Page 115 of Bonding the Band

“That is some damn good security,” I said as I towel-dried my hair between inhaling another slice of pizza.

“I’m down for a house in the fancy-pants neighborhood,” Phin said, grinning. “Can we afford that?”

Beckett nodded. “It would be a bit of a stretch, with us forfeiting all the profits for the remainder of the tour, but we can do it.”

They didn’t need to know I’d just dropped two million on a car for Clover as a bribe to coax Meadow into talking to us again. I might spend a bit recklessly, but the others didn’t, and I could make it up to them later.

“I imagine we’ll be getting back most of what we’ve paid Gary over the last few years as well, once the lawsuit hits,” Hendrix pointed out. “If he had a house in Malibu on the down-low, he probably had a lot of other hidden assets, and we didn’t pay him enough forthat.”

The cogs in my brain slowly turned, as I ran through the last few minutes of conversation in my head. “Hey…speaking of Hunter—Beck, doesn’t he own his own record label now?”

Beckett turned to me, a surprised look on his face. “I’m pretty sure he does.”

“Maybe, once the dust settles, we should give him a call?” I suggested.

“I’d be up for that,” Hendrix agreed. “He’s a cool dude.”

“Okay—” I hopped up, pacing the room. “—let’s run down the list. A new house with better security, disappearing into the night on all our sus contracts, and giving Meadow all of our attention. How do we deal with the press? They published thosenasty photos of Hendrix getting snuggly with Ellie in rehab.” I made an overdramatic gagging sound at that idea. The very idea of touching that woman made my stomach turn.

I was surprised Hendrix hadn’t showered in bleach after her little grabby hands moment.

“I have an idea on that front,” Beckett told us. “In all the chaos, we still haven’t been clear with everyone about the cancelation of the concert, and we have a lot of shit to clear up. The easiest way to do that would be to hold a press conference.”

“Been a hot minute since we’ve done one of those,” Phin said with a laugh.

“The press has been climbing the walls, wanting information,” I added. “They’ll be all over it.”

“So we’re agreed?” Beckett asked.

A round of nods followed.

“All right. I’ll reach out and get it organized, so we can set the record straight.”

I laughed—that was a ballsy move, but I fucking loved it.

“Hell yes!”

And I wasn’t going to rely on luck to make sure she saw it. I made my own with some hefty dollars and a direct line to her bestie. Meadow was going to see us tell the whole world how much we loved her.

Chapter 44

Meadow

December, Seattle

After thirty-five hours on the train, everything ached. I was too worried about flying this late in the game, and I didn’t want to drive while crying, so a car service to the train station had been the next best solution. I had arrived twenty minutes before the train was set to leave, a tourist route that went all the way from Los Angeles to Seattle.

Clover:

I’m here

Clover knew everything. I had cried for an hour on the phone, and she had promised to meet me at the station in Seattle. I’d had a lot of time to think over the last day and a half, but I just kept coming back to sorrow.

Was it fair to leave the others for something Hendrix had done? No, but the second I had seen those photos, the entire house had felt like it was closing in. I needed space to breathe air that wasn’t saturated in them. I needed my best friend, a lot of ice cream, and some time.

One of the train staff helped me stand, my bones creaky, and I tottered out to the station. I didn’t have more than my purse on me, so I was sweaty, rumpled, and more than ready for a proper bed.

“Meads!” Clover sprinted over to me, pulling me into a tight hug. “Oof, girl, we need to get you a shower.”

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