21 (The List Series)

by Rhonda James

  My heart lurched inside my chest as I clung to him. To me, his words were beautiful, but when combined with the story his eyes told, I knew there was more to his statement. He might not be ready to admit it, but I knew without a doubt that he thought of me as more than a casual fuck. This man wasn’t just a rocker with a dangerous past and a bad reputation with the ladies. Dylan Cross was a beautiful man with an equally beautiful soul. And if he ever let me in, I’d treat it like the treasured gift it was. I could only pray he’d find a way to trust himself enough to hand me his heart.

  ‘Cause he’d damn sure stolen mine.

  CHAPTER 25

  SIN

  The crowd was completely in love with her.

  Victoria had been singing backup the entire set, and it couldn’t have gone better. I’d admittedly been worried about how they’d react to her presence on stage, especially the women, because we’d been performing at the Playground for a month and had developed quite the local following. A following like that would either roll with the changes you introduced, or they would turn on you in an instant. Adding a female backup singer wasn’t something I’d planned on doing, but I knew our voices would sound great together.

  Plus, I didn’t want any regrets when she left me to return to Mount Pleasant tomorrow.

  The waitresses had gone above and beyond to help Blade and Hawk put together a kickass party for V. They had three cakes, and Blade had catered in a crap ton of Mexican food because that was V’s favorite food on the planet. The whole bar had joined me in singing Happy Birthday to her, which ended up making her cry. I’d felt like an ass for that part, but she assured me they were happy tears. Even so, I promised her I’d apologize properly later tonight.

  We were about to close the set when I moved V’s microphone stand next to mine and announced that our last song was going to be a duet. A hush fell over the crowded room when Hawk strummed the intro of Seether’s Broken. I’d thought long and hard about which song I wanted to perform with her, and that song delivered the lyrical punch I was looking for while showcasing V’s incredible vocal range. In fact, I’d bet money she could match Amy Lee note for note.

  Was I proud of my woman? Fuck yeah, I was.

  When the second verse started, V stepped up to the microphone as if she’d spent years performing in front of an audience. She continued to amaze me, because the woman I remembered from years ago had borne none of the confidence she seemed to possess now. I believe her list had a lot to do with that. She came to Panama City looking for an adventure and I hoped like hell I’d been able to make it one she’d never forget.

  We came to the last run of the chorus, and V turned and leaned forward to sing into my microphone. Our mouths were only inches apart when she looked me in the eyes and sang every last word as if she were saying them to me.

  An unfamiliar rush of emotion spread through me like wildfire. My heart pounded so hard in my chest I felt it all the way down to my toes. Looking in her eyes, I was hit with clarity the likes I’d never known…

  I was in love with Victoria Prescott.

  The song came to a close, and before she knew what was happening, I scooped her up and kissed her in front of everyone. Catcalls echoed around us, and she wrapped her legs around me as the kiss deepened. Styx encouraged us to keep going, playing a drum solo and pounding the snare every time our tongues escaped the sloppy yet incredibly satisfying kiss that was taking place in front of the entire fucking crowd.

  I didn’t let her go when the kiss ended. I wanted to hold her against me and feel the quickening of her heart when I finally told her how I felt. She fanned her face with her hand, an indication of how hot that kiss had been (I’m sure it had nothing to do with the fact she’d just spent two hours performing. Nope. I was taking all the credit for that shit.) Then she looked dead at me and grinned from ear to ear.

  “I can’t believe that just happened!” She wiggled excitedly in my arms. “That has to be the greatest high I’ve ever experienced. I love singing with you!”

  “I love you.” She went still in my arms, and her bottom lip started to tremble.

  “What did you say?”

  The corner of my mouth twitched in a smirk. I knew damn well she’d heard me. “You heard me correctly.”

  “I know. I just need to hear it again.” She tightened her hold on my neck and waited.

  “I love you, V. I’ve been in love with you for some time now—I just didn’t realize that’s what love felt like. Then you sang to me, and suddenly it all made sense.”

