Page 85 of Play Fast (Brooklyn Dawn 2)

Noah stopped in front of one of half a dozen leather couches lined up just outside the bowling alley half of the room. He dropped Jamie onto the sofa. “Cover the fuck up.”

She swung her long leg over the arm of the couch and grinned up at him, her breasts on display. “Everyone here has seen them.”

“Some of us prefer to remain professional.” Noah’s tone was clipped.

She glanced down at his black jeans. “Sure about that?”

“Miss DuCaine, please find some decorum. I’m aware it’s not your natural state, but we have guests in the establishment.” Lila’s heels snapped as she walked across the hardwood floor. She was dressed in a petal pink suit and had her ever-present iPad tucked in the crook of her arm. “We’ll be discussing this later. Right now, we have a show to get ready for.”

My gut unclenched. I really didn’t mind passing the buck on getting yelled at right now.

Jamie rolled down her shirt and tucked her breasts under the slinky material, her smug smile still in place as she kept eye contact with Noah.

Good grief, that probably wasn’t wise. Jamie lived to push buttons, and Noah was a prime target. I’d never seen him ruffled in the few years I’d known him. The Ripper Records family was like one big twisty tree. We’d worked with Hammered before—and their lead singer was Noah’s little brother.

Oz gave Jamie a little side-eye, but he sprawled on the couch beside her before sharing his bottle.

She accepted and took a good belt before finally settling her gaze on me. My unamused face must have finally dented her bubble of narcissism.

“If you’re all finished?” Lila’s no-nonsense tone kept the rest of us in line. As always. “Zane and Cooper stepped up to speak with the fans.” She shot a derisive look at Oz.

He was on the schedule to do the same, but since he’d gotten back from the trip to his cabin, he’d been even more growly.

Oz simply shrugged and took a longer pull from his bottle. It was already half empty and we hadn’t even started the show. Wonderful.

I marched over and took the bottle from him.

“Hey.”

I took my own sip because…well, because I could use a little fire. As far as swapping spit went, my band didn’t count.

His eyebrow shot up, and he crossed his arms over his ripped to shit shirt. “Since when did our resident princess drink anything other than white wine?”

“Fuck off, Oz. Get that burr lodged up your ass out before we start the show. Let’s not have a repeat of the last show, shall we?” When his jaw clenched, I had to tamp down the urge to soothe. It wasn’t what he needed right now. He needed to get his head in the game. And if that meant I had to be the bitch—well, it wasn’t the first time I’d worn those pair of shoes.

“Look, I know things have been crazy. We all have been on edge with the security,” I paused to look at Noah and Lila, “and our lack of answers as to why things are changing with alarming irregularity. So, it falls on all of us to keep our shit together on stage at the very least. The fans don’t deserve anything less than us at our best. In fact, we need to make sure it’s better than our best. They are already wondering what’s going on. We don’t want anyone else talking about Brooklyn Dawn’s stupid curse.”

I handed the bottle to Noah, who tucked it into his crossed arms. His pose mirrored Oz’s belligerent stance. Just wonderful. All the men around me were varying levels of posturing jackasses these days.

I could feel Nash behind me, and he probably had the same damn crossed-arm action going on.

Jamie threw her arm over the back of the couch. “Is that a directive, Lindz?”

I resisted the urge to sigh. I knew Jamie had been out of sorts for months. I’d hoped that she would settle down after some distance from the rooftop night, but she seemed to only be more sarcastic—actually bordering on rude. She was pushing everyone away.

And I needed to get that shit under control. Regardless of her best friend status, I was also the leader of this band. They looked to me to keep my head clear, and I’d been falling down on the job too. That was going to change tonight.

“If I was in that line outside, that’s what I’d expect from us—a top of the line, incredibly kickass show. Especially since these are our super fans. The ones who care enough to join our fan club and have traveled to see us here in Brooklyn. They deserve it, regardless of how pissy you want to be.” I glanced at Oz. He had the good graces to actually look away.

“So, let’s play like we used to in the clubs. You want to throw an audible tonight—throw it. There’s no rules.”

Jamie sat up straighter. “Really?”

“No light show we have to follow, no setlist that needs to be programmed ahead of time. Tonight’s just us. Cover songs, old songs—I don’t care. I’m game.”

Instantly, I knew I’d hit on the right way to play this. The excitement I’d been trying to find curled in my gut.

Zane, Cooper, and Teagan walked over to us. “Are we having a band meeting?” Zane flipped a bamboo pick through his fingers.

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