My lips curve. “Since you said please. Okay. Tomorrow. I’m about to get dressed now.”
“You’re happy with your dress?”
“I love it.” I motion behind him to where it hangs. He twists around to look at it and then me. “It’s beautiful, baby. I can’t wait to see it on you.” He rotates and leans on the counter, taking me with him. “One thing I need to tell you about tonight. There’s an after-party which I normally skip, but its Marvin’s birthday and it might be the last one he has with this group. My team rented out a club in the warehouse party district here in downtown Austin.”
“That sounds fun.”
“Ah well—they can be, but they get a little wild.”
My hand slides over his thick stubble. “You look a little wild. You need a shave.”
He runs his hand over his jaw and glances in the mirror. “So I do.” He grabs his overnight kit and pulls out his razor.
“I’ll do it for you,” I offer, and his hand settles on my hip.
“Will you now?”
“If you trust me.”
“I do trust you, Aria.” He catches my waist and lifts me to the sink. “Have you done this before?”
“Oh well. I plead the fifth.”
He laughs a low, rough sexy laugh. “I’ve never let anyone shave me either, so you’ll be the first. The first in so many ways, Aria.”
“The first woman to be trusted with a sharp object. I feel pressure. Let’s hope I don’t cut you now.”
We both laugh and I can almost feel the bond growing between us. And the good news is that I do not, in fact, cut him. I don’t hurt him in any way. I just pray he does me the same favor.
CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN
With his reluctant agreement, I shut Kace out of the bathroom while I finish dressing, wanting to show him the dress once I’m perfectly primped. When I’ve achieved that goal, I nervously open the bathroom door and step into the bedroom. Kace is sitting in a chair, looking like the hottest king of the world ever, with a whiskey glass in his hand. The glass immediately goes on the table and he stands, and God, the man really is gorgeous. Tonight, his longish dark hair is finger spiked, and his rock star image is on full display. He’s in black jeans and a T-shirt paired with biker boots, all of which he’s accented with a black leather jacket. I’ve officially forgotten pretty much everything including my name.
He closes the space between me and him, all male swagger and sex appeal, and when he stops in front of me, his hand presses possessively to my hip, branding me with heat. “You look stunning, baby.”
My hand settles on his chest and I boldly say exactly what I think. “So do you. Always.”
His lips curve. “I’m glad you think so.” He takes my hand and kisses my knuckles. “We need to go. It’s getting late. Tonight, we have the local Texas division of Walker Security on board. They’re waiting on us out front.”
A few minutes later, we step outside to find a huge man in all black with a scar down his face waiting on us beside an Escalade.
“What the hell, Savage?” Kace greets, shaking his hand. “I thought we got the Texas team while here.” Kace glances at me. “This is Rick Savage, who normally works with the New York division of Walker.”
“Hello,” Savage says, fixing me in a friendly but somehow appropriately savage stare. “Don’t let the scar scare you. I killed the guy. He’s not around to bother you.”
I gape and surprise myself by laughing before he turns his attention to Kace. “My lady and I are from Texas. She wanted real Mexican food, so here we are. Besides, who better to pump you up for a show? I know what you need. You know I do. I have the radio tuned to some old-school jams, just the way you like it.”
We load into the vehicle and say hello to the driver, a man Savage calls Dirty Dan, before Savage cranks up the music. The first song “So Into You,” that blasts through the speakers is one that I remember from the nineties by a now MIA singer called Fabolous. I loved that song, and as it plays, Kace whispers the words into my ear. I’m smiling and laughing as we draw close to the hotel and the song shifts. This one though, also a nineties tune, hits home, and carves out a piece of me. It’s an Dr. Dre song featuring Eminem and Skylar Grey called “I Need a Doctor.” The words repeat over and over:
I’m about to lose my mind
You’ve been gone for so long
I’m running out of time
The vehicle stops in front of the hotel and I quickly grab my phone and send a text to Gio: Call me. Stop being an asshole. You’re scaring me. I glance up and Kace is staring at me.
“You okay?”
“Yes, of course,” I say quickly, hoping the music hides strain in my voice. “I’m excited to watch you perform.”
