Page 173 of Play Dirty (Brooklyn Dawn 1)

“No. I’m fine. Really. I’m okay. Just a…misunderstanding.” Not even close, but it was as good an excuse as any right now. “Not with Lila. She had nothing to do with it.” I wiped the back of my hands over my soaked cheeks. Amazing how fast I could cry when properly motivated.

Angel must’ve been managed by Ripper Records as well. And wasn’t that a kick in the ass?

“Glad to hear you were harboring secret rage against my iPad, not me,” Lila said drily. “We can give you a moment alone, but just one. You have a show tonight in case you’ve forgotten.” She glanced at her slim watch. “Very soon. And there’s soundcheck and—”

“Yeah, I know. I know what I have to do, and I’ll be ready to do it.” I took a deep breath and glanced at Jamie. She was still curled around me. “I’m okay. I swear.”

“I’ll kill him,” she muttered, and we both knew it wasn’t an idle threat. “There won’t even be enough pieces left to identify his corpse when I’m done with him. Forensic Files won’t be able to find enough ashes for a chalk outline of his shit.”

Somehow, I laughed again as I tipped my head against hers. “I love you.”

“Ditto.” She released a long breath and pulled out the chair beside me, dropping into it with the same sense of world-weariness I had. “This meeting better not take long. We have stuff to do.”

Lila raised a slim eyebrow. “Really? I wasn’t aware, Miss DuCaine.”

Jamie shut up. She knew that Lila had even bigger balls than she did, and she was classy about swinging them around.

“The cost for that iPad will be deducted from your next check, Lindsey.”

Shame burned my cheeks. “I’ll write you a check today. I’m sorry. That was completely unprofessional of me.”

“It was, but I’ve never known you to behave irrationally. Unlike some of your bandmates.” She arched a brow at Jamie, then at Oz as he lowered his bulk into a chair on the opposite side of the table. Zane and Cooper chose chairs on either side of him and Teagan sat down on my other side. The petite blond pursed her lips before sitting beside Teagan.

I felt as if we’d just picked kickball teams back in school. Boys vs. girls.

Boys sucked.

Men sucked even more. Especially ones that made you love them and then broke your heart.

A tickle at the back of my throat had me swallowing hard. Maybe it wasn’t how it seemed. Maybe Nash hadn’t wanted to hurt me.

But I had to put it away tonight if I was going to get on that stage and do my job. I had no choice.

“Hi, Noah.” Teagan smiled at our security expert as he moved to stand next to her at the head of the table.

I expected him to give her a curt nod as he did whenever anyone greeted him. Instead, he flashed her a genuine smile. “How are you, Teagan?”

“Good.” She ran her fingers over her delicate bracelet with its piano and saxophone charms. “Busy. I’m not falling off any piano benches anymore though. So, bright side?”

His laughter was quick and appreciative. “Happy to hear it.”

Cooper laced his fingers together on the table and cocked his head with a friendly smile of his own. “What, Noah, no hello for me?”

Noah’s gaze cooled considerably. “Didn’t realize that was you under the facial hair, Dallas.”

Cooper’s smile dimmed. “Not overseas anymore.”

“He rolls out of bed whenever he feels like it and half the time doesn’t have time to shave.” Teagan grinned at Cooper, who’d locked his jaw as he glanced between them.

Very interesting.

Noah’s eyes shuttered. “Didn’t realize you were privy to his sleeping habits.”

Jamie slid me a look. Okay then.

“We’re all always together. Kinda hard not to be. But how have you been, Noah? It’s been so long.”

Cooper’s teeth audibly clicked together.

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