I looked up from the makeshift desk in the deconstructed loft when Tori stepped off the elevator. Her heels clicked insistently against the subfloor as she stomped toward me.

Retrofit the elevator so crazy people can’t enter at will.

I jotted the idea on the punch out list of items to be completed before we opened our doors. Considering the studio was one level above where I slept, the notion entered my mind more than once. But seeing Tori standing twelve feet from me with murder in her amber eyes solidified it.

“Come on in, Tori.” I sighed, throwing my pen on the blueprints. “No, the ‘by appointment only’ sign downstairs is not for everyone.”

Her eyes flitted to Cameron and Logan, stretched out on the couch in the corner, working through some lyrics.

“I assumed knocking was perfunctory,” she replied, her lip curling. “I didn’t expect you’d be getting busy with some chick in the studio since you fucked my best friend less than a week ago.”

Two sets of boots hit the ground simultaneously. I hadn’t bothered to tell the guys about my epic fail with Taryn, but Tori had no problem putting me on blast.

I went back to the plans. “I guess you and Taryn are on speaking terms again,” I said. “Good to know.”

Closing the gap between us, Tori tapped her foot impatiently to get my attention.

“Is there something else?” I muttered. “Something business related?”

“Are you going to call her?” she persisted. “Or was that just another hit and run?”

Tamping down my fury, I met her gaze. “That’s not what happened.”

She dropped into a dust-covered folding chair. “Enlighten me, then.”

Clasping her hands, she rested them on her lap. Her amber eyes pleaded, despite her confident posture.

“Ask Taryn,” I said.

“I’m asking you,” she responded through clenched teeth. “I heard the CliffsNotes version from Beckett at the launch party. You know, the one you didn’t attend.”

“Shouldn’t you be worried about your own love life, Grayson?” Logan chimed in. “Where’s your six-foot shadow, by the way? In your purse?” He pushed to his feet. “No … that space is reserved for his balls.”

“If you mean Dylan, he’s six three,” she retorted. “And if he hears you talking about his balls, he’ll kick your ass.”

Logan’s eyes danced with amusement as he stalked across the room. “That’s cute, but … no. Your boy isn’t getting anywhere near my junk.” He puffed out his chest. “And I’m six four, so there’s no way he’s an inch shorter than me.”

She raked him over with an annoyed glare. “I’m happy for you, jackass. Now go back and play with your friend. I’m talking to Chase.”

Logan slid a hip onto the far side of my desk, grinning. “You kiss your sister with that mouth?”

“With tongue,” she growled. “Now shut the hell up and let the grown-ups talk.”

Logan’s mouth fell open and snapped closed just as quickly. I’d never seen him speechless.

A satisfied smirk curved Tori’s lips, then she turned her white-hot gaze to me. “Well?” she demanded. “Are you going to tell me?”

“Just drop it, Tori,” I said wearily.

Cameron meandered over, staking a spot next to Logan while Tori took a calming breath. “Is this about your problem, Chase?”

I had several problems. The construction project that was moving at a snail’s pace. The show my brother roped me into at Austin City Limits—in four fucking days, no less. Taryn’s radio silence. And, oh yeah, I was a drug addict.

I actually smiled when I realized that was the least of my worries.

“What problem would that be?” I asked coolly.

“Are you on drugs, Chase?” she asked.

“Hey!” Cameron snarled, his lip curling over his teeth like a junkyard dog. “You don’t know what the fuck you’re talking about!”

Reclining in my seat, I steepled my fingers. “Is that what Taryn told you?”

“Fuck no,” she said with a wave of her hand. “I knew about the drugs a long time ago. I don’t go into business with someone without doing a complete background check. What I’m asking, is if you’re on drugs now.”

If I were on drugs now, I wouldn’t be at my fucking desk, pouring over blueprints for the studio. “You’re clueless, Tori.”

She cocked her head and continued like she didn’t hear me. “It has to be drugs, because you’re not fucking stupid.” The smirk was back. “Or, are you?”

“Tori …” Cameron warned.

I’m sure this little ploy worked with most. But I wasn’t about to get pissed and give her any information. “Say what you’ve got to say. I’m busy.”

She shrugged. “If you’d sleep with Taryn and then just leave her in California, with Beckett, you’re either high or dumb as a box of rocks.”

Images of Taryn and Beckett popped into my mind. They weren’t sexual, which was worse. I pictured Taryn making Beckett breakfast in her terry cloth robe. I pictured Beckett bringing her lunch while she worked at her desk. When the little slide show morphed into him feeding her that lunch, I closed my eyes and banished the wretched thought.

“I didn’t leave her, Tori. I …”

Left her.

Yeah, she told me she wasn’t ready, but usually that would only strengthen my resolve. The truth? I couldn’t sit around, eating my heart out, waiting for Taryn to decide if we were worth the trouble. It would hurt too much, and there was only one way to dull that kind of pain. Sadly, the price was too high. Any other price? I’d gladly pay … with interest.

“If you didn’t leave her, then you must have been hiding under a table at the launch party,” Tori said sarcastically. “You can check the blogs for a blow by blow. There are plenty of pictures of Taryn on the red carpet. With Beckett.”

Logan and Cameron stared at their boots. I wasn’t sure whether to thank them or throttle them for sparing me the details.

“She’s free to date anyone she wants.” My hand shook slightly as I picked up the pen. “Just like me.”

“You asshole!” Tori jumped to her feet. “It was a hit and run.”

Spinning on her heel, she stomped toward the elevator.

“It wasn’t,” I called after her. “I told her how I felt.” I love you … “She didn’t … she said she couldn’t do the long-distance thing.” When her footsteps went silent, I glanced over my shoulder. “I tried, Tori.”

Her face crumbled. “Well, you didn’t try hard enough.”

As I took in Tori’s defeated posture, I thought about the picture on her desk at Twin Souls. It was a school play or something. Tori was hogging the spotlight, standing between Taryn and Paige Dawson with a huge toothless grin. But she held their hands so tight, her knuckles were white. Now Paige was gone, and she had to live without Taryn as well.

I smiled sadly. “I can’t exactly bring her back here by force.”

Tori’s face contorted with greater anguish. “Why?”

“Because it’s her time to shine. She won’t go back to Beckett.” God, don’t let her go back to Beckett. “She’s putting value on herself for once. I guess we don’t fit into that world right now.”

Coming back to herself, Tori tugged the bottom of her blouse with determination. “I don’t accept that,” she said stubbornly. “Taryn is going to be here in a couple of days. I’ll talk to her, since you seem to be content with the status quo.”

I wasn’t. But there was nothing I could do.

Exasperated, I went back to my work. “You can’t order her, Tori. She’s not a blue-plate special.”

“I guess we’ll have to see about that.”

The industrial elevator clanged shut, and I took a peek at Logan, frozen in his spot, staring after her. He’d met his match in Tori Grayson.

The two of them together could probably rule their little portion of the world. Or blow it apart entirely.