Fun fact: every tour bus in the world smells exactly the same. A heady combination of diesel fuel, sweaty socks, pine air freshener, and something else that I could never put my finger on.

Nobody mentions it, though. Because it’s too damn depressing to actually acknowledge that you’re stuck inside a rolling toilet.

And the kicker? As fuck awful as it smells on the first day … it only gets worse as the tour progresses. In another three weeks, after a thousand beers have soaked into the carpet, and a parade of fangirls have branded the sofa with cheap perfume, you long for the days when there was only one unrecognizable scent.

With that in mind, I slung my guitar over my back, took my last breath of unspoiled air, and climbed on board the silver beast. And holy fuck was I wrong. Stone floors. Granite countertops. And a kitchen that actually looked like you could cook a meal.

I was still taking in the wonder of my surroundings when a deep voice pulled me out of my revelry.

“Are you Cage?”

Turning with a start, I came face-to-face with a wall of muscle taking up half the aisle. My gaze flicked to the map in his large hand. With his short hair, neatly trimmed mustache, and starched white shirt, the dude didn’t look like any driver we’d ever had. To top it off, I had to lift my gaze just a touch to meet his eyes. Unusual, since I was six four and the tallest guy in the room on any given day.

I offered my hand for a shake. “Logan.”

Sliding his palm against mine, he squeezed, hard, his lips quirking into a half-smile when I returned the favor. “Paul.”

Retracting my hand before I lost the use of my fingers, I fished my keys from my pocket. “Nice to meet you, Paul. The rest of the guys will be here in a bit.” I tipped my chin to the window. “My bags are in the Mustang. Careful not to scratch the paint. I’m going to grab some shuteye.”

Rocking back on his heels, a hint of amusement danced in Paul’s eyes. “You do that, son.”

Son?

Before I could reply, a familiar voice drifted from somewhere in the back. Tori. My body responded with the usual awareness. A residual effect from the days before we’d actually met.

“Shit,” I muttered, dropping into one of the captain’s chairs. “How long has the ice princess been here?”

Paul’s brows drew together. “Ice princess?”

“Tori.” I scrubbed a hand over my face. “Has she been here long?”

Paul glowered at me, but the sound of laughter caught his attention before he could speak.

Tori glided into the room, arm-in-arm with a little blonde. A teenager. The smile froze on her lips when she noticed me. And it was then I realized, I’d never seen her true smile before. The one that reached all the way to her eyes.

“Logan … what are you doing here so early?”

I shoved my hands into my pockets. “Just figured I’d get settled before everyone else arrives.”

A beat of silence passed, and then she shook her head and turned that pretty smile on the girl at her side. “Oh … sorry … this is my sister, Zoe.” My stomach hit the floor when Tori flicked her gaze to the man who looked ready to introduce me to the pavement. “And I see you’ve already met my father.”

Arms crossed over my chest, I leaned against my car, watching Paul stalk around inside the bus. Every few minutes, he’d stop in front of the couch where Tori sat, make a few animated gestures, and then resume his pacing.

Cutting my gaze to Tori’s sister, kicking stones around the deserted parking lot, I chuckled. “I see insanity runs in your family.”

My joke hit the pavement with a splat, and her lips parted, but then she dropped her gaze.

Well, shit. Somehow, I’d managed to alienate yet another member of Tori’s family without even trying.

“I was kidding,” I said, ducking my head to find her eyes. “I don’t really think your sister’s crazy.”

Much.

Zoe gave a little shrug, then inched closer, running a hand over the quarter panel on the Mustang. “Solid car. It’s a ’69 Boss, right?”

More than a little impressed, I nodded. “Good eye.”

She peeked in the window. “I like the ’68 Shelby KR better, but this is nice too.”

In most cases, I’d defend my baby to my last breath, but the kid had me dead to rights. The ’68 Shelby KR was the shit. “Yeah, I wouldn’t mind owning one of those myself someday.”

She gave me the side eye, a sly smile lifting her lips. “Well, if you quit calling my sister names, maybe she’ll let you drive hers.”

I nearly choked on my tongue. Because, surely, I didn’t hear the kid right. Somehow, I couldn’t picture the princess tooling around the hill country in a muscle car built twenty years before she was born.

The look on my face must’ve said it all because Zoe pursed her lips. “What?” she growled. “You don’t believe me?”

“Oh, I believe you. Lots of people collect classic cars.” I rapped my knuckles against the metal frame. “I prefer to drive mine, though.”