  “I love you, too, Dylan.” I smiled at her use of my given name. “You want me to sing to you again, or can we go back to kissing?”

  God, this woman…

  Everything about her drove me crazy. From her smart mouth to her teal-painted toes and everything in-between. I loved kissing her. Gazing into her eyes. Holding her. Making love to her. Fuck. I needed to be inside her. Less than ten hours had passed since she’d left my bed, but after tonight, I didn’t know how long it would be before we were together again. She was going home to spend time with her family, while I was stuck here finishing out the remainder of the summer at the Playground. If all we had was tonight, I planned on staying up all night and holding on for as long as I could.

  “How ‘bout we get out of here instead?”

  CHAPTER 26

  V

  “Any thoughts on how you want to spend the last forty-five minutes of your birthday?” Sin asked as we left the stage.

  “In your arms,” I answered.

  “Hmm,” he hummed in my ear. “That leaves a lot of options on the table.”

  “The table sounds good, too.” I giggled.

  “And you called me dirty. I just might have to wash your mouth out with soap when we get home,” he teased and went to kiss me. In that moment, my phone rang in my pocket. “Ignore it.”

  “I can’t,” I murmured against his lips. “It’s probably my mother wanting to wish me Happy Birthday.” I retrieved my phone and saw Sophie’s face flashing on the screen. “Nope. It’s Soph. I’ll call her back—”

  “Oh no, you won’t,” he said, raising the phone to his ear and answering. “Hey, there, Sophie, it’s Dylan. She’s right here and she’d love to talk.” I scowled at him. He stuck out his tongue. It’s not that I didn’t want to talk to my friend, but all our talk of tables and Sin washing me with soap had really turned me on. I wanted to hurry home and get started.

  “I can’t wait to meet you either. You should come down and catch one of our shows. Bring my girl back when you do.” He winked at me. “Here she is.” He handed me the phone and whispered, “Talk to your friend. She misses you. I’ll be having a beer with the guys.”

  “Give me a sec, Soph,” I said before lowering the phone to my shoulder to let Sin know where I was going. “Thanks, baby. It’s a little noisy in here, so I’m going to take this outside.”

  “Just don’t be too long. We have a date with the table when we get home,” he reminded me. When he leaned in for a kiss, I heard Sophie making gagging noises on the other end of the line.

  I waited until I was outside before I went back to the call. “What was that all about?”

  “You two are gross. Remind me never to eat on your table when I come to visit,” she joked.

  “Ha ha. Very funny. Was there a reason you called, or are you just going to give me shit?”

  “Oh yeah! Happy Birthday biotch! Thought I forgot, didn’t you?”

  “Well, you made it with forty minutes to spare—but that’s better than last year, so I guess I’ll forgive you.”

  “So, Dylan sounds yummy. That deep voice... I’ll bet he’s good in bed,” she observed.

  “You won’t hear any complaints from me,” I agreed.

  “Well, did you finish the list, or was ‘sex on the table’ all part of #18?” she quipped.

  “Jeez, bitch. Who pissed in your whiskey this morning?” I snorted.

  “Sorry,” she groaned. “It’s just been a whi
le.”

  “That bad, huh?”

  “Bad enough that I’m asking my best friend for details about her sex life,” she painfully admitted.

  We shared a good laugh until she let out a sigh. “God, I’ve missed laughing with you.”

  “So, come see me. We’ll hang out, get drunk, and laugh our asses off. You know what else we could do? You could come back to Panama City with me, and I’ll introduce you to the drummer. He’s pretty hot,” I tried to lure her.

  For the record, every member of Chaos Rising was hot as hell, but I knew Sophie’s taste in men. She refused to date blonds, and under no circumstances would she ever date a man who dressed better than she did.

  “Ugh. Pass. You know I don’t date musicians. But a getaway does sound like fun. Though, it would have to wait until this play is over. Auditions were last week, and I haven’t heard anything yet, but I just know I’m going to get the part. I mean, how could the director not choose me? I’m perfect for the lead role.”

