Pacing around the loft, I waited for Logan and Cameron to arrive. I pulled out my phone to text Taryn. But what would I say?

Sorry I left without a word, dinner tonight?

I stared down at the blank screen as the apprehension bubbled inside.

Laurel groaned, so I abandoned the text and edged toward the couch.

She’d followed me into the tent after my dust-up with Beckett. High on who knows what, she’d babbled incoherently and tried to crawl all over me. Before she could do any more damage to herself or her brother’s reputation, I put her in the car and headed home. She’d slept most of the way, throwing up twice in the truck.

I crouched in front of her.

“You lied to me,” she mumbled, looking around with unfocused eyes. “You said we were going to go party.”

I also told her I wouldn’t call Logan, which I did, the minute she passed out. My hard ass approach wasn’t working.

“It’s a private party, darlin’.” I swept a lock of hair from her face. “Tell me what you took.”

Her heavy-lidded gaze turned sultry. “Why, you want some, baby?”

I gave her the most genuine smile I could muster. “Depends. Show me the goods.”

She reached into her bra and fumbled around, producing a small, clear baggie.

I glanced at the little yellow pills. OxyContin. One of those bad boys could knock a grown man on his ass. Unless the grown man had a habit. Back in the day, I could take plenty.

“Oxy?” I chuckled, keeping up the charade. “Good choice. How many of these did you take, baby?”

If she said more than one after being clean for a couple of months, we were in trouble.

“Just one,” she mumbled. “So good …”

I shoved the pills into my pocket before tilting her chin with my knuckle. “You got any uppers?”

As bad as it was, it could get worse. She could be speedballing, mixing the Oxy with amphetamines.

“Nah,” she slurred. “Dude didn’t have any s-speed.”

“You score this at the river?” Her eyes fluttered to half mast, surveying me with caution. Cupping the back of her neck, I leaned close to her ear. “I thought you wanted to party? There are only three pills here. We can’t party with three pills.”

“I know a guy,” she said as she pulled me closer. “He delivers.”

Footsteps thundered in the narrow stairwell as Logan topped the stairs, his frantic gaze shifting from Laurel to me.

“What the fuck are you doing?” he roared. “Get your hands off her.”

Before he could lunge, Cameron was on the landing, his arm snaked around his best friend’s neck.

“You called him?” Laurel croaked, confusion furrowing her brow.

I gave her a nod as I disentangled myself.

Logan’s furious blue eyes tracked my movement as I walked toward him.

“She took an Oxy,” I said. “She scored them at the river.”

Logan fought to even his breath but remained still in Cameron’s hold. “You said she was fine,” he bit out through gritted teeth.

It wasn’t important that I didn’t say it, only that Logan believed that I had.

I rubbed the back of my neck. “Yeah, she wasn’t ready—”

Logan shrugged off Cameron’s grip. “Maybe if you weren’t so busy fucking around with Taryn you would have noticed.”

“Dude, he’s allowed to have a life,” Cameron said. “Yeah, maybe he should have told us to watch Laurel, but you know how it is. He was attracted to the chick.”

Bitter laughter rumbled from Logan’s chest. “He was fucking Taryn before we went to the river. You just didn’t know it. That’s why she stormed out of the show the other night. Tori told Dylan if he didn’t make things right with Taryn we wouldn’t get our deal. That’s the only reason Chase was invited—to get his shit straight with Taryn.”

Cameron blinked at me, too stunned to speak.

“Yeah,” Logan continued. “Your brother’s got his own agenda. Seems Tori wants to offer him his own little piece of the pie. Executive Producer or some bullshit. That’s why my sister didn’t get the attention she needed.”

The sleeping giant yawning inside me roared to life. “You little fucker. It’s not like that. I told you—”

Logan shoved me to the floor, then dropped a knee to my chest.

“I left as soon as I saw what was going on with Laurel,” I snarled. “Now get the fuck off me. We need to deal with this situation. Your sister needs more help.”

More help than I can give.

Logan hauled to his feet. “I shouldn’t have trusted you to begin with. I’m taking Laurel home with me.”

He yanked a blanket off the back of the couch, swaddling his sister like an errant child.

“I wouldn’t do that, dude,” I warned. “She needs to go back to rehab. You can’t help her.”

“I can do a better job than you,” he shot back, pulling Laurel to her feet.

When footsteps echoed in the stairwell, I prayed it was Vaughn, but it was Calista who appeared on the landing.

“I did a sweep of Laurel’s apartment like you asked,” she said. “I found these in the refrigerator.”

Calista handed over a prescription bottle and a small bag of weed, and then wiped her palm on her jeans for good measure. She never broke a sweat, not even when faced with a room full of junkies shaking off their last high. But holding the weapons of your own destruction would make anyone twitchy.

Calista had demons under her skin—sleeping—waiting. Like mine.

The Oxy in my pocket called to that empty place where my demon crackled to life. I’d felt him there for days. Even tried to drown him in alcohol. But the booze only fortified the bastard.

I shoved the small weapons in my pocket, adding them to my growing arsenal. “Thanks, Calista. Logan’s taking over Laurel’s care. You might want to give him some information—”

“I don’t need anything from y’all,” Logan said as he marched past us with his sister in tow. “I’ll send someone over to collect Laurel’s stuff. I’ll see you Thursday if we still have our gig at the Parish.” Doubt flickered in his eyes when he realized what his disrespect might cost him.

I blew out a resigned breath, my failure tainting the air. “You’re solid. That’s got nothing to do with this.”

