KNOCK! KNOCK!
“Hey!”
Someone knocked again.
“Bri? Luke? Let me in!” A voice yelled through the back door as they kept pounding on it.
I had tensed at first and went to the basement doorway, but I held back. Recognizing Braden’s voice, I relaxed, but when Luke walked across the floor for the door, my muscles tightened once again. He wasn’t—I thought he’d call through the door, but not let him in. Nope. It was in slow motion, like watching an accident happening, but I couldn’t stop it. His hand unlocked the door and wrapped around the doorknob. It twisted to the right, and yes, I sucked in my breath. He opened the door.
But nope.
His foot acted as a doorstopper. With only his head and shoulders in the doorway, Luke still blocked Braden from coming downstairs. I scurried from the doorway and grabbed my clothes. I could hear the murmur of conversation, but it was only a matter of moments before Braden pushed his way through, or Luke would let him inside. Either way, I knew my brother was going to see me in my post-coital glow. As I ran my hands through my hair, trying to smooth it out, I tried to tell myself this wasn’t a walk-of-shame. I had nothing to be ashamed of, and I wasn’t walking anywhere. Still. It was embarrassing.
“Yeah?” Braden’s voice was clearer now.
The door opened.
He stepped inside, and Luke moved back, allowing him to enter. I double-checked my appearance in the mirror. I thought I looked okay. Rolling my eyes, I knew this was ridiculous. Like Braden wouldn’t know what we had done?
The steps creaked under their weight. They were both coming downstairs.
“…we have to go. It’d be good for the band.”
Luke replied, “She crashed here tonight. You can ask her.”
“Hey!” Braden saw me.
I looked up. Moving from the bathroom, I smoothed out my shirt. My reflection showed that I looked presentable, but the mirror was more smudged than clean, so the real test would be my brother’s reaction. He did nothing. He only threw his arm around my shoulder and jostled me. “My favorite twin sister.”
“What do you want?”
He laughed, giving me a loving squeeze. “Nothing…that you shouldn’t want.”
My eyes narrowed. “Spill it, brother. I have a shift to get ready for in a couple of hours.”
“Okay.” He released me, but held up a finger. “One, you need to get out of that shift. Two, go home and shower. You reek of sex. That’s like spoon-feeding Emerson. You know how he is.”
Luke and I shared a look. Yep. He had noticed. I’d been an idiot to hope he hadn’t. Crossing my arms over my chest, I tuned in as Braden continued with his list. He had four fingers in the air, saying, “…it’s for the band. We can’t not go, you know?” He waved those fingers at Luke. “Right? You’re with me.”
“I am.”
“You are?” I cocked my head to the side. What was going on?
“Of course, he is.” Braden was shaking his head, his eyes filling with disbelief. “You don’t agree?”
“What is happening?”
The four fingers dropped back to his side, and my brother looked at me like I had grown an extra head. I checked both sides, and nope, there wasn’t a second growth there. I murmured, “Say it again, Bray. I missed the third finger.” I cringed. “And I didn’t mean that how it came out.”
The disbelief slid away, and my brother’s eyes sparkled. The corners of his mouth pinched inwards as he tried not to laugh.
“Come on.” I groaned. “Tell me what the third point was. I didn’t hear it.”
“Okay.” Two short laughs slipped from him. “The Feast is tonight. You know, where all the bands get together and take turns jamming on the stage. No outsiders are allowed. Only everyone who matters—”
His chest puffed up. He was going to launch into a spiel about The Feast, but I held up a hand, stopping him. “We know what The Feast is. We’re in the same band.”
“I know.” His mouth turned down. “Last year all those college students came. Not cool. I know it was Mel from D’s Boobs that let everyone know. No outsiders allowed—”
Luke interjected, “Unless they’re invited.” His arms were crossed over his chest, and I tried not to stare at him. Ogling Luke in front of my brother, especially after the night we had, wasn’t needed, but still…my eyes lingered on a bird tattooed over his bicep.
