Page 23 of The Twisted Beats

“What did you expect?” I take the driver’s hand as he helps me into the back.

She follows me in with his help. “When you said van, Ipictured a beat-up white thing Mayhem traveled in before they hit it big. I don’t know why because I know your brother’s band is huge, but…”

We both start laughing. Once we settle down, our driver shows us how to use the features in our area and points out the minibar stocked with alcohol.

I can’t help but think Bren has an ulterior motive. He always does, but he’s big-hearted and his intentions are always good.

Quinn and I get seated on a cream leather L-shaped bench that surrounds a table. Our driver has the divider closed and the shades on our tinted window are half open. It’s private back here.

I’m comfortable and relaxed. Until Quinn throws out a question I’m not prepared to answer.

She turns to me. “Tell me about you and Cash. I know you dated, but I only know what I read in… Tell me the real story. What happened between you two?”

I stall by taking another long pull from my straw. How do I explain this without going into everything?

I don’t. Our relationship makes no sense when I leave the tiniest detail out of the story. I plan how I want to phrase my words.

Just thinking about Cash, or Callum as I know him, brings up the same feelings I have for Jax. Heartbreak.

They’re entirely different, but I still have an emptiness in my chest when someone brings up either of them. It’s worse with Jax, though.

I thought leaving Callum was hard but watching Jax go was vicious. I spend my nights holding the bedsheets to my nose just so I can sense him around me. During the day, I walk around focused on nothing more than work.

What was Jax going to say to me right before he left? I sigh and force the thought down.

It doesn’t matter anyway. That’s why I stopped him fromtelling me and sent him on his way. He was still going to Malaysia no matter what words were going to spill from his lips.

Quinn pulls my tumbler down, taking the straw out of my mouth as she does. “I guess it’s fair to say it’s going to be difficult to see Cash today.”

I nod. “The last time I saw him was in Paris over two years ago and it was a nightmare.”

“Start there and we can jump around if it helps.”

I travel back to that night in my mind. It was when I finally let him go and completely released any hope of us getting back together. I shift to get comfortable and relax the stiffness in my neck.

“They were in Paris on tour. I didn’t go to the concert, but I went to see Bren at his hotel afterward. He assured me Callum wouldn’t be there because he was visiting with his mom.” My stomach rolls and a wave of nausea hits.

“His mom lives there?”

“No. She lives here in LA. She’s a model and was in Paris doing a photoshoot.”

“Gotcha, continue.”

“Anyway, Bren and Callum had a two-bedroom suite they were sharing. Since Bren is a huge star, I agreed to meet him in his hotel room so we could have some privacy.”

Quinn smacks her forehead with her palm. “Let me guess. Cash showed up.”

“Yep, and not alone.” Bile rises in my throat. “Imagine two blondes with the biggest boobs you’ve ever seen.”

“Oh, Livianna. What did you do?”

“It was terrible.” I roll my eyes and shake my head. “The second Callum and I saw each other, we were making out.”

“What did the two girls think of that?”

“Nothing. They were taking their clothes off in the entryway. I didn’t even know they were there.”

“Paint a better picture. I’m kind of confused.”