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“Samara wrecked her car. She has a concussion.” He lifted his head, brown eyes tormented. “I have to get her and take her to our father. He’s got dementia. He’s going to be confused as hell, but I need them together right now.”
My heart clenched from the pain in his voice. “Don’t worry, babe. We’ll get her home to him.”
Letting him go, I pulled on pajama pants over my panties. I’d only tossed on an old hoodie and a pair of panties when I’d woken up without him. Cringing at the thought of meeting his family in my pajamas, I grabbed a few things from my closet, throwing them into a gym bag that was already open, without folding anything.
Picking it up, I turned to find him pacing my small room. “I’m ready.”
A wave of relief crossed his face. Taking the bag from me, he pulled me in for a quick, hard kiss. “I don’t know what I would do without you.”
Guilt tried to wedge its way into my mind. I’d already promised Hayat the summer. I’d even canceled my summer schedule. My dad was going to get his wish, me home for longer than a few days after my last final. But I couldn’t think about that at the moment. Vaughn needed me.
It wasn’t until we were on our way to the hospital in another county that I realized who his sister was. “Wait, Sammy?” Tears filled my eyes. “I should have texted her earlier. Jesus, I bet Elias is going crazy.”
His fingers bleached white around the steering wheel. “Her phone isn’t working. It must have gotten lost in the wreck. Before we get to the hospital, I need to tell you something. I know Samara is your friend, but concussions make people act differently than they normally would. And Samara can be a bit volatile when she’s in a vulnerable situation.”
“Understandable. I’d be prickly too in that condition. Sixx had a concussion after he got into a fight. He couldn’t see straight for a week. He’s already grumpy without the headache, but—”
“Who the fuck is Sixx?” Vaughn demanded, his jaw turning to stone as he shot me a sour look.
Snorting at the jealousy in his voice, I rubbed my hand up and down his tense bicep. “Easy, babe. Sixx is my sister’s best friend. His dad is one of the bass players in Tainted Knights. Don’t get all growly over him. Your blood pressure is already up from being worried about Sammy.”
“What kind of name is Sixx?” he grumbled, maneuvering the car through the late night, extremely early morning traffic.
“Nikki Sixx is Sin’s favorite bass player,” I explained with a grin.
“He couldn’t pick a better bass player? John Entwistle. Liam Bryant. Geddy Lee. Shane Stevenson. John Paul Jones. Zander Brockman.”
Unable to hold back a laugh, I shook my head. “Geddy Sinclair does have a nice ring to it,” I agreed. “I love that you just popped all those kick-ass rockers off the top of your head. My dad will salivate all over you knowing who John Entwistle is. He’s a huge the Who fan. And dropping Led Zeppelin into any random conversation will win you bonus points every time with my mom.”
Despite the tension still rolling off him, I saw his lips twitch up for a moment before he was glaring at the road again. “How do I win points with the best friend, Havoc? Hayat. Whatever you call her.”
“With her or me?” I poked him in the ribs. “I will shank you in a heartbeat over her, Professor.”
“Abi.”
“You want me not to call you Professor, don’t growl about my bestie like that.” I tugged on his wrist to distract him, his fingers so tight around the wheel I kept hearing the leather creak.
He eased his hold and took my hand, lifting it to his lips. “Deal.”
“Good. You can call her Hayat. Havoc is her social media persona, but she always keeps her face hidden because she doesn’t want people to give her attention just because of who her grandfathers are. But that kind of blew up in her face recently. I guess that’s how you know she is Havoc.”
“No,” he said with a grunt. “I found her online after I saw you the first time. She did a good job of keeping her identity low-key, especially considering she has millions of followers. But overall, it wasn’t difficult to find her.”
“You…” My mouth dropped open in surprise. “You knew who she was before this past week? How?”
“I have a few computer skills and a need to know everything about you.” He lifted a shoulder like it was no big deal.
But even I knew that was an understatement. If he’d discovered Hayat’s Havoc persona online, he had more than a few skills. Hayat wasn’t exactly a computer mastermind, but Mieke Carmichael had set up her cybersecurity. If it weren’t for some douchebag putting it all together and outing her after seeing her audition, her online presence wouldn’t be conflicting with her real life. All because he hadn’t been chosen to be the band’s new drummer.
If anyone needed shanking, it was that butthurt sore loser. I wasn’t sure who I was going to go after first. The idiot drummer or the other motherfucker who was making my best friend’s life so miserable.
Fucking Renchford.
No one with that last name was worthy of being in the same room as anyone in my family. Not Hayat, and especially not our friend Maddie. I was going to tear him apart if I saw him.
And since he was in the band Hayat had agreed to help out, I was going to see him plenty.
I wondered how his pretty-boy face would look when I smashed it with a guitar. Hayat already said I couldn’t stake him through the heart with one of her drumsticks.
