by KT Strange
“We’ll try to get in touch with them,” Ace said. “We can’t make any promises though.”
Willa inhaled, as if to speak, and the door to the dressing room swung open.
Gem Hollaway walked in on spiked heels. A feeling of doom fell over the room, and I sensed the other guys shrinking down into their seats. She looked… pleased.
“What an absolutely unusual evening,” she said, a smile crossing her face that made me want to punch things.
There’d been enough punching already, so I took a deep breath as quietly as I could.
“Did Troy talk to you?" Willa asked, the urgency thick in her voice. Gem shot her a look that would slice the wings off a fly.
“Troy is having a fit of temper, the silly little man, while he overlooks the true genius of our situation.”
“Our situation?” I asked, feeling hollow. "What exactly—”
“National news coverage,” Gem said, placing her hands, palms out, fingers spread, into the air in front of her. She gazed toward the ceiling. “A passionate young man defends the honor of his beloved—”
“Darcy is not Eli’s beloved anything,” Cash said, before I could. The fragile cocoon of lies that were wrapped around the secret relationship between Darcy and the pack had to hold. It was one thing for me to be involved with our band manager, it was another thing for anyone to find out that she was with the majority of the band.
Gem ’s eyes snapped to Cash before landing on me, and her face twisted into a smirk.
“Ah yes. Betrayal, then? A woman tearing two brothers, twins even, apart?” Her words were sick and they made the hair on the back of my neck stand up. There was something so cold and calculating about her. It rolled off of her, like a wave of chilled air blanketing the room.
I caught a flicker of red in the corner of my eye. It was Max slipping from her seat beside Cash and going to the bathroom. Gem ignored her as she gazed at me steadily.
“How are you doing then, now that your brother has run off with your girlfriend?”
“She hasn’t run off,” I said, through gritted teeth, my face going warm with irritation and shame. Darcy was keeping Eli safe. Or Eli was keeping Darcy safe. Or both were happening. They’d be back. No pack member would ever betray another, it wasn’t in our DNA. We were meant to be together, all of us. Being separated like this had to be driving my brother, and our mate, crazy.
“He’s so strong,” Gem commented to Willa, whose face wore a carefully neutral expression at Gem ’s insane statements. “This will go over well with the press.”
“Gem ,” Willa took a breath, “one of our artists is in the hospital right now. The police are looking to question one of our other artists. I don’t think—”
“Exactly,” Gem snapped her fingers as she spoke. “A lack of thinking is precisely what has been going on here. An opportunity lays in front of you, and Troy, idiot that he is, refuses to see it over a little primal violence between real men.” Her eyes slid back over us, what was left of the band, oozing down my skin until I wanted to snarl. She may have been fully human, but Gem Hollaway was a predator, and she made me want to fight her and protect the more vulnerable members of our pack.
There was a clicking sound as Max emerged from the bathroom, stuffing her phone back into her pocket, and Gem glared at her. Max glared right back and leaned against the closed door, crossing her arms over her chest.
“Other distractions aside,” Gem said, “I’ve come to the conclusion that it would inflame the fanbase if there was a controversy within the band regarding their love lives. I will be speaking to Troy at length on this matter and securing legal representation for Elias shortly.”
Hope sparked in my chest, even though it felt like we were making a deal with a demon. Gem seemed to want to champion us through this. I could only hope my gut feeling about her was wrong.
“I’m lost,” Ace said. “What’s going on?” A frown creased his forehead and Gem looked at him with a sickly-sweet smile.
“Typically a band is far less interesting once they are paired off, and, god forbid, been saddled with a wife and children, but in this case, a little healthy competition between band members over a girl inspires passion in the audience. They all imagine themselves as her, the one that every band member wants and is willing to fight for.” Gem took a breath, looking so enthralled with herself.
“That’s fucking ridiculous,” Cash said, his voice flat. “Are you telling me you want us to pump this up, make what happened tonight into some teenage drama love triangle just to sell records?”
