More than once, Luke found me and took me on a different ride. He felt it, too. All the bullshit was gone. We were a band. Emerson might’ve hated me, but he didn’t when we played together. A connection ran through all of us when we performed. No one went against us, or we’d all fail.
I had missed this. Playing with Braden. Luke. Setting the rhythm.
I never got off the roller coaster, not even at the end of our set. I craved being up there, setting the beat, yielding that power. After an intense set, I retreated to a back corner and recuperated there. The waves crashed over me, and I gulped for air, feeling that buzz in my blood. I wanted to keep it going, so I started for the bar, wanting a drink. Then a hand touched my hip. Luke, I thought. My body instantly molded toward his, and my pulse spiked. Then reality crashed back into place. It was Elijah.
I shoved his hand off. “What are you doing?”
He rolled his eyes, but grabbed my hand and started forward. Eli moved lithely through the crowd. Most knew who he was and moved away so he could pass, but the rest moved on instinct anyway. As we moved inside the guest house Candy said we could use for the night, I started to move around him, but bumped into him and felt something hard inside his jacket. His gaze locked with mine. I caught the warning in his eyes and narrowed mine. “What are you doing here?”
“You weren’t supposed to feel that.”
“What?”
He jerked his head forward. “You should go.”
“We just got done playing our set.” What was in his jacket?
“You should go.”
A message flashed in his eyes. Then it clicked. Something was going to happen. My lips parted again, and feeling a sense of urgency, I grabbed his arm this time. “What is happening? What’s in your jacket?”
“Bri.” Another warning flared over his face. “I mean it, go. I grabbed you and brought you over here for a reason.” His eyes trailed past my shoulder, and I turned.
I didn’t have to look far.
Luke was sitting in a lawn chair.
Eli pushed me forward, a soft touch on the small of my back. He said into my ear, “Go to him and go home. Get Emerson out of here, too.”
My ex and cousin should’ve taken priority in my mind, but to be honest, I was having a hard time remembering what Eli said to do as I watched Luke. A group had congregated around him. Some were sitting in their own chairs. Others were standing and drinking, but most of them were watching him, just like I was. Candy Lake was hovering over him. Her very skimpy, very see-through shirt stuck to her skin, displaying a perfect view of her waistline.
She was bending over and whispering into his ear. Her hand grazed over his chest, testing him, and when he didn’t brush it away, her hand grew bolder. It trailed down to the waistband of his jeans and rested on his stomach. Her lips formed a seductive smile. I could imagine her soothing sounds, crooning to him, and then she shifted on her feet. Her hand was still touching his shoulder.
My hands were clenched to the sides of my pants, as if to hold myself back from walking over there and slapping her. Bitch. Bitch. Bitch.
She straddled him.
My eyes were going to pop out. A burning sensation tunneled inside my chest.
He didn’t touch her, but he didn’t ask her to move either. She leaned forward and pressed her chest against his. Her head tilted, and she nuzzled him under his chin and then trailed her lips to his ear. I couldn’t handle it. He’s mine. I started forward—she leaned back, arching so her breasts were right in front of his face. The bitch wasn’t wearing a bra. I was going to lose it. Luke was staring right at me when my foot came down hard.
Our eyes caught and held, and a smirk appeared on his face. I flushed. He’d known the whole time I was watching. Fucker.
I started for them—BANG! BANG! I froze, staring at Luke, who froze, too.
Eli.
Then everything connected in my head. It was a gun inside his jacket. That’s why he wanted me to go.
There was silence for one second before chaos ensued. Some people screamed in terror. Some sprinted to their cars or the house, trying to get somewhere safe. When a guy knocked into me, Luke shoved Candy off him and started for me. I couldn’t move as I watched him push through the crowd, his eyes fierce and his jaw set. When he got to me, I said, “That’s Eli. He brought a gun here.”
He grabbed my hand. It was like someone had hit my Pause button. His contact hit the Play button, and I was ready to go. We turned and ran together. When a group of girls ran the other way between us, Luke let go of me. I swerved to one side, and he went the other. More people streamed past us, but we kept going. Everyone was running away from the gunshots. We were running toward them. Luke kept glancing at me, making sure I was still with him. I did the same. We were moving as one unit again. The feeling of being in tune with him sent a new wave of adrenaline through me. It pushed me faster, and when the crowd began to thin, I started looking around.
Braden. Emerson. Elijah. I needed to find any or all of them. But Braden was my priority.
“Bri!” Luke shouted and pointed to the side. I caught a glimpse of Emerson disappearing around a corner and veered that way. Luke said, “Stay here. I’ll get him.”
“I’ll look for Braden,” I said, but he was already gone.
As I moved in the opposite direction, I saw a clump of trees. Braden might’ve gone back there. Maybe with a girl? I rounded the opening by the trees. No Braden. He wasn’t anywhere. No one else was around. They’d all disappeared. I could hear car doors in the distance and saw the flash of headlights as people drove away.
My heart was pounding in my chest from the frenzy. I needed to listen for Braden, if I could hear his voice somewhere, but I couldn’t make out anything, so I started forward through the trees. They led away from the beach. The light from Candy’s guesthouse was in the west, and I headed that way. As I continued through the woods, I saw the van parked in a clearing and walked toward it. I was about to step into the clearing when a hand wrapped around my elbow and pulled me back. I was pressed against a chest and reared back to scream.
A hand clamped over me, and Elijah said into my ear, “Shut up.”
My knees sagged in relief, but I tried to hit his chest. “You scared the crap out of me.”
