Page 83 of Anthem of Love and Loathing

All after I apparently cheated on her the second she told me she loved me. That has to be some kind of world record. I’ve never wanted to forget and recall something at the same time so damn badly. How can I not remember making the worst decision of my life?

It was literally the worst decision of my life.

She was stealing from me.

That wasn’t in response to my screwing Sonatina. She was robbing me blind before that weekend. She was jeopardizing everything I... we... the band had worked for. Why?

I would have given her anything she wanted. Everything she needed. She had to have known that.

But it’s another reason why her situation must be truly terrible for her to be here.

Her journal is still inside my notebook where I left it yesterday. There might be answers inside it, but so far, I haven’t found any. I scoop it into my backpack, hang the strap over my shoulder.

Perhaps she’ll tell the guys more than she was willing to tell me earlier. They seem to make her feel safe.

Kodiak has a blonde woman tucked under his arm when I enter the communal space behind them. Bronx is standing, arms folded, facing them. A backward cap is perched on his head. His fingers drum on his biceps. Golden has his headphones around his neck and his hands stuffed in the pockets of an oversized hoodie.

Rook is also present. Stoic. Alert. Aware.

“I like this.” Kodiak ruffles the blonde’s hair. “It’s sexy.”

“Liar,” she says.

I freeze mid-step when the voice that comes out of her is Kelsey’s.

“But thanks for trying.” When she turns to smile at him, I get a good look at her profile. What the hell did she do to her hair?

“It’s not terrible.” Golden smiles at her. “It’s just not our girl.”

“That’s unfortunately the point.” She leaves the envelope of Kodiak’s arm to stand. Moves to a point where she can see all five of us. “I need to tell you all why I’m here.”

A muscle in my cheek twitches. I don’t like her hair that color. It looks terrible. Like Sonatina. Like the images of that night that I can’t seem to shake even though I don’t remember how I ended up sharing a couch with that woman. Acid rises in my chest; adrenaline has me storming toward her. I seize Bronx’s cap from his head and drop it on hers. “Is this a sick joke? Did you do that to get back at me? Revenge for me cheating on you?”

“What the hell?” Bronx’s voice rises.

“You need to step back,” Kodiak is straightening to his feet.

“Believe it or not this is not about you.” Kelsey lifts her chin and stares down her nose at me.

“You’re overreacting, bro,” Golden says.

I stiffen. My stomach is tight to the point I want to throw up. The urge to grab a pair of clippers and shave those awful blonde strands off her head and out of my sight... it’s not an overreaction. It’s fucking insane.

“I didn’t do this to upset you.” She slides her hand down the length of the blonde strands. “We might not like each other. We might not get along. But that you believe I would do this to my hair to get at you…”

I shut my eyes and take a deep breath. “I fucked up. I overreacted. It’s just…”

“It’s awful. And it’s not at all me. Right now, I need to be someone other than me.” She steps around me. “The night Bronx and I ran into each other I witnessed a double murder. It was committed by a man who I grew up with. A man who is more monster than human. A man who was obsessed with me when we were teens. Who is still obsessed with me.”

She starts to shake.

I come up behind her and rest my hands on her upper arms. She pauses with my touch, but then her back sways into my chest. “He is dangerous. And he wants to make me disappear. Either by kidnapping me or killing me.”

Bronx’s expression is mutinous. Golden and Kodiak’s too. Mine must mirror theirs, since I want to find Marco and rip him limb from limb.

“We have no reason to suspect he knows that she’s here,” Rook takes over. “But it is an issue that we’re taking into account in the way we run your security.”

“You’re safe with us,” Bronx reaches out to hold her hand.