Page 179 of Playing By Ear

Stuart whipped out his phone and thrust it under Perry’s nose. “Is that close enough for you to see?”

It was. The device showed a screenshot from the football-forums app. A few words were highlighted, as in a search result. Jamie’s name, Perry assumed.

“Want to know how I found out? One of our main rivals keeps tabs on the whole family, including our Jamie. They sent this to me, threatening to go public if we don’t make a deal with them.” Stuart yanked the phone away. “You got any idea how embarrassing this is for the family?”

Perry clenched his fists. If any other MacKray had brought it up, he would have been more diplomatic. But this man? This thug that had tried to corrupt him? No fucking way.

He took a step toward Stuart, close enough to see his twisted smirk. “You’ve got a brass neck, passing judgment on how I make a living. What I do is legal and hurts no one.” He pointed at Stuart’s chest, almost poking him. “There’s only one man in this room who should be ashamed of how he earns his money.”

“You better shut your gob, or I’ll⁠—”

“What, shut it for me?” He took another step forward to loom over Stuart. “You want to prove you’re a hard man by beating up a blind guy?” He took off his glasses. “Fire in.”

Stuart’s eyes narrowed, then he tilted his head. “Have we met before?”

Well, here we go. “Yes.”

“When? Where?”

Perry nearly blurted it out but decided it would sound whingey and self-pitying. Waaah, you scared me away from a job I loved. “Work it out yourself. But if you need a hint, it was in a professional setting.”

“That could mean anything. Just tell me.”

“Talking of professions,” Perry said as he returned to the muffins, “you won’t need to protect me or Jamie from extortion. I’m not embarrassed by my camming career.”

“So you won’t care if it comes out? Jamie won’t care? Your parents won’t care?”

“Jamie and my parents already know. Only one of the three will be upset if it goes public, and she’ll get over it.”

“I don’t believe you. No sane person would be proud of…that.” Stuart’s voice curdled with disgust.

Perry took in a long breath, then let it out. There was one way to solve this dilemma, but he would have to be braver than ever before, a high bar considering he was a blind man in an unwelcoming world.

“I’ll prove it,” Perry said, then couldn’t resist a return volley. “Maybe one day, when Belinda’s in charge and you’re a legit businessman, then you can pass judgment.” He picked up the basket. “Actually, no, not even then.”

He stalked past Stuart, who had fallen oddly silent, and went upstairs.

Behind Martin’s closed door, Jamie was playing guitar. Perry’s steps slowed as he recognized the tune, the one Jamie called “Sad Slow B Minor.” The song that had stopped Perry in his tracks the day they met, the song that told him he’d discovered a beautiful lost soul.

Perry edged closer to the door—slowly, so he didn’t run into it—and stood there to listen. He shut his eyes and let the notes and chords carry him away. They needed no words to convey the love and longing within.

Then Jamie began to sing.

The gravity of memory

Weighs my body down

I sink into the shifting quicksand

Where all the rest are drowned

Jamie’s throat felt as raw as the rest of him. Releasing these dark thoughts into the world was terrifying. But how much longer could he hide them before it hurt too much not to be real, before his own mask smothered what he was?

The chorus held the hardest truths.

A voice to call out

I said nothing