Page 89 of Unleashed By Eden

Or Cindy is lying through her veneers.

I don’t give her the satisfaction of seeing me react.

“I’ve gotta work,” I mutter, lifting my camera and stepping closer to the stage.

As I pass Liam, his head snaps around. He clocks Cindy, then looks at me, eyebrows lifting.

“Is that—”

“Yep,” I cut in, not letting him finish.

Autopilot takes over. I shoot. Frame. Shoot again. I don’t register what I’m capturing, but my hands know their job. I’m trying to stop my heart from slowly rebuilding its walls, one brick at a time.

The encore ends in a tidal wave of noise. The band bolts offstage, laughing and sweating. Theo, Xander, Kai—big grins and pumped, ready to tear up the after-party.

Carter slows when he reaches me.

He’s smiling, too, eyes finding mine like they always do. There’s nothing but warmth in them, and it makes me insane, because my head is a fucking mess.

He wants to touch me. I see it in the flex of his hand at his side. But he knows he can’t.

He passes.

I don’t turn to follow. I keep my face toward the stage and close my eyes.

Professional. Breathe. Don’t do this here.

The anger I’d finally put a leash on comes back with twice the force. She’s big, old, and hungry. And she doesn’t give a shit who she takes out, including me.

“Violet?” Megan calls from behind me. “You okay?”

I open my eyes. “All good,” I respond, not even trying for a smile.

“Everyone’s heading to VIP. We should go.”

The stadium lights are up. Most of the crowd has filtered out—only a few hundred stragglers are lingering. The crew are already in pack-down mode. I blink and realize I’ve been standing still for who knows how long.

I turn and follow Megan down the corridor and into the VIP room.

Music thumps. Drinks are out. The room is filled with perspiration and perfume.

Liam’s deep in conversation with Carter, who’s laughing hard in a pure post-show high. The band is scattered with girls, staff, and hangers-on. Mika and Dave are trying to get in on the action with the groupies, too.

And there she is. With a drink in her hand, Cindy walks up to Liam and Carter with all the confidence in the world.

Liam gives her a cold, polite smile. Carter’s eyes flick up—searching the room for me.

I turn away before he can catch me gawking.

“You want a drink?” I ask Megan, because if I don’t put something in my hands, I’m going to do something reckless with them.

“Make it a double,” she says, not missing a beat.

“That kind of night?” I pour her whiskey neat and hand it over.

She leans an elbow on the makeshift bar. “That kind of tour.”

I pour myself one as well. I tip it back fast, and heat floods my throat.