Zoe’s indignation faded to a frown. “She used to drive it everywhere. Before …”

It only took a couple of seconds for me to catch on. Two very long seconds where images of mangled wreckage, wisps of gray smoke, and a charred field in the middle of nowhere flashed in my head.

Before I could find my voice to offer an apology, the door on the bus slid open with a hiss. Paul lumbered down the steps, his gaze fixed on Zoe.

“I guess I’ll see you later,” she said. Not likely, but I smiled anyway. She took a step back, but then paused. “Take care of my sister, okay?”

The laugh caught in my throat when her blue-gray eyes locked onto mine. She was serious. I didn’t have the heart to tell her I was the last person anyone would trust with that particular duty.

“I’ll do my best.”

My statement held just enough conviction for Zoe to offer her hand for a shake. Biting down a smile, I obliged. The kid was a little unnerving. All teenager, but there was something in her eyes. Wisdom, maybe.

Zoe held on for a long time, only letting go when Paul called her name. “See you, Logan.”

I watched her retreating back for a second before sliding behind the wheel of my car. Paul had a good twenty-five years on me, but something told me the age difference wouldn’t stop him from taking me to the ground if he had the chance. Better to remove the temptation.

When I heard his truck rumble to life, I chanced a peek, and found Zoe waving like we were old friends.

I waved back.

Once they were gone, I twisted around and did a quick sweep of the car, checking the floorboards and the backseat for anything I might’ve missed. After patting the dashboard one final time, I pushed the door open. Sunlight poured in, dancing off the surface of my lucky penny, suspended from a piece of twine on the rearview mirror. Out of habit, I rubbed the coin between my thumb and forefinger.

Years ago, I wore it around my neck. Until the night my dad ripped it off when he was trying to keep me from choking the life out of him outside the trailer. I didn’t realize it was gone until I got to Sean’s house. At the time, I thought the coin was the price I had to pay for my freedom. One penny, some cracked ribs, and a few dozen bruises. And strangely, I was okay with that.

But then a couple of days later when I snuck back to get my things, I found the penny in the gravel by the steps to the trailer. And though I should’ve been happy, all I could hear was my old man’s voice.

“Your life ain’t worth a red cent, boy. Don’t you ever forget it.”

Brought back to the present when someone touched my shoulder, I met Anna’s wide eyes.

“What did you do?” she asked. My back stiffened in defense, a knee-jerk reaction. But then her fingers shot to my hair, sifting through the strands. “You cut your hair?”

I chuckled. “Oh … yeah.”

Sean and Cameron wandered up, bags in hand, wearing identical looks of surprise. Or horror. Probably horror.

“Dude,” Sean said, wrinkling his nose. “Why would you do that?”

A smile wobbled on Cameron’s lips. “You look kind of like my accountant.” He cocked his head. “Do you do taxes?”

And just like that, the dark cloud lifted. Plucking the lucky penny from the mirror, I slipped the twine over my head and discreetly tucked the coin under my T-shirt. “Very funny,” I said, unfolding myself from the seat. “Let’s get this show on the road. We’re burning daylight.”

Two hours after everyone arrived, and we still hadn’t moved. The delay only served as a stark reminder that nothing was in the band’s control. This was Tori’s show. And that was my fault, since I’d given her the power by signing the plea agreement.

But did she really think she could jerk us around like this?

The curtain on my bunk rustled, and Sean’s five-year-old daughter peeked her head inside. Like always, it only took one look at Willow’s little face, and the tension ebbed from my body.

“Come watch me pway, Unc Lo.”

She tugged at her hearing aid, a habit she’d picked up recently. I wondered if she’d only just realized that they were there. Willow was born almost completely deaf, but for the last few months, her parents had been taking her for tests in preparation for the surgery that would restore her hearing.

“Sure, baby.”

I let Willow lead me to the sofa in the common area where everyone was sprawled out on the two couches facing the big screen TV. Everyone but Tori. Curled up in a captain’s chair with her legs tucked beneath her, she stared out the window like we weren’t even here.

Two can play at that game, princess.

Plopping down on the sofa, I kept my back to her. Cameron set his phone on his knee and nudged me with his elbow. “What’s the hold up?” he whispered. “Weren’t we supposed to leave, like, an hour ago?”

“This ain’t my barbecue.” I flicked my annoyed gaze to Tori. “Ask our manager.”

