The Luminous Rock Series Box Set

by K E Osborn

  “Thanks, Livvy, I’ve loved having you guys here. It means so much you came all this way for me… for us. We’ve all loved having you here.”

  I smile and nod. “I agree. It’s been great meeting you,” I say as someone appears to our side. We all look up to see Lilah looking very stone-faced holding a notepad and pen.

  I tense up as does Effa while I glare at Lilah wondering what the hell she wants.

  “Welcome to Kammie’s. Can I take your order?” Her tone’s flat and unwelcoming as I let out an exhale louder than I meant to, making Donny look to me, then to Lilah, then back to me again.

  “I think, we’ll all have a round of creampie and some of those famous Heart Attack milkshakes. What do you say, guys?” Donny asks.

  I nod, agreeing with anything just to get rid of Lilah.

  “Sounds great,” Effa replies, folding up her menu and handing it to Lilah as she looks at her chewing on her bottom lip furiously.

  Lilah grabs all of our menus, places her notepad in her apron and walks off, her feet stomping loudly as she leaves. I relax back into the booth and shake my head.

  Donny looks at me and clears his throat. “That was your ex, wasn’t it?”

  I groan and crack my neck to the side. “Yeah… long story.”

  “Seems like there’s bad blood there?” Livvy queries.

  “Oh, yeah… there is.”

  “From you or her?” Donny asks, and I shake my head.

  “Her, Donny. She’s the reason I left Ligonier,” I reply and Donny raises his brow.

  “Ooh… I see… oh, well, her loss is my daughter’s gain. More fool her I say,” Donny beams.

  “Exactly. Without that crap happening, I wouldn’t be here today with Effa by my side living in utter contentment,” I reply wanting her dad to remember how I feel about Effa as I look into her eyes while she smiles.

  “Oh, he’s so sweet. Isn’t he sweet, Donny?” Livvy chimes and I chuckle.

  “He’s saying all the right things, that’s for sure.”

  Effa chuckles leaning her head on my shoulder as Donny looks at me and nods in mutual understanding. He knows I’m going to take care of his little girl, for the rest of my life. I won’t let anything, especially not Lilah come between us.

  And as if on cue, Lilah turns up at our table carrying a tray with our food and drinks. She places them on the table as an awkward silence befalls us all. I try not to look at Lilah as she lifts up the tray and huffs. “Enjoy your meal.” Her voice is low, almost like she’s sad. It sends a shudder through me as I keep my eyes down low, purposely not looking at her.

  Lilah goes to walk off when Effa reaches out grabbing her arm. I can’t help but look up this time as I furrow my brows. Lilah turns back looking at Effa who’s holding onto her arm.

  Lilah glares at Effa as she lets her go and sighs. “Lilah, I know there’s bad blood between you and Kaden. What you did to him all that time ago… well, yeah, that was unforgivable. But I’m going to be spending a hell of a lot more time in Ligonier, so we need to all get along. I don’t want us coming into Kammie’s and avoiding each other. I’d like us to be friends or at the very least civil to each other. I’d like for you and Kaden to move past what happened. We all know there’s no going back for you two. So instead of going back, move forward…” she looks to me and then back to Lilah, “… both of you. You’re both holding onto so much pain from the past. If you just let it go, we could save all the awkward tension every time we see each other.”

  I take a deep breath knowing that holding onto this anger isn’t healthy, and what fucking good is it doing anyway especially now that I’ve sorted my shit with Johnny. I don’t want Lilah back—ever. So what’s the point in hanging on to this bad blood between us? There’s none. So if Lilah’s willing to let this go and move forward, then I will too.