Willa made a face like she echoed Cash’s sentiments. Gem shot him a scathing glare.
“Do you have a better suggestion? This is going to be all over social media and the news—”
“It’ll pass,” Cash said, waving his hand sideways in the air. “I won’t say no to the lawyers, though, if we could get one on the phone right away that would be great.”
Charlie nodded and I let out the breath that I’d been holding in. At least the rest of the pack thought the idea was stupid.
Gem ’s eyes sparkled, and it didn’t look like it was with good cheer.
“My top pick is on her way over now,” she said, before motioning to Willa. “Come, Miss North, we need to speak with Troy and calm his nerves. He’s like an eighty-year-old arthritic nun, that man.”
“Stay here, alright?" Willa asked after Gem swept out of the room.
“You have to convince her we’re not doing whatever the hell it is she has planned,” I said, “we want this to die down as fast as possible, and keep Eli out of trouble.” The rest of the band made noises of agreement, Ace nodding so hard that his chin nearly hit his chest.
Willa sighed and ran a hand through her hair, nervously twirling a thick strand around her finger.
“She’s got Troy by the balls, and whatever she says, goes... but…”
“The guys aren’t going to do it,” Max said, speaking up. "Darcy’s not here to stand up for them. This is ridiculous. They aren’t reality TV stars. This isn’t like, a Jersey Shore spinoff.”
Ace fidgeted and his mouth opened. I felt like he was about to ask what Jersey Shore was.
“We’ll do it,” I said. “Whatever it takes to keep the label going, and lawyers paid for Eli,” I said. The rest of the guys eyed me, and Max stared at me with a skeptical expression. She shot a look at Cash, who rolled his eyes.
Willa let out a shaky breath.
“Okay, well… you just stay here, okay? We’ll wait until we hear from the lawyer, and then we’ll figure out our next steps. And if you hear from Darcy and Eli? Tell me immediately, okay? Just me. Not Gem .” She bit her lip and glanced at each of us for a moment before leaving the room, shaking her head. I felt the heavy looks the rest of the pack were giving me, before I turned to Max.
“Who’d you call?” I asked. She blinked and then blushed.
“Just—”
“Who’d you call?” I repeated myself. “You were on the phone in the bathroom.”
She swallowed hard.
“A friend of Darcy’s,” she said softly. “Someone who might have been able to help. Help us. Help Eli.” She shoved her hands in her pockets and hunched her shoulders. “I don’t know if it’ll help.”
“Or if it’ll hurt,” Cash said, his tone harsh. “You should have asked.”
Max’s eyes flashed red for a heartbeat.
“Well she didn’t pick up, so that’s that. I didn’t leave a message. She doesn’t know me personally anyway, so, don’t worry about it,” Max said, defensive and clearly stressed out.
“Let’s just chill out,” Ace cleared his throat. “Anyone need a bottle of water?”
“More like a bottle of whiskey,” Charlie said with a hollow laugh.
The door banged open and Willa rushed in, Troy and Gem hot on her heels.
“Hospital called, Jake’s awake,” she said, her eyes wide.
“Your legal counsel will be here in a few minutes,” Gem said,
clapping her hands together. “Now, let’s get some photos taken, shall we?”
The knot of dread that had been swelling in my stomach threatened to eat its way through my spine and out my back.
I just wanted my brother, and my mate, back with me. Like before the show, when we’d all been together and this reality hadn’t even seemed possible. Earlier that day, our enemies had all been on the outside, looking in.
Now we were facing demons that we’d created and staring down the consequences of our actions. When Gem brandished her phone and gestured for us to get together for a group photo, it was all I could do not to yell at her and Troy to fuck right off. I needed to get on the road, look for Darcy, find Eli, make sure they were safe.
“Hey,” Max whispered as she edged up next to me, her hand curling around mine. She squeezed my fingers gently. I glanced at her. “It’ll be okay,” she promised me, her voice low. I humored her with a smile.
“You don’t know that.”