  She sounded so happy I couldn’t help but smile. “I have no doubt you’ll get it. Just call me when you know for sure, and we can go over the details.”

  “Sounds good. Text me when you get to Mount Pleasant.”

  “I promise to text. Kiss-kiss.” I blew kisses into the phone.

  “Kiss-kiss,” I heard her say before I ended the call. I looked up to head back inside but stilled when I found Michael standing right in front of me.

  “Happy Birthday, Tori.”

  “Michael?” In shock, I felt my phone slip through my fingers, landing next to his shoe. “What are you doing here?”

  He laughed maniacally before reaching out and touching my hair, tucking a strand behind my ear before he spoke again.

  “What kind of question is that? I came to see my girl.” His girl? Where had that come from? I was just about to ask him, but he wasn’t finished talking. “You never called me.”

  “How did you find me?” As the words fell out, it dawned on me. My mother.

  Rather than answer, he ran the back of his hand down my cheek, never taking his eyes off me. Something about him seemed different. Off. He seemed nervous. Jittery. He had dark circles under his eyes, as if he hadn’t slept in days, and his pupils were dilated. His whole demeanor made me uneasy, so I took a step back, eyeing my phone at his feet. His eyes followed mine and he kicked it away.

  “I asked you a question, baby.”

  The endearment made the hair on my neck prickle. The only times he’d ever called me ‘baby’ had been during sex or when he’d tried to get his way. He’d also said it the night I caught him with Chelsea. Every one of those memories made me angry. Angry that I’d spent all those years with someone who could never make me as happy as Sin made me.

  “I believe we said everything we needed to say back in Tallahassee.”

  He threw his head back in another maniacal bout of laughter, but when he stopped, his face twisted into a sneer.

  “I caught your little performance tonight. I found it very touching. I don’t remember you being this sexy when we were together. Were you always this scorching hot?” He smoothed a hand down the front of my shirt and cupped my breast.

  I smacked it away. “Don’t touch me!”

  His nostrils flared as he breathed down on me, anger resonating off every fiber of his body. “You let him touch you.”

  “Please, stop,” I pleaded.

  “You used to beg me to touch you. Remember that?” He leaned in as if he intended to kiss me. “Did he fuck you?”

  “That’s none of your business.”

  “I asked you a question. Are you fucking my brother?” His body shook with every word.

  “I refuse to have this conversation with you, Michael. Please move so I can go back inside.” I tried pushing him out of my way, but his body was a solid wall of muscle. It felt as if I were trying to move a brick wall.

  “You did it to hurt me, right? I fucked Chelsea, so you fucked Dylan to get back at me. You don’t really love him. You’re only with him to make me jealous. You do still love me, don’t you, Tori?”

  I covered my face with my hands and sighed, torn in my answer. I could lie and hope he would fall for it, or I could suck it up and tell him the truth. The same way he’d been honest with me back in Tallahassee. The truth might be hard for his ego to take, but he’d thought nothing of how his words would affect me when he’d delivered them. That wasn’t the case with me. I might not be in love with him, but I still cared enough to not want to see him hurt.

  “No, Michael. I don’t love you that way. Not anymore. You said it yourself. I’m not what you need. And you’re not what I need. I’m in love with Dylan. I’m sorry if that hurts you. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I need to get back to my party.”

  Anger flashed in his eyes and he grabbed me roughly by the arm. “You’re not going back in there. You’re coming with me, and you and I are going to celebrate your birthday alone.”

  “The hell I am. And it’s not my birthday anymore!”

  I jammed an elbow into his ribs, catching him off-guard, and tried making a run for the door, but he grabbed me by the waist and dragged me deeper into the parking lot. I screamed once, but his hand clamped down over my mouth as he yanked me back against his chest.

  “I had you first!”

