Page 99 of Lyric & the Heartbeats

Nohen glanced over with a small smile. “I did have friends, even though they were spread out all over the world. It wasn’t all bad.”

An ache eased in Lyric’s heart before she even recognized the hurt. “Oh,” she replied lamely. “Can I ask why you moved so often?”

“Sure,” he said and shrugged. “Right after…” He tilted the controller left, then right, biting down on his bottom lip. Lyric wanted to crawl onto his lap, frame his face with her hands, and pull the abused flesh free to soothe it with her touch, learn what Nohen tasted like.

She blinked, clearing the vision from her mind, and shifted on the seat.

“I kick your ass!” he shouted, and dropped the controller to the couch before pointing at Emerson.

Emerson grumbled and sat the controller down. “Yeah, yeah, brag about it.”

“Oh, don’t mind if I do,” Nohen said with a shameless grin.

“So, as for my—” He turned his attention to her, his mouth open with his next words on the tip of his tongue, when a loud curse came from outside the bus.

“You’ve got to be kidding me!” Henry’s angry bark made her sit up alarmed.

She turned in her seat, peeking through the blinds to see him standing on the side of the road, gesturing wildly to a man in coveralls. The man winced and took a step back.

“Wait,” Nohen murmured, and grabbed her arm as she went past. “Let’s wait. We don’t know who the guys are, and we’re stranded on the side of the road.”

And you’re still an omega. Still treasured, even sometimes by the wrong people. And there’s an underground organization that would love to have you.

Lyric nodded, though her lips thinned in annoyance, and let Emerson slide past her.

“Sorry,” Nohen said, and rubbed his hand over the back of his neck. “I know it sucks, but if they turned out to be creeps…”

“I know,” Lyric replied softly. She brushed a hand against his arm. “Thanks. I wasn’t thinking.”

“Nah, Henry’s voice is scary. He’d call someone back from the grave with that tone.”

Lyric chuckled and sank into her seat on the couch again, resisting the urge to spy on everyone through the blinds.

Nohen did that for her.

“It doesn’t look good,” he told her. “Henry looks pissed.”

Unable to resist, Lyric got on her knees beside Nohen and peeked through the blinds.

Emerson’s arms were crossed as he stood beside Henry, whose face was red with anger as he argued with the repairman. Lyric couldn’t understand what they were saying since they’d lowered their voices, but just like Nohen had mentioned, Henry did not look happy.

A sinking feeling swirled in her stomach, and she gripped the back of the couch until her knuckles turned white.

“We’re gonna miss the show,” she breathed, dread sinking like a lead weight.

Warmth brushed over her shoulder, and she sank into the comfort of Nohen’s touch.

“It’ll be okay,” he soothed. “Even if we do miss the show, we’ll be back on the road as soon as we can.”

Lyric sighed. “I guess.”

She turned around to sit on the couch the proper way and curled herself up onto the cushions. Nohen sat beside her, close enough that they touched from hip to shoulder. That innocent point of contact was enough to help ease the pressure of the vise around her torso, and she stared blankly across the bus as she awaited the news.

When Henry finally did return to the bus, his steps were as heavy as the news he had to deliver.

“Apparently when the tire blew, something else happened, and one of the axels is cracked. That’s got to be repaired before we can get back on the road. We’re too far away to make the show in time, and the appropriate channels have been contacted. I’ve called the rental company. Pack whatever you’ll need for the evening and the morning, and we’ll be on the road by five AM sharp.”

Lyric had been right. They should have called for rentals as soon as the tire had blown. But pointing that out would add absolutely nothing to the situation, so she nodded silently and left the common area to collect her things.