“Yeah I do,” she said. “You’ve faced down worse. C’mon. Let’s do the dancing monkey thing and then figure out how to get Eli cleared and Darcy back with you. Okay? You got this.” She leaned in close. “Don’t make me hug you. Gem already hates me, and I don’t need her getting any bright ideas about pairing me up with one of you for the drama.”
I snorted at that.
“She’d put you with Cash.”
“Kill me. I don’t know how Darcy puts up with him. I mean, he’s great, just—”
“I heard that,” Cash muttered, elbowing her in the side. “Hate you too, brat.”
She stuck her tongue out at him and he snorted, swatting at the back of her head.
“Girl,” Gem snapped, clapping her hands to get Max’s attention. “You! Out of the photo!”
Three
Darcy
I jolted awake, my head lifting off the seat with a gasp. The van was stopped, the engine off, and the seat beside me empty.
Panic welled up in my throat as I stared out into the inky blackness of the night around us. I could just make out the haze of trees reaching toward the sky from what little moonlight penetrated a thick blanket of cloud.
The silence pounded in my ears. With a deep breath, I reached for the door handle, and slowly opened it. A soft breeze brushed over my fingers, running up my arm and across my face as I stepped out of the car and onto the gravel road beneath my feet. Where was Eli?
The low chirp of frogs and crickets filled the night air.
The van was parked off to the side of a gravel road. Out of habit, I pulled my cellphone from my pocket and hit the home button. The screen was blank, the battery had obviously died at some point in the night but I couldn’t remember when. I shoved it back in my pocket.
A crash in the brush startled me and I stumbled back against the side of the van, my fingers crackling with power as I raised them in front of me without thinking.
White light lit up the darkness, emanating from my skin, as Eli burst through the shrubs closest to the car.
“Shit, Darcy, it’s me.” Eli stood there, hesitation on his face like I’d never seen. Sparks of lightning flickered, reflecting in his eyes. I swallowed hard and tamped down the power that surged through me. It died, with a protesting flicker and flare, coiling back inside me into the hidden source of my powers. I blinked in the darkness as my eyes adjusted to the sudden change.
Eli was shirtless, his skin damp with sweat as he walked toward me, and he was breathing heavily, like he’d been running hard. He gulped for air.
“Why’d you get out of the car?”
“Why’d you leave me in the car?” I demanded as he approached, and I gave him a good shove with my hand as he towered over me.
“You were asleep, I didn’t want to wake you up.” He glanced away. “C’mon, you need to eat.”
“Where were you?” I asked again. He was evading my questions.
“Doing something I’m not proud of,” he said, before walking around the front of the van to the driver’s side. “Get in.”
I glared at him as I slid onto my seat and pulled the heavy door shut.
“What do you mean by that?”
“Can’t exactly use our bank cards right now, can we?” he asked as he bent down, fumbling under the dashboard of the van. The engine grumbled to life, rattling for a moment until he shifted it into gear and the wheels began rolling.
I sat deep in my seat, surveying his profile.
“What did you do?” I accused.
“No worse than anything else I’ve done to keep the pack alive in the past,” he said. We rolled along the gravel road for several minutes as I thought that over. He reached into his pocket, shifting in his seat, and handed me a wadded up roll of cash.
I nearly dropped it when I realized that it was a thick handful of hundreds.
“Where’d this money come from?”
“Can you pass me a shirt? There’s one behind my seat.” He wasn’t answering my questions. I grit my teeth. Eli took to heart the whole ‘fearless leader’ act, doing what he wanted and never justifying it to anyone.
“Did you rob someone?”
“The shirt, Darcy.”
With a growled curse, I reached behind his seat and fumbled around for his shirt. I shoved it at him, and he took it and murmured his thanks.
“Whose shirt is this? The guy whose van this is? Did you seriously rob someone? Who’s out here? Farmers? Did you rob a farmer?” I stared at his profile again, wondering if I even really knew who he was. The Eli I thought I knew would never beat the shit out of someone, or steal from someone else. He was an upstanding citizen. He walked to a strict moral code of behavior, and here he was, breaking faces and breaking and entering, and apparently, stealing a couple thousands of dollars.
