Page 29 of Perfect Storm

“Why do you think Alessa did this?” I ask.

“Everyone thinks they’re gonna surprise us with a wedding.”

“You don't agree?” I run my fingers over his knuckles in a slow back-and-forth motion.

“I can’t see it. But I’ll admit, when Archer mentioned it, it crossed my mind too. Seeing this place though… Maybe they knew we all needed the break. Things with Riley are volatile right now.”

He explains what is going on and I turn over so I’m facing him. He grips our hands together between us.

“She’s killing Nash.”

“He’s strong,” I tell him. “And he has Tia, you, the rest of the band. Everyone is on his side.”

“I know, but I can see how much it’s hurting him. I fucking hate her for this.”

I stare at him and see the truth in his eyes. It’s hurting him too. Dylan grew up with Riley. They were close friends, as close as siblings.

It may have been Nash’s heart she broke, but she left a space in Dylan’s too. Her betrayal of his brother affected him.

Having only met her once, I can't comment but from that one brief interaction, she isn’t the kind of person I want to be around. The stress she caused when she quit makes me not want to like her very much either.

“Alessa doing this is doubly nice, then,” I say. “Bringing us all along, the excitement and suspense of it all, I think it’s amazing.”

“It’s not like her. It’s gotta be Jordan’s influence. As much as he’s the joker and thebad boyof BreakNeck, he cares about them. He sees us as an extension of her, so does the same for us.”

“Well, let’s do everything we can to enjoy ourselves,” I tell him. “Show Nash it doesn’t matter what Riley does. You’ll all be there for him. Keep his spirits up.”

He is about to say more when we hear rhythmic banging on the wall. He glances over as a loud moan joins the banging.

“Well, she's keeping something up,” Dylan laughs.

“Oh no. That means they will hear us.”

“I don’t care,” Dylan says, brushing my hair back. “Actually, I do,” he sits up. “I don’t need to hear my brother fucking.”

“Dylan,” I cry as he gets out of bed and pads over to the wall. “Oh my God, don’t embarrass Tia.” I sit up as he bangs against the wall. For a moment, all sounds cease, then it starts up again, louder. “Serves you right,” I giggle as Dylan scowls and comes back to bed.

“Shouldn’t have switched rooms.”

I hold my arms out and he gets back into bed. “Set an alarm for five thirty, lets snooze.”

“Easy for you to say. You can sleep through a hurricane.”

I smile brightly at him, then settle down after he sets an alarm on his phone.

I don’t know if he does, but oddly, the steady beat on the wall lulls me into a dreamless sleep.

Chapter 9

Archer

“The point of this is to stop working and relax.”

“I’ll relax in an hour,” Brooke says, tapping away on her laptop.

She’s not getting away with that. I saunter over and when she is not in the middle of typing, I slam the lid shut.

“Archer!”

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