Page 110 of The Twisted Beats

“Livianna?”

“What?”

“Is Cash with you?”

My heart goes numb. “No. I haven’t seen or spoken to him since they left for their concert.”

“Then you need to be prepared.”

“For what?”

“The last group of pictures shows Cash sleeping next to someone. He’s dressed, but he’s holding her. He’s seen leavinga hotel in the same clothes. They’re the same ones he was wearing on stage last night.”

“How can you be sure?”

“I watched the New Year’s Eve special. I saw him with my own eyes.”

“But you told me you haven’t seen the pictures yet.”

“They were just sent over to me as we’ve been talking. I just opened the file.” She gasps but tries to disguise it with a cough. “They want to know if you would like to comment or respond.”

“Nope. They can all fuck off.”

Yelling from the other room steals my attention and adrenaline rushes through me.

“Mom, I need to go, but thanks for the heads-up.”

“Livianna, you’re only fifteen. Maybe you need to rethink this relationship with Cash.”

I glare at the phone even though she can’t see me. Something crashes in the other room.

“Mom, I need to go. I think Bren’s breaking shit.”

“Oh, dear. Okay.” Her voice trembles. “You two be careful and come home as soon as you can.”

I hang up and rush out to the living room area. Callum and Bren are rolling around on the floor.

Bren gets on top of Callum and slams his fist into his jaw. “I told you if you ever hurt her, this would happen.”

“Stop, Bren!” I run over and yank Bren’s arm to pull him off. “This isn’t helping me.”

He freezes and stares at me. His face is red and his chest rises and falls as he struggles to breathe.

Callum’s head is turned away as he lies on the floor, seemingly not trying to fight Bren. Bren climbs off and Callum sits up.

Callum’s sad eyes connect with mine. “I’m sorry, Lily. I’m so fucking sorry.”

Chapter Twenty-Three

CALLUM/CASH

Then

The Day The Smog Doesn’t Clear

You don’t notice the trap until you realize the man holding the key is the one you asked to lock the door.

Livianna stares down at me with an empty gaze. “What are you apologizing for, Callum? Didn’t your night go exactly as planned?”