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My brother looked at her before he kissed her lips softly. “I love you too, babe.”

  I smiled at both of them before I pursed my lips and left the clubhouse. I sat outside on a wooden bench and watched a few revelers in more than close-for-comfort positions while I drank my SoCo and Coke.

  The sheer need to leave this place had become an all-consuming obsession and I couldn’t wait for the New Year. As far as I was concerned, it couldn’t come fast enough.

  Chapter Four

  LINX AWOKE NEXT to a bleached blonde and wondered where the hell she’d come from, before the remnants of the previous night began to consume his thoughts. He had a massive hangover and didn’t feel like dealing with some random groupie.

  This whole tour depressed the hell out of him but at least up until about a month ago, he’d at least had Keren Hughes. She was a fiery redhead—daughter of the Bastards’ Prez—who could fuck like a stallion and wasn’t clingy in the least bit. It didn’t even bother him that she still had her Scarlet Fever tattoo with Kasper “Kaz” Gillian’s name written under it on her back.

  They were old news though she was the lead singer of Scarlet Fever’s first love and they’d dated for a while before he met his ex-wife Damira. Now that Damira was engaged to Kris in their band and Kaz had moved on to a young, blonde Norwegian shipping heiress who worshipped the ground he walked on, Keren was the last of Kaz’s concerns.

  Everyone in Scarlet Fever was hooked up with a steady chick, so at least they had their significant others to help them through it but he didn’t have a permanent woman and neither did Niko. Kris was engaged to Kaz’s ex-wife and he seemed happy enough, while Talia “technically” was Seth’s girlfriend.

  Now that he was no longer around, it wasn’t a secret that she was fucking Jaden Cox, the lead guitarist for Scarlet Fever—son of Dizzy Cox—though they’d been a not-so-secret item since he sent his girlfriend—Faith Maguire-Cohen—packing. She turned out to be pregnant and was hooked on OxyContin and cocaine.

  He thought about his own sons, then sat up and swung his feet over the side of the bed. The hotel they were staying in, the Burj Al Arab, was the most luxurious hotel in the city and featured in Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol. Not that Linx felt special for staying there. Every hotel they stayed in was gorgeous and luxurious, but he still missed his own bed.

  There was a knock at his door. Standing, he slipped on a pair of black boxers and walked to the door. When he opened it, he faced Niko.

  “Hey, bro, you look like shit.”

  Linx grinned in an ingratiating manner. “Gee, thanks. Can you get rid of the skanky chick that is taking up room in my bed while I grab a quick shower? What time does our plane leave?”

  “In approximately four hours but we have to check out in forty-five minutes.”

  Linx scratched his rumbling stomach. “I’m fucking starving—why didn’t you wake me up sooner?”

  Niko cleared his throat. “That’s not why I came up here. Cassidy is blowing up my phone and cursing up a blue motherfuckin’ streak because she can’t reach you. Can you please call the crazy bitch?”

  “Yeah…after I take a shower and you get rid of that tramp in my bed.”

  Linx turned away from his friend and strolled directly to the bathroom, where he closed the door and locked it for good measure. He did the three S’s—shit, showered and shaved—before he towel dried his hair, threw in a little gel and dressed in a pair of faded gray, slightly baggy jeans and a black wife beater.

  He was so sick of the monotony in his life and desperately wanted a change, but he didn’t have the slightest clue where to begin. He needed to stop throwing occasional fucks at Cassidy and he desperately needed to get his act together so he could be a better father to his sons.

  Remembering his ex, he grabbed his Samsung Galaxy Note and voice dialed her number. She answered almost immediately.

  “What the fuck took ya so long to call me?” she answered in a thick Boston accent. “I have been tryin’ to reach you for two fucking days and nothin’. If I am ringin’ your phone off the hook, it’s important and has nothing to do with your cock.”

  Linx began to pack as he put her on speaker phone. His room was empty of both Niko and the skank, so it was nice that no one had to hear his ex over the phone. She still acted like an eighteen year old although she was actually in her mid-twenties.

