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Nodding, I brush under my eyes, getting rid of the evidence that I’m not completely bulletproof.
“I’m done with your little games, I’m tired, and I just managed to cover up a murder at a seedy bar thanks to you three insisting we go there. Are you going to tour with me or not? If not, I’m not going to just disappear like I think you want me to. I’ll have to look for other musicians who will work with me, and since I’m under contract with the label?—”
“Your uncle would never let you work with someone who would hurt you,” Mav scoffs, making me roll my eyes.
“I would rather show I can make it work and deal with it than tell him. That’s what I do,” I growl, leaning into Tyler’s arms. I’ve spilled enough truth for tonight, I think.
Tyler’s phone pings, and he pulls it out as we walk down the sidewalk. “There’s a convenience store up ahead for your soda,Layla,” he says as he checks it. With a heavy sigh and curse, he shows it to me.
Mr. Miles: Layla hit the social media pages singing at O’Malleys. Not exactly the kind of place I’d suggest she perform, but a few people recognized her. I’m glad you got the guys on board. I assume Draven insisted on hearing her sing, which is typical for him. Sorry I threw you two into the fire, but glad to hear it’s working out. I’m canceling your hotel room, and having your bags delivered to theirs, so you can spend some quality time with your new bandmates. Take care of our girl.
“Fuck, this can’t be happening,” I whisper. What is he thinking? If I call him to yell at him, I’ll burst into tears.
Goddamn it, Uncle Jordan! Clearing my throat, I take a breath and start again. “It appears we have a problem.”
“What now?” The three of them practically growl.
“Uncle Jordan says that my performance hit some of the social media pages, and they’re blowing up,” I begin. “He is taking this as evidence that Draven is accepting me as your lead singer because I did so well at my ‘audition’.”
I’m adlibbing his message a bit, but I don’t think my uncle will care at this point.
“The fuck I am,” Draven snarls.
While I’m still twitchy, the tears have subsided for now. As long as I don’t have to call my uncle, I’ll be fine, I think. Turning to face him, I get in his face. “Did I not sing well? Did I not perform well enough under unbelievable pressure?”
“You mean the murder you helped to cover up?” he hisses, bending to press his nose against mine. I hate being so shorteven in heels. I can’t do anything about that, so I stomp on his foot. “Bloody hell, you’re feral, Jesus!”
“The three of you will stop behaving like a mix of children and kicked puppies,” I tell them, as if I have any business dictating to them. “You’re sunk without me because I’m sure you want to stay together, and that won’t happen without me. I’m not an idiot. I can tell your asses are over a barrel even though you’re insisting on giving me shit. So do you want to disappear and never perform again, or are you going to try to make this work?”
This is way more than I’ve said to any of them, and Draven holds on to his foot as he winces, while Atlas and Mav glare at me.
“You don’t have us anywhere, little girl,” Mav growls. “I suppose you’re right about our little predicament, though. We’re in until we can figure something else out. I swear trouble manages to find you.”
“It’ll be a full time job attempting to keep you safe,” Atlas mutters.
I feel naked as I shift in front of them, and I really wish I had a new pair of panties. Shit. Which leads me to my next problem. Folding my arms under my breasts, I think about the best time to tell them I seem to be without a place to sleep thanks to my meddling uncle.
“I just want to sleep, chick,” Draven says, dragging his fingers through his blond waves. They barely tussle, and I vaguely wonder what kind of hair products he uses. Digging my fingers into my palms, I use the pinch of pain to focus. “We’ll see you whenever, but I’m ready to go home.”
“Great, Tyler and I are going to need to bunk with you,” I announce, even as my fingers twitch. “Uncle Jordan seems to think we need to bond, so he canceled our hotel room.”
Tyler hands the phone over to Mav with a heavy sigh. “We could see if we can find somewhere else, but Jordan would just figure out how to cancel those too. Fucking hacker,” he grumbles.
My uncle is many things, and he’s really damn good at all of them. Shit on a cracker. Tyler is right.
“You remember what Jordan was like when Lenny was taken,” I remind them. “You know this is child's play to him. So unless Tyler and I are sleeping on a bench…”
“Fuck,” Atlas groans. “You’re already a pain in the ass.”
Stomping away, my eyes widen as he slams into the convenience store. Atlas grabs a couple of sodas, bringing them to the register.
“You’re hurting yourself,” Draven admonishes, tapping my fingers. He’s finally stopped hopping about like a baby, but I’m apparently still digging my fingers into my palms. “Not that I care, mind you, but you still have to play.”
Opening my hands and flexing them, I drop my arms to shake them out. I’m sure that’s the only reason he cares. Tyler rubs my back, sending me his reassurances that things will be fine. He’s yet to steer me wrong, so I’ll go with it.
“What is he doing?” I ask as I watch Atlas pay for his drinks and walk back out.
“Here’s your soda so you can stop acting so weird,” he says crassly, handing me one. It’s a coke, which is my favorite. Something about the carbonation and sugar always helps.