“Darcy,” he said.
“I thought we were going to Canada. This cash isn’t going to fly there. They have another currency, in case you didn’t know.” I waved the bills at him as we turned off the gravel road and onto a two lane highway.
“You can’t just waltz into another wolf’s territory and not bring a gift,” he said after a quiet moment.
“You’re giving them stolen cash? Why don’t you just offer them a deer or something? And you don’t even know there are wolves. You’re hoping.” I crossed my arms over my chest, the stolen money sitting like a rock in my lap.
He was silent and didn’t say anything as we came up on a small town with a 24/7 diner on the main drag. How did he even know that the town would be there? I glanced at him from under my lashes.
Sometimes it felt like I didn’t know him at all. This was one of those times.
“You need to eat,” he said as he parked. “This place is small enough to not have security cameras.” He pulled the shirt on, some worn thing with a faded John Deere logo sprawled across the chest. I tried not to admire how it pulled tight over his muscles. He was a dick. A lying, thieving, dick.
In the back of my mind a little voice reminded me of how unreasonable I was being and that it was probably because I was just hangry as fuck. Once I got food into my face, I’d be better able to work with him and not against him. But right then? I was pissed off, driven by a shaky feeling in my gut that wasn’t going away. I got out of the van and stood on the side of the road. The night air was cool on my face. My feelings were all over the place, my adrenaline still running on high ever since I’d woken up in the dark, alone in the van, in the middle of nowhere.
“Darcy.” Eli stood in front of me, wearing the too-small t-shirt that threatened to split at the shoulders if he so much as shrugged. His eyes were in shadow, the blue irises almost black despite the orange glow of the street lamps. “You okay?”
“I’m sorry I was a bitch.”
“You weren’t.” He held out his hand. I slipped my fingers into it and he squeezed. “C’mon. Let’s get some food into you.”
The neon sign guttered, flickering ‘Best Comfort Food South of Sedro’ as we walked past it. The gravel was we
t on the ground, crunching on the cement as we walked. Eli held the door for me, and I stepped into a rush of warm air that eased my nervous jitters.
“Hey there hon,” an older woman, the waist of her pink apron cinched in tight, looked up from the cash register where she was playing on her cellphone. “For two?”
“Yeah,” Eli said, coming up behind me. His hand pressed into the small of my back and my breath skipped, shuddering down my throat at the spread of his fingers along my spine. “Just two.”
The woman’s eyes slithered down Eli’s figure before flicking to me and she grabbed a set of menus.
“Anywhere you like,” she motioned to the empty diner. “You’re my only table tonight.
“Over there,” I said, pulling away from Eli’s touch, and heading straight for the back, furthest away from the door and closest to the fire exit. Just in case we had to make a quick getaway.
Eli followed just behind me, offering to take my hoodie when we got to the booth. I gave him a look like he was crazy.
“Are you kidding? It’s freezing,” I said. The waitress chuckled.
“You don’t look cold,” she said to Eli, her eyes like lasers focused on his biceps. He shot me a mischievous grin and sat down.
“She keeps me warm,” he replied with a laugh that sounded so unlike him, more like Finn, in how easy it was.
“Tiny thing like you keeps him warm?” the waitress asked, setting down the menus. “Well I never seen such a cute couple as you two.”
Eli grabbed my hand in his, squeezing it, his blue eyes heated as he gazed at me across the table. Unbidden and unwelcome, a blush spread across my cheeks.
“You two kids been together long?” The waitress’s attitude shifted from looking at Eli like she wanted to eat him, to almost maternal.
“Honeymoon trip,” Eli said, and I did everything I could not to set him on fire with my eyes. “She finally said yes and made me the happiest man in the world. We’re camping across the country, and then we’ll figure out what we want to do and where we’ll settle from there.” The cheesy sentiments dripped off his tongue so easily I almost believed him.