The Escalade is now in front of the hotel entrance and the doors open. Kace has my hand, holding onto me as we scoot across the seat toward his exit, but I manage to drop my phone. He reaches down and grabs it from the floorboard for me, but not without his gaze landing on the text.
He leans into me and slides the phone back into my purse, but in doing so he cups my face and kisses my neck, whispering, “We’ll talk when we get inside.”
I don’t know what that means, but I’m pretty sure it’s a distraction he can’t afford right now, when he’s about to perform. He steps out of the vehicle and then helps me out as well. Savage and Dirty Dan, a tall man with blond hair tied at his nape, are by our sides as we walk beneath an overhang leading to the hotel door, when I hear squeals, followed by “Oh my God, it’s him! It’s Kace August!”
Suddenly, a horde of people, women mostly, surround us, shoving things at Kace, asking for photos and autographs. Kace pulls me close and whispers, “I know this is bad timing. Just stay close.”
Savage and Dan are instantly in action, along with several other men that I assume work for them or the hotel. Kace signs a few photos, but it’s all too much, too overwhelming, all the people who scream for him, the women who tell him they love him. I just want out of the circle we’re in and finally our path is clear. Savage leads us into the building. Once there, Savage and the men escort us past the lobby to a roped-off area that leads to red carpeted stairs. We hurry up them and once we’re on the next level, Kace directs Savage and the other guards to wait. He then pulls me down a deserted hallway and around a corner, where he plants me against a wall, him in front of me, one hand on my waist, the other on the wall by my head. “I’m going to help you find your brother.”
I blanch surprised that is still where his head is right now. “You need to be thinking about the event, Kace.”
“I’m thinking of you and your brother. I’m going to tell Walker to find Gio, at my expense.”
I swallow hard against the rise of emotion in my chest. “You can’t pay my way in the world.”
He glances skyward and then his eyes meet mine, turbulence in their depths. “I had a sister, Aria. I wanted to tell you earlier, but it felt too heavy. It felt like the wrong time.”
“You—you had a sister? You said you were the only one who could inherit your father’s money so his threats didn’t matter.”
“He gave Michelle less respect than he did me. She struggled with my father’s demands, with him running her life. She came on tour with me for a year and left me to go home, with a goal: being her own self. She wanted to be a tattoo artist. Dad blamed me and called her a loser. She killed herself, Aria. She was only twenty-one.”
“Oh my God. Kace, I’m—”
“Don’t say you’re sorry. You know that doesn’t help. What helps is me giving to a charity that does. That’s why I do this. That’s why suicide prevention is a mission for me. And that’s why I know you have to fight for your sibling.” He molds me close. “I’m going to help you. I want to help you.”
Fighting emotion, feeling his passion, his pain, my fingers curl on his jaw. “Thank you. I’m worried. I’m really worried, Kace.”
“I know you are, baby. We’l
l find him. I’ll have Savage meet us in the morning before we leave.” He kisses my hand. “And as for the mob out front. It usually only happens when I’m touring with announced concerts. I’m not wrapped up in my hype. Don’t you be wrapped up in my hype. I’m just a man. A man who’s damn glad you’re here. Let’s go make some money for charity.” His arm wraps around me and together, we walk into a ballroom, and I have a new understanding of Kace. I am fighting for my brother, but he lives every day fighting a battle that started with his father and never seems to end for him.
CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT
We meet many of the charity handlers, as well as Chris and Sara, at the entry to the ballroom hosting the pre-event. Chris and Kace, I decide, really are a perfect pairing, as Chris, too, is a rebel in denim. He’s in jeans, boots, and a blue T-shirt with Live, Don’t Die etched on the front, his brightly colored dragon tattoo on full display. Sara is lovely as always, her long brown hair pinned up tonight, her gown emerald green silk.
Sara and Chris greet me with genuine welcome and as I listen in on talks with the handlers, I quickly learn that the crowd is much larger than the one at the Riptide VIP event, with at least a hundred extra guests. There will be an auction it seems, as well, but each person in attendance has paid a gasp-worthy sum to attend tonight’s performance. All of the proceeds go to the charity. Chris and Kace are taking nothing.