“One or two,” Braden snapped. “Not thirty.”
“I know.” Luke’s arms unfolded, and his hands slid inside his pockets. His jeans slipped an inch lower, exposing how his obliques cut into a V, heading downward. It was like a big arrow pointing where to go. My hand twitched, and my mouth watered. Goodness gracious. Ripping my eyes away, I knew my cheeks were flushed. I had to get ahold of myself, but I’d just been with him moments ago. The feel of his body on mine as his arms held me was addicting.
I wanted another taste.
“So, how about it?”
Braden’s voice grated against my eardrums. He was waiting for my reply. Again. “Uh, sure.”
“Really?” His eyes lit up.
What had I agreed to? My stomach tightened, and I looked at Luke. He was shaking his head with the corner of his mouth curled up.
“Good. Okay.” Braden clapped his hands together. His fingers started tapping against each other. “Here’s the plan. Brielle, you give your shift away, then go and shower. Luke,” his nose wrinkled, “you shower, too. I have to check on Mom. She wasn’t feeling good earlier, and then we can go.” His hands separated and pointed in opposite directions. “Just don’t shower together because I’m here, and that’s gross. When you’re done showering, come to the house. I’ll call Emerson and have him meet us there. He doesn’t need to ride with us. Band bonding is good, but the extra car ride might be too much bonding.”
Band bonding? My mouth dropped. “What?”
“Okay.” My brother ignored me and clapped his hands together once more. “We have a plan. I feel good about this. Be ready in thirty minutes. I’ll grab the coffee and donuts.” He didn’t stick around. He dashed up the stairs. As the door closed behind him, I turned heated eyes to Luke. “What the hell did I just agree to? The Feast is tonight. It’s always late at night and in the park.”
He was shaking his head, but his shoulders were lifting slightly. “Paul Montrose—”
“From Shifter?”
“Yeah. He’s hosting a pre-Feast shindig today.”
“That’s not bad. A car ride to his house…”
Luke moved back a step, scratching underneath his jaw.
“What?” This wasn’t going to be good. I knew it…I waited.
“It’s not at his house. It’s at the river.”
The river was an hour away. I squeaked out, “All day? That’s how long this will go?”
His head moved up and down. “I’m sorry. I thought you heard your brother.”
“Oh my god.” I pressed my hands to my temples. They were throbbing already. “A whole day with Emerson?”
“I’ll be there.” His hand fell away and slid back inside his jean’s pocket. “I should’ve stopped your brother from coming down. If it’s any consolation, I think your brother just wants to go because Avi is going to be there.”
I rolled my eyes. That made it worse. “So, my brother is subjecting me to an entire day of torture with Emerson so he can get in some hot singer’s pants?”
The corner of his mouth twitched. “Apparently her vocals are supposed to be off the charts.”
“Grammy winning off the charts?”
Both corners of his mouth were stretched. He was trying not to laugh. “I guess. Does that make it better?”
I groaned. “It’s done. Avi’s vagina had better be the best he’s ever felt because a whole day with Emerson…” I shook my head. “Someone’s going to end up in the hospital.”
It was nuts when we got there.
“Took you long enough, my future band masters.” The first person we saw was Dustin. Barefoot and wearing only black swimming trunks and a yellow inner tube around his waist, he lifted his beer in a salute. When we got closer, we could see a small rubber ducky was duct taped onto the inner tube. A six-pack of beer dangled from his waist, hanging from a cord that had been looped around the inner tube.
“What the…” Braden stopped beside me, holding a cooler of beer on his shoulder. “I thought this shindig was insiders only.”
Dustin’s hand went to his chest. “That hurts, my future best friend. Insiders only? I’m a Grant West purebred.” His hand went to the rubber ducky. “Is no one going to mention my buddy here?”
I didn’t care.
Braden scratched the back of his neck.
Luke’s eyebrows bunched forward.
“That hurts.” Dustin squeezed the duck so it squeaked. “His name is Hitchcock. He’s a rebel.”
