Page 179 of Play Dirty (Brooklyn Dawn 1)

“Hold the door for us,” Cooper yelled. He and Zane jogged down the hall. “Were you even going to ask us to come?”

Teagan swallowed thickly and moved to let Cooper stand between her and Oz.

“‘Sup,” Cooper said, grinning down at Teagan. “Freckles.”

She blushed scarlet, her freckles standing out even more.

Zane stepped in, wearing his ever-present flip flops and board shorts.

“You do know there’s no surfing around here.” Oz gave him a bland look.

Zane shrugged. “I swam in the hotel pool this morning.”

It wasn’t unheard of for Zane to wear that exact outfit on stage when the mood struck.

“Sorry about the songs, Lindz. That’s fucked up.”

I swallowed down the lump in my throat. “Thanks, Zane.”

My band didn’t know much about my relationship with Nash. I’d kept it close to me. Like a twisted secret. As if I was having an affair all along. Or maybe I’d never truly believed it would be more than a reckless fling.

Right now, I wanted to break open my chest and freeze my heart. The pain was far too much to live with. But I didn’t have that luxury. Instead, I had to be smart.

Use the pain.

“Oz, when we get to the venue can you talk to Charlie about getting part of our show online? Find out if we can feasibly do it on short notice.”

He nodded. “You got it.”

“T, what I have in mind tonight will take the both of us.” Nerves fluttered in my belly.

I knew the ebbs and flows of a show. Keeping the attention-deficit filled crowd engaged was always a mean feat. The first half of the tour, we’d found the right key to that lock. But I knew Jamie was feeling hemmed in too. She liked to stretch and do guitar duels with Zane.

She lived for shenanigans.

I’d locked her down to keep the whole arena happy. And maybe that wasn’t what we needed right now.

No maybes about it.

Breaking free was exactly what we all needed.

I tapped the emergency button on the elevator and the car jerked to a stop.

Zane and Cooper’s face went comically wide with shock.

“Did you just do something illegal?” Cooper asked with a laugh.

“Shut up.” But I couldn’t stop a half laugh from rolling out. I didn’t even realize I could laugh. But these guys were my family. They were circling around me without even knowing what I had in mind. “I don’t know if it’s logistically possible since it’s a damn monster of a song—”

“No. Let me stop you right there.” Jamie gestured with her soda. “Don’t be a pussy. Just say it. Live in the moment, goddammit.”

“‘November Rain’,” I shouted.

Her brown eyes went huge. She turned me to her and shook me by the shoulders. “Jesus. Don’t fuck with me. Tell me you’re not fucking with me.”

I laughed. “I know you wish Slash was your boyfriend.”

“I would fuck him till his top hat was busted and broken, then go for another round. Oh my God, he’s so fucking sexy.”

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