He opens the door for me, letting me slide in before he gets back into the SUV and drives away.
My phone buzzes in my pocket before we are out of the parking lot.
Matt’s name lights up my phone. The man has a sixth sense for bad timing and emotional landmines, honed over a lifetime of being my older brother.
I answer before it can ring again. “You good?”
“I’mgood,” he says easily, and I can hear the grin in his voice. “The better question is—areyou?”
I stare out the window as Nashville glides by in soft, early-morning blurs. “Define ‘good.’”
“Oh, so we’re doing cryptic this morning. Cool, cool. Love that for me. I woke up with this weird prickle between my shoulder blades—like my little brother was either spiraling or about to do something profoundly stupid. Would you like to confirm or deny?”
I rub at my jaw, feeling the tension there. “I wouldn’t say ‘stupid’. At least not yet.”
“That is aggressivelynotreassuring.”
I exhale through my nose. “I took a contract.”
There’s a beat of silence. “Okay,” he says slowly. “That’s… actually good news. I was worried you joined a pyramid scheme or decided to become a motivational speaker. What kind of contract?”
“Just a temporary security detail.”
“Lu, that’s not stupid—that’s normal. I’m proud of you.” He pauses before asking his next question. “Wait. Who for?”
My grip tightens on the phone as I brace myself for his reaction. “…Umbra.”
The silence on the other end is immediate and total, like the call dropped into a vacuum.
Then—
“UM—BRA?” Matt shouts. “Umbra as inUmbra? The concert that sold out stadiums for their world tour, Umbra? The band with the masks and the vocals that make people cry in public bathrooms? That Umbra?!”
My eye twitches. “Yes. That Umbra.”
“Holyshit! Lucian, do you know how big a deal that is?” He’s practically wheezing. “They have, like, Navy SEAL-level security. Did you get recruited through a shadowy email? Did they send a raven? Was there a blood oath?”
Dragging a hand down my face, I force myself to remember how to be patient with my brother. “Matt.”
“What? I’m processing. You worked federal law enforcement for a decade, andthisis the thing that finally makes me starstruck.” There’s a pause before suspicion creeps into his tone. “Why are you all monotone and ‘yes, that Umbra.’ Where is your enthusiasm?!”
I stare harder out the window. “Because it’s early.”
“Bullshit,” he says immediately. “No, that’s not it. You only go emotionally beige when a certain blonde is involved.”
I don’t know what he’s talking about. I’m a fucking ray of sunshine 24/7.
On the other end of the line, Matt inhales sharply, like he felt the weight shift before I even spoke.
There it is.
“Okay, so I obviously just rememberedsheworks for them,” he snaps, then softens. “Are you worried about seeing her?”
Silence stretches long enough for him to answer himself.
“Oh God,” he murmurs. “Oh no. You are.”
I close my eyes.
