by Anna Paige
He poked a finger into my chest, just hard enough to punctuate his next statement. “You lied to me for over a decade about Dad—would have lied to me until your dying day— but I’d never let that stop me from loving you. You had my best interests at heart, even if sometimes you resent me for not having to carry the burden like you did.” I drew in a breath to argue, but he kept right on talking. “If Aubrey did this—and that’s a very big if—it was because it’s her job to help us, and she thought that’s what she was doing. I don’t require perfection of the people I care about, and neither should you. All it does is bring unhappiness and disappointment to everyone involved. Find out the truth before you do anything. If she was wrong, give her a chance to apologize, then let it the fuck go and get back to loving her like you know you want to.”
He pulled me in for a hug, slapping my back once, then backed away and left the room.
God, if only it were as simple as he made it sound.
•••
Aubrey
I was leaving my third voicemail for Miles when Kane stepped onto the bus. He hung back while I finished my call and then took a seat across from me at the table. His eyes searched my face for a while before he spoke, and I let him look his fill. He wasn’t as close to me as his twin, but he was a lot more familiar than the others, so I sincerely hoped he would be able to read my innocence in my expression.
“You know you can tell me anything, right? We’re friends, and I’m not here to judge you, I swear.” He sounded sincere. It made my chin start to quiver with emotion, but I pursed my lips and got it under control quickly.
“If I did it, I would have the guts to own up to it.” I offered, turning my laptop to face him and pointing at the screen where I knew my name to be. “This is not true.”
He barely glanced at it, probably well-aware of what it said by then. “Okay. Then we need to figure out who did this, and why they did it using your name.”
“You believe me?” Dammit, my stupid chin was trembling again.
“I’m giving you the opportunity to prove you didn’t do it. Until then, I decline to choose a side.”
My shoulders fell a little. “Fair enough. But I have no idea who could have done it. I never told anyone anything. I didn’t even answer calls from the office while we were in Denson, so they wouldn’t be able to ask questions.”
“Did they call, though?” He wrinkled his brow, thinking.
“Trish did. A few times. I think maybe Miles did once, but he just left a message and let it go. No return call needed. He’s pretty laid back.”
“And Trish?”
My dislike of the woman was all over my face. “Oh, I finally answered a call from her after we left Denson and got my ass chewed. I told her my phone had gotten wet and was drying out all weekend.”
“And you didn’t mention Denson or Milly’s Mountain at all?”
I shook my head. “Nope. I told her you all had a family obligation in Virginia, but that was it. I mentioned picking up the new bus,” I gestured around us, “and then told her we were planning to auction off the old one along with a couple of others you had in storage. That’s it.”
He reached for my pen, tapping it on the tabletop as he sorted it out in his head. “That wasn’t enough information for her to use for the press release.”
I motioned helplessly at the computer. “Exactly. There’s no way she could have gotten all this from that conversation. Which means, I still don’t know who did this or why.” I was determined not to freaking cry. “I know you all think I lied to you but I swear on my parent’s graves, Kane, I didn’t betray you. I wouldn’t. Not ever. Especially…”
“Especially since you’re in love with my brother?” he supplied, not appearing the least bit surprised.
“Yeah,” I whispered, still refusing to cry despite the tears streaming down my face.
“He’ll come around, Aubrey. Just give him a chance to get his head on straight.”
“No, he won’t. You didn’t see the way he looked at me. The blind hatred. He thinks I lied to him, played him and stabbed him in the back.”
The pen stopped tapping, and Kane pursed his mouth. “He’s no stranger to lies himself.” He took the laptop and began to type, clearly knowing what it was he sought since he was done in no time. When he spun the screen to face me, I cringed. The photo that brought me here, the one of Kade with not one but two women, filled my screen. I wanted to turn away, but Kane’s voice stopped me.
“Look closely, Aubrey,” he cautioned.
I forced myself to really look at the photo, only Kade’s bare upper torso was visible, and even that was mostly obscured by the full, perky breasts of his companions. One of the girls had her mouth pressed to his neck, while the other leaned close and smiled into the camera. His eyes were closed in apparent pleasure. Only he swears he was asleep.
I leaned in a little, remembering the night at the cabin when I stood watching him sleep, debating on crawling into his bed. I flashed forward to that very morning when Kade had confided in me about his father, my mind hanging on one single thought.
The scar.
The tiny, thin scar that I’d noticed in the bedroom that night, the one that I now knew he’d gotten from his dad.
The man in the photo didn’t have that scar.
Because the man in bed with those women wasn’t Kade.
“This is you,” I whispered to Kane, my trembling hand moving to trace his flawless eyelid. “But why did they say it was Kade?”
He blew out a breath, looking guilty. “They thought I was him when we first met up, and I didn’t correct them. They seemed to want him, but I wanted them, so I played the part. Later, when all hell broke loose, Kade refused to let me set the record straight.”
I nodded, already knowing why. “He was protecting you.”
“Like always, yeah. And he figured that since he’d already gotten in trouble in St. Louis, it was better to let them attribute this one to him, too. That way, if the label threatened to drop us, he could offer to walk away and let the rest of us go on without him.”
