“You’re upset that I don’t know your favorite song?”
“I’m upset that I have to kick you off the tour.” He chuckled. “Because if Milo finds out you don’t like the Stones, he’ll kill you.”
I smiled, but couldn’t laugh while I was suspended so high above the ground with only my hands and feet to stop me from plummeting to an early death.
“My hands are shaking. Keep talking to me.”
“What do you want to know?” he asked.
The precariousness of my position made me bolder than I otherwise would have been. “Tell me about your brother.”
The silence that followed was tense.
“You don’t have to tell me what happened to him. Just tell me about him. What was he like? Aside from being the kind of person who liked climbing roofs.”
Rung after rung passed without Riot speaking. I wondered if I’d pushed him too far.
“He loved animals,” Riot finally said. “Even insects. We used to explore the woods behind our house, so Teddy could catalog allthe living creatures he found. He once got pissed at me because I stepped on a beetle, even though it was an accident.”
“How could you.” I risked a glance down—I still had at least forty feet to go, but it felt like fourhundred. “What else?”
“He’s the one who bought me my first guitar.”
“You already told me that.”
“It’s important.”
“It is,” I agreed. “What else?”
“When he turned twenty-one, he wanted to buy himself a motorcycle. My parents hated the idea, but of course I loved it. I was the one who pushed him to get it. Teddy was always a rule follower—the opposite of me. I told him that riding a motorcycle would make him cool. It would give him an edge that the ladies would love.”
“You’re not wrong. I’m picturing you on a motorcycle right now, and it’s really hot.”
“Teddy looked even cooler. And it was that motorcycle that got him killed.”
Ice slammed into my stomach and threatened to knock me off the ladder.
“Sorry,” he said with a chuckle. “Probably should’ve warned you that was coming. Teddy was always safe. Wore a helmet, never went above the speed limit. The most risk-averse biker in the world. But that doesn’t matter when a drunk driver runs a red light.”
“Riot…”
“Stop. I’m not looking for pity. Just answering your question.” He chuckled again, and it sounded more bitter this time. “He got me into music. And I got him killed.”
My foot suddenly hit solid ground instead of another rung. We had reached the floor. “It sounds like the drunk driver is the one responsible, not you.”
“Car was only going forty-five,” Riot said, letting go of the ladder and dropping the final ten feet, landing on nimble legs. “If Teddy was driving a Honda Civic, a dozen airbags would’ve cushioned him like the padding in my guitar case. But on a bike…”
He grimaced and shrugged as if it didn’t bother him, but the look in his eyes told the truth. “Listen. I told you because you asked, not because I want any sympathy. It’s just a thing that happened to me. All right? I need you to go back to looking at me the way you were before.”
“What way—”
He pulled me into another kiss, this one rough and hungry. I blinked up at him after, and he smiled.
“Thatway. Right there.”
A stupid little giggle escaped my throat. “Okay. I think I can do that.”
Riot’s palm came up to caress my cheek. I could feel the guitar calluses on his fingertips. “I don’t like to dwell on the past. Having a drink in Teddy’s honor is the only time I let myself think about it. Otherwise, all I care about is the present. What city we’re in, what stage we’re playing. What woman I’m with.”
