“Yeah. I’ll be your mer-handler, and we’ll travel around the globe. On the side, I can sell songs. Sounds like the perfect life.”
My phone buzzes. It’s Alice asking if she needs to stay because Gigi is forcing her to watch a fashion show about what she should wear on stage, and her eyes are bleeding.
“Crap. I forgot Alice was distracting Gigi,” I say.
Sully sucks on his teeth. “She better run. Once Gigi gets her claws into someone, they’re scarred for life.”
“I’m going to tell her it’s okay she leaves. I’m in good hands.”
He pulls me close to his chest. “Damn right, you are,Engel.” His husky voice rumbles through me, and all I want to do is jump his bones. I text Alice, freeing her from friendship duty, and she sends me a thumbs up with a kissy face emoji.
“How do we get out of here?” I step back to keep myself from climbing on top of Sully and kissing him until we’re dizzy. “Pull the fire alarm?”
“We can’t go that far, but we could create a diversion.” He grabs a radio and switches channels until he finds the one the crew uses. “What should we say?”
I pace the room, thinking. “Groupie on the loose? A spill?”
He nods. “Okay. I got one.” He presses the button and speaks in a thicker German accent says, “Pizza guy’s here, but he dropped some boxes. Giant fucking mess.”
“Son of a bitch!” comes blasting over the speaker.
We laugh, and he ditches the radio onto the couch. He grabs his guitar and nods toward the door. “Let’s run for it.”
People buzz around, but we slip out the exit door without anyone stopping us. We run to the coffee shop down the street, and I order a ride while Sully gets us a couple of drinks to go.
We’re finally free.
44
“Thecarwillbehere in five minutes,” I tell Sully when he returns with our coffees. He rests his arms on the standing table and grins.
“We’re going to need to pack my shit fast before anyone realizes I’m gone and sends someone to check the house,” he says.
“Of course.” I sip my coffee. “Do you think they know where I live?” Fear pricks across my skin like bugs. I’d hate for Amy or Gigi to chew out Alice or catch me off guard…again.
“No idea. I wouldn’t doubt it. We need to hide out until they leave town in three days.”
“Oh, sure, no problem,” I mutter, rolling my eyes. Finding a place to lay low without using credit cards—just in case his team has someone who can track that stuff—totally simple.
My phone buzzes. I read Alice’s message and myheart plummets.
They found me! I hope you’re far away because they’re searching for Sully!
“Crap…” I click my phone off and eye the door. “We need to go. There’s no time for the car.”
“What’s wrong?” Sully grabs my arms. “Tell me.”
“Alice was found. They know I was there, and you’re gone.”
“Shit.” He shoves the coffee shop’s door open and looks down the street. He returns, his face drained of color. “The entire band, Amy, and fucking Gigi are headed this way. Do you think there’s an exit in the back?”
I look behind us. The place is small with three tall tables to stand around and a cramped area to order and pick up. Three people stand in line and the only way out back is through the employees-only area. Our only Hail Mary is to hide in the single-person bathroom.
“I have an idea.” I grab Sully’s wrist and tug him toward the tiny bathroom, but the damn door is locked. I knock with no answer. “Shit. You probably need to ask for the key.”
“Our executioner is coming.” He shields me from view as six people file in. Alice is in the center of the group with a deep frown and lines on her forehead. She’s their hostage and this is all my fault.
“What do you think you’re doing?” Amy spits, poking Sully in the chest with her finger. “You leave without a word and with this…groupie.”