“How’d all these people get invited?” Braden asked, scowling.
“Okay.” Dustin indicated behind him, his hand sweeping out like he was on The Price is Right. “Yes, I’ll admit I might’ve overextended my privileges of being your future head roadie, but these fine folk heard the words ‘river,’ ‘drinking,’ and ‘bands.’ I couldn’t fight them off with a bat. They were salivating over the idea of hanging out with some local bands, especially one that’s going to be famous.” His hand moved back in front of him, and he pointed at us with a finger. “That’s you guys.”
The river was a specific spot where people were able to camp, barbeque, swim, and fish. It wasn’t known to a lot of people, but a few guys from another band found the spot five years ago. It was spread by word of mouth, and eventually anyone who was in a band, knew a band, followed a band, or were friends with a band knew about the place. There was no parking lot, only a large patch of grass, and the beach was a sand bar. As Dustin was speaking, a group of girls ran past us in their bikinis, wearing straw hats and cowboy boots. One of the girls paused long enough for me to read Grant West University on the back of her bikini bottom.
It wasn’t a local secret anymore.
I skimmed the line of cars. “I’m betting there are twenty cars here.”
Braden scowled, tightening his grip on the cooler. “No outsiders allowed.”
“Paul’s coming.” Luke pointed ahead of us where a guy had broken apart from the crowd. He was walking toward us, moving in a quick gait.
Like the last time we saw him, he was gripping a beer in his hand and waved with his other. “Hey, guys. I’m glad you could come.” He pointed over his shoulder. “This was all last minute. A bunch of us thought an all-day party was the way to go today.” He put two fingers to his mouth, making a sucking sound. “You know, we didn’t want the party to stop, but, yeah. Emerson was there. I gave him the invite. He was supposed to let you guys know. When he didn’t show this morning, I figured I should get ahold of one of you guys. You never know with him, do ya?”
Emerson at a party? I muttered under my breath, “What a shocker.”
Dustin’s duck squeaked.
“Everyone looks drunk.” Braden bent down, setting the cooler onto the ground. “There’s no way everyone’s going to be able to drive to Grant West tonight. The Feast is happening here tonight.”
Just then, someone struck up a guitar chord, and a loud ‘whoop’ filled the air. One of the bands was warming up their instruments. It wasn’t long before a crowd had gathered around them, and people started dancing on the sidelines.
“Yeah, we’ve been calling everyone today, letting them know the change of location.” Paul saluted us with his beer. “We’ll do it proper next year. It looks like they’re starting up a jam session. You guys are welcome to join, as always. In fact, I know they wanted you guys to come. Bri,” Paul said to me, “some of the new bands were hoping to talk to you. They’re looking for a good drummer, thought you might know of someone.”
“She’s ours,” my brother growled.
“Braden.” Luke’s eyes flashed a warning. “Chill.”
“Sorry,” he said to Paul. “Sorry, man. I just don’t like the idea of outsiders coming in. I liked our tradition how it was.” His eyes skimmed over me, and I understood my brother’s concern. If The Feast was overrun with outsiders, it was no longer just ours. It was theirs. It became about performing instead of playing music. Then his head shot to the right, and he asked, “Is that Avi?”
Without waiting for a response, Braden grabbed the cooler and took off, heading for a girl who was swaying back and forth. Her hands were weaving in the air like she was playing an invisible cello, her head was back, and her eyes were closed.
“Braden’s got a thing for vocal chords.” Dustin was petting the duck as if it were a real pet. “Cool. She’s hot.”
Paul asked us, “He must not be that upset?”
“He’ll get over it.” Luke stepped forward and clapped Paul on the shoulder. “Braden cares about music and ass. He’ll get both here tonight. It might be fun, doing The Feast like this for the year.”
“Hey, Paul!” a shout came from the group. A girl was jumping up and down, pumping her arms back and forth each time she launched herself in the air. “Come on!”
He started heading for her, but threw over his shoulder to us, “I’ll see you guys over there. There’s lots of food and booze, among other things.”