  Frustrated beyond the point of mere anger, he threw a pair of shit kickers against the wall and ran his hands through his hair. He breathed deeply, stopped packing and grabbed his Apple MacBook Pro as he sat on the bed beside his phone.

  “Sorry, I was busy,” he responded, as he logged into his Facebook account and checked his timeline; meanwhile, he listened to her insipid conversation.

  Of course, she was calling about money.

  Every conversation was about money.

  He knew what it was like to be poor and had grown up with less than most kids. His father drank a lot, though he was a more maudlin drunk as opposed to a violent one. It seemed like every time his parents had sex, there was another sibling and during the fifth delivery, his mother hemorrhaged and had to have a total hysterectomy.

  “What’s so important?” Linx interrupted Cassidy. “I don’t mean to be a total dick, but it’s not a good time and I have to be downstairs in ten minutes.”

  “I need my alimony payment early.”

  “Talk to John and have him cut you a check. He’s not in the office but you could probably drop by and he’ll understand.”

  He was lucky his older brother was an attorney and had handled his divorce. He and his family also lived in Los Angeles so he knew someone would check on Brady and Jimi to make sure they were okay.

  “He hates me, Lennon, and he’s gonna give me shit.”

  “No, he won’t. Just tell him I sent you around and said it was okay.” He logged off Facebook, stood, grabbed the boots he’d thrown, and put them in his luggage along with his laptop after he’d placed it in its case. Linx did a quick perusal, making sure he hadn’t forgotten any items of value—sentimental or otherwise.

  “Len, honey…why did we get divorced in the first place? You’re miserable and so am I. Yeah, I know what happens on those tours, but maybe I overreacted. You never brought home any social diseases and you’re still my first love. I just want us to be…happy and the boys would love their father to be in the house,” she explained, in a quiet voice.

  She was right but Linx couldn’t go back. He didn’t know why but he’d always been like that. When Cassidy kicked him out of the house, he had to spend two weeks on his brother’s sofa before he’d checked into the Chateau Marmont. He’d stayed there until the sale on his brand new house closed.

  He still loved her to a certain extent—she was the mother of his children, after all—but he couldn’t trust her and without trust, there wasn’t a relationship. Linx always had a problem trusting women and after Cassidy’s betrayal, his issue had gotten worse, not better.

  “Listen, I’m in the middle of a fucking Muslim country and I don’t think this is the best time to discuss our relationship, or lack thereof. I’ll be back in the states in about six weeks. We can talk about it then. In the meantime, call John and tell him you need to see him,” he said as he bent over to put on a pair of black Chuck Taylor All Stars and laced them quickly.

  “I’ll have to wait another six hours or so. It’s only one twenty-three in the morning here.”

  “Oh shit…I forgot about the time difference and what not. Yeah, wait until at least seven a.m. and get some rest. I’ll talk to you later.”

  Linx grabbed his bag, threw the card keys on the coffee table and closed the door to his suite. He walked down the hallway and quickly boarded the first available elevator. He met Niko downstairs in the lobby and couldn’t wait until they boarded the plane. Their next stop was China, not much better, but at least he wouldn’t run into women covered from head to toe with only their eyes showing.

  “Bye, Lennon.”

&nb
sp; “Bye,” he murmured, before he ended the call.

  Niko began to walk side by side with him. “What’s going on with Cassidy? Is she feeling guilty? The grass is always greener when you’re gone but the moment you go back, all that old shit starts up again and I’m tellin’ you…don’t do it, man. Look what happened to me. I was free and clear of the bitch and what happens? She got knocked up again. I love Heaven with all my heart, but I didn’t want any more kids by that woman. I felt used and betrayed because she thought she could trap me with another baby. The only thing that happened is we now have an acrimonious relationship and she gets more child support from me.”

  “Yeah, I know.”

  He understood his best friend was going through hell. His ex, Tiffany, had once been the love of his life; they had been childhood sweethearts.

  Unfortunately, Tiffany was also Cassidy’s best friend.