  I flailed my arms, kicking my heels against his shins, trying anything to get away. The parking lot was dark. The party going on inside the bar was loud and in full swing. No one was around to see or hear what was taking place. He shoved me inside his car and climbed over top of me to get to the driver’s side, preventing me from escaping. Before I could attempt to open the door, he threw the car into gear and floored it.

  “Michael, what are you doing?”

  “Taking what’s mine,” he growled.

  I screamed when the car jumped the curb, nearly taking out the bar’s marquis sign in the process. He had the pedal to the floor and the speedometer indicated we were doing ninety-five miles an hour down a darkened road. I pulled the seatbelt around me and locked it in place, terrified, scared to death of what might occur. His driving was erratic at best and he showed no sign of slowing down.

  “Michael, please don’t do this. Slow down. We’ll go somewhere and talk. We can talk all night if that’s what it takes. Just please slow down because you’re scaring me,” I cried.

  Tears rained down my cheeks, gathering in a pool on my chest. I thought about my mom and dad, and Sophie. How hurt they would all be if something bad happened to me. I thought about Hawk and how I would miss his smile. I thought about Sin and what he must be thinking. He must be wondering where I’d gone. Had he come out to look for me? How would he ever find me?

  Never in my wildest dreams would I have imagined that this morning might have been the last time Sin would hold me in his arms and make love to me. Or that tonight would be the only time I would hear him tell me that he loved me.

  Sin was in love with me, and now we might not get the chance to live out our fairy tale. Three weeks wasn’t long enough. I wanted more time.

  Michael hadn’t eased off the accelerator, and I knew we were approaching a tight curve. I grabbed the handle above the door, bracing myself for what might come. Either he hadn’t seen the curve, or he didn’t care, because it felt as if the car sped up even further.

  “Michael, slow down! You’re going to kill us!”

  We cut into the turn at a high rate of speed and the car began spinning out of control. I caught a flash of the metal guardrail as it whipped past, and the next thing I saw was the giant tree we were about to collide with. I closed my eyes, bracing myself for the impact, and prayed it would all be over quickly.

  CHAPTER 27

  SIN

  Where the hell was she?

  I’d been sitting at the bar having a beer with the guys while V was on the phone with Sophie, who seemed like a nice chick. And from what she said on the phone, it sounded as if she could use her friend. V had warned me that Sophie wa
s quite a talker, so I figured I’d give her a half hour before I went and rescued her. I checked the clock over the bar.

  Shit. Twelve o’clock? Sophie’s call had come through forty minutes ago. What the hell?

  “Any of you seen V?” I asked the guys. By now, I was on my feet and calling her, but her phone rang four times and went straight to voicemail. I tried again.

  “Last time I saw her was after the last song. Why, what’s up?” Hawk must have seen the concern on my face because he stood up and joined me.

  “I don’t know. She went outside to take a phone call. That was nearly forty-five minutes ago, and now she’s not answering her phone.”

  I ran to the door with Hawk hot on my heels. When we got outside, I found no sign of her anywhere.

  “Where the hell could she have gone?”

  “I don’t know, man. Maybe she’s in the bathroom. Chicks take forever in there,” he offered.

  I ran a hand through my hair, trying not to think the worst. She wouldn’t leave. No way in hell she would do that to me. Something definitely wasn’t right about any of this.

  “Fuck!” When I kicked at the ground, the toe of my boot connected with something, sending it sliding across the asphalt.

  “What the hell?” Hawk knelt down to pick it up. “Sin, isn’t this her phone?” He held up the sparkly teal case, and my heart sank.

  Please, God. No.

  The air left my lungs as my heart beat hard, my mind running through all the possible scenarios.

  I whipped my head around when I heard a scream and then the sound of a car roaring to life across the parking lot. Tires squealed as the car shot across an empty section of asphalt and went straight by us. Everything happened in what felt like the blink of an eye, but I caught a glimpse of the driver and a flash of dark chestnut hair in the passenger seat.