“How would you do that?” I frowned just as it occurred to me, they sounded so much alike... “You can sing, too, can’t you?”
“Almost as well as Kade,” he confirmed with a nod. “But my voice has never had the edge his has. And it doesn’t matter because he was being stupid—still is. There is no band without him. He’s just too focused on being everyone’s savior to realize there’s nothing worth saving unless we’re all together.”
“Why are you telling me this now?” I squinted over at him.
“To show you that people sometimes do the wrong thing for the right reasons. It doesn’t make them bad people. And if you did this, even indirectly, it doesn’t mean you’re a bad person either. I don’t know how this happened, who’s responsible, but I do know that the only thing you’ve done since you got here is look out for us. Not because it’s your job, but because you’re too good a person not to. You’re too good a friend. And no matter what happens, right or wrong, I’m still your friend, and you can count on me to have your back, even against my brother.”
“But I don’t want you against each other,” I winced, hating even the thought of them being pitted against each other because of me.
“That ship has sailed, baby girl. We haven’t been the same since St. Louis, though that probably has more to do with his baggage than anything I’ve done. What happened there did something to him, dredged up old shit, and he pushed us all away, especially me. We’ll either fix it or we won’t; only time will tell.” He heaved a weary breath, changing gears. “Anyway, I don’t want you and him at odds, either, so how about we find a way to fix this shit—fast—so we can all be one big, happy family again?”
I forced a smile. “When has Kade ever been happy?” I was joking, but Kane didn’t laugh.
“Every second since he met you,” he said. “And I refuse to stand back and watch him fuck that up. I won’t let him be stupid enoug
h to lose you.”
I studied him for a minute. “Have you ever been in love, Kane?”
His eyes widened, looking horrified. “Me? Hell no, and I prefer it that way.”
“Then why are you so concerned with things working out for me and your brother?”
“Just because it’s not what I want for myself, doesn’t mean I don’t see the value it has for other people. You two are a perfect fit; you make each other better, happier. A connection like that’s worth saving, don’t you think?”
Yeah, I really did.
It wouldn’t be easy, but I knew it would be worth it.
•••
Kade
The concert had ended and I hung back while the rest of the guys showered and headed to the after party going on a few rooms down. We hadn’t been doing that much since Aubrey arrived—going to the after parties—though there had been some shenanigans on the other buses. They couldn’t be expected to become celibate shut-ins, so the polite police didn’t balk as long as they were careful not to take it too far.
Ironic, since that’s exactly what she and I ended up doing.
Way too far. Maybe too far to find our way back.
Only Kane and I were still in the dressing room when they headed out. I was about to go get some clothes from the bus when Kane stopped me, reaching beside the couch and coming up with a set of my own clothes in his hand, clear indication that he’d been on the new bus and talked to Aubrey. I was instantly livid.
“She knows about the picture,” he announced evenly, not looking the least bit sorry.
“You fucking told her? What is wrong with you? Hasn’t she done enough to fuck us over without you handing her another knife to bury in our backs?”
He shoved the clothes at me, shaking his head. “I didn’t tell her shit. She figured it out on her own.”
“Oh, I bet she did. After you gave her a push in that direction, right?”
His responding shrug was infuriating.
“What gives you the right to interfere? And whose goddamn side are you on anyway?”
“I’m on everyone’s side because we’re all in this shit together.” He turned his back to me, grabbing a beer from the mini fridge. “You need to get your shit together. Stop stomping around here in a damn rage and really think for a minute about all this.”
“What else did you tell her while you were over there pouring your heart out? Or did you decide talk was cheap and fuck her instead?”
He reared back, looking shocked. “What? How could you even think…?”
“If you’d betray me about the photo, why wouldn’t you try to fuck her while you were at it? It’s not like you haven’t done it already, right?”
Kane lunged at me, ducking low like when we used to play ball. He managed to get under my block and lifted me off my feet, his shoulder slamming into my gut. My back hit the cinder-block wall with enough force to make my teeth rattle, my head snapping back and nailing the concrete.
He backed up and put both hands on my heaving chest, his own breathing surprisingly even. “Don’t you ever say that to me again. I only did what you asked me to. It was only sex. One and done, that was the deal. It’s not my fault you fucked up and fell in love, and now you resent me for it. For you to even suggest that I’d make a move on her behind your back,” he shook his head. “You’re more fucked up than I gave you credit for. Keep this shit up and you’re going to lose more than just her. And you’ll have no one to blame but yourself.” He gave me one last shove as he turned back toward the door.
The door that was suddenly filled with our bandmates, all standing there with matching looks of shock on their faces as I came up behind my brother, ready to tear him apart.
•••
The sound of the door hissing open barely registered as I sat on the tour bus's plush sofa, ass barely resting on the edge with my hands clasped between my knees. I was wringing them hard enough to make my knuckles crack, all the while picturing them wrapped around my twin brother's throat.
The motherfucker was lucky the boys pulled us apart.