  After they got married and Niko became famous, she changed the way all people seemed to when they weren’t used to money. Niko had never cheated on her and was faithful to a fault, but Tiffany began spending money like it was water and had quite a few plastic surgery procedures.

  Niko could never be there enough for her and she began to nag and complain. The final straw came when she asked him to choose between the band or her. The band had been playing music their whole lives. What was he going to do as a house husband and how would he continue to support his family? To him it was an easy split-second decision.

  They’d tried to reconcile a few years ago, but nothing came of it except another kid. The relationship had left Niko unsure and unable to trust women.

  The two men were kindred spirits in that regard.

  “Trust me, man—keep your eyes on the prize and remember this fucking tour is almost over,” Niko encouraged, as they walked through the lobby of the opulent hotel.

  Linx smirked. “It can’t end quick enough for me.”

  “Amen to that, brother,” Niko responded as they left the hotel walking side by side to the waiting limo to whisk them off to the airport.

  Both men slid inside to find they were the last two to depart. Talia, Kris, Damira, Xander and their nanny were already inside.

  “We were wondering what was taking you so long. You better hope you haven’t made us late for our flight,” Damira expressed in a cold voice.

  Kris had never been married and Linx wondered if he truly knew what he was getting himself into by marrying a woman who had an inside view to the lives of rockers and was no pushover. That was the bitterness inside him talking and it was unfair. Everyone deserved to be happy.

  Even him.

  He still believed in love and knew there was someone out there for him, yet he also knew that someone wasn’t his ex-wife.

  “Don’t worry,” he replied to the cold-hearted bitch who sat across from him.

  “Technically, Damira, they aren’t late.” Talia glared down Kaz’s ex-wife with cold, pale green eyes. “We’ll make it to the airport with more than enough time to spare.”

  Linx hated to admit it, but he’d grown to like and respect their new lead singer. Not only was she extremely professional, but she didn’t take shit from anyone and she had helped form a cohesiveness in the band that had never existed before. With her song writing skills, looks and business savvy behavior of knowing the right asses to kiss, they could easily be as big as Scarlet Fever one day. Hell, in a couple of years, they would be headlining their own concerts instead of being the warm up act for a band that had become legendary in its own right.

  Not that they weren’t a force to be reckoned with now. They were very good, but he had a sneaking suspicion that she would make them even better and their star power would only rise higher and brighter with Talia at the helm.

  With this thought in mind, he knew absolutely that he could not go back to Cassidy. There wasn’t a future for them because they’d hurt each other too much in the past. He knew there was someone special out there for him and he couldn’t wait to meet her. He would just know it, and his distrust would vanish which was the beauty of the situation.

  Linx didn’t second-guess himself and he always trusted his instincts.

  As far as he was concerned, there was no turning back. The only way to continue his life involved moving forward and breaking all personal ties with his ex-wife that didn’t strictly concern Brady and Jimi.

  Chapter Five

  “TO MY PRECIOUS daughter, Trista, you are brilliant and I know you will excel at Stanford and make your mother and I proud.”

  I smiled at my dad and his sparkling blue eyes. “Thanks, Dad. I’ll miss you and Mom like mad though.”

  “You get used to it,” Tristan said, as he mussed my hair with a playful hand while I rolled my eyes.

  He knew he was the only person who could get away with such behavior. Anyone else would have gotten bitch-slapped; I absolutely hated when people touched my hair without permission.

  Mom smiled at me and I was reminded why my parents were still so much in love. She was a beautiful woman with Trey’s hazel-green eyes, and gorgeous, unique features. Her olive skin made her look years younger than she was—she barely looked like she was in her late thirties when she would actually celebrate her fiftieth birthday in June.

  “How’s Trey?”

  She knew I spent a lot of time at the clubhouse though she didn’t mention it to Dad because she understood it would upset him. He dealt with the clubs but he didn’t respect them and the last thing he wanted was his oldest son in an MC. Dad had actually disowned Trey. Mom was the only one who asked about him at all.

  “He’s fine, Mom,” Tristan interrupted, looking at me before he stared back at our mother.