Dustin moved closer to us as Paul jogged back to the group. “Hey…” His tone was suddenly serious, very unlike Dustin.
The hairs on the back of my neck rose.
He added, “I gotta warn you two. I overheard some conversations from some of the people.” His hand slapped against his chest. “Not my people, other people. Like, people I didn’t invite, but aren’t in all your ‘inner musician’ circle, if you know what I mean.”
“Yeah, yeah.” My unease spiked. “What’d you overhear?”
“There are dudes here who don’t like your ex.” Dustin’s eyes darted to Luke’s and held there for a moment before swinging back to mine. His hand had a death grip on Hitchcock’s neck. The air was pushing all the way up into the head and was straining at the ends. His duck was going to explode. “Paul doesn’t know any of it, but there’s a group who wanted Elijah called, but they’re acting shady about it. They’re hoping he comes with Emerson for some reason. He’s got competitors, right?”
I heard the cop again, asking me, “Someone else runs Grant East. Are they the ones moving in?” Braden’s voice overlapped hers, saying, “Paul said some other guys were at the party— guys he didn’t know. He asked Emerson about them, but Em was adamant that he needed to leave them alone.” An image of Paul flashed in my mind, as he walked around the side of his house, “I wanted to call Elijah, but Emerson kept saying in the bedroom we couldn’t call him…”
I grabbed for Luke’s arm. “Elijah can’t come here.” The words were out of me before I realized I had thought them, but I was right. These guys, whomever they were, were Eli’s competitors. “It’s too dangerous for him to come here.”
I held still, knowing how that sounded. I was the ex, speaking up for Elijah, but it was the truth. “I’m sorry, Luke. We have to stop Elijah and Emerson.”
“Too late.”
Those words came from behind us, and we saw Elijah and Emerson, both standing there. My cousin was already scowling, but when wasn’t he? He was decked out in sandals, swim trunks, and a tank top that had a large fist on the front of it. With sunglasses covering his eyes and a red cooler of beer, he looked ready for a day in the sun. Elijah, on the other hand, was the opposite. He was decked out in his usual wardrobe—a black sweatshirt and jeans over sneakers. However, his hood wasn’t pulled up. He tilted his head to the side, and his hand scratched the bottom of his chin. He asked, “‘Too late’ for what, Bri? What are you hoping to stop us from?”
Luke and I shared a look. What did we do?
Luke decided for me. He gestured to the crowd behind us. “We think your competitors are here. Are you vying for new clients? Is that why you’re here?”
“What?” Elijah narrowed his eyes.
Emerson stepped to the side. We were no longer two facing two, but more of a circle now. As he did, he glanced behind me and checked out the group, too, before turning so his back was slightly toward them. He lowered his voice. “Those are Brute’s guys. You can’t go over there, Eli. They’ll think you’re here on their territory.”
Elijah was looking past our shoulders, his gaze firmly trained on the group. I had no doubt who he was looking at. The longer he studied them, the more my alarm rose. This wasn’t Easygoing Elijah; this was Dangerous Elijah. I almost snorted. Of course. This side came out when it dealt with his business.
His eyes slid to mine. “You got a problem?”
“What are you going to do?” I jerked a thumb over my shoulder. “Fight ’em? Paul lives in Grant East—”
“What do you know about Grant East?”
“I know what the cops told me, you know, when they raided your house, and I got my ass hauled to the station. They said Brute runs Grant East. What are you doing here, Elijah?”
“My best friend asked me to come here. I came to hang out.”
Emerson let out a deep groan, his hands shoving into his pockets. “This is going to suck. They’ve got four guys. Four to one. Those aren’t good odds.”
Elijah’s top lip curled up into a sneer. “Thanks for having my back, Em. Really appreciate it.”
“What?” Emerson held a hand out toward Luke. “My band’s here. I’m not fucking that up. I’m not asking Braden or Luke to step in for me either. Look.” His hand gripped the back of his neck. “Let’s just go. We can party somewhere else.”
