The Complete Tempest World Box Set

by Mankin, Michelle

He frowned. “Lace.” My name sounded like a plea on his lips.

  “When were you planning to tell me about the Morris deal?”

  “Nothing has been finalized,” he said defensively. “I was just putting out feelers. We’ve all talked about how totally undervalued we are by Black Cat.”

  “That’s not what I heard.” My eyes burned with unshed tears, and I forced my heart to harden. “It’s really scary to me how quickly you abandon those who are loyal to you.”

  “It’s not like that, Lacey.” A tiny flicker of something I hoped was shame flashed in his eyes.

  “Bullshit. It’s exactly like that,” I said, letting my anger loose. “I don’t know how you can stand there and look me in the eye and say that.”

  “Because you don’t know everything.” A muscle twitched in his jaw. “You need to give me a chance to explain before you push me away. Don’t make the same mistake you did after you found out about RCA. Now, just like back then, it was never part of the plan to abandon you. If you’d stuck around instead of leaving me and hooking up with Martin, you would’ve found that out, and things would’ve turned out differently.”

  “That’s ancient history,” I said, sad about all the many mistakes by both of us that couldn’t be undone. “Tell me how this time is any different. Now’s your chance. I’m listening.”

  He didn’t speak, so I continued.

  “I’ll tell you then. This time it’s worse. This time there are three people you’re screwing over. There’s only one person you’re ever really looking out for, War, and that’s yourself.”

  “That’s not true. I was looking out for you, and Bryan too.”

  I shook my head. He didn’t get it. “War, you go off and do these things, like with RCA and Morris. You make these monumental decisions that will have a drastic effect on people’s lives, and yet you don’t stop to ask for or even to consider their opinions or feelings. That’s not normal behavior. That’s manipulative and self-serving.”

  “Oh, so now after your near-death experience, you’re an expert on psychology.” His face twisted with cruelty I hadn’t allowed myself to see before, or maybe I had and thought my love would make a difference. “You accusing me of being manipulative—that’s a little hypocritical, don’t you think, considering you were screwing around on me with my best friend?”

  I sucked in a sharp breath. The monitor beeped faster with my increased heart rate. “War.” This time my voice was plaintive.

  “I knew he always had a thing for you, Lacey, but fuck. I trusted him, and I trusted you.”

  “I know.” Tears stung my eyes. “I’m sorry.”

  He turned his back to me. The line of his shoulders was stiff below the ends of his hair. “How long has it been going on?”

  I sighed, but he deserved the truth. “Only the one time, and it was me that’s to blame for it.”

  His shoulders dropped, but when he turned around, I powered on.

  “But it doesn’t really matter, does it?” My gaze slid from his, and I looked out the window, watching slivers of orange peek through the gaps in the metal window blinds. The sun was finally setting on this disastrous day. And it was time to end this relationship that had gone on for far too long.

  I slid off the ring that I never should have accepted and held it out to him. “Here. You and I both know this isn’t going to work anymore.”

  War’s expression darkened and he looked away again. “Keep it,” he said, his voice gruff.

  “No.” I shook my head. “Maybe you can get your money back.”

  “Yeah.” His gaze came back to me like a slingshot. “What about my heart that you’re ripping to shreds?” He took a step closer, his eyes unmistakably glassy. “How am I gonna get that back? Lacey, you almost died. I realized a lot of things while you were there in the ICU. Mostly, how much you mean to me. I’m sorry about the Morris deal, and the way I handled the RCA thing. But I believe we can get past that if you’ll try. Let’s start again. There’s still time to work things out.”

  My bottom lip trembled. This was the sweet side of War, the part of him that had stolen my heart at the beginning. “We’re not kids anymore, Warren. It’s too late for do-overs.”

  Warm tears of regret spilled onto my cheeks. What remained of this battered and bruised heart of mine would always belong to another, and that wasn’t fair to War.

  I held out the ring, but he reached out and closed my fingers around it.