Cameron slanted his eyes in her direction, and I swear he shuddered. “Nah. I’ll just call Chase. He’ll give me the scoop.”

He pushed to his feet, and I turned my attention to Willow. “Whatcha got there?” I asked when she thrust a CD case at me.

“Zewlda.”

Glancing over the elf on the cover, I scratched my head. “O-kay.” Making eye contact with her daddy when she skipped off to load the game, I lifted a brow. “No Halo?”

Sean chuckled. “She’s five, dude.”

“Anna confiscated all the war games,” Christian chimed in. “We’re stuck with Zelda, Mario, and Luigi.”

I grabbed some chips from the bowl on the table. “Sounds kinky.”

The guys pressed their lips together to keep from laughing, but Anna wasn’t amused. I smiled at her innocently as Willow scooted onto my lap to begin her quest.

A few minutes later, Cameron reclaimed his seat. “The driver’s held up,” he said. “Could be another hour.”

I tamped down my irritation, because really, where else did I have to be? Our show wasn’t until tomorrow night. Settling back against the cushions, I watched Willow’s avatar running through the forest. There were worse ways to spend the morning.

When lightning flashed outside the window, Christian turned his phone in my direction. “Check it out. We’re going to catch the outer bands of that tropical storm.”

Green and red swirls danced on the screen, cutting a swath across the southern half of the state. If we would have left on time we’d be ahead of it. “Perfect.”

I turned to glower at Tori, but her chair was empty. Something about that didn’t sit well with me, but I didn’t know why. Slowly, I pushed upright and repositioned Willow on the cushion beside me. “Be right back, baby.”

Under the guise of stretching, I stood up. And that’s when I saw Tori, standing in the parking lot, fat droplets of rain soaking her hair and clothes. I was out the door in a second, splashing the newly formed puddles as I stomped toward her.

“What are you doing?”

She didn’t answer. Didn’t move. Just stood frozen with her face tilted to the angry sky, blinking the rain out of her eyes. Shaking off the heavy feeling in my chest, I gently took her arm. “Tori, what the hell?”

As if she just realized I was there, she jerked her gaze to mine. “It’s raining.” The words trembled as they fell from her lips. “It’s not supposed to rain.”

Another bolt of lightning flashed across the darkening sky, and a shudder took her whole. She shifted her gaze to the bus, and it was like watching someone’s worst nightmare come to life.

Taking a step to block her view, I cupped her cheeks, forcing her to focus on my words. “You’re all right.”

I wasn’t sure why I said it. Tori was about as far from all right as a person could get. But she nodded. And I nodded back.

Infusing as much calm into my tone as I could manage, I said, “We need to get out of the rain.” Her eyes widened, and she shook her head, sending a torrent of tears sliding over my fingers. “Listen to me.” I stroked her cheek with my thumb, and she stilled. “How about we sit in my car for a minute. Would that be okay?”

The tension in her jaw eased, and she found her voice. “Just for a minute.”

Once I got her settled in the passenger seat, I crouched so we were eye level. Swept away by the torment churning in her amber gaze, I barely felt the rain that continued to lash at my skin.

“It wasn’t supposed to rain,” she said softly.

And I wasn’t sure if she meant today or if she was locked in the past.

I tucked a wet lock behind her ear. “Sometimes things don’t happen according to plan.”

She nodded, a little color returning to her cheeks. Embarrassment replaced the desolation in her eyes, and I knew she was a moment away from shutting me out. Before she did, I needed a plan. An option that didn’t include Tori on that tour bus.

“I’m going to grab a couple of towels,” I said as I hauled to my feet. “Be right back.”

Through the curtain of rain, I spotted Cameron eyeing me from the window as I trudged toward the silver beast. He met me at the door.

“What’s going on?” he asked, following me to my bunk.

I slid the strap on my duffel over my shoulder. “The bus is too fucking crowded. I’m going to drive.”

“Drive?” Confusion laced his tone. “What about Tori?”

After grabbing my guitar case and Tori’s rollaway from the opposite bunk, I finally looked Cameron in the eyes. “The princess isn’t letting me out of her sight. She already parked her ass in my car.”

I didn’t lie to my boys. Not usually. But what else could I do? Tori was only on this little adventure because of me. I owed her this bit of solace. Of privacy.

I patted Cameron on the back as I scooted past him. “Explain it to the guys. I’ll see y’all in Oklahoma.”