“She was with me! You didn’t see the rest of them goin’ apeshit over your boyfriend—”

“He’s not my boyfriend! I don’t do that sort of shit anymore, not since you.”

I rolled my eyes and got into the Mercedes. “Don’t give me that shit, Brigid. It’s not like either one of us were in love.”

“Speak for yourself,” she snapped.

I felt a sharp twinge in my chest. Did she really think that what we had was love?

Looking at her, I couldn’t believe she’d ever had real feelings for me because she only had feelings for herself. She’d been with me for what I could give her. Brigid only had one person on her mind at all times, and that was herself.

“Let’s just get this over with,” I grouched, feeling cornered. Wherever this was going, it wasn’t good.

Then, why am I goin’ at all? Why am I in this fuckin’ car, goin’ to lunch with someone I want nothin’ to do with?

Pulling out her phone, she typed something into it. “I’ll tell Devon to look for your phone. Maybe it got knocked to the floor or something,” she said.

“Don’t bother. He doesn’t need to know I was there at all.”

“Too late,” she replied, smiling sweetly.

That smile irritated the fuck out of me.

Kenna

It was one o’clock.

Phil was never late, and he never ignored my phone calls.

Where is he?

Lewis was here. He, Lili, and I put away the groceries, and he said that he and Phil had come back together, that he’d been heading back here when Lewis went to meet Lili.

I called again, and this time, I heard his special ringtone for me, “Kashmir,” right outside the open bus door. Relief washed through me, and I nearly tripped to get to him.

Except it wasn’t Phil.

Devon was holding Phil’s phone. By the look on his face, he wasn’t amused.

“Where’s Phil?” I asked, my voice hardly able to squeak out of my throat.

“That’s a good question, Doc.”

My heart…he felt sick. I felt nauseated as it dropped somewhere in my gut. The universe slipped off-kilter, tilting at a bizarre angle. I was in a parallel place where Technicolor could not be visualized.

“What’s going on?” I asked Devon quietly.

Devon held out Phil’s phone. “You’re the only one who has ‘Kashmir’ for a ringtone. What’s that all about?”

Snatching the phone from his hand, I glared. “Where is he?”

He pulled out his own phone, flipped it open, and pushed a few buttons before handing it over, too.

Brigid: Went to lunch with Phil. He lost his phone on the bus. Won’t be gone long. ;)

My heart simmered in my stomach acid. As I handed Devon his phone, I found it hard to look him in the eyes.

“If it’s any consolation, Doc, I don’t think you need to worry about your man. If I know Brigid, she probably harassed him into it.”

“He was in your bus, alone with her?”

The thought just seemed so incredible to me. Phil wouldn’t do that, not after the past few nights we’d spent together. To put me in this sort of situation, knowing how I felt about that woman—

Why would he want me to question my trust in him?

“And I’m sure she did that on purpose, too. I told her he was with you the night we all ran into each other, but Brigid doesn’t have much respect for boundaries unless she puts them up herself.”

I nodded, and he reached out to take my hand.

He squeezed it. “Will you talk to me now?”

My eyes narrowed, suspicion worming its way into my brain. “Is this another one of your setups?”

Devon shook his head. “No. I was with the band. I was supposed to take her out for burgers and shakes, but Jürgen called a meeting. No doubt, this is meant for me as much as it is for you.”

“Are you jealous then?”

“Maybe. And most definitely not in the way you’re thinking. Hungry?”

“Not really. Do you smoke?”

“I quit cigarettes a few years ago. Nasty habit, Doc. You should quit, too.”

I smiled. “I meant weed, dumbass.”

“Oh. Well then by all means, let’s get stoned.”

He made a step toward the bus, and I laughed.

“Uh, yeah…no. You’re not the most welcome person here, Devon. We’ll head for the clearing in the back.”

He nodded and stepped back. “I’ll just wait then.”

Turning, I took the few steps back up into the bus. There stood Lili, the look of fury on her face halting me in my tracks. Holding up my silver cigarette case, she slapped it in my hand.

“You make sure the whole fucking crew knows you’re hanging with Devon, you got me?” The tone in her voice brooked no argument.

My jaw dropped a little. “Come again?”

“Phil? Out with Brigid? Don’t you fucking get soft on me now, woman. I know you love him, but it’s on like fucking Donkey Kong. You got that?”

Impossible, but I found myself grinning.

“And you tell me everything that you two talk about,” she hissed before turning on her heel and flouncing back into the kitchen.

Pygmy always had my back.

Devon and I headed to the open grassy area that had a few picnic tables. Surrounded by trees, it was nicely concealed from the rest of the park and the prying eyes of the public. A security fence surrounded the area, too, keeping out unwanted paparazzi and crazed fans. Crew people were indeed crawling around all over, but it seemed as though we had gone unnoticed. We sat next to each other on the tabletop, our feet on the bench, and I popped a spliff between my lips and sparked it up.

“You know you have nothing to worry about with Phil, right?” Devon asked.

“Is that right?” Damn, I sounded bitter.

“Yes. And you know it, woman, so don’t even.”

“I don’t know about that. I know he cares about Brigid—”

“And he worships the ground you walk on. Any idiot with two brain cells knocking around in his head could see that. I have no doubt that she somehow manipulated him into it. As fierce as he appears, he really is a big ole softy.”

“I’m not interested in Phil right now, Devon.” That was a complete lie if I’d ever told one. “I want to know what happened, why it happened, and what the deal is with Camryn.”

“You said she was with Phil, right?”

“Yes. What he told me was that they had met on the last leg of the European tour last year and decided to be friends who would hook up when their venues crossed. He still considers her a good friend.”

“He shouldn’t. She’s here now. Did you know that?”

The look on my face must have shown my surprise. “She’s touring with you?”

He nodded. “A bit of a chameleon, that one. She’s our makeup artist, and she has been since the night she auditioned for Phil and me.”

“Yeah, I don’t get what you mean by that.”

“She’s the girl I smacked around and spit on while telling Phil that was what you deserved.”

That surprised the hell out of me.

“I find it odd that she had a relationship with him years later when she’s Jürgen’s favorite piece. How she got away with that…unless he told her to do it.”

“Why would he do that?”

“He hates Phil. I think he was terrified that Phil was going to take me away from the Cannibals, and I’ll be honest, I would have loved nothing more. But it’s more than that. Jürgen was the biggest, baddest asshole on the scene, and then Phil threatened that. Phil is bigger and better-looking, and his voice is just—”

“Phenomenal.” I sighed.

Devon grinned. “Yeah. You feel it, too, when he sings.”

“If he makes you feel the same way he makes me feel, Devon, you might want to question your sexuality.”

He busted out laughing. “Yeah, no, I can’t claim anything like that. But I understand that his voice has a certain power, and Jürgen hates that. His jealousy when it comes to Deveraux is unmatched. He’s furious that NOLA’s Junk is headlining. Considers it an insult since they used to open for us. He demanded that we take the top slot, but tickets didn’t sell for Cornered Cannibal. NOLA’s Junk did that.”