  “Keep it. To remember the good times.” War held my eyes for a long moment, shared sadness flowing wordlessly between us.

  I would keep the ring to remember the things that had gone right, to remind me that love was possible, even though War’s love was flawed, and mine for him was too. With our hearts both belonging elsewhere—to someone else in my case, and to the band in his case—we were never the right people for each other.

  War gave me a tight nod of acceptance before leaning down to kiss my forehead, a strand of his hair trailing through the wetness on my cheek as he straightened.

  He paused in the doorway to whisper, “Good-bye, Lacey,” and then he was gone.

  • • •

  When my eyes opened again, I discovered that the room had fallen into shadow. It was silent except for the slow, quiet beeping of the heart monitor. Scanning the room, I found a familiar figure slumped in the chair.

  “Dizzy,” I croaked, my throat dry.

  He shifted, the leather of the lounger groaning beneath his weight, but he continued to snore. When I swallowed and tried again, my brother opened his eyes and blinked the sleep away.

  “You okay?” he asked, rising and crossing to my side. The concern in his amber eyes made me determined to reassure him.

  “Not yet, but I will be,” I said with forced confidence.

  He didn’t speak, but his expression softened and he covered my hand with his.

  “I really screwed up everything, Diz. You were right the other day about my life being out of control. I’ve been living on the edge for a while. It was only a matter of time before I fell off.”

  “What are you going to do?”

  I took in a fortifying breath. “It’s too deep a hole and too steep a climb to get out of as quickly as I’d like. I’m going to take it one step at a time . . . and the first step is rehab.”

  “Good. I’m glad to hear that. I couldn’t stand to ever see you like that again. I love you.” He smoothed a hand over my hair. “I wish I’d done things differently. When we moved in with Uncle Bruce, I thought that you didn’t need protecting anymore. At least, that’s what I told myself, so I wouldn’t feel guilty. I never should have—”

  “Stop.” I put my hand on his arm. “You protected me when it mattered. Really. The mess I’m in right now is my own.”

  Dizzy frowned, regret swimming in his eyes. “I want to help any way I can.”

  “I appreciate that.” I gave him a tentative smile. “But this is something I have to do for myself. And if we’re being honest here, I think you’ll admit that you’ve got issues of your own that need sorting through.”

  He dropped his head, refusing to meet my eyes.

  “Mom really screwed us both up good,” I whispered.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT

  Bryan

  With one arm slung over my eyes, I lay in my bunk on the bus with the curtain pulled closed. I had my earbuds in, but no music, just static. Endless, purposeless, white noise filled my ears, like the life that stretched out before me without Lace in it.

  I hadn’t heard War come onboard yet. He was probably still at the hospital with her. That’s where I would be if I were him.

  “I love you.”

  Her saying those words to him instead of me cut deep. It was wrong, yet it replayed in my brain on an endless loop.

  Baring my soul to her, exposing the ugly truth about the Morris deal, none of that changed her mind. I’d always believed deep down that someday we would be together. I’d purposefully kept my relationships distant or
chosen ones destined to fail, anticipating, hoping that one day she would be mine.

  But now I was going to have to figure out how to move forward and start to live a real life without her. Maybe with a new band. Could I stand it? Seeing her with War again? I turned over on my side and punched the pillow.

  The curtain on my bunk slid back, startling me, and Dizzy poked his spiky head into the gap. “You awake, man?”

  “Yeah.” I pulled my earbuds out. “How is she?” I asked because I had to know, even though I had no right to, even though I knew I should cut the fucking cord that bound us together.

  Might as well rip out my own heart. It belonged to her.

  “She’s in a good place, all things considered,” Dizzy whispered. After a glance behind him, he said, “Listen, why aren’t you answering your cell? She’s been trying to call you. She wants to talk to you before they transfer her to the rehab facility.”

  “Yeah, so?” I shrugged noncommittally.

  “Are you okay?” Dizzy scratched his head as he studied me.

