Chapter 30

Jace

It was getting late when I finally got home. Since Kin had to take care of her doctor’s appointment, I’d gone over to Kale’s to make sure we had everything we needed. I ended up having dinner with him and Santana before stopping at First Bass to grab a beer with Harris now that he was back at work a few nights a week.

“Kin?” I called out when I heard chatter coming from the direction of the kitchen. Pushing open the door, I looked in, surprised when I saw only Kassa and Gray sitting at the island eating a bowl of fruit. “Oh, hey. How did your prenatal visit go?”

“We heard the baby’s heartbeat!” my sister squealed. “And next time, we get to see if it’s a boy or a girl because we’ll be gone for so long on the tour.”

I walked into the room, pulling a beer out of the fridge. “That’s great. What do you want?”

“I want a girl, but Gray says he doesn’t care.”

“Just want Kassa and the baby to be healthy,” Gray told me, popping a strawberry into Kassa’s mouth. “Son or daughter, I’m okay with either or both.”

I choked on my beer. “Both? Are you having twins?”

My sister’s laugh was precious, but she shook her head. “No. Gray’s just already thinking of more babies.”

“We only have the one extra bedroom, Kas,” I reminded her. “One for now is enough until you two find a house.”

“We’ve been looking,” Gray said. “Just not where you would think we should be looking.”

“What the fuck does that mean?” I demanded. “I know you two enjoyed your time in Paris, but you’re not moving there.”

“Of course not!” Kassa exclaimed, rolling her eyes. “Actually…” I lifted my brows at her when she paused. “We’ve been talking to realtors in Bristol, Jace,” she finally mumbled.

Relief hit me like a wrecking ball to the gut, and I let go of the breath I hadn’t even realized I was holding. “I saw a few For Sale signs up a few blocks from Alicia’s,” I told her, and my sister’s face brightened. “How many bedrooms were you thinking?”

“Oh, well, we want at least three for now. More, if possible.” She jumped up, wrapping her arms around me for a tight squeeze. “You’re not upset?”

“Why would I be?” I asked, perplexed. “Bristol is home.”

“But I’ll be moving away from you,” she explained.

“We will see plenty of each other, though. The band will be touring a lot in the next few years. We’ll be on the road together more often than not.” And it would make me feel better if at least one of us were closer to Alicia. I kept my mouth shut about her illness, but it was eating away at me. I wanted to tell them about it so damn bad, but I’d promised Alicia, and I wouldn’t break my word. Not yet, anyway.

“You’re the best big brother ever,” she said with a little crack in her voice, and my guilt over keeping Alicia’s secret only mounted.

“Kin in our room?” I asked, changing the subject.

“She’s not with you?” Gray asked, and I shook my head. “We dropped her off at her place after the doctor. I figured she would come back with you since her Rover is in the garage downstairs.”

“Why didn’t she tell me?” I muttered, pulling my phone out to check to see if I’d missed a call or text from her. Dropping the untouched beer into the sink, I called her as I headed for the door. “I’m going to get her,” I called back to them as I waited for Kin to pick up.

“Be careful. Love you,” Kassa yelled as the kitchen door closed behind me.

My call was still unanswered when I reached the elevators. Finally, it went to voice mail, and I called her back. Still no answer.

Everything okay? I texted as I got into my car. I’m on my way to get you.

A reply came in before I even reached the garage exit.

Don’t come over. Just going to spend the night here. I have a headache.

Warning bells starting going off in my head. Something was wrong. I didn’t know what, but there was no way in hell I was going to let her sleep away from me. We hadn’t been apart for a single night since we’d gotten back together. I didn’t know what was wrong with her, but I wasn’t going to let her put up walls between us.

When I knocked on her apartment door, there was no answer. Amara and Riley had been at First Bass while I was there. Cash joined them before I left, letting me know he was all packed and ready to go for the tour.

Pounding on the door with one fist, I pressed down on the doorbell with the other. It would annoy the hell out of Kin, and she wouldn’t have any choice but to answer the door. A full minute passed, and I was beginning to sweat when the door swung inward.

“Baby…” I began and stopped when I got a good look at her face.

Tears streaked her cheeks. Her nose was bright red, and her eyes were so bloodshot, there was barely any white visible. She was dressed in pajamas and a thick cardigan like she was freezing.

