Page 20 of Room Ten: Put on a Show

“But—” she started, her eyes growing misty as she fought to keep her tears in check.

After five years working with Kenna, I knew when she was putting on an act to get what she wanted. This wasn’t one of those times. She was genuinely scared. Merrick and I had to remain professional, and it felt cold, impersonal, business-like. Kenna needed to be held, the way Troy was holding her now. As much as I hated to admit it, we couldn’t do that for her.

“Troy can stay,” I said. “Only for a few hours.”

Kenna’s eyes brightened. She untangled herself from Troy, hurried over to me, and stood on tiptoe as she kissed my cheek. The soft heat of her lips still burned long after she’d pulled away.

“Thank you, Baron,” she said. “You’re an angel.”

Kenna led Troy inside while I remained rooted to the spot. My hand strayed to my cheek where I could have sworn her kiss had been tattooed on my skin.

If looks could kill, Merrick would have murdered me ten times over.

“I know,” I said. “You don’t have to say it.”

“You folded like a goddamn house of cards,” Merrick replied, betrayal and disappointment heavy in his tone.

How was I supposed to say no? When it came to comforting Kenna, I was useless. And this shooter had scared the hell out of her. Troy was the one who put a smile on her face again. Whether I liked it or not, Kenna had perked up around him.

Merrick huffed, shaking his head.

“Getting soft in your old age, Baron.”

I frowned at him, tempted to knock him down a peg or two.

“Sounds like you’re a bit jealous.”

He snorted. “Doesn’t take a genius to figure that out.”

“The sooner we accept that Troy will be a permanent fixture in Kenna’s life, the easier it will be for us,” I pointed out.

Merrick tore his gaze away from the house to look at me.

“Do you really think any of this will get easier for us as long as we can’t have her for ourselves?”

I had no answer to that. He was right. When it came to Kenna, Merrick and I would always be observers, with an ache of longing we could never satisfy.

Chapter Seven

Troy

Despite Merrick’s protest, and Baron’s gruff, reluctant allowance of letting me stay for only a few hours, I remained at Kenna’s place for three days. I managed to coax her out of her bedroom, taking up residence in the living room instead where there was more space to move around. It was brighter too, with natural sunlight filtering through the windows, so she didn’t feel like she was a prisoner within the walls of her own house.

I couldn’t pry her away from the television though.

“Sweetheart,” I said, exasperated. “You can’t keep doing this to yourself.”

When I reached for the remote control, Kenna moved it away.

“I need to know what’s going on. Baron and Merrick have talked to the police multiple times but they won’t tell me a damn thing.”

I sighed. Giving up on commandeering the remote control, I scooped her feet up and placed them in my lap instead.

“That’s their job, darling. Not yours. Focus on your songs. Your next concert is coming up but you haven’t practiced a single note since I’ve been here.”

Kenna blew out a breath of annoyance.

“CeCe says I should cancel the concert. Baron thinks so, too, just as a precaution. It’s too risky. Too dangerous. Putting me on stage, exposed like that…”

---