  “Just too many hours awake, I guess.”

  “All right. If you say so.” Dizzy didn’t look entirely convinced. “Here’s the number at the hospital.”

  I glanced at the piece of paper he handed me. The number on it was in her handwriting. I wanted to trace it with my finger, but resisted somehow.

  “Call her, okay? She really wants to talk to you, and she can’t talk to anyone once she gets there because she’ll be in lockdown.” Giving me one last pointed look, Dizzy slid the curtain back into place.

  Once more, I was alone with only my thoughts to torture me. I flipped onto my back and stared without blinking at the metal ceiling of the bus, staring so long my vision blurred. I wanted to hear that beautiful voice of hers, but what would that accomplish? What was left for her to say? Nothing I wanted to hear, I was sure.

  I crumpled the note in my fist and tossed it at my feet.

  • • •

  Lace

  I stared out the window, watching the night give way to the morning as the sun rose above the clipped hedges that lined the perimeter of the Second Chances rehab facility.

  Outside, I could hear the fountain softly gurgling, but inside, a torrent of conflicting emotions drowned out all but the futile rage within me. I’d been able to keep my mind occupied while I filled out reams of admission paperwork, then met the staff and been shown to my quarters.

  But now I was alone.

  Overwhelmed and adrift, I longed for a shot of something to numb the pain. It would be so much easier to escape into the drugs than to face what lay before me.

  Why hadn’t Bryan called? I’d delayed the transfer for over an hour, hoping to hear from him. I loved him so desperately that I’d take anything from him, but I hadn’t gotten anything.

  A dark wave of emptiness crashed over me, leaving me hollow in its wake. This was even worse than the morning after prom. Worse than the first betrayal by War. Worse than Martin.

  Because now, I didn’t have a backup plan.

  This time, there was no one waiting in the wings to help. The one I’d always counted on to catch me when I fell was ominously absent and silent. And the truth was, I had no one to blame but myself. I’d fallen too far and pushed him away one too many times.

  I fell back onto the mattress and turned onto my side, the cheap polyester comforter scratchy against my wet cheek.

  This time I was truly on my own.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE

  Bryan

  I glared poisoned daggers at War’s back as he walked offstage after our lackluster performance at the arena in Miami.

  My former best friend and I were no longer on speaking terms. If it weren’t so pathetically sad, it would almost be comical the way we communicated now, using other people as intermediaries. Though it hadn’t been too much of a problem during the Miami sound check, it had been a big problem during the concert. It was really fucking hard to hit your cues when your lead singer wouldn’t make eye contact with you.

  After the encore, Dizzy had cursed up a storm and stomped offstage with the latest groupie in tow. From their position against the far wall, King and Sager continued to cast dubious glances my way as they conversed with a couple of roadies.

  Watching War with his arms thrown around two women did nothing to improve my foul mood. How could he do that to Lace when she’d given him her love, and he’d supposedly given her his?

  Apparently, he could manage just fine, and two weren’t enough for him. He crooked his finger to get the attention of a brunette whose blouse was so low cut, I could see her nipples.

  My eyes burning with anger, I took another drag on my cigarette as War made out with all three of them.

  Asshole.

  So intent was my focus that I practically jumped out of my skin when someone laid a hand on my arm. My gaze swept over the curvy form of an ebony-haired beauty as her black-painted fingernails traced a line to the center of my bare chest.

  “Bullet,” she purred. “Don’t you wanna get laid?”

  I froze. Sure I did, but not tonight and not by her. I was so sick of this fake shit. I might not have Lace, but I wanted something better than this, something real.

  Then I looked at the woman again, really looked at her. Behind the outward overtly sexual display, I knew that there was a living, breathing person inside, one with feelings. That’s something I couldn’t ignore anymore, and wouldn’t settle for anymore.

  Her hand trembled, and she definitely had stars in her eyes. She couldn’t be much older than my sister Miriam. In fact, I’d very carefully avoided thoughts like these for a long time. But all these women who threw themselves at us had one thing in common.