  Lilah takes a deep breath standing up a little taller. “Seein’ y’all come into my town… it’s a little hard to swallow. Knowin’ Kaden’s moved on to bigger and brighter things… better things. Yeah… it’s hard. While I stayed here, doin’ the same old stuff, bein’ the same old Lilah. My life has become stagnant while Kaden moved forward. And seein’ y’all here, happy, and together… it hurts. I still hold feelin’s for ya, Kaden, I’ve been quite clear ‘bout that. But seein’ the way you look at Effa, I know ya never looked at me that way, even when we were totally serious ‘bout one another. It’s just I wanted my life to be somethin’, too… and well, I’m nothin’ more than a diner girl. You got out there, Kaden. You did what you said you were gonna do. You found someone special, and I’m left here bein’ borin’ and without you. You were the love of my life, and I monumentally screwed it up. I have to live with that now. I’m jealous of the life you’ve created, and the amazin’ people you’ve met. I mean fuck! Effa you just proved how amazin’ y’all are, by talkin’ to me like that. I’m sorry if I’ve made things awkward for you guys, I promise I’ll try to not be so utterly jealous of y’all from now on, though.”

  Now, I feel even fucking worse. I knew she wanted me back, and that her somber looks were because she was pining for me and for a better life. And I’m throwing it in her fucking face every time I walk in with the Luminous crew and with Effa by my side. I’m showing her what she missed out on. I feel like shit, but I think I can help her.

  “I’m sorry I never looked at you that way, Lilah, you’re right… but I do know someone who does. You need to give Johnny a chance. He’s only holding back out of respect for me, but there’s no point in that. If you two have an attraction then why not explore it? Don’t hold back because of me. Honestly, though, I am sorry about how things went.”

  “No. I’m the one who needs to apologize, Kaden. For everythin’. I made my life the way it is, and I’m the only one who can fix it. I just need to figure out how and with who.”

  Effa weakly smiles and grabs Lilah’s hand. “You’re a strong, independent woman, Lilah. You can do absolutely anything you put your mind to. Just believe in yourself, and you can achieve greatness.”

  “She’s right, Lilah. That’s what I told Effa and look at what she’s achieved. If my Effa can do what she’s done from a small town in Australia, then imagine what you can do,” Donny encourages.

  I smile, looking up at Lilah and nod. “You have the strength to be anything you want, Lilah… I believe in you.”

  She looks at me, her eyes watering and she nods as she blinks rapidly trying to keep the tears at bay. “Thank you, all of y’all. I better go, though. I do have customers. But tomorrow, I’ll have a chat with Johnny and see where things go.”

  “There you go, I’m sure it will all work out for you. Life is for living and not regretting,” Effa chimes as she smiles at Lilah.

  She looks at me and nods her head once, and I nod back. We’ve tried to clear the air, there’s still shit we should probably hash out, but at least it’s a step in the right direction. At least we can move forward without this bullshit tension we’ve had surrounding us, and it’s all because Effa stepped in and attempted to clear the air. She’s very special my woman.

  Shaking my head, I look to Effa as she faces me and Lilah walks off. I chuckle and Effa smiles so wide I wanna kiss every inch of that smile from her face. “You…” I murmur and she continues to grin.

  “You’re welcome,” she replies leaning in and planting a kiss on my lips, the tingle shooting straight down my spine like it does every single time I kiss her, and all the while Livvy and Donny keep chuckling opposite us.

  “That’s my daughter, always the peacekeeper and making people feel their worth. I’m proud of you, Effa. That can’t have been easy for you,” Donny beams.

  “I hated that she always looked so sad when she was around us. Tension is never a good thing. People should be happy and carefree, live in the now, and spend every day in the moment. Don’t waste it being hostile about shit that can be sorted out or even fixed. Right?”

  I glance at her and nod. “Right. I knew you were in my
life for a reason. You make me see straight and keep me in line.”

  She smiles and grabs the fork for her pie, spooning a piece and bringing it to her mouth. “And I need you to keep me in line… and for pie… mainly for pie.” She smirks, shoving it into her mouth then lets out a small moan as the rest of us laugh while she devours the creampie.

  “So darling, how long till you can go back on tour?” Livvy asks.

  Effa shrugs and her smile falls slightly. I know she wants to get back to it sooner rather than later for her fans. But she needs to put herself first and foremost. Plus, I’m not sure I want to go back so soon, with Kiera still going through her treatments and with her procedure looming.