About twenty minutes into the four of us mingling, Kace and Chris take their places at tables near the front of the room to sign autographs, and do so with me and Sara happily in tow. The eagerness to meet them, to chat with them one-on-one for just a moment, creates quite the lines.
When finally showtime arrives, Kace is not shy about kissing me, as Chris does Sara, before the two of them disappear behind the stage. Sara and I are quick to claim our VIP seats side-by-side, up front again. Kace’s entire crew is here, including, unfortunately, Kiki and her ten miles of cleavage in a white silk gown. She waves at me and I give her a nod. Jon Snow took a knee. I will not take a knee for this woman and the wave feels like a knee. Sara nudges me and gives a low laugh. “You really don’t like her.”
“Would you if she were working for Chris?”
“Probably not, but Kace has eyes for no one but you. That’s obvious. And if I might, speaking from experience, with men like Chris and Kace, you will never erase those who admire and define them. It’s part of who they are. It’s how they handle that admiration that defines their character. From what I’ve seen, Kace gets a thumbs-up.”
“He does,” I agree readily, thinking about pretty much everything he’s ever done for me. Thinking about his offer to help find Gio. “And I know he has fans,” I add. “Kiki just rubs me wrong.”
“Well, just remember, she can’t do anything he doesn’t allow her to do. It’s about Kace, not her.”
It’s sound advice, given just as the lights go down and the show starts, and all thoughts of Kiki are gone. To the crowd’s delight, Kace plays songs from horror movies, and Chris paints the characters. Everyone is in the spooky October season, as the crowd starts singing “One, Two, Freddy’s Coming For You,” as Chris paints Freddy Krueger.
There is much more that follows, and we are treated to Kace’s music and Chris’s talent in abundance. Kace plays half the music he performs for the event on his Stradivarius and half on a donated instrument for the auction. His skills are beautiful with either violin, but the Stradivarius is distinct. My ancestor knew what he was doing. Now, the rest of the world still wants to know how and they can’t figure it out. Some say there are people who would kill for that formula—and have, considering my father’s demise—people who believe the family has it hidden. Gio and I would be the only living family.
When the show ends, there are six paintings to auction off and of course, the donated instrument. The final haul for the charity is massive and Kace and Chris are obviously pleased.
When all is said and done, after the chaos at the front of the hotel when we arrived, we are directed to the back door to depart. That is where we say our surprise goodbyes to Chris and Sara. “We’re headed home to San Francisco,” Chris says. “We’ve been gone for weeks.”
“We need to be home for a bit,” Sara adds, hugging me before she looks between me and Kace. “Hope to see you both in two weeks for the final shows.” She smiles at me as they exit the hotel.
Kace takes her lead, catching my shoulders and pulls me close. “I want you to go with me.”
I’m still stunned by the magnitude of this man’s devotion to me and as much as I want to go with him, I feel the pull of home. “I’m just worried about Gio, Kace,” I admit, and it feels good to actually say that to him rather than think it, hide it. I have to tell him everything there is to tell and soon, before we talk to Walker. Is it even safe to trust them? I’ll trust Kace with my secrets. I’m not sure about a bunch of strangers, but can Walker help if I tell them half the story?
“Walker is damn good,” Kace says. “Two weeks from now, if all goes well, you’ll have Gio back.”
“There they are!”
At the sound of Kiki’s voice, Kace rotates us, his arm around my shoulders, as her, Marvin, and really the whole crew, rush toward us. I count ten people. Everyone is singing “Happy Birthday” as they exit the building, but I don’t miss the moment when Kiki looks me up and down.
Kace’s arm is, as always it seems lately, protectively wrapped around me as we follow the crowd out the doors to find Savage and Dan waiting right beside the Escalade. “My instrument?” Kace asks.
“Under guard and fucking key,” Savage assures him.
Dan translates. “On its way to the hotel vault by way of our team. We’ll text you when it’s locked down.”
“Exactly what I said,” Savage snaps and opens the passenger door. Kace and I laugh and load up in our vehicle. Once we’re on the road, I have my first chance to talk about the show with Kace. “I love the entire horror show thing you and Chris did,” I say, once we’re on the road. “That was so unexpected and original.”
