Page 76 of A Way Out
Oz hadn’t been surprised. Silver Lining only produced hits, and no one had a clue at the time if Demigoddess Revival would be a hit.
“You’re fucking kidding me,” he said.
“Nope. They want a meeting, tomorrow, at their headquarters here in LA.”
In LA. And Oz was in Washington. Nineteen hours away.
“You’re in, right?” Lacey asked, a hint of worry coating her words.
“Hell yes. I just have to get there. What time is the meeting?”
“What do you mean, you need to get here? You aren’t in LA?”
The only person he’d told where he was headed was his mother. Without confidence in the outcome, he hadn’t wanted to pull anyone else into his plans.
“Uh, I’m in Washington.” He cringed, even though she couldn’t see it.
“Like Washington state? Like all the way up the West Coast? Like, twenty hours away from here?”
“Actually, it was closer to nineteen hours, but yes.”
“What the hell are you—wait. That’s where Maria is from.”
“Yeah.” He dragged his hand through his damp hair and stared at the menu written in colorful chalk on a board behind the counter. Looked like he was going to have to splurge on a fancy coffee after all.
He was going to need the caffeine.
Maybe he could just walk up to the counter and ask for whatever had the most caffeine. Because he had no clue what all that shit scribbled up there meant.
“I didn’t realize you two were planning to go to Washington during this little break. That’s a lot of traveling. Did she need to take Riley to visit her dad? That would make sense. Cool that you went along. Y’all are really getting close. I approve, for the record.”
Oz glanced up at the ceiling. He ought to tell Lacey what was really going on, except he probably needed to get on the road, and this was not a short story. Especially because he hadn’t told any of his bandmates the full story of his life outside the band. None of them knew about his debt. Nor about his cousin Carina. And while they knew his sister had died, they didn’t know how.
“What time is the meeting?” he asked instead of coming up with a reply that would appease her and not result in a two-hour conversation.
“Ten o’clock tomorrow morning.”
Shit. He needed to get on the road. He needed to factor in a few hours’ sleep at a rest area, because even with all the coffee in the world at his disposal, he doubted he’d be able to do another nineteen-hour drive straight through this quickly after the first one.
“All right, I’ll see you there.” He disconnected the call if only to avoid any more questions. And then he headed to the counter.
The barista was pretty, in a warm, small-town way. Dark hair, bright blue eyes, a big, welcoming smile.
“Hi,” she said. “You’re one of Holly’s friends.”
“Er…” Was that a weird greeting, or was it just him?
“I’m Regina,” she said, thrusting her arm over the counter for a shake. “Holly and I have been friends forever. I follow her and her band on Insta, and I’ve seen your picture quite a bit the last few days. Noticed you’ve been cozying up to Maria. Which is interesting. In fact, it’s interesting that Maria is even hanging out with Holly. Has she finally broken free of their mother’s clutches?”
Oz snorted. He couldn’t help it. “I thought so, but it turns out I was wrong.”
Regina’s face fell. “That sucks. Elaine is a piece of work. She really messed those girls up. I’m so glad Holly escaped, but I sure wish Maria and Ava would too.”
“Me too,” he admitted. He didn’t know Ava, but if she was more like Maria than Holly, then Oz agreed with Regina. That sucked.
“What can I get you?” Regina asked, all business now.
Oz looked up at the menu again. “I honestly don’t know. I don’t usually come to these kinds of places.”
