Page 40 of Second to None

Frank cut a path through the crowd. I kept my head down, following the sway of Cass’s body right in front of me. A girl reached for him, her hand just missing his sleeve. We kept moving.

The car waited under a streetlamp. Frank threw open the door and we tumbled into the back seat, then and now tangling in my mind, blood rushing in my ears. The door clicked shut, and sudden quiet pressed in on us. Another wave of sound swelled—Frank slipping into the passenger seat.

“Go,” he barked.

We rolled forward—slow at first, a few phones smudged against the tinted windows before the crowd fell away. Darkness wrapped around us, broken only here and there by city lights that painted stripes across Cass’s face. My shoulder bumped his as we turned a corner.

I didn’t move away. He didn’t either.

He dipped his head, shadows and guilt splashed across his features. “Levi, I?—”

“Don’t.” Too sharp. I caught his arm and held on through another turn, softening my voice. “I know what I signed up for.”

Did I? God, I bloody hoped so.

We were close enough that I could feel the rise of his chest as he inhaled and then covered my hand with his own, our fingers slotting together. “Thank you.”

I cleared my throat. “Anytime, Cass.”

He didn’t reply, but the space between us felt smaller than it had in years.

CHAPTER10

Cass

Beverly Hills, Monday, August 18th

The pictures were all over the internet. Levi and me at the restaurant, the candle a bright smudge on our table. Our hands touching as he’d passed me his phone. Leaning close for those handful of posed shots before we’d been ushered outside. And then Levi right behind me, with Frank leading the way. Videos showed me slipping into the car first, Levi just a second behind, and then the slam of the door.

Mission accomplished. So why did it feel like I’d lost something?

Well—because I wanted it to be real.

As if I had any right. As if Levi hadn’t spent the last five years growing into this amazing man while I still flaunted my body on stage and smiled for the cameras. I’d chased record after record only to realize that didn’t fill the void. Even if I came out—whenI did—I wouldn’t know who I was without the rush of performing my music.

‘Ever consider taking a break?’

‘I don’t think I even know how.’

I threw myself into a punishing morning workout that did my trainer proud, then showered and jumped into the pool to cool off. By the time the others arrived for another rehearsal before we’d spend the afternoon recording, the shaky energy under my skin had subsided a little.

We fell into place much more quickly this time, harmonies clicking, Mason’s guitar the only backdrop to our voices. My vocal coach joined us an hour in to help us nail the acoustics, and it felt like old times, the five of us in a circle, taking our cues from each other.

It felt like family. My brothers—and more.

‘Singing together is one of the most powerful ways in which people bond,’was how my last tour choreographer had put it.‘The fans at your concerts—they’re not there to hearyousing. If that was it, they’d be better off watching some video with their earbuds in. No, they’re there to sing together, and with you. Make it happen.’

I repeated it to the others, sprawled in the shade after we’d splashed around my pool. “Changed how I think about a show, you know?” Midday lethargy crept in around the corners of my mind. It was the time of day when most of LA retreated indoors, but between the five of us, we’d spent a lifetime trapped in hotel rooms and moving vehicles.

“Also makes you see religious songs in a new light, doesn’t it?” Ellis asked.

“And war anthems,” Jace said.

Mason laughed. “Okay, that escalated fast.”

Levi, cross-legged on the grass, hummed softly. A wet towel was draped around his neck, darkening his faded T-shirt in uneven streaks. “It’s not broadly applicable, though, is it? The singing-along bit. Like, yeah—for people with a fanbase, sure. But what about newcomers? No one even knows their songs.”

That had never been us. We’d had millions of followers before we’d even recorded our first single, never had to tour seedy clubs and open for a headliner much bigger than us, with an audience counting down the minutes until we were finally done. In that sense, we’d had it easy.

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