Mental note: Ask her real name.
A faint thumping echoes somewhere nearby. Probably Raoul in the next room.
But I don’t care.
Effa is sleeping soundly in my arms, and I’m not ready to let go of this moment.
“What the fuck is this?”
A booming voice snaps me into full awareness.
Effa and I both jump on the sofa, startled.
Standing in the doorway—arms crossed, faces thunderous—are Luke, their manager, and Alana, Effa’s step-sister and bandmate.
“Hey, guys,” Effa mumbles sleepily, sitting up as I slowly pull my arm back from around her.
She blinks at them.
I tense, trying and failing to discreetly hide my morning wood.Awesome.
“What the hell, Effa?” Luke growls. “You left the party without telling anyone. Then wouldn’t answer your damn phone. We were worried sick. And now you’re here… sleeping with the help?”
Effa scoffs. “Luke, chill. Mercs is more than justthe help. I came to invite him to the after-party and crashed here. No harm, no foul.”
Luke chuckles darkly. “No harm? Your lead singer vanishes mid-party and sleeps with the lighting director? Yeah, that’s no big deal.”
“I had my phone,” Effa replies, frowning. She pulls it out from her bra and presses the screen.Nothing.“Oh… dead. Guess it died sometime during the night. Sorry, Luke.”
Luke’s jaw tightens. “Right. Too busy screwing around to notice.”
I snap, sitting straighter. “Okay, look… I get that you were worried, and yeah, Effa’s a big part of this tour, but we didn’t screw around. We talked. We slept. That’s it.”
Well, plus one amazing kiss.
“And she’s a grown-ass woman. If she wanted to screw someone, she could. Her choice.”
Effa shoots me a smirk.
Luke throws me a glare sharp enough to slice glass. “I don’t care how good you are. If messing with one of my girls puts her at risk, you’re gone. No hesitation. I don’t care if you’re the best in the country, my girls come first.”
I stare him down. “I don’t care who you are, either. I’m here to make this tour unforgettable. If I make friends in the process?Great. Enemies?Fine. But I won’t take orders about who I can or can’t speak to off the clock.”
Luke smirks. “Think you’re indispensable?”
I stand, shoulders squared. “IknowI am.”
Luke eyes me. “Cocky.” He jerks his chin at Effa. “She’s not wearing your shirt for no reason.” With that, he turns and storms out.
I glance down at Effa, her tiny frame curled up in my shirt, legs bare and dangling off the sofa.
Okay, yeah, I agree… that does look bad.
Alana remains in the doorway, arms crossed, her expression tight. “What happened to ‘no one sleeps with Mercs,’ Effa? That was the rule,” she says, not looking at me.
Effa sighs and stands barely reaching my chest. “I didn’t break the rule. We didn’t sleep together. I mean… we did. But not like that.”
I chuckle.