Laurel’s eyes found mine. For all of her excitement about leaving with her brother, she knew what it meant. There was a reason she came to me, drunk or high. She wanted to be saved. And Logan couldn’t save her.

I smiled, noting the defeat in her eyes. Or was it mine? My own defeat reflected there?

Calista’s brow furrowed in concern as she looked at me. Really looked at me. “Chase, do you need anything before I go?”

The little pills in my pocket promised the absolution she couldn’t offer. “I’m good.”

She nodded, then followed Logan down the stairs.

Cameron dropped on the floor next to me. He looked very much like the little boy who lived in my memory, always seeking me out for guidance. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

“About?”

There were so many things I hadn’t told him. Starting with Taryn, and ending with the craving that boiled beneath my skin. The craving was winning. My tone was already shorter than I intended. I wanted to be alone. With my demon.

“Your thing with Taryn,” he said quietly. “And Tori’s invite. You can’t really be thinking about doing that.”

The sane part of me tried to conjure an answer. But it was the dark bastard taking over, inch by inch, that turned to my brother. “Why?” I smirked. “Afraid of a little competition?”

Cameron’s face fell as he collided with the side of me that disappeared all those years ago. “No, man. That’s not …” He shook his head. “You just can’t.”

Pushing to my feet, I towered over him, fingering the plastic baggie in my pocket.

“I can do anything I want.” I walked casually to the fridge and grabbed a beer. “I don’t need your permission. And I didn’t ask for your advice.”

Cameron nodded slowly. He knew who he was dealing with. Or he suspected. We’d done this dance before, and he’d never won.

“I guess you didn’t.” He cleared his throat. “Why don’t you hand over that little stash, and I’ll be on my way.”

Determination sharpened his features. Cameron couldn’t win, but he’d fight. He fought for me when he was a kid, and now he was a grown man. Six two if he were an inch, he’d use that bulky frame to impose his will. Not that it would work. I pulled the prescription bottle and small baggie of weed from my pocket, careful to leave the Oxy where it sat. Tossing the stash to my brother, I smirked when he caught it with one hand. “Good save.”

But not good enough.

He visibly relaxed as he tucked the goodies in his pocket. “Why don’t we go grab something to eat?” he offered. “We can talk.”

I lifted the beer to my lips. “Dude, I’m tired. I’ve been babysitting Laurel all fucking afternoon. Just …” Grinding my teeth, I fought like hell to keep from slashing too deep. “Go home. I’ll call you tomorrow.”

Cameron lingered behind me for a long moment. “I’ll see you tomorrow, then?”

I nodded.

As soon as the door clicked shut, I picked up my phone. Scrolling through my contacts, I cursed when I couldn’t find the number I was looking for. Sinking onto the couch, I directed my browser to a website for the dive bar where one of my old band mates was playing a gig.

A woman’s gravelly voice barked over the loud music. “Yeah?”

“Is Havok playing tonight?”

“They go on at nine.”

“Thanks, darlin’.” I reclined into the cushions. “Hey, is Pierce around?”

“Who’s this?” she asked suspiciously.

“Noble.”

She dropped the receiver and bellowed for Pierce.

A breathless voice boomed over the line a moment later. “Noble, dude, how the fuck are you?”

“Good, man.” I pulled the Oxy from my pocket, turning the baggie over in my palm. “I was thinking about catching your show tonight. Maybe we could jam afterward. Party a little.”

The demon currently wearing my face smiled. I didn’t know how to party “a little.”

Pierce laughed. “Come on down Noble; it’s pretty freewheeling over here. You can hit the stage with us.”

I took out a pill. Closing one eye, I held it up to the light. A forty. Forty milligrams. Eight times the strength of one Vicodin. I broke the pill in half, then washed it down with a swig of beer.

“I’ll see you at nine, Pierce.”

The sun beat through the window, warming my skin. I squinted, then looked down at the stain on my shirt. Vomit. I barely made it to my feet before the bitter taste of bile filled my mouth.

Hunched over the toilet, I spewed last night’s beer into the bowl. The shower washed off the stench but not the guilt. Not even close. I wiped the steam from the mirror and gazed at a reflection I almost didn’t recognize. It had been a long time since I’d seen him. Or me. The real me. The guy that lost chunks of time in a drug-fueled haze. The only thing I remembered about last night was floating on a cloud. And the call to Pierce. Then nothing.

Fuck.

I never made it to the bar. Which was probably a good thing. Half of a forty milligram Oxy knocked me on my ass. If I’d managed to make it out of the loft, I’d probably be in the hospital.

I dressed quickly, the walls in the small bathroom closing in on me. I’d spent too much time on dirty tile, hugging a toilet or propped against a metal door in my old life.

I found my phone wedged in the cushions of the couch. Twelve o’clock. I’d slept through the night and half the day.

Checking the texts, my heart sank. Nothing from Taryn. My fingers hovered over the keyboard, but I lost my nerve, so I headed to the fridge for some liquid courage.

The bottle was halfway to my lips when I saw him. My father.

Tyler assessed me from the landing, looking me over with a narrowed gaze. We had the same eyes, Tyler, Cameron, and me. But my father’s hazel orbs held no life.

“Is that the only old habit you’ve given in to, boy?” he asked with a laugh.

One look at my father and the demon in me ran for cover, so I strode to the sink and dumped the beer.

Methodically, I placed the empty bottle in the trash, then took a deep breath, meeting my old man’s gaze. “What do you want, Tyler?”