“I told you not to come,” she muttered, her voice breaking.

I pulled her into my arms. “What’s wrong?”

She stood stiffly in my arms. “I don’t want to talk about it.”

Walking her into the apartment, I closed the door and then urged her over to the couch. I sat and tugged her down onto my lap. “Did something happen with your dad? I thought you two were trying to have a relationship now.”

“Haven’t talked to Scott,” she mumbled.

“Then why have you been crying?” I demanded, my heart shuddering in my chest. She looked like she’d been crying for hours, yet she hadn’t called me all day. What had I missed? What the fuck had I done this time to make her cry? When she remained silent, I cupped her face, trying to get her to meet my eyes. “Baby, talk to me.”

“It’s nothing,” she said, pulling away. “I’m just nervous about the first concert.”

“You’re that anxious?” She nodded, and I tucked her head under my chin. “You don’t need to be. I’m not going to let anything happen to you, Kin. I’ll be right there beside you the whole time, cheering you on.”

“I know,” she whispered.

For the next few minutes, we just sat there. I began to relax, glad I hadn’t done anything to make her cry again. Everything that upset her made me second-guess anything I said or did for fear she would leave me again.

Her muscles began to loosen, the tension in them too, and when I looked down at her, it was to find she’d fallen asleep.

Shaking my head at her, I stood with her in my arms and carried her into her room. The bed was unmade, and there was a pile of crumpled tissues spread all over the sheets. I laid her head on the pillows, tucking the covers around her before picking up the trash and tossing it into the wastebasket in the bathroom.

Going back into the bedroom, I kicked off my shoes. Taking out my keys and wallet, I tossed them on the side table and pulled off my shirt and jeans before crawling into bed behind her. With a sigh, she turned, pressing her face into my chest, her arm going around my waist.

“Love you,” she murmured in her sleep.

I kissed the top of her head. “I love you, Kin.”

--

I must have fallen asleep, because the next thing I knew, there was blinding light coming through the window.

Squinting my eyes against the glare, I sat up. Kin wasn’t in bed beside me, and the bathroom door was open with the lights off. I sat there, listening for some sign of life in the rest of the apartment.

When I heard footsteps outside the door, I got up. Pulling on my jeans, I grabbed my T-shirt and walked out to the kitchen where I found Riley and Amara eating breakfast together.

“Morning,” Amara greeted. “Hungry?” She held up a plate of pancakes, but I wasn’t sure she was actually offering me one. I knew she wasn’t much of a sharer these days. Cash teased her about it all the time, but it was kind of adorable. Her baby bump only got bigger every time I saw her, and she was always eating something.

“I’m good,” I told her, even though my stomach was growling. “Where’s Kin?”

“She’s not in her room?” Riley asked, her brows lifted.

“No.” I grabbed the coffeepot, pouring a cup full, and swallowed it in two big gulps.

“We haven’t seen her,” the little brunette informed me, and my heart started to jackhammer.

She’s okay, I told myself. She’s just nervous. She would have told me if something was wrong.

But even as I tried to reassure myself of all that, I couldn’t get my own anxiety to calm down. I excused myself and ran back to Kin’s room to grab my keys and wallet, only my keys were gone. Shit. She must have taken my car.

Picking up my phone, I called her and blew out a relieved breath when she picked up on the second ring. “Hey. Sorry I took your car. I need to run out to see Lucy really quick.”

“That’s fine. I don’t care if you use it. I was just worried when I woke up and you weren’t here. If you’d woken me up, I would have gone with you.”

“I’m sorry. You were sleeping so peacefully, and this won’t take long.”

I dropped down onto the edge of her bed. “Take your time. I’ll just hang around here.”

“Jace…” She paused then exhaled heavily. She wanted to tell me something; I could feel it all the way to my bones. But when she spoke again, it was only to say, “I love you.”

I rubbed a hand over my chin. “I love you too, babe. Kiss Hayat for me, and I’ll see you later. Okay?”

“Okay. See you.”

After she hung up, I fell back onto the mattress and closed my eyes. Something was wrong, and it wasn’t just because of her stage fright. I knew my girl, knew she was strong enough and amazing enough that she could face a crowd no matter how big or intense it really got.

No, there was something else going on. I just had to give her time to tell me.