"Kane, if that's you… you're about to eat my fucking boot. Go back to the other bus."
The sound of two long strides echoed through the stillness but I kept my head down, fighting back another surge of anger.
"Just me, man. I told Kane to head back to our bus and let me be the one to check in on you." Lennox sounded tired. I could relate.
"Probably a good idea since all I want to do right now is snap him like a twig." I stood without looking at Lenn and made my way to the kitchen. "I'm not good company right now, so don't expect much in the way of conversation," I warned, reaching into the full-size fridge for a beer and handing him one over the open door as I grudgingly raised my eyes to his.
He took the longneck with a nod, "I say we drink dinner and not talk about a goddamn thing that doesn't have tits or tires. You down?"
Lauren’s assessment of male conversation had been on point, and clearly her words had stuck with Lenn. "Fuck yeah, I am." I chuckled, feeling the coils of tension unwinding from my shoulders. Lennox was exactly what I needed to get me through this night without an assault charge. Or blowing our contract and walking away from this shit entirely.
No doubt, that was exactly why the guys sent him. He was kind of shallow—or pretended to be—as well as uncensored and funny as fuck to be around. Walking talking bomb squad, diffusing the situation without even trying.
"For the record, that one set of particularly nice tits is also on our bus."
With Kane.
Fucking perfect.
And the fuse was instantly re-lit.
I made an effort to look disinterested, tipping back my beer and taking a long swallow before commenting. "Someone should probably take her shit to her then, assuming it's a permanent change."
I could see his slow nod from the corner of my eye as I drained the rest of my beer. "I'll have one of the roadies do it…" he trailed off pointedly. "Unless you'd rather?"
"Fuck. No." I spat, clearly and concisely squashing his suggestion.
He held his hands up, dangling his beer precariously from two fingers. "No big deal, just thought I'd make sure."
"Enough about her. It's either dead silence or a new topic. So shut the hell up or pick something with tires this time…or any tits on the planet, aside from hers."
Lennox snagged another beer from the fridge and went to sit on the couch opposite me. "How about a two-for-one?" He smirked for a moment when I gave him a nod. "Did you see the rack on that chick in the parking lot? The one who was hanging her tits out the window of the 'Vette? Shit, man. If she hadn't leaned back, those things would have gotten road rash. And the guy driving trying to pull her back in the car while she was screaming my name and shaking those jugs at me? Priceless." He chuckled into his beer.
"Your name is not Kade, fuckface. She was yelling for me." I eyed him dryly. I didn't care in the slightest and usually barely noticed, but he was right, there wasn't any ignoring a spectacle like that.
"Bullshit, don't flatter yourself. She was looking at me," he huffed.
"Really? Then why were there four huge letters scrawled across her rack? KA on the right tit and DE on the left?" I was laughing despite myself, though the image reminded me of the time I’d asked Aubrey to write my name on hers. I ignored the little twinge of pain that accompanied thoughts of her and focused on the crestfallen look on Lennox’s face. He hated that I was right about the big-busted fan in the Corvette.
He was quiet for a minute then shrugged. "Guess I need a shorter name, huh?" Technically, Lenn had the same amount of letters as my name but no one outside his immediate circle called him that.
"Or she needed bigger tits."
His eyes widened. "Dude, if they were any bigger, the poor girl wouldn't have been able to stand upright."
"Like you were interested in her standing anyway." I shook my head and finished my longneck as Lennox listed all the wonderful standing positions
he was partial to. I just laughed along with him as I went to grab another beer. I didn't usually drink so quickly but between Lenn's banter and the alcohol, I might have found a way to make it through the night without taking my brother’s head off… or worse, admitting how much I still wanted Aubrey.
•••
The next morning, the buses pulled into a truck stop diner so we could fuel up both the buses’ tanks and our own. Lenn was entirely too chatty for the early hour, and I had a mild hangover from the obscene amount of drinking I'd done the night before. He was raring to go so I told him I'd catch up, dressing slowly and taking a moment to chew a couple aspirin—sans water, because I liked the acrid burn.
Skipping breakfast was a definite temptation, given the situation, but I was no coward. I'd never backed down from a fight in my life, not ever. And I wasn't about to start. Kane wouldn't dare start another round in this sparring match, anyway, not with her around to remind everyone to watch their p's and q's.
And as for her, I'd ignore her so damn hard she would begin to doubt her own existence.
I stepped off the bus and into the blinding early morning sun, my head pounding in protest. The temperature was supposed to be in the low-eighties all week, which was perfect for our final stretch of summer amphitheater concerts. We had six concerts in two states over the course of the next week. It was exhausting, but we loved every minute of it.
Usually.
The bus was tucked behind the diner, which meant I had to walk around to the front to enter. It also meant I was afforded a clear view of the near-deserted dining room as I made my way around the building. The rest of the band was gathered around a long table toward the back of the room, one that offered way more seating than we needed. They seemed to be getting along, no harsh looks or sideways glances at the traitor who sat among them. It wasn’t like a party in there, but it was definitely relaxed and cordial, if only for the sake of appearances.
I knew that wouldn't last long.