All of us regarded Emerson. There was a moment of silence.
I burst out laughing. “Who are you, and where is my usual-hating cousin?”
Both of his lips curled up, and he was seething at me. “Don’t start, Bri.”
“You don’t start,” I shot back. “What the hell, Emerson? You’re always up for a fight. You’re always up for partying. And there are girls here, who, I’m sure, are only too eager to hook up with a musician. It’s like shooting ducks in a barrel here, and you want to leave? Out of the goodness of your heart?”
“I’m looking out for my best friend.” He stepped closer to me, his neck craning forward as a vein stood out. “Something you wouldn’t know about.” He gave both Elijah and Luke a meaningful look.
Now my blood was boiling. Crossing my arms over my chest, my chin lowered, setting in place. I was just getting started. “Fuck that. I was being nice just now. I was leaving out the big one, the one that seems to be your only priority. You know what else is here? Your favorite. Dru—”
“Okay.” Luke clamped a hand over my mouth and pulled me into this chest. He kept his hand there, lifting his arm over my head so he could lead me away from Emerson. His other hand urged me forward, pressing against my hip. “Let’s not do this. We’re going to go. This probably isn’t the best place for any of us to be, considering the circumstances.”
I pulled his hand from my mouth. “My brother.”
“I’ll get him,” Elijah said too quickly. He was walking toward the group before any of us could stop him.
“Oh, fuck.” Emerson released a resigned breath of air. “This isn’t going to end well.”
“I’ll stop him.” Luke moved around me, and he was off, hurrying after my ex before I could blink an eye.
“What just happened here?” I grabbed my hair and held on. An anchor dropped to the bottom of my feet, and I couldn’t move.
“Shit.”
For once, my cousin wasn’t spewing his hatred at me. He was focused solely on the impending clash that was going to happen as Elijah was already to the group. Luke was right behind him. As we watched like spectators, four guys I didn’t recognize moved forward to meet Elijah. Three were shirtless and wearing swimming trunks. One wore jeans, but was still shirtless. He was tall, too tan, and looked like a bodybuilder. Two of the others had similar physiques, while the fourth was tall and lanky. All four of them were covered in tattoos, up and down their arms, over their chests, and around the necks.
As we waited, I felt my pulse starting to beat harder and harder.
Luke got to Elijah, and he pulled him to the side. Braden noticed them and stood. Avi slid off his lap, and he hurried over to them. All three stood in a small circle, having a conversation. Elijah looked over at his competitors. The one in jeans made a show of cracking his knuckles, and he smirked.
Luke moved so he was blocking Elijah’s view, and he gestured to Emerson and me. Elijah wasn’t concerned with us. He stepped around Luke, raising his chin at Jean Guy. The small gesture was enough of a challenge. Jean Guy started toward them, but then Paul stepped in the middle. He was strumming a guitar and inclined his head forward. He said something to Jean Guy, who was still watching Elijah. As if sensing the impending fight, a group of girls started dancing between the two groups. One girl, I recognized her as Avi, touched Paul on the shoulder and started belting out a song. She began swaying to the music again, and soon the crowd had moved over to completely block Elijah, Luke, and Braden from Jean Guy and his three friends. It was then that I let out an exaggerated burst of air.
Elijah, Luke, and Braden were heading back to us.
“What are you so goddamn worried about?” Emerson was glaring at me.
“You might not want to start with me.”
“Oh, really?”
“Really.”
He folded his arms over his chest, turning the same loathsome focus back on me. “Why do you say that?”
“Because I’m fairly certain those guys are your drug dealers, and Elijah won’t like finding that out since you’re his best friend.”
“He won’t sell to me.”
My body had stiffened again. I expected another snarl from my cousin, but that was all he said. Then the guys were to us, and without saying a word, Elijah went past us, heading for his car. Emerson hightailed it behind him, leaving Braden and Luke with me.
All three of us waited and watched them go.
I had a feeling that we had escaped a disaster waiting to happen.