  “The doctor thinks I should wait it out until the start of the New Year and go back in January sometime. The only trouble is that’s nearly four months away, and I feel like that’s too long for the fans to wait.”

  Pursing my lips, I exhale clenching my jaw. I know she wants to go back, but surely she knows her recovery is more important.

  “When do you want to go back?” Livvy asks.

  She shrugs. “Early November… December at the latest.”

  I huff, and Donny shifts uncomfortably in his seat as Livvy looks to me and then shifts her eyes back to Effa. “Darling, don’t you think you might be pushing it a little? December’s a hard month. It’s Christmas… will people really want to go to a concert in December?”

  Effa smiles. “Bands tour in December, Livvy. We won’t set up dates around the holiday period, though. I know it’s totally doable.”

  “But are you able to do it, Effa? I mean, you need to think about whether you’re actually capable of performing that many concerts in a row. You need to really think this through. You don’t want to start up again and then have to postpone. That would do more damage than good to be perfectly frank with you,” Donny suggests.

  Exactly what I was thinking.

  She weakly smiles and nods. “I’m not planning anything just yet. I need to talk it through with Luke and see what he thinks. I need to see how I’m feeling in a few weeks and we can reassess then. Nothing’s set in stone, for now anyway.”

  Donny and Livvy nod as I relax a little knowing she isn’t set in her ways completely. She’s so damn headstrong, it will be hard to shift once she’s made her mind up.

  “So, what are you going to do with your spare time?” Livvy asks, and Effa turns to look at me raising her brow like she has something on her mind.

  I wonder what she’s about to say as she turns back to Livvy and takes a deep breath. “Well, I have this idea. I haven’t spoken to anyone about it yet, so I’d like to run it by all of you to see what you think.” She swallows hard and clears her throat. “So, going through this experience of being drugged got me to thinking. Maybe I need to use this negative and turn it into a positive?”

  “I’m listening?” I acknowledge.

  She glances at me with a smile. “I feel like the overdose happened for a reason, and I came out of it for a purpose. I think I know what that purpose is now…” she pauses while we all stare at her. “I want to start a foundation for people who’ve been through this crime. Patients who need help with recovery and emotional support. People who’ve gone through a process like mine and come out the other side, but don’t have the help like I do.”

  Smiling wide, I shake my head and wrap my arm around her shoulders pulling her to me as Donny and Livvy both grin wide. “Effa, I think this is great. You’ll be a perfect ambassador for a foundation like that. I’m proud of you,” I tell her, and she smiles as she looks at me.

  “You think so?” she chimes.

  “I know so,” I reply as I lean in and kiss her tenderly.

  I’m so proud of her for taking a bad experience and turning it into a positive for others. She really is something special my woman. And I know not only I see that, but soon, the whole world will know it too. There’s a reason she’s called Effervescent, it’s because she makes everything around her so much better, and I for one, can’t wait for the day that I can tell the entire world she belongs to me.

  Now, though, we have to get her better so the tour can restart, because there’s a message from Hex burning a hole in my pocket, and I honestly don’t know how long I can hold the fucker off without paying my debt to him. If I can’t fix this shit, I’m going to have a bookie and his men on my doorstep, and that’s something I don’t want. This is the one time, the one secret, that I absolutely don’t want Effa knowing about. Because if there’s one thing Jett fucking Jones got into my head about, it’s that I don’t want to use Effa for her money. If she knew I was in desperate need of cash, I know she’d hand it to me in a heartbeat.

  I won’t do that to her.

  I won’t be that guy who depends on my girlfriend for her money.

  Even if it gets me fucking killed, I’m going to hold onto this secret.

  Chapter Eighteen

  MERCS

  Start of November

  Growing up, watching your sister develop into an amazingly beautiful woman, watching her blossom into this bright spark of energy, is something so powerful you can’t describe it. The day we got the diagnosis that she was sick, my world came crashing down around me. Especially because Mom had died from the same thing.

  But Kiera has something Mom never had. She has the support and love of the most amazing people behind her. Not just Gran and me, but Effa and all of the people surrounding her. I don’t know what I would have done without Effa’s help. Knowing that without her, we wouldn’t be here today, in the hospital about to go through with the procedure for Kiera. After having the chemo, her body is now ready for my stem cells to merge with her blood and hopefully heal her.

