Page 84 of Timeless: Encore

I’ll be devastated.

It takes longer to get to Connor’s than I planned. By the time I pull up the narrow, paved road to his new mansion on Lake Washington, I’m a wreck. Not only did I got lost on my way over, I must have passed his unmarked driveway at least six times. I’m lucky I saw Jace’s truck and followed him in.

“Holy shit.” I take in my surroundings. I thought my house was a bit over the top, but this place looks like a fucking hotel. I’ve never been in this bougie neighborhood before. A lot of tech people live here. Not many rockstars, is my guess. The house itself looms up like one of the sleek places Fee and I rented in Asia on LTZ’s last tour.

Please let that not be LTZ’s last tour.

Jace is waiting by his beat-up truck. He just smirks at my expression of awe. Considering his dad is a tech legend and his folks’ house isn’t too far away, it occurs to me he’s not quite as surprised as I am at the opulence of Connor’s abode. I follow up the walkway where he knocks on the steel front door, which seems a million feet tall. A middle-aged woman wearing a gray dress answers. “Mr. Deveraux, Mr. Rocks please follow me.”

Now, even Jace is taken aback. I mean, c’mon. Connor and Ronni have a motherfucking butler? I can’t help but waggle my eyes at him when the woman escorts us past a wall of glass flanked by ginormous steel fireplaces on either side of a sitting area that looks like, well, a fancy hotel.

“There you are.” Connor is waiting for us in the doorway of a kitchen that rivals the one at my house.

Fee made me promise to scope it out, so I take a mental picture. It’s less “chef’s kitchen” and more designer, but still high end. I run my fingers along the twelve-burner stove. “I can’t show this kitchen to Fee, Connor. I hope you realize we’ll never visit you, or she’s going to want to gut ours and start over.”

He laughs. Connor seems strangely at ease here. Lord of the manor and all that shit. Out of all of us, I’d have pegged Connor to be the most grounded and the least likely to spend his money on mansions and jets. Then again, Ronni is at least as famous—if not more—than all of us and he lived in her swanky Malibu mansion for years.

Ah, who the fuck cares. If he’s happy, I’m happy. My house is fucking spectacular too.

We follow him to a room facing the lake, which is sort of like a man cave without the cavey feel. On one side, he has a fully stocked bar. The opposite wall is an enclosed-glass, temperature-controlled cabinet with easily five hundred bottles of wine.

“Obviously, since Ty’s not here, the three of us can enjoy a nice, smooth vintage Midleton.” Connor pours out three glasses of amber whiskey. We toast and sit down in three of the four oversized, cushiony chairs facing the lake. The empty chair stands out to me. Ty should be sitting there.

“Fuck, Connor. What is this place?” I’m babbling, not feeling settled without knowing where their heads are at—especially Jace’s. “It’s spectacular. Unexpected.”

He leans back in his chair. “Ronni loves being by the water. After everything that happened this year, we needed to know we had a safe sanctuary. It was crazy expensive, but with her Netflix deal renewed? Let’s just say it made the decision easier. Plus, the schools are great. It’s private and guarded—one of our security detail answered the door. Lots of kids in the neighborhood for the boys to grow up with. And, it has all the bells and whistles, so it does.”

His explanation makes perfect sense. Part of me is relieved the woman who answered the door wasn’t an actual butler. I recline back and notice Jace fidgeting next to me.

“I suppose we need to get our game plan for tomorrow.” He rubs his hands together. “Are we willing to listen to what Ty’s going to say? Do you think he wants to get the band back together? After all, it’s his world, we’re all just bystanders.”

“Will you stop, Jace.” I can’t help but snap at him. I know he’s been distracted with Alex, but I’ve had enough of his snark about Ty and the band. I’m not interested in any of us tearing each other down.

“Stop what?” He’s genuinely surprised by my tone.

Connor backs me up. “Sayin’ the feckin’ band’s broken up. Making light of Ty’s situation.”

“Uh, Ty quit the band. LTZ can’t go on without Ty.” Jace leans forward. “I thought we were discussing the audience Sir Ty requested.”

Even though Ty asked me not to say anything, given his level of resentment, I can’t keep them in the dark. “There’s more to it than that, my brothers. So, uh. Ehm. Heads up. Ty hasn’t been in rehab. He’s been in intense counseling.”

“What?” they say in unison.

I swirl my whiskey without drinking any and try to figure out a way to be as transparent as possible with my band brothers without breaking my promise to Ty. “Carter’s been down in Arizona with him. He’s in a program for some trauma he’s been dealing with since he was a kid. I’ve had some sessions with them about the paternity thing.”

“Fuck, man. I know you’ve been going through your own shit. How are you coming to terms with it?” Jace’s tension relaxes a hair, making me less anxious.

I want to let these guys in so badly. It’s hard not to be able to tell the entire story, but I have to wait until tomorrow when we’ll all be together. “It’s confusing. Carter’s all in on being Ty’s father. It brings up some old baggage for me. I’m planning on spending time with Ty when he gets back, although Fee is still raw about the entire situation.”

I guess my perspective has an effect. No one speaks. I’ve stunned them silent.

“How’s Alex doing?” After a while, Connor redirects a question to Jace. “We’ve tried to give you some space so she can recover.”

He purses his lips. His eyebrow twitches as he thinks about the question. “She’s surprisingly well-adjusted. I’m the one who’s a big mess. When the woman you love is hurt, it’s literally the worst thing in the world. I hope none of you ever experience it.”

“Yeah.” Connor leans over and fixes his gaze on Jace. “Although all our ladies have had a fair share of shit in their lives, the only one of us who’s been through something like that is Ty. When Zoey was nearly killed by that taxi.”

Jace recoils, astounded. “Wait, how is that my fucking fault? Do you guys have something to say to me? Do you think that I’m the asshole here?”

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