Page 194 of Play Dirty (Brooklyn Dawn 1)

“Is he your lifelong best friend, Nash? Really and truly?”

He fell silent.

I swiped a hand down the side of my face. Suddenly, I was so very tired. “Have you talked to Angel? If you find out where she got the songs from, that would be a big step.”

“I wish she’d stolen them. I know the likelihood is slim. No, I haven’t spoken to her. I meant to the night of the poster incident, but I didn’t get a chance. Then I put it out of my mind

other than needling my manager for answers. I went about it completely the wrong way.”

“No, you didn’t. He was your best friend. I’m not going to claim to pretend that excuses any concerns you have about him, but I know it makes it tricky. I also know the accident does too. God, both of them. Now there’s two.” I shifted, narrowing my eyes. “Just so you know, not telling the person you’re in love with when you almost die is a treasonous act.”

His quick, rich laughter soothed me. Especially since I’d have to add Kyle to the watch list for our shows. “Is it now? And I didn’t almost die. I just had a raging headache, what felt like a hangover although I hadn’t drank, and a very angry lover who was pissed I hadn’t praised her gorgeous body.” He kissed my shoulder. “As well she should have been. Speaking of treason.”

“Well, yes, that was definitely treasonous too. I looked hot that night.” I sniffed. “But I forgave you. Mostly.”

“You look hot every night. As I think I demonstrated capably earlier.”

“Before all hell broke loose. Again.” I sighed and curled up in his arms when he drew me back down to the mattress with him. “Are we ever going to be able to find peace? Is it even possible for us?”

He played with my hair for a few minutes, finally replying just as I was about to doze off. “Duchess, I’ve already found more with you than I ever hoped to.”

I smiled against his neck. Maybe we weren’t meant to have long stretches of tranquility, so we had to snatch all the bits of it we could. “Ditto.”

Thirty-Eight

Chaos.

That was my life now.

Nash had been with me for the last six shows and I’d been a damn coward about asking him to sing with me. But if I was ever going to do it, it would be now.

Madison Square Garden always had a special place in my heart. But now all my worlds were colliding once more.

This time I wasn’t running from Nash.

I glanced over my shoulder at him sitting in my dressing room. Not that I really needed to look at him. I could feel his eyes on my back. Maybe I’d picked one of my more revealing costumes just to make him a little crazy.

Or to convince him to come on stage with me tonight.

I resisted the urge to gnaw on my freshly done lips. I’d already been painted, sprayed, and braided for the show. Daisy, our new makeup and hair girl, was currently fighting with Jamie. She didn’t take Jamie’s crap with indifference like Genie had. It was refreshing to have someone new in our lives who didn’t have to do with security.

Like the guy who was stationed in the hall now, thanks to my stalker’s appearance. They couldn’t hold the guy on much more than trespassing, but his photo was now a daily reminder that someone had definitely been messing with me on the tour.

The Roth Defense team was professional and as unobtrusive as possible, but they were definitely a new presence in our life. Noah was forever growling about how many people were constantly around.

And between our own crew and the people we used at venues, there were always new faces. I could hardly keep track of them. It was just part of my life. But even I was more guarded than ever. And I hated it.

MSG didn’t help matters since our VIP list was two pages long. This was our home turf, and everyone wanted to be at these shows. This show was the first of three.

I ignored the tingle between my shoulder blades. It was probably from Alex’s gaze. I was wearing a halter top that left my back completely bare.

Suddenly, I didn’t have to wonder. Alex’s arresting face appeared in the mirror over my shoulder. His fingertip gently glided down my spine before setting the trio of dangling chains between my shoulders to swaying.

He lowered his mouth to my neck. “I’m supposed to share you with twenty-thousand people in that outfit?”

I grinned at him in the mirror.

“Eighteen.”

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