  And I’m nervous as fucking hell.

  I pace the hospital room as everyone chats like this isn’t the biggest day of my fucking life. A hand reaches out grabbing my arm halting me from pacing, and I turn to see Gran. She looks at me, her eyes glistening, her face worn and weathered like mine is right now, and I take a deep breath as she weakly smiles at me. “She will be fine, Kaden. We’re all here for her. There’s power in numbers. All of us here has to be good energy for her,” Gran offers.

  Effa steps up beside Gran and wraps her arm around her. “Absolutely. The more of us thinking about Kiera and wishing her good health, the more likely there’s a better outcome. She’s going to be fine, Kaden. You wait and see. She’ll be back in here in no time, happy and healthy,” Effa encourages.

  I nod while taking in a long breath, and lean back against the wall as Effa lets go of Gran, stepping up to me and looking into my eyes. “Trust me. She is fine. I can feel it.”

  I love that she’s so calm about this. My beautiful woman is trying to make me feel better. When she says she feels like Kiera’s fine, I believe her. Effa always has this incredible sense of knowing what’s going on around her. So I have to trust her in this. “Thank you, for being here. Thank you for making this happen. If you didn’t step in—”

  “Stop! I did step in, and Kiera’s going to be fine. This will work, and she’s going to live a long and happy life.” She glances over to Raoul who’s looking dejected as he sits quietly in a chair by the door. “A long, happy life with Raoul,” she adds just to fucking tease me.

  I roll my eyes with a chuckle. “You had to throw that in, didn’t you?”

  She giggles as a rolling sound catches my attention, and I turn toward the door to see Kiera being brought in on her bed. My chest squeezes as the room falls into silence.

  Kiera lifts her head as she’s wheeled through the door. “Don’t all stop talking on my account. Surely you have gossip you can fill me in on?” she quips. Her voice is hoarse and strained like she’s ridiculously tired. I move forward and grab her hand as she gives me a weak smile, and Gran shifts to the other side of the bed, while Effa steps in beside me.

  “How do you feel?” I ask running my thumb up and down the back of Kiera’s hand.

  “Tired, but pretty m
uch the same as I did when I went in. It was just a blood transfusion. I wasn’t knocked out. They just gave me some of your super blood. And ba-da-bing, ba-da-boom, I’m cured!”

  I let out a small laugh and shake my head. “Easy as that, huh?” I ask.

  “Seems so easy for something that costs so much. There must be some sort of big deal aftercare for all this money. I’m expecting lobster and champagne meals.” She giggles, and we all laugh with her.

  Gran nods. “And I’ll be here, sweetheart. For all of it. Don’t you worry about a thing.”

  I swallow hard and glance to Effa. There’s been a hell of a lot of discussion about the band going back on tour. They have their opening band set up, and they don’t want to keep their fans waiting longer than necessary. I get it. It’s good marketing, but I don’t think in all good conscience I can leave right now.

  I look to Effa and then look back down to Kiera. “And I’ll be here for you, too. I’m not going anywhere either. No matter how long it takes.”

  I can’t help but feel Effa tense up beside me and feel all the eyes in the room fall to me. I know I’m letting the Luminous crew down, but sometimes—no all the time—family comes first.

  Kiera is the one to speak. “Kaden, what about the tour? Isn’t it starting back up soon?”

  I wince. “Yeah, but I’m not exactly sure when.”

  Luke clears his throat. “Actually, I can help with that. I have a reactivation date for two weeks. I was going to tell everyone this afternoon once we knew you were okay, Kiera, but I guess now is as good a time as any.”

  Everyone shifts in the room uncomfortably. I exhale and nod. “I can’t come with you guys. I hope you understand why.” Then I turn to look at Effa, her eyes are sad as she weakly smiles but nods placing her hand on my back for comfort.

  Kiera shakes her head and exhales. “No. This is stupid. Kaden, what’s the point?”