Page 62 of The Sounds of Her

“Unhand her before this becomes obscene,” I drawl.

“Too late,” I hear DiMarco mutter as Adam grabs Jenna’s ass, making her laugh.

She pushes him away and turns to me, her eyes bright and dancing with love for her husband. Adam looks at me, the lust induced glaze to his eyes slowly goes away. He’s been a little off since we told them our plan. Archer assures me it’s not aimed at me.

It’s hard to accept that though. I’m fairly sure Jordan, who never gets angry at anyone, is pissed about me asking him not to tell Alessa. If only they knew it has nothing to do with me not trusting Alessa and everything to do with Ciro catching wind of what I’m doing.

“Brooke, try to stay out of trouble.”

“What the hell is that supposed to mean?” I ask Adam.

“No table dancing,” he grins.

“No tables around,” I smirk back. “But there are some interesting amps over there.”

“DiMarco, do not let her climb on the amps.”

“I’ll do my best,” DiMarco says, straight-faced.

Not that I had any intention of climbing on the amps. Now I kinda want to. He’s right, I have been known to dance on a table or two in my time. And I usually drag Jenna up with me.

“Go rock the worlds of those twenty-five thousand fans,” Jenna tells her husband with a shake of her head. She grabs my hand and blows him a kiss, then leads me away.

We collect Elsa along the way. Stone appears too and both bodyguards hover close, but not enough to stifle us as we sing and dance when BreakNeck takes the stage.

The noise is overwhelming. The crowd is going insane. I take it all in, amazed at the experience of seeing a show from this side of the curtain.

People are still scurrying around. They know when to get ready to pass stuff to Nick or Archer when they need different guitars, there are people working on the lights, the sound, doing everything they can to make the show run smoothly.

I keep my eye on Archer. It’s obvious to anyone looking at him how much he loves being on that stage. His skill with the guitar is legendary, but seeing him this close up, playing the way he is, I’m having to try really hard not to imagine how the fingers stroking over the strings of that guitar will feel stroking over me.

“This is a new song,” Jenna yells at me.

“What?” I draw my eyes away from the man who is making my blood run too hot.

“A new song,” she repeats. “It’s not on the album. Archer wrote it.”

I listen more closely to the music. It’s heavier than their usual beat. A lot more bass from Nick and Jordan’s drums are deeper somehow. As I listen to the lyrics, I turn my gaze back to Archer.

His eyes are closed tight, his head dropped. To everyone else, he looks like he’s into the music, lost in his own world.

There is a tightness in his jaw, and he stutters as he steps up to his microphone to back up Adam’s vocals. Archer’s voice is the perfect accompaniment to Adam’s, where his is gravelly, Archer’s voice is purer, more melodious.

I can’t stop staring as he sings, noticing how deeply he feels every single word, his eyes still squeezed tight. Without claiming to know much about Archer Harris, I see how this song is affecting him. I close my eyes and listen as he harmonises with his best friend.

Through the lies that cut like a knife,

In the heartache's embrace, where she stole my life.

In the wreckage of trust, where her games are spun.

I'll drown in disdain while hoping she's numb.

I’ll carry the weight of what has become,

While she walks away.

I hope she’s numb.

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