AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Hey, sis. We’re sorry. We had no idea how you were feeling.”
“Yeah, why didn’t you just talk to us? Why did it take Emmy’s book questions for us to hear how left out you felt?” Gray asked as he slipped his hand into mine, swinging it like we were kids again.
“And say what? Hey guys, I’m feeling a little unloved and unappreciated.”
“Yes,” they both replied at the same time.
I rolled my eyes at them. “I didn’t think I had any place to. I mean, it was alwaysyourband, and I was just grateful to be a part of it. To be honest, I’ve been waiting for you to replace me with someone else since I was thirteen.”
Gray gasped. “But you’re as much a part of this as we are, Frankie. I can’t believe you’ve felt like this for all this time.”
I shrugged because what else could I say?
“Look, no more feeling on the outside. We meant what we said. Without you, we are just three blokes with guitars and bloody fine abs. We want your opinion. We want you to tell us what you need. We want your songs, and we want you. That’s never going to change, little sis. You’re stuck with us for life,” he reassured me, squeezing my hand as he spoke.
“Lucky me.” I tried to sound sarcastic, but I couldn’t hide the giant grin from my face as the heavy weight of my worries and anxieties I’d dragged around since I was a teenager eased from my chest. “She’s pretty special, Tanner. Emmy. She did this. Got us to talk like this.”
Tanner pushed a tendril of the wig away from my face with a nod. “I’ve missed your smile, Frankie.”
A lump formed in my throat that I forced back down. He was my brother. I loved him. But he’d hurt me so much that things couldn’t go back to the way they were.Could they?I was glad when Mav spotted the cafe he wanted to go to and interrupted our conversation by running up to us and pulling Tanner to follow him so we could all fill up on coffee and croissants before we walked theEmmy routeto the Eiffel Tower.
As we approached the elevator in the Eiffel Tower, Matt stepped out of nowhere, flanked by Eli and Ed. All of them wearing caps and sunglasses, looking much like the other tourists milling about, but much larger and scarier.
No one else stepped in with us, which probably had something to do with these enormous men blocking the doorway. The elevator started to move, and I heard Eli groan, mumbling under his breath, “I fucking hate these death traps. Hate them.”
Matt laughed out loud, the sound making the hairs on my arms stand up, but as soon as the doors opened, his stern, expressionless mask slipped back into place. I wondered how much he smiled outside of work and who got to enjoy the sound of his happiness.
We stood on the viewing platform and snapped selfies of us with Paris in the background before we headed back to the street, where Matt and his team blended into the background once again.
After hours of exploring, eating, laughing, and spending time with my family that I was actually enjoying for the first time in forever, we decided to make our way back to the hotel when Matt appeared out of nowhere, telling us we needed to move as we’d attracted some unwanted attention. I’d not even noticed any photographers, but as soon as he mentioned it, I saw the flash of a camera.
“Go get in the cars, now. Ed, sort the photographers and make the photos go away. I’ll send a car back for you.”
Emmy, Tan, the twins, and Neo piled into the blacked out Escalade while Matt steered me to the second car.
“Why are they all in a separate car?” I questioned.
“I told Len to take them a long way back so I could get back to the hotel before them and check the place is clear.”
“Good thinking, but why aren’t I with them?”
“Because there wasn’t room and you’re more trouble than any of them, so I like you where I can keep my eyes on you.”
I swallowed hard, not knowing how to reply to that.
“See right now, Rogue, you’re putting yourself in danger.” Leaning over so his breath brushed against my neck, he grabbed my seatbelt and fastened it.
He moved back slightly, putting a little space between us, but I could still feel the warmth of his body radiating into me. I chewed down on my lip, my body humming with the need to touch him, or better yet, have him touch me.
I could feel Matt’s eyes on me for a while before he spoke. “Frankie, I… we…”
“Matt, we’re here,” the driver interrupted.
“Fuck,” he whispered softly, leaning his head back against the seat before readjusting the very obvious erection in his pants,
“Let me walk you to the elevator. Rob will be waiting for you. Go upstairs. Do not step outside the penthouse alone. Do you understand?”
“Yes, sir,” I replied, wondering what the hell he’d been about to say to me.
