History is a funny thing. Two people can go through an event together, experience the exact same thing, and yet remember it completely differently. Lee’s story is altered, I’m sure. Her version the same, yet different than mine. At the end of the day, one thing we can agree on. Lee is more than my best friend. She’s my constant, the light in my dark, and the one person I can always count on.

Lee is the kind of friend everyone wants, but only half of us deserve. Loyal to a fault, even to those that don’t deserve it. The friend that I will do anything for, anything she asks, even if it means selling my soul to the devil.

Lee being here now, wanting to talk, meant she wanted something from me. I could stay in my room, go back to bed, and nurse my raging hangover, or I could man up and go find out what in the hell she wanted. Sighing, I grabbed a pair of basketball shorts from the floor and a shirt from the top of the desk, throwing them on quickly and reaching for the door.

She’d moved to the couch, tucking her legs under her. I headed to the coffee table and sat, facing her, bracing my hands on my knees. Something told me I wasn’t going to like what she had to say.

She smiled and slid her hand back and forth over the arm of the sofa. “I forgot how comfy this thing is,” she mused. It was unbelievably comfortable. I would know. I slept on it for months while I tried to sort out my life. I adjusted slightly, hating the awkward tension between us. Like always, she didn’t beat around the bush. “How much of last night do you remember?”

My eyes moved over her quickly. Her body language told me she was relaxed, which meant she wasn’t upset. So I couldn’t have done anything terrible. She met my eyes, unashamed, so I must not have said anything I shouldn’t have. “It’s a bit of a blur.”

“A bit of a blur?” Lee scoffed at me. “How many other nights have you spent in an alcohol haze?”

Her tone only held the slightest tinge of annoyance, but I couldn’t stand the worry I saw on her face. “More than you want to hear about.” My honesty surprised me. I’d intended to tell her to get bent and point out that she didn’t have the right to ask those kinds of questions. I just couldn’t bring myself to give her the same attitude I’d been giving the rest of the world.

Sighing, I leaned back a little, closed my eyes and pinched the bridge of my nose, hoping she’d get to the fucking point. “We’ve established I didn’t remember you were here, so I think it’s a safe bet to say that I don’t remember much about last night. So why don’t you tell me why you are.” My tone was gruff, but if it had been anyone else, the entire statement would have been filled with expletives.

Instead of cowering, like any sane person would have done, a toothy grin broke out on her face and she shook her head once. “God, I’ve missed you.” Lee’s words caused me to scowl before I could stop myself, making her laugh. “Oh, no need to pretend. I know you missed me just as much.”

When I moved back home after the accident, once I remembered all the lies that had torn my family apart, Lee and I had made a drunken promise to never lie to the other. We’d both told too many over the years, and both been on the receiving end of deception. I may omit a few things where she is concerned, but I’d always been truthful when asked. “I did miss you, and how much of a pain in the ass you are.”

The smile grew wider. “Come home with me.” Her voice was soft, tone light. But it was a command nonetheless. One that I had no intention of following.

“I am home.”

Lee rolled her eyes. “No, you’re not. Come on tour with us.”

Hell to the motherfucking no. Spend day in, day out, living with her and Kelly? Not going to happen. I didn’t hate myself that much. “No.”

“I need you.”

“You don’t. You’re perfectly fine with Sam. And Kelly would die before letting anything happen to you.”

She only waved her hand and slid her legs off the couch, her knees almost bumping mine as she leaned onto the coffee table next to me and grabbed a magazine. “You’re right. I have Sam and his team. I don’t need you.” She held it out for me to take. “She does.”

I glanced down, confused. I didn’t bother to read the headline. They were all the same. Half-truths and outright lies mixed together in the most dramatic way to entice normal, everyday people into buying them. It was the picture that had me grabbing the trash from Lee’s hands.

Molly Ray, the up-and-coming country music star, was featured on the cover. Nothing new for her, considering for years, everyone had been curious about the woman Nate Kelly took under his wing. When a woman looked like her—tatted from head to toe with rainbow hair and a body that screamed playboy playmate—people stopped and stared. When that woman was attached to the leading man in country music, people wanted to know everything about her. The paparazzi followed her everywhere, determined to discover some secret that no one else knew.

I was used to seeing her picture featured in the check-out line at the supermarket, but this picture was different. There were no coats being held up to shield her from prying eyes. There was no security detail whisking her away from the cameras aimed in her direction. For the first time ever, Molly was completely alone. And she looked terrified. Scared out of her fucking mind. The scene made my blood boil.

I snapped my eyes back to Lee. “Her detail better be fucking making a path for her to get through.”

“Right?” Lee threw a hand up in the air, exasperated. Then she let it drop with a soft thud onto her thigh and sighed. “No. She was alone.”

“Where in the fuck was her detail?”

Lee shrugged. “She left him in her hotel room. Said she wanted some time to herself.”

“And he let her leave alone?” I growled out, crumpling the magazine in my hand. “Who was it?”

Lee nodded, looking just as pissed as I felt. “The new guy, Tim.”

I may have worked for Kelly, but the security teams worked for me. I’d been in charge of making sure that there were plenty of guys around to watch everyone. The world was filled with whacked-out pricks who did fucking crazy shit most people would never imagine. Mols was a pain in the ass, don’t get me wrong, and tried to ditch us often. But she would have never, never, been able to go alone on my watch. I was going to find Tim, beat his ass, and then fire him. Ignorant fuck. I’d make sure he’d never work in this town again.

I was seconds away from telling Lee that I’d come back, just to clean up the mess that had obviously piled up in my absence, when I realized that it was Lee sitting in front of me, and not Nate. The man in charge should have at least called me to tell me he needed me. “Why are you here, Lee?”

Her eyes had narrowed for a second before she rolled them. “Really? I already told you. I’m here to get you to come back. Is it not obvious that we need you?” Each word was snapped out as the temper I loved so much threatened to make an appearance.

“No shit, kid. I got that. I mean, why are you here? Why not Kelly? No offense, but I’m just surprised the boss man didn’t feel the need to come himself. I’m surprised he’d want someone else on your bus.” Me. I’m surprised he’d want me on the bus, watching her, following her, listening to them, all day, every day.

“Oh!” Lee grinned, leaning back in the couch. “Nate’s not hiring you. You left a great team in place for us, and Sam’s amazing. I’m here to hire you on behalf of my client.”

I waited for her to clear up the confusion, but she didn’t say a word. My head continued to pound from the hangover and I didn’t have the energy to figure shit out on my own. Annoying little brat; some things never did change. “Lee, what in the fuck are you trying to say?”

Her smile didn’t falter. “I’m saying that I would like to hire you to run Molly’s security team. Only Molly’s.”