Page 150 of The Jaded Notes

He rises to his feet, pulling me with him. For a moment, we stand too close, breathing the same air. He wants to kiss me, and I know it by the way his gaze drops to my lips.

But he doesn’t. Instead, he steps back and extends his hand.

“Come on, vixen. Let me show you what you’ve been missing.”

As I take his hand and let him lead me toward the stage, I try to ignore the voice in my head that sounds suspiciously like Jax, warning me that some skeletons are meant to stay buried.

Tonight, I’m tired of being careful. Tonight, I just want to feel something other than the ache of missing someone who may never come home. At least not to me.

And it’s likely going to be the start of something not even I’m ready to handle.

Chapter Thirty-Three

CALLUM/CASH

One & A Half Weeks From Now

Love & Lyrics

The lights blind, the crowd shakes, but it’s her hidden gaze that sizzles beneath my skin.

“You ready for this, guys?” Bren slaps my back as we huddle on the platform.

The roar from one hundred thousand voices vibrates through the metal beneath our boots.

“Born ready.” I adjust my mic pack and in-ears, adrenaline already flooding my system.

But it’s not the crowd that has my pulse racing. It’s knowing she’s out there watching from the sidelines.

Cooper flexes his fingers around his bass. “One of the biggest crowds we’ve ever played for.”

Hawke twirls his sticks. “Let’s fucking destroy it.”

The platform starts its mechanical rise, carrying us toward the blinding lights. The crowd explodes as we emerge from the darkness, but I immediately find her.

She’s standing stage left in the shadows with her armswrapped around herself.

I can’t believe it. She came. She’s really fucking here.

Bren’s opening riff cuts through the desert air like a machete. The crowd surges forward, a sea of raised hands and screaming voices. But all I see is her.

We start the show with the first song that won us a Grammy, “Ghost on the Line.”

“Ah, yeah!”I scream into the mic, singing with every ounce of my soul as I work the stage from side to side.

Your name lit up,

A pulse I can’t ignore.

The crowd explodes, joining in at the top of their lungs.

A bittersweet reminder

Of what I’m bleeding for.

I glance at her and continue on a softer note.

Heard your voice through your brother’s line today.