Page 36 of Pretty Little Rocker

All I knew was that I couldn’t risk Ky, Sparks, and Jamie.

My phone pinged with a text from Jamie. Blinking back tears, I didn’t allow myself to read it. I’d been up all night, hadn’t even tried to go to bed, knowing that sleep wouldn’t come. There was too much in my head, too many thoughts racing through my mind.

Who was that guy who’d looked so much like Sparks?

Sometime around dawn, I’d done a Google search on his name, but nothing came up. It didn’t help that I wasn’t sure what his surname had been before he and Jamie had changed theirs to Carver when Ky did. It shouldn’t matter—it didn’t matter, damn it.

I was just worried about Sparks.

“You’re still up?” Sammy asked quietly as she walked into the kitchen.

Opening the fridge, I pulled out one of the energy drinks Poppy was the spokesperson for. The company had begged him for the recipe for his coffee, then turned it into one of the most popular energy drinks in the country. He received a lifetime supply of it and kept everyone’s fridges full of the damn things.

Offering the drink to Sammy, I gave her a tight smile. “Just a lot on my mind.”

Understanding filled her blue eyes as she popped the top on the can. “I realize that last night was a lot. My brother and I are going to do everything we can to make sure that Abi never has to deal with anything like that again. I swear, we’re going to keep her safe. You can trust her with us.”

“See, I’m on the fence here about how you keep her safe.” I crossed my arms over my chest, eyeing her from head to toe. She hadn’t been to bed either, but while I’d been mostly in the kitchen, she’d been everywhere in the house. Not in a restless kind of way, but almost like she was keeping watch over everyone. It had unsettled me—but also made me feel safe. Everything about Samara Vitucci Reid was a conundrum. I got so many different vibes from her that it was giving me whiplash. “Abi showed up here last Sunday. Broken in a way I’d never seen her before. You and your family did that to her, Sammy. You destroyed a piece of her that I can’t bring back. She’s lost a part of herself, of her heart. And from what she’s explained to me, you’re the reason.”

Sammy took a big drink from the can, her blue eyes flicking from me to the door to the windows in quick movements. If I weren’t paying such close attention to her, I might have missed it. She checked all the exits, all the points of entrance. Vigilant for what? A sniper?

And why the fuck did I think that wasn’t a freaking exaggeration?

Setting the can on the counter, she ran the tip of her index finger over the rim. “My only excuse is that I was trying to protect her during a time when I had to deal with too many variables. But I swear to you, I’m going to fix what I broke. I just need a little time.”

“And if you don’t?” I challenged her. “Tell me how you’re going to fix this? You killed her husband, your own brother, for fuck’s sake. That’s not how our family works. We don’t throw one another to the wolves, let alone take their lives. We protect one another—with our own lives if we have to. Although, that has always been a rhetorical rather than a literal scenario, until last night. But a few times while we were in that warehouse, I thought it might come to it. Me or one of the people I love. Abi, Evan, Ali. I might have hesitated for Bentley and Sixx, but ultimately, I would have stepped in front of that Lunatic guy who was waving his gun around if it meant saving one of them.”

Her lips tipped up in a half grin. “Yeah, I would second-guess Bentley for sure. Sixx, though, I think he’s a keeper.”

Shaking her head, she turned serious again. Her ability to go from sweet and perky—the perfect version of an innocent little kitten—to feral and ferocious like a rabid lioness moved quicker than the snap of my fingers. It was a stunning sight, with all of Sammy’s pretty turning into dangerously beautiful. “But that is how it is for me with Abi. I will always put her first. There may be times when it doesn’t appear that way, but that’s because my world doesn’t work like yours. Something might look one way but is completely another.” She took one of my hands, giving it a firm squeeze. “You have my vow. Abi is safe with me in every way. I will protect her from any danger—to her life and her happiness. No matter what I have to do to accomplish it, I will mend what I broke.”

“I hope you can,” I murmured. “Because it has been killing me to see her the way she was this past week.”

“We’re working on it,” Sammy assured me, giving my hand another squeeze. “I’m going to meet my husband and brother now. I’ll be in touch.” She hesitated, but then she gave me a hug. “Thank you for taking care of Abi. Not just this week, but all her life. Thank you for…letting me share some of her light. I know you’re her best friend, but she’s mine. And… I’m very grateful, Hayat.”

Before I could say anything, she was walking through the back door. It barely closed behind her before my phone went off. I saw Jamie’s name on the screen and turned away from the sight of the device, gripping the counter with both hands so I didn’t reach for it.

Sammy had been gone barely a few minutes when there was a knock on the back door. Only our family used that door, knowing that on any normal morning, the St. Charles family would be in the kitchen at that time of the day. Biting back a groan, I crossed to the door. Seeing a familiar blond head, I realized that karma or fate or some other bitch was cackling at how shitty my life had gotten in a little over twelve hours.

And for once, I didn’t think I had the energy to fight back against whatever the universe wanted to throw at me.

Opening the door, I stepped aside as Maddie blew past me like the little torpedo of energy she was. Going to the coffeepot, she started brewing a pot and pulling down mugs, talking faster than I could have kept up with if I’d had the energy to try.

Instead, I got busy pulling out everything I needed to make waffles. Maybe they would tempt Abi to eat a little. She hadn’t eaten much all week, but I wasn’t convinced it was solely because of Vaughn’s absence. Sammy had been too concerned about the elbow that Abi had taken from some prick in the warehouse while we were separated. Abi was pretty banged up, with a lot of swelling and bruising, but they kept whispering about something else.

It was only a matter of time before my bestie confided in me whether she was pregnant or not. Until then, that was her secret that she could hold on to as tightly as she wanted. I’d do everything I could to keep her healthy and mentally stable until she was ready to face the rest of the world as a single mother.

“What’s with you?” Maddie demanded, snapping me out of the autopilot I’d fallen into while the waffle maker heated. “You look shell-shocked.”

What I wanted to say was: Hey, Maddie. I had the most incredible sex with all three of the band members of Autumn’s Slumber. And I want to keep doing it. With all three of them. But you should know that one of them is… Well, he used to be Kyrie Renchford. Now he’s Ky Carver. You know, the uberbillionaire who owns the luxury apartment complex on Sunset Place along with about a hundred other properties around the world, because why the fuck not? I realize that having a relationship with Ky could be a little triggering for you. And I’m sorry if it is, but I don’t think I can live without him and my other two guys.

Instead, I gave her a condensed version of the previous night’s events, knowing she wouldn’t blab to anyone. Not her stepmom, my aunt Trinity. Or her dad, who co-owned the security company that we used for personal protection, as well as for huge events and on tours. She was the third in the Terror Trio, as our family liked to call us. Which was fair. When she, Abi, and I were together for longer than a few hours at a time, we tended to get into mischief.

But Maddie also had a full-time job working with Aunt Trinity, learning the ropes so she could one day take over running tours. Nana and Aunt Emmie were giving Maddie more responsibilities, trusting her with smaller things as they built her up to possibly inherit a portion of the company that managed the elite of the entertainment world.

Clutching her mug of coffee, she hung on my every word as I told her of our adventure into gang territory and the whys and hows of Sixx tearing his knuckles open. As the doctor had been stitching him up the night before, Sixx had been grumbling about not having enough time to tape his hands before the fight.

He and Bentley were going to give me an ulcer. I couldn’t imagine how bad their parents worried about them on a daily basis. How Bentley had made it to adulthood without losing a limb or two along the way was a miracle all its own.

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