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Relieved that I wouldn’t have to kill her to protect what was mine, I kept walking. But as I climbed the steps, I felt a prickle of awareness on the back of my neck.
Without turning, I knew what it was.
Samara had seen me.
Fuck.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
abi
My adviser couldn’t get me into the history seminar unless I declared history my major or I got Professor Vaughn to approve an extra student for the class. I was still undecided about what I wanted my educational focus to be, but I did know a history degree wouldn’t give me many options for a career.
Music was in my family’s blood. Both my parents were successful rock stars. Mom earned more money from writing songs than singing them, but she was still well-known around the world. Ali, my younger sister, was already making waves with her own music.
I was the odd one out. It wasn’t that I couldn’t sing or play an instrument. My sister and I had been playing guitar and piano since before we could talk. I just didn’t want the spotlight that came with being a celebrity.
But music wasn’t my only option. My grandfather, Scott Montez, was the highest-paid director in the movie business. His films always grossed over a billion dollars, and he had three Oscars. Some people claimed Mom was a nepo baby because she had an Oscar for best original song. It had been in one of his movies, and he’d threatened to walk away as the director if they didn’t get Mom to write the music. But that was only because he’d wanted the best, and Mom was, without a doubt, the best.
Mom didn’t care what people thought, and neither did I. Dad, Ali, and I were proud of her accomplishments.
Being a celebrity wasn’t for me. If I was honest, I wasn’t even sure I wanted a career. When I turned eighteen, I was given access to a small portion of my inheritance. Since then, I’d made smart investment choices and tripled my money. Even if I never saw a penny of what was left of my inheritance, I could live comfortably for the rest of my life on that money alone.
College was never so much about what I wanted to study, but where I wanted to attend. And that was Trinity University. Or maybe it was simply because Creswell Springs felt so much like home. Even more so after becoming friends with Sammy. She helped combat the homesickness I had for my family. I still ached from missing Hayat and my parents, even Ali, but not nearly as much as I used to.
I had a few days to think about it since the summer term didn’t start for a few weeks. On Wednesday, I had been planning to ask Professor Vaughn about approving me for the seminar, but two other girls were already waiting around after class. I heard them whispering about getting his signature to approve their own request for extra students, and I chickened out.
According to my adviser, at least half a dozen other female students were trying to get into the seminar. Trinity University had never had so many people interested in the history program, let alone women. That little tidbit of information put me in a sour mood. Victor Vaughn was responsible for all the attention. Without him, no one would be interested. Jealousy rattled around inside me. I hated that I had to share him with his other students.
Why should they be allowed the pleasure of hearing him speak, seeing the emotions flash across his beautifully masculine face, and breathing the same air as him?
I wanted him to be mine, like he’d vowed in my dream Friday night.
Shaking the thought away, I walked toward the library Thursday night, determined not to think about Professor Vaughn, other than passing his final the following week. I definitely wouldn’t think about how deliciously sore I’d been when I’d woken up that morning after he’d made me come not once but three times in my dreams the night before.
Dream Abi was a horny bitch who couldn’t get enough. I was jealous as hell that she got to have all the fun and all Awake Abi got were tender muscles and the overwhelming sense of loss each time I woke up alone.
With the library in sight, I fished my phone from my yoga pants pocket when it rang. Seeing the picture I had for my dad on the screen, one of him and me from Christmas with us in matching Grinch pajamas, my heart gave a happy clench. “Daddy!”
“I miss you so damn much, Abi-cakes.”
Hearing his voice made my homesickness spike, but it wasn’t nearly as bad as it used to be. “I miss you too.”
“What are you doing? Are you studying hard for finals next week? Do you need money? Do you need anything? When’s your flight home? Can it be like next weekend?”
I laughed at his rapid-fire questions. “Dad, how much coffee have you had?”
“Just a cup…or three.”
“You were at Poppy’s house,” I determined. Hayat’s poppy made the strongest coffee known to man. An energy-drink company asked him to give them the recipe and be their spokesperson, offering him an obscene amount of money. He’d agreed, but only if they donated ten percent of the profits to Sanctuary, a women’s shelter that was located in Creswell Springs.
“It was a band meeting. TK is collaborating with Demon’s Wings. Nik, Cash, and your mom are going to be writing the songs. There is even talk about the Demons and OtherWorld doing a world tour. But you didn’t hear that from me.”
I stopped in my tracks at that last piece of news. The two legendary bands hadn’t toured in more than thirty years. They did the occasional festival, and of course there were the charity concerts they hosted, but a world tour? It would cause mayhem with whatever ticket sellers they used. A tour of that magnitude would gross hundreds of millions of dollars.
Which also meant Maddie and her stepmom would have to work their asses off to ensure it ran smoothly.
“Would TK tour with them?” I asked curiously, wondering if my dad and his four bandmates would be thrown into the spotlight even more than they already were with a collab album with Demon’s Wings.
