bagels?” Rhett asked out of nowhere when the silence stretched thin. “I’m craving one of those poppyseed ones with chicken and cranberry that they sell over at Hole-y Crunch.”
My stomach rumbled, and I remembered that I’d run out of time for food before we left the house, too busy getting fucked senseless by Angelo… not that I was complaining. But damn, bagels sounded great.
“What’s the security threat level like this morning?” Jace asked, his hand gripping my knee like he was worried I might disappear.
Grayson gave a one-shouldered shrug from the driver's seat. “Low, to be honest. Or as low as possible, given all the shit going on. We should be fine for bagels, though. If we’re quick. Maybe not everyone goes in so we aren’t as recognizable.” He flicked his turn-signal, moving us off the path home and toward the bagel shop.
“Good idea,” Jace agreed, his fingers flexing on my knee. “Get me one of the salmon ones with dark rye.”
“Got it,” Rhett nodded in agreement. A few minutes later, Grayson pulled into the parking lot outside the cute building with a big, cartoon bagel creature sitting on the roof. Rhett and Angelo got out, and I joined them, shutting the door against Jace’s protest.
“What?” I shrugged at Angelo’s quirked brow. “Jace and Gray are the mostrecognizableof Bellerose, aren’t they?” Then I frowned at Rhett with his tattoos, piercings, and bright blue mohawk. “Uh… maybe you should wait too, Zep, baby.”
He rolled his eyes and tugged a black knit cap over his distinctive hair. “See? Now I’m just an alternative rock fan.” He winked and slung his arm over my shoulders as we headed into the store.
Angelo remained alert, and I knew perfectly well that he was more than adequately armed to act as a bodyguard, so I tried to force some tension out of my posture as we browsed the menu board. They served coffee, thank goodness, so I quickly added that to my order on the touch screen.
“For me, too,” Angelo murmured from behind me. “Someone distracted me this morning, and Jace wouldn’t let me grab one.”
“I heard,” Rhett said with a sigh. “Do you think the jealousy will go away? I’m not the only one who feels it, right?” His question was directed at Angelo and seemed genuine, despite the easy smile on his lips.
Angelo hummed thoughtfully. “It’s not just you. When I heard Billie in the shower with Gray the other day, I nearly burst in there and knocked him out.”
My jaw dropped, and I made a squeak of… something. Shock? Panic? Worry? Something. This was all new territory for me, though, and I really,badly, wanted it all to work out.
“I hope it doesn’t go away,” Angelo continued, brushing a kiss over the bend of my neck. “Jealousy means we give a shit. It’s how wehandleour jealousy that matters to the group dynamic. Right, Bella?”
I nodded, at a loss for words.
Rhett grunted in agreement. “That’s a good way of looking at it. Okay, so do we need to add anything else to this?” He turned his attention to the screen, scrolling through our order to double-check it all. There wassomuch food on there, but I guess four grown dudes who spent a lot of time working out needed lots of fuel.
We placed the order, then Rhett pulled me into his embrace while we waited. He leaned his ass against a half wall, and I snuggled against his chest while he chatted with Angelo about the song they’d all been working on this week. The music seemed to be flowing freely now that we were all in Grayson’s house once more, and it only made them more determined not to release under Big Noise.
A group of teenage girls entered the shop, chatting and laughing loudly as they ordered, and my guys fell silent in some kind of attempt to blend into the background. I laughed quietly against Rhett’s chest, thinking how silly that was. Even if theyweren’tBellerose, they were still straight up sexy. Girls would see them regardless of their fame, so it was amusing to think they could go unnoticed simply by not discussing music.
Sure enough, a few minutes later Rhett stiffened, his arms tightening around me.
“Um, excuse me,” a young girl said, and I raised my face to look at who was speaking. She was red-faced with embarrassment and chewing her lip like she was about to flee… or cry… or something.
“What?” Rhett snapped, and I gave him a sharp pinch on his side. He frowned at me, and I tipped my chin back defiantly.
“Manners,” I hissed, then turned to the girl. “Hemeans, hello.”
Her eyes went huge, and her gaze darted between me and Rhett several times, then to Angelo and back to Rhett again. “Um, I’m so sorry. I just… are you Rhett Silver? From Bellerose?”
“No,” Rhett replied, totally deadpan.
The girl’s expression fell, as did her shoulders. “Oh, sorry. God, this is embarrassing now; my friends said you weren’t, but then I thought… sorry. Ignore me.” She turned to leave, her face flaming even brighter, but I shrugged out of Rhett’s embrace to grab her arm gently.
“He’s being an asshole,” I told her quietly, offering a sympathetic smile. “We’ve had a rough time lately. Yes, it’s him.”
The girl sucked in a sharp breath, her eyes widening even more as she stared, starstruck at Rhett. She didn’t seem like the kind of crazy to go stabbing any of us, nor did she seem like paparazzi, since she was all of thirteen at most. And in a prep-school uniform. And I felt bad for how rude Rhett had just been.