“Chris and Sara were close to a young cancer patient who loved horror movies, which apparently, Chris does as well. He really bonded with the kid. A deep bond and the boy didn’t make it. It affects Chris and Sara. I can tell. We’re going to do the same format for the Christmas show in the young man’s honor, and for the benefit of the children’s hospital.”
“Horror at Christmas?” I laugh.
“That will shock the crowd.” He squeezes my leg and lowers his voice, changing the subject. “This party will be nuts. It’s not my thing. You need to know that. Walker is controlling the doors. We’re only attending because it’s Marvin’s birthday and I’m not going to travel with him anymore.”
His concern touches me and I cover his hand with mine. “I know. You told me. It’s all good.”
“We don’t have to stay long and—”
I kiss him, which I intend to make a quick peck, but he cups my head and deepens the kiss, drugging me, owning me oh so easily. “We are definitely not staying long,” he says, stroking my cheek. “I want you all to myself.”
I’m melting in the back of an Escalade that has now halted at our destination. Kace scans the window and I do the same, only to discover that we are now in front of a giant warehouse and already music vibrates through the walls, and people are lined up to enter.
At Savage’s urging, Dan pulls to a side entrance and halts again. This time we exit and enter the building next to a set of stairs. We walk up the wooden steps into a vaulted area where Kace’s entire team is hanging out, along with a ton of new faces. From there, we’re swept into the party atmosphere, sitting at a long wooden table.
His entire crew is funny and wonderful, and soon we are all drinking margaritas, singing along to a wild mix of country, rock, pop, and alternative music. There are women, lots of scantily clad women, but Kace is always right here with me. He makes sure I know, and everyone else knows, we’re together. The
re is cake for Marvin, and more scantily clad women dancing for him. Kace leans in and whispers, “Not my thing, baby. You are. Remember that.”
I’m feeling the buzz of tequila and my hand goes to his jaw, my mouth to his mouth. He kisses the hell out of me and strokes my hair. “Fifteen more minutes,” he says. “Then we leave.”
“I’m going to the bathroom,” I say, “or I might not make the ride home.”
“I’ll go with you.” He wiggles an eyebrow to let me know he has naughty intentions.
About that time, the girls hired to entertain Marvin hop on top of our table, dancing to the song “Bitter” by Fletcher. Kiki is with them and she stops in front of us, squatting down eye level to Kace, as she sings:
I know you think about me when you kiss her
I left a taste in your mouth
Can she taste me now
The very words imply that they’ve slept together and adrenaline surges through me. I’m on my feet in an instant, feeling sick, embarrassed, angry, hurt. Kace tries to stand but the chair hitches. It tumbles over and two half naked girls step between me and him. How appropriate. I’m gone before he can catch me and I don’t go to the bathroom upstairs. I head down the wooden steps to the main dance floor and a mass of hundreds dancing and partying. I weave through the crowd, music pumping through me, trying to find the bathroom and when I’m finally there, there’s a line from hell.
I twist around and head back into the crowd, but I just can’t go back upstairs. I can’t do it. I lean against a wall beside the DJ stand. I shut my eyes, fighting tears that I blame on the tequila. Kace doesn’t get my tears. A tingling awareness has my lashes lifting as Kace steps in front of me. He folds me close, his hand on my face, cheek against my cheek. “Whatever you think that was, it was not. I am crazy about you, Aria.”
I want to believe him, I do, but I’m terrified of being wrong. I press on his chest, feeling as if I’m suffocating in all his perfection that might not be perfect at all. He isn’t having it. He catches my hand and starts walking, taking me with him. We maneuver through the crowd and don’t stop until we’re not only at the exit, we’re outside the building, beside the Escalade. Kace waves Dan off and I don’t know where he goes, but Kace turns me and presses me against the building, his powerful legs shackling mine. “I do not want her. I have not ever touched her, kissed her, or considered any of the above. I want you. Just you. And this isn’t where I planned to do this, but baby, I’m telling you now. I want just you.”
A Reckless Note (Brilliance Trilogy Book 1) Page 20