Page 7 of Play Fast (Brooklyn Dawn 2)

Lila did her best to settle the troops. But her method didn’t have the intended effect.

“I understand that this is disturbing. It’s better than the alternative of cancelling shows. And if we can’t get these security concerns dealt with, that may become necessary.”

Whoa, hitting them in the bottom line. They weren’t messing around.

“Look, Lila, we get that you have a need for discretion. You still have to see our point of view. We worked hard to get where we are.” As always, Zane was the calm, clear voice of reason. The guy had practically turned meditation into an Olympic sport, and it showed. “Cancelling sold-out shows will hurt the fans most of all, and we can’t turn our backs on them.”

“We aren’t turning anything. It’s our last resort.” Lila’s voice dropped even lower. “Safety is paramount.”

“Well, then, if we’re in so much fucking danger, why can’t we find out what’s going on? Has there been a specific threat?”

Again, the voices became muffled, and I strained to hear things more clearly. At the same time, I didn’t want to. Goosebumps popped up and down my arms, and a cold chill danced along my spine. My lack of much clothing didn’t help.

I needed to get my stuff and get the hell out of here. A warm shower was waiting for me back at my temporary place. Cramped as it was.

Last thing I wanted was to get caught spying on the band, although that had never been my intention. But Oz would never believe anything but the worst about me, that much was clear.

So, you need to make him. You can’t just give up. Isn’t that part of why you wanted this job? To get closer to Oz again?

Again as if we’d been close before. Yeah, right.

There was more squabbling, punctuated by Jamie’s usual curses and colorful complaints, but the meeting soon ended. I waited until the commotion from their leaving died down, and then I quickly exited the room. I was still the newbie. The last thing I needed was for anyone to start questioning my actions.

I really wanted to be here. For once, I wanted someplace to belong. One I’d created for myself.

Sure, that’s why you went chasing after Oz.

As if I’d conjured him up, I glanced into the room as I tiptoed past. Oz sat with his big shoulders slumped, his long legs spread wide, his head in his hands. He grasped handfuls of his hair as if he had a headache—or was frustrated enough to pull them out. I started to speak, amazed he hadn’t noticed me yet, when he mumbled a word I had no trouble making out. That name had haunted me all night tonight, along with too many others.

Kerry.

Suddenly, there was a flurry of motion. He stood and kicked back the chair, the wheels rolling over the floor.

I hurried away.

He hadn’t seen me, I was almost sure. He was too lost in his own thoughts to worry about pesky Daisy. But now that I’d seen more proof of the torment he was in, there was no way I could let him be alone right now.

No one understood what we had gone through. Just us. We were alone in our grief. I knew

all he wanted was to push me away and bury his bad memories, but I knew he needed me more than he realized.

Maybe even more than I realized.

We were the sole survivors of a tragedy. What had happened to Kerry could have happened to Oz—or me, if things had been different.

But Oz was still in that lifestyle. Most of the band didn’t party all that hard, which surprised me. Sure, they drank and a few of them smoked joints now and then, but I’d never seen anything more hardcore. That was probably part of the reason they were so successful. They were actually aware of the music they were writing and playing.

At the end of the hall, I turned right and stopped to suck in a breath. Now what?

I couldn’t just follow Oz home, if he even still had one in the city. I didn’t have one here anymore, but I was crashing with my younger sister Everleigh. Which sucked giant balls because she lived in an apartment with three other young aspiring artist types who made about ten dollars between them. There was barely enough room for all of them, never mind me.

I hadn’t slept on such a lumpy couch…well, ever. It wasn’t something I wanted to endure for long, which was why I was saving every penny for my own crash pad when we weren’t on tour.

And speaking of crashing, my ass was about to hit the ground if those heavy footsteps were Oz. Who else could they be? No one was as big as he was. I shivered. Based on what I’d seen at sixteen, that was definitely true all over.

Not going there right now.

I went with instinct and rushed down the hallway, turning at the end to hurry down the next. Soon, I was near the dressing rooms. I found Oz’s and tried the door without remembering to use my shorts to grab the knob. Maybe I didn’t mind touching where Oz had.

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