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Sighing, I sat back against the sofa. Despite who brought the coffee, I’d still finished it. How had he figured out my favorite drink? Aubrey’s? Yeah, I wasn’t going to focus on that for too long.
It was creepy and… sweet? I tested that last word. Creepy seemed almost too dark and sweet too light. Nonetheless, I legit didn’t know what to label his choices. Throw in the fact the man bought meunderwearandbras… and got my sizes right? It was too much.
Aubrey’s phone buzzed. She checked it. “Dix landed. It’ll be a couple of hours, maybe more, but he’ll be here. I can’t believe he got a flight that fast. I don’t even want to think what he had to pay to get on the flight.”
Me neither. I glanced around our suite then back at her. We needed to...
“I’ll call down and get him a room. Then I’m getting us more food. How’s the throat?”
I tested it. “Still hurts.” It sounded garbled, raw, and froggish. It also definitely didn’t feel pleasant to talk.
“Honey,” she announced. “We’re also gonna call Dr. Don.”
I made a face. Doctor Don was the physician who’d actually traveled halfway around the world when we’d all gotten sick while in Japan. He’d stuck with us through the Asian leg of our tour, until we headed to South America. He’d also been the one who treated Yvette when she had to have her tonsils out.
He specialized in singers. Aubrey was right. Granted, it hadn’t even been a full twenty-four hours, but my voice was instrumental to my work. Maybe I should look at investing my money and being a little more cautious.
While she made calls, I turned on the television. It had been a while since I’d even checked the news for sightings of me. Honestly, I preferred to not know what the press knew or what they were speculating. It was just easier that way.
Jackie indicated there were hints on the gossip sites, but our early evening news—a local broadcast—had the fire at the school as their lead story. Images popped up on the screen, offering footage from cell phone cameras. It wasweirdto see some of it play out on the screen.
It was dark, the flashes of light, the ominous oranges and all the smoke. There was Ramsey… I sat forward as the camera tracked him heading straight inside. He didn’t slow down. Even when he came back out helping people, he rushed back in again.
He was safe. He’d even gotten out of the hospital before I did, but I was holding my breath when he went back insideagain. Dressed only in what had to be pajama bottoms and a t-shirt, he lost the shirt on one of the trips.
Hand over my mouth, I waited when he plunged back inside. Aubrey was there, and Gentry, as well as Madison. They’d gotten out—and then he was carrying me out. Me and one of my guitars.
“He went back for the other one,” Aubrey said when the screen cut back to the anchors. The pair of guitar cases were sitting near the bar. I hadn’t opened them, but they were here. “I know how important they are to you, but I’m going to stress to you right now…they are not worth your life.”
“Maybe,” I forced the word out and when Aubrey glared at me, I shook my head. One of those guitars had been a gift from Dad. It was the first and only instrument he’d ever given me. It had been a gift to him fromhisfather. I’d written the first three Torched songs on it.
I needed that guitar. The second one had been the first instrument I bought myself with the moneyweearned from our first album.
They meant the world to me, and I couldn’t replace either of them.
Not really.
With a sigh, Aubrey came to sit next to me and wrapped an arm around my shoulders. “I’m with Yvette, you scared the shit out of me.”
“Sorry,” I whispered but it still came out hoarse. “I couldn’t leave them.”
“I know,” she said with a long sigh even as her cell began to ring—well sing. She answered it without looking. Yvette stared up at us from the screen.
“I’ve decided that you two need to ditch that school and just come up here to live with me. Or we can go back to California. Fuck it, we can move to France or Australia, just away from that insanity.”
“What happened now?” Aubrey asked when Yvette took a breath. “I mean, it’s only been…”
I held up all five fingers. We’d talked to her five hours earlier.
“Yeah, it’s only been five hours.”
Yvette rolled her eyes and glared at us. “That school has been nothing but problems for Kait, and not worth the level of shit you have to deal with in those boys. Not to mention, they’re talking aboutarson.”
I coughed, but it was Aubrey who said, “They haven’t released a conclusive statement about arson, only that they are investigating all possible causes. They don’t know what caused the fire and fires suck, but it’s not a reason to dump and run.”
“I knew you would say that,” Yvette practically sulked, but I adored her for being so worried about us.
“We’re fine,” I promised.
