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“No clue, but something feels off,” I admitted, my gut churning with anxiety. “I can’t put my finger on it, but it’s making me uneasy.”
The five of us exchanged uneasy glances, each likely running through the possibilities in our minds. A big cancellation. An accident. Some scandal unearthed from our sordid pasts.
My phone buzzed with another text from Darren. Five minutes out. Get everyone on the same page. Be ready to strategize.
Strategize. Fuck. That single word sent a shard of ice sliding down my spine. Whatever was coming, it was going to be bad.
Bash scrubbed a hand over his face. “I don’t know about you lot, but I could use a drink. Anyone else?”
“Yeah, I’ll take one.” I massaged the tension in my neck, my stomach knotting. “Might as well get comfortable. We’re gonna be here for a while.”
The rest of the guys nodded, a heavy silence filling the bus as Bash poured whiskeys all around. We each claimed a seat, staring into the amber depths of our glasses and waited.
Ryder’s phone buzzed in his hand, breaking the tense silence in the room. He glanced at the screen and frowned before answering. “Talia?” he asked, concern lacing his voice.
His brow furrowed as he listened to her, his hand gripping the phone so tightly that his knuckles turned white. “Oh fuck,” he muttered under his breath, his voice taut with worry.
“Hey, hey, calm down,” Ryder tried to soothe her, gripping the phone tighter. “What’s going on? Talk to me.”
As he listened to her frantic words, his face turned pale, and he muttered a string of curses. “Oh, fuck ... You’re kidding, right?”
Whatever Talia said in response wasn’t good. Ryder’s eyes widened, and he swore under his breath. “Shit. How did this even happen?” He listened for a moment, cursing again. “Okay, just stay inside the house with Zoe. I’ll have someone out there as soon as I can.”
“Ryder, what is it?” I demanded, my patience wearing thin as my anxiety threatened to consume me.
“Remi,” he replied tersely, pinching the bridge of his nose. “Hollywood Exposé.”
I sat forward, dread pooling in my gut. Remi. Fuck. And if it was about to break on Hollywood Exposé, there was no containing it now.
My stomach dropped as I realized the implications of his words. Remi’s story on the band wasn’t supposed to be published yet, but something had clearly changed. Something that had left Talia — and now all of us — on edge. Something that had stirred up a shitstorm.
“Okay, Angel, just take a deep breath,” Ryder said into the phone, his voice wavering as he tried to calm Talia down. “We’ll figure this out, I promise. I’m going to get someone from Vector out to you now. Don’t worry about the rest.”
Ryder ended the call, his face pale. “That was Talia. Remi’s story is hitting the internet as we speak. And it’s bad.”
“How bad?” Knox asked, voicing the question on all our minds.
He hesitated for a moment, his expression pained as he relayed what little information he had gathered. “Apparently, reporters have been calling her nonstop about the article. It’s chaos. Paparazzi are camped outside our house and won’t leave them alone. They’re being aggressive. I’ve got to get them some security.”
“Fuck,” Sidney spat, echoing my thoughts. “What’s got them so worked up?”
“Something about me having a secret affair with Greyson Durant and my marriage to Talia being a sham. Apparently, there’s sordid shit in the article about all of us.” Ryder tossed his phone onto the table with a humorless laugh. “We’re fucked.”
I snatched my own phone from the table and quickly pulled up the internet. The rest of the band followed suit, each of us searching for whatever had caused Talia’s distress.
“Shite!” Knox cursed, scrolling through his phone. “It’s all over the internet!”
Sid groaned as he found the article, his expression a mixture of disbelief and anger. Bash just stared at his screen, his jaw clenched so tight I thought it might shatter.
I clicked on the article Who’s Haunting Ghost Parker? with the byline Remi Sutton. The headline was accompanied by a photo of me and Ryder in our younger, more reckless days, looking strung out and surly.
I quickly scanned the words, feeling a cold fury building inside me. “What the fuck?” How could she have done this to us? To me? I thought we had something special, something real. Was it all just a lie? A means to an end?
“Ghost, man,” Ryder’s voice was thick with sympathy as he looked at me, sensing the pain that coursed through me like a river of ice. “I’m so sorry.”
“Did she play me this whole time?” I whispered, my voice raw with hurt and betrayal. “Just to get the story of a lifetime?”
“Let’s not jump to conclusions,” Sid said cautiously, placing a hand on my arm. “Maybe there’s more to it than we think.”