  “Is he still dating that porn slut?” Dad inquired, before he sipped his scotch.

  “Damn it, Timothy—must you be so crass?” Mom inquired in a soft tone. “I’m sure she’s a very nice person with ‘Daddy issues’—”

  “Yeah, that pretty much describes Keri. I don’t know how he dates her. I mean, it’s her job but…I don’t think I could be with a woman that most of the American male population has seen spread-eagled, you know?” Tristan explained as he looked at Taryn who smiled shyly.

  I sipped from my Evian water before I ate another bite of cheesecake.

  My celebration dinner had been perfect and in a couple days, I would be out of here. The biggest issue I had at the moment was whether or not I should see Clooney again before I left. The sex between us was pretty satisfying and, though I wouldn’t go so far as to call it amazing, it did the trick and kept me from feeling sexually frustrated. I probably would suffer from a major dry spell once I arrived at Stanford, so it was probably best to get laid as much as possible before I left.

  “What’s the matter, baby sister? You look so down.”

  I stared into my brother’s blue eyes and smiled. “I’m fine. I just…it bothers me that I’m starting at another university in the middle of the school year. I mean, people have already forged friendships and maybe I should wait it out and attend next Autumn—”

  “You will do no such thing, young lady.” My father glared at me, and his eyes were completely serious and devoid of humor.

  “That’s just fear talking, Trista. You’ll be fine, trust me. If anyone could charm the devil, it’s you. Look how much Jonesy likes you.” Tristan winked at me and I frowned back at him.

  Tom “Jonesy” Hughes was the President of the Demon’s Bastards MC and he only allowed me to see Clooney without becoming a Demon scrubber in the process because he enjoyed my company and our frank discussions about politics and world events. I knew a lot about Wales, the land of his birth, and Ireland. He was half and half so he enjoyed our discussions about The Troubles in Northern Ireland along with talking about the beautiful Welsh countryside. We also shared a love for U2, so that didn’t hurt our interactions.

  Mom continued to eat her Tiramisu while our father seemed to grow grimmer by the second.

  “When we get home, I would li
ke to speak to you in private, young lady.”

  “Yes, Dad.”

  My brother looked at me and I returned his gaze defiantly. We both knew what that meant.

  I was in deep shit.

  THE RIDE BACK to our beautiful home in Pine Bluff from Lake Tahoe was uneventful. I opted to sit by myself in the third row backseat of the Escalade, while Tristan and Taryn sat together in the middle row.

  Weird shit went through my mind as I glanced out the back window every now and then. Goose bumps broke out all over my skin though the SUV was comfortable, and I suddenly became overwhelmed with an eerie feeling that we were being followed. If that was the case, they were smart, because every time one car would seem like it had traveled with us for too long, it would turn off moments later, and another late model sedan would appear.

  Some looked like government issued vehicles, while others looked like regular cars and trucks. I must have been going crazy because I started doing math in my head to calm down, before I wondered why so many of the people I knew had names starting with “T”, including my own.

  My mind switched subjects again and I thought long and hard about whether I should see Clooney before I left. If my dad knew, I had a dry spell to prepare for because I’d had my last bit of sex a little over a week ago on New Year’s Day. If he was none the wiser, then the answer was yes. I would definitely risk his wrath for an all-night sex-a-thon with my soon-to-be ex-boyfriend.

  The moment we arrived home, I followed my dad into his study while my mother went to their bedroom. Tristan took Taryn to his old bedroom that he still used when he came home to visit.

  I loved my dad’s study with its forest green walls and cream crown molding along the ceiling. His desk was huge and made of oak. Behind it sat a comfortably large office chair. He closed his MacBook Pro and slid it next to his personal-sized printer. He had an industrial-sized copier and printer cater-corner to his desk.

  I sat in one of the plush La-Z-Boy chairs he had in front of his desk and crossed my legs. His office was always chilly, probably because there were three huge windows, though the forest green curtains were shut. He took a seat and leaned forward before he placed his arms on the table and folded his hands together, as if he were going to start praying.