Page 110 of Rock On

“Go re-pack your shit. I’ll take care of River’s stuff, but you’re packing for Vegas. In fact, I’ll see if there are seats on one of the next flights.”

“I can’t just go?—”

“Do you have any idea the hell I’ve lived through with you the last three years?” she demanded, hands on her hips. “I love you and I would be here for you all over again if I had to, but not without a fight. You and Tommy are not doing this again. I repeat, not under my watch. So get your skinny ass up the stairs. Now. Go.”

“But—”

“Don’t make me throw you over my shoulder.”

I snorted. “Good luck with that.”

“What, I drag patients around all day long. Or I did in the ER. So I’ve got muscles. And you’re a hundred pounds soaking wet.”

“One fifteen,” I muttered as she practically chased me up the stairs.

The next thing I knew, I was packed, and she had me booked on a flight in three hours. Which was barely enough time for us to get out the door and for her to get us to the airport.

“I don’t think this is a good idea,” I repeated over and over through packing, getting dressed, and walking out to her SUV.

“Don’t make me smack you,” she snapped.

“You’re being really crazy right now,” I whispered, grimacing as if I were afraid of her. I wasn’t, but it was sweet to see her reaction. She was fiercely protective of me, always had been, and never more so than since I’d had River.

“Because I watched you spiral without him, and I refuse to let you do it again. Period. End of story. You screwed up, but—” She stopped talking as my phone rang and Freya’s name flashed on the screen.

“Holy shit,” I whispered, showing it to her. “What should I do?”

“Answer it!” she said, making a hurry up motion with one hand since the other was on the steering wheel.

“Relax. Geez. And be quiet.” I answered the call on speaker. “Freya. Hi.”

“Hi, Harley.”

“I don’t even know what to say to you right now,” I admitted. “I’m so angry, but more than that, I’m hurt. How could you betray me like that? I thought what we talked about stayed between us. I never would have confided in you if I thought you would somehow use it against me.”

“Oh, don’t be so dramatic. It’s a song. They still get paid. Everyone is happy.”

“Uh, not me. Not the band. What’s wrong with you?”

“It was you or me,” she said after a short hesitation. “I’m sorry. I really am. But that cunt had me over a barrel.”

I grimaced at the language since River was in the back seat.

“What does that mean?” I asked, hoping he was focused on the movie that was playing.

“It means she knows something that could derail my political career. In the grand scheme of things, this was nothing for you or the band. You and Tommy will be fine. He’ll forgive you. Onyx Knight will be fine too. They’re going to re-record their masters anyway—and let me tell you how pissed she was to hear that. Made my day to hear her freaking out. But anyway, this was a tiny blip on the band’s radar. In a week, everyone will have forgotten about the ad and the song, but I’ll have gotten that she-devil off my back.”

“You’re talking about Aurora.”

“Who the hell else would I be talking about?”

“How do you even know her?”

“If I told you that, I’d be putting myself at risk. Anyway, sorry you had to be my scapegoat, kiddo, but a week from now this will have all blown over. Take care.”

With that, she disconnected and left me gaping at the phone.

“What a cunt,” Wynter grumbled under her breath, shaking her head.

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