Page 74 of Hidden Truths

“Ezra must have seen something related to the drug stuff,” Mav continues, his voice hoarse. “We’re going on tour tomorrow.”

“We have time for Harrison to make sense of all this. The girls are saving our interview for last anyway. So maybe we’ll have more information for them. Then they’ll release the episode . . .” I’m just rambling now. I don’t know what will happen. Our tour starts and ends in Boston. We wanted to bookend it with home shows. It was Jo’s idea so that they would have more time to work on Ezra’s episode, but we all agreed because we liked the idea of starting and ending at home.

“There’s still a lot we don’t know, but we’re getting there,” Kai says. “This is the first time since Ezra went missing that I feel like we’re actually making progress.”

Mav nods and starts to stand. Kai and I move away so he can actually get up off the floor.

“Alright,” he declares after taking a deep breath. “Let’s order pizza and watch a movie with lots of explosions.”

Kai and I watch from where we’re still sitting on the floor as Mav walks into the kitchen.

“You alright?” I ask Kai. Mav has the bigger, more emotional reactions. So everyone’s instinct is to help Mav first. But Kai is Ezra’s twin and has to be taking this information just as hard as Mav is right now.

Kai sighs and scratches the back of his head. “It feels like the closer we get, the deeper Ezra’s grave is, you know? Like we get closer to finding the truth, but the truth seems to lean towards his demise.”

“Do you feel like he’s dead? You with that weird twin magic thing?” There are so many articles talking about twin connections that science and logic can’t explain. I would know. I looked it up.

Kai holds my stare for a beat and then shakes his head. “I would have to feel it, right? Like part of my soul was gone or something. But I don’t feel that way. I never have.”

I nod. “He’s out there masquerading as a diner cook or a bartender in some remote town that’s not even on a map. But we’re going to find him, and we’re going to bring him home.”

Kai stands and offers his hand, helping me up. “Might need to take down a crime lord pretending to be your friendly local politician while embarking on a national tour and selling albums.”

“Easy.”

twenty-eight

HARLOW

My leg is bouncing uncontrollablyas I sit in Belle and Willa’s dressing room. It’s the first show of Shattered Halo’s tour and it’s in Boston. Jason is with Cora so that I could support Cal. I was excited when he offered, but now I’m so nervous I could throw up everywhere. I look around the room to distract myself. Cal doesn’t know I’m here. It’s going to be a surprise. I just have to hold it together.

The room is painted a light blue with one wall a darker shade. The couch I’m sitting on is the same darker blue, and the leather is sticking to my sweaty thighs. Willa and Bella are sitting on stools in front of a large vanity with a mirror.

“Why do you look so pale?” Belle asks, worry creasing her face.

“I think it just now hit me that Cal is a rock star,” I admit. “We’ve kind of been in our own bubble.”

Belle nods. “I get that. The first time I saw Kai out on that stage, I swooned. But on the inside because he was kind of being a dick at that point.”

Willa laughs. “He’s still just Cal. Fame has never gone to his head. He’s always just Cal.”

I want to tell her that Callahan Griffin isn’t “just” anything, but I hold my tongue. I like the idea that there’s a part of him that’s only mine. Selfishly, I want to keep it that way.

The behind the scenes I’m getting right now would make entertainment industry reporters so jealous. Willa and Belle go over the set order while Belle drinks tea and Willa does both of their make-up.

“You guys don’t have hair and make-up people?” I ask.

Willa shrugs. “We did at one point, but I get so sweaty from drumming that my hair never stays, and my make-up will run down my face. It just makes more sense to do it ourselves.”

“Why lilac?” I ask her. I’ve always wondered why she picked that hair color and stuck with it. Willa hitches a brow, and I laugh. “I ask a lot of questions when I’m nervous.”

“It was my mom’s favorite color,” Willa says eventually. “It’s my way of keeping her with me.”

I nod. Willa’s mom died when she was young. It was sudden and the town gossips couldn’t stop talking about it.

The conversation turns into my plans with Cora for the tour and the podcast. I give them a condensed version of the cases we have lined up and the interviews we have set up so far.

“Our interviews are last?” Belle asks.

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