The thought rings through my head, even though I’m not sure where it comes from. My intuition, however, is rarely wrong. Whatever it is, it’s probably more serious than the gender of the baby.
Is she high-risk? Is she having twins?
“Well, I can’t wait.” I clear my throat. “I haven’t gotten to squeeze a newborn since Carmen, my littlest niece, was born.”
A beat of silence passes, and Niki absentmindedly rubs her hand in a circle over her stomach. When her eyes focus on me again, she attempts to smile, and her bottom lip wobbles again.
“I’m really glad you’re here,” she says, and I can almost swear her eyes are misty.
Something is definitely wrong.
Niki never cries.
I swallow down the urge to pry, knowing she’ll tell me whatever she’s worried about when she’s ready. Especially now that I’ll basically be on tour with the band; we’ll be spending loads of time together.
“Me too. I’m so glad I was able to start this freelance work so I could come,” I say, hoping changing the subject will keep her from crying.
I never imagined myself doing freelance marketing work, but after a few posts of mine went mega viral on social media, I started getting inquiries. Artists,influencers, companies wanting me to run their socials for them. Not only was I able to quit my boring office job, but it’s given me the flexibility to travel.
Like now.
Niki said she wished I could be here since she only has Sebastian while they’re on tour, and I made it happen. Sure, it’ll be a lot of hotel stays and living out of suitcases, but I’ll do it for her. If the shoe was on the other foot, I know she’d do the same.
Besides, Sebastian is paying for my travel expenses. As long as he doesn’t put me up in some bum-ass roach motel, everything will be fine.
“I can’t wait to introduce you to everyone,” she says, her face lighting up again. “Emrys is so sweet, and the twins are hilarious?—”
“Well, the drummer is an asshole,” I grumble, thinking back to Tobias. The fact that his image immediately comes to mind irritates me just as much as he does. How dare he still be bothering me nearly an hour later?
Niki chuckles once. “Tobias is definitely… prickly.”
More like a prick.
“You can say that again.”
“He’s not so bad once you get to know him.” Niki offers a sympathetic grin.
Yeah right. There’s no way I’m doing that. I’ll happily meet the keyboardist and the devious guitar players she’s told me so much about, but Tobias can get bent.
“I’m sure he’s a peach.” I make a face, and she bursts into a fit of laughter. “Let’s talk about something thatdoesn’t make me want to vomit. Oh, I know! What about baby names? Do you have any ideas?”
A little color returns to her cheeks and she nods. “I have a whole list. Maybe you can help me narrow them down…”
Chapter 3
Tobias
As soon as the bus door slams, I rip off my mask and throw it across the space. It hits the wall with a soft whomp and falls to the floor.
Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.
“I take it that wasn’t the photographer?” Emrys’ voice is loud enough to cut through my anger, and my eyes snap in his direction.
He’s lounging on the sofa maskless, which is rare for him—he often prefers to wear his steampunk-themed disguise with its goggles and cogs. Or he used to, back when the twins stayed on our bus; they weren’t very kind about the keyboardist’s peculiar features.
Even by demon standards, Emrys is odd.
The left half of his face is mostly boring: chalk-whiteskin, sharp features, and white shaggy hair. His eyes are an alluring shade of deep green.