  Hope.

  Hope to hook up with someone famous. Hope that they’d be the one to tame one of us. Hope that when we hooked up with them, it would be the start of something beautiful, and not just a sex act.

  One time, never twice. Leave ’em satisfied, but always leave ’em.

  I couldn’t do it anymore.

  The loud sound of a slap had me turning my head just in time to see War disappear inside the temporary dressing room with his trifecta.

  Hell, fucking no.

  “I’m sorry, babe.” I gently removed the woman’s hand from my arm. “It’s not you. It’s me. Maybe . . .” But she’d already turned away and moved to Dizzy before I’d even finished speaking. Appeared she was about to make him a similar proposition.

  So much for my attempt to save the world, one groupie at a time.

  At the sound of Brutal Strength’s set starting in the background, I skirted around a group of tour personnel and didn’t stop to knock at the door I’d seen War enter. I threw it open so hard, it clanged against the cinderblock wall. In spite of that, it took several moments before anyone inside even noticed me.

  His leather pants unlaced and his legs splayed wide, War sat lazily on a folding chair, guzzling whiskey straight from the bottle. The woman kneeling between his legs was going down on him while he watched the other two women going at each other.

  One of the girl-on-girl duo glanced over at me. “Hmm, Bullet’s here. Come on over, baby.”

  War’s head snapped up, and he glared at me. “You’re not invited to this party, Jackson.” He took a long swig from the bottle. “Now get the fuck out!” he shouted at me before pushing the woman’s head back down.

  I saw red, total fire-engine red. Sirens blaring in my ears, the works.

  I stepped into the room. “Give us a minute, ladies.” My voice was cool, but inside, I was on fire, shaking mad.

  The woman in front of War sat back on her heels and gave me a confused look. When I glared at her, she wiped her mouth and motioned for the other two to follow her out of the room. As soon as the door closed, I spun around to face War.

  Our illustrious lead singer laced up his pants and met me in the center of the room, his own eyes ablaze. “This better be a fucking emergency.”

  Furious,
I took a step forward and shoved him with both hands.

  “What the fuck, man?” War knocked my hands aside and gave me an equally hard shove back. “You busting in here just to pick a fight with me?” He mockingly crooked the fingers of both hands. “Well, come on, Bullet. Bring it. Though I don’t get you at all, man. It’s me that should want to beat in your fucking face in for what you did to me.”

  All the anger and hurt I felt about Lace choosing him instead of me coalesced into my clenched fist. I reared back and let War have it.

  There was a satisfying smack as my fist connected with his jaw, sending a shock wave all the way back to my shoulder. The force of it knocked War clear off his feet. His body slammed into the liquor cabinet, and bottles of booze fell like rain off the shelf, crashing onto the concrete floor.

  He scrambled to his feet and rubbed his jaw. “You bastard! You’re the one who fucking screwed my woman!” Then he came at me like a blitzing middle linebacker.

  I managed to dodge him just as the door flew open and Dizzy, Sager, and King burst into the room.

  As I was rounding on War, Dizzy stepped between us. King grabbed my arms from behind, and Sager did the same to War. I saw the PR chick from Black Cat had followed them into the room. Beth closed the door behind her.

  “Let me go!” I struggled to break free from King’s grasp. The guy was the same height as me but built like a fucking tank. I couldn’t budge him.

  My gaze flashed back to War. “You don’t fucking deserve her, asshole. She loves you, man. She almost died barely twenty-four hours ago, and you’re getting yourself a blow job the minute she’s not around.”

  “Used to love me,” War muttered. “She served me walking papers at the hospital.” He shrugged out of Sager’s grasp. “I didn’t start this shit.”

  Holy shit. Lace broke it off with War!

  I staggered back, remembering her message. She’d tried to call me before she went into rehab. My mind reeling from the implications of this earthshattering news, I didn’t even notice that King had released me.