Page 14 of Verses

Adrian said, “Whatever.”

Pedro, however, wasn’t about to let us decide for him. “Bud Light.”

While Wolf got their drinks, I got down to business. “I don’t know if you guys know, but Kyle’s struggling because he doesn’t think he can play without Liam.”

Pedro said, “I know. I don’t get it. He’s no Liam, but he plays just fine.”

I barely heard Adrian when he said, “His death hit him hard.”

“It hit usallhard.”

“Yeah…but Liam wasn’t your brother,” I said—and I wasn’t about to tell themeverythingKyle had probably said to me in confidence. I’d be sure to only talk business with these guys. “But I suggested last night that maybe we could get another lead guitarist. Not toreplaceLiam—because hecan’tbe replaced—but Liam’s songs shouldn’t die with him. They need to be heard—and if Kyle doesn’t feel right playing lead, then why couldn’t we get someone else?”

Pedro took the bottle from Wolf and held it up as if to toast us. “That’s not a bad idea.” Then he took a big swig like he’d been dying of thirst.

“I asked Kyle to sleep on it.”

“So what’d he say today?”

“He needed more time.”

Pulling his long brown hair back over his shoulder, Pedro said, “Liam was amazing. A fucking genius, and we wouldn’t have so many original songs if it wasn’t for him. I’d go so far to say we wouldn’t even have the drive and the passion if it wasn’t for him—but I don’t think we should stop just because he’s gone. I wouldn’t wanthimto stop if something happened to me.”

I said, “That’s what I told Kyle…that continuing to play is how we honor his memory.”

Adrian nodded before shifting his brown-green eyes to his bottle as if ashamed. It simply mirrored the emotions we wereall experiencing. Why did we keep feeling like this decision was selfish? “I agree.”

But I really meant what I’d said—that Liam’s legacy was his music. Letting it fade away would be the worst thing we could do. “So we just have to convince Kyle that it’s the right thing to do.”

Pedro said, “If we can convince him, then we just have to find a guitarist.”

Picking up my water glass, I said, “Well, actually, I found someone already.”

“You fucking kidding?”

“Nope.” I smiled at Wolf, but I couldn’t read those emerald eyes of his. “Totally serious. Did you know that Wolf here used to play in a band when he was younger?”

“Dude. No way. I thought you were a biker.”

“I was.”

Pedro, not completely convinced, asked, “What kind of music did you play?”

“Hard rock.”

“No metal?”

“We played a couple covers, but it was mostly hard rock.”

Pedro focused on Wolf like no one else existed. “Tell me what covers you played.”

Fortunately, Wolf didn’t seem to mind answering his questions. “We played some Van Halen. ‘Ain’t Talkin’ ‘bout Love.’ AC/DC, ‘Highway to Hell.’ Some—”

“That’s legit.”

“We also covered a Metallica song.”

Eyes narrowed, Pedro asked, “Which one?”

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