He rolled his eyes. “You were about to get shot.”
My eyes widened.
“And before you even start, that gunshot wasn’t me.”
I had missed this. Playing with Braden. Luke. Setting the rhythm.
I never got off the roller coaster, not even at the end of our set. I craved being up there, setting the beat, yielding that power. After an intense set, I retreated to a back corner and recuperated there. The waves crashed over me, and I gulped for air, feeling that buzz in my blood. I wanted to keep it going, so I started for the bar, wanting a drink. Then a hand touched my hip. Luke, I thought. My body instantly molded toward his, and my pulse spiked. Then reality crashed back into place. It was Elijah.
I shoved his hand off. “What are you doing?”
He rolled his eyes, but grabbed my hand and started forward. Eli moved lithely through the crowd. Most knew who he was and moved away so he could pass, but the rest moved on instinct anyway. As we moved inside the guest house Candy said we could use for the night, I started to move around him, but bumped into him and felt something hard inside his jacket. His gaze locked with mine. I caught the warning in his eyes and narrowed mine. “What are you doing here?”
“You weren’t supposed to feel that.”
“What?”
He jerked his head forward. “You should go.”
“We just got done playing our set.” What was in his jacket?
“You should go.”
A message flashed in his eyes. Then it clicked. Something was going to happen. My lips parted again, and feeling a sense of urgency, I grabbed his arm this time. “What is happening? What’s in your jacket?”
“Bri.” Another warning flared over his face. “I mean it, go. I grabbed you and brought you over here for a reason.” His eyes trailed past my shoulder, and I turned.
I didn’t have to look far.
Luke was sitting in a lawn chair.
Eli pushed me forward, a soft touch on the small of my back. He said into my ear, “Go to him and go home. Get Emerson out of here, too.”
My ex and cousin should’ve taken priority in my mind, but to be honest, I was having a hard time remembering what Eli said to do as I watched Luke. A group had congregated around him. Some were sitting in their own chairs. Others were standing and drinking, but most of them were watching him, just like I was. Candy Lake was hovering over him. Her very skimpy, very see-through shirt stuck to her skin, displaying a perfect view of her waistline.
She was bending over and whispering into his ear. Her hand grazed over his chest, testing him, and when he didn’t brush it away, her hand grew bolder. It trailed down to the waistband of his jeans and rested on his stomach. Her lips formed a seductive smile. I could imagine her soothing sounds, crooning to him, and then she shifted on her feet. Her hand was still touching his shoulder.
My hands were clenched to the sides of my pants, as if to hold myself back from walking over there and slapping her. Bitch. Bitch. Bitch.
She straddled him.
My eyes were going to pop out. A burning sensation tunneled inside my chest.
He didn’t touch her, but he didn’t ask her to move either. She leaned forward and pressed her chest against his. Her head tilted, and she nuzzled him under his chin and then trailed her lips to his ear. I couldn’t handle it. He’s mine. I started forward—she leaned back, arching so her breasts were right in front of his face. The bitch wasn’t wearing a bra. I was going to lose it. Luke was staring right at me when my foot came down hard.
Our eyes caught and held, and a smirk appeared on his face. I flushed. He’d known the whole time I was watching. Fucker.
I started for them—BANG! BANG! I froze, staring at Luke, who froze, too.
Eli.
Then everything connected in my head. It was a gun inside his jacket. That’s why he wanted me to go.
There was silence for one second before chaos ensued. Some people screamed in terror. Some sprinted to their cars or the house, trying to get somewhere safe. When a guy knocked into me, Luke shoved Candy off him and started for me. I couldn’t move as I watched him push through the crowd, his eyes fierce and his jaw set. When he got to me, I said, “That’s Eli. He brought a gun here.”
He grabbed my hand. It was like someone had hit my Pause button. His contact hit the Play button, and I was ready to go. We turned and ran together. When a group of girls ran the other way between us, Luke let go of me. I swerved to one side, and he went the other. More people streamed past us, but we kept going. Everyone was running away from the gunshots. We were running toward them. Luke kept glancing at me, making sure I was still with him. I did the same. We were moving as one unit again. The feeling of being in tune with him sent a new wave of adrenaline through me. It pushed me faster, and when the crowd began to thin, I started looking around.
Braden. Emerson. Elijah. I needed to find any or all of them. But Braden was my priority.
“Bri!” Luke shouted and pointed to the side. I caught a glimpse of Emerson disappearing around a corner and veered that way. Luke said, “Stay here. I’ll get him.”
“I’ll look for Braden,” I said, but he was already gone.
As I moved in the opposite direction, I saw a clump of trees. Braden might’ve gone back there. Maybe with a girl? I rounded the opening by the trees. No Braden. He wasn’t anywhere. No one else was around. They’d all disappeared. I could hear car doors in the distance and saw the flash of headlights as people drove away.
My heart was pounding in my chest from the frenzy. I needed to listen for Braden, if I could hear his voice somewhere, but I couldn’t make out anything, so I started forward through the trees. They led away from the beach. The light from Candy’s guesthouse was in the west, and I headed that way. As I continued through the woods, I saw the van parked in a clearing and walked toward it. I was about to step into the clearing when a hand wrapped around my elbow and pulled me back. I was pressed against a chest and reared back to scream.
A hand clamped over me, and Elijah said into my ear, “Shut up.”
My knees sagged in relief, but I tried to hit his chest. “You scared the crap out of me.”
He rolled his eyes. “You were about to get shot.”
My eyes widened.
“And before you even start, that gunshot wasn’t me.”
