Page 86 of Jade

She shook her head. “I’m okay with what I read. I’ll sign. I know you wouldn’t screw me over and we separated everything years ago. Tell me where to be if there’s a final hearing. I want you to have your happiness. I hope she’s good for you.”

“Yeah, I’m not worried about that. I only hope I’m good for her.”

Lila reached across the table and squeezed his hand. “You’ve always been the best, Ryker. I couldn’t handle the pressure of being an adult on my own. And that was on me. I’m sorry.”

He squeezed her hand in return. “Thank you. I’m happy things are turning around for you. If this Marshall guy gives you any shit, let me know and I’ll kick his ass.”

She laughed. “I’ll keep that in mind. Let’s go find that notary.”

Relief and hope flooded Ryker’s chest now that he finally had Lila’s cooperation. He hadn’t seen Jade in-person for two weeks — entirely too long — and he couldn’t wait to return to her. He had a pit-stop to make and a couple more favors to call in, but he would be back with her soon.

Chapter 30

Jade

Three days later

Jade’s sticks found their way across her new drumset like they were guided by magic. Before long, she tapped out the finale on the cymbals.

Perfect.

“You nailed it!” the producer told Jade through her headset.

She could hear Lyra in the background cheering, “Wooooo, you’re on fire, babe!” and she could see her jumping up and down behind the glass window.

Their label had cancelled the rest of the tour and bumped up Lovely Oblivion’s studio time instead. In another month, their new tracks would be ready for the next album. The band was in the studio playing their individual parts for the record so they could be mixed together and perfected later for the tracks.

Jade stood up, pulled off her headset, and bowed to her friends who stood behind the large window that separated the studio from the mixing room. She set the headphones down, then left the recording room to join them.

Life continued and everything returned to normal. Well, their new normal.

After further investigation, VSS determined that Tawny and her accomplice were working on their own. There was no further danger to the band with them in federal prison, charged with murder, abduction, and multiple other counts in multiple states. Tawny would be behind bars for decades.

Lyra’s physical injuries healed, but emotionally she was still working through everything. Jade stayed at Lyra’s place so she wouldn’t be alone and held her through her nightmares when they happened. Luckily, though, Lyra’s therapist was amazing and they were making great progress. In the company of friends, Lyra was almost back to normal. Her struggle was mainly at night when the nightmares came.

Inevitably, and to Jade’s disappointment, Ryker’s team moved on to their next job. Ryker no longer trusted Lovely Oblivion’s old security team so, of course, he hand-picked a brand new team for them. One of those guards stood outside the studio door as they recorded.

Over two weeks had already passed with Ryker away, and Jade hated every minute of it. She missed him so much, her chest physically ached. She found their daily video chats nice, but inadequate after months of constant togetherness. And it seemed she was pouring that frustration into the music.

When she walked into the mixing room, Lyra practically tackled her. “You’re playing better than ever! Whatever you’re doing, keep it up!”

Jade hugged her tight. She didn’t have the heart to tell Lyra that missing Ryker was her muse. Or that the faster she finished her tracks for this album, the faster she could fly out to see him...wherever he was. She thought maybe LA this week, but wasn’t sure.

“Lyra, you’re up next,” the balding, middle-aged producer said. Despite his aged appearance, this guy knew his music, and this album was going to rock.

Lyra released Jade and crossed the room to pick up her guitar.

Jade smiled at her and said, “You’ve got this.”

Lyra nodded and grinned, then she went into the recording room.

Bex, Polly, and Maggie stood by the glass, watching Lyra set up.

Jade sat on one of the leather couches lining the room and pulled her phone out of her pocket.

No recent texts from Ryker.

For fun, she pulled the neck of her shirt down and snapped a cleavage pic. She laughed as she texted it to him.

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