Chapter 4
Ice
“Spoilsport.” Jacob’s voice was full of playful amusement, his brat clearly coming out to play as it often did when Holden was around.
Ever willing to play the part of the exasperated uncle, Holden glowered at the boy. “Damn straight I am when it comes to you potentially unleashing dinosaurs on the earth.”
“What’s this about dinosaurs?” Striding into the suite, Ice grinned at the pair of them. “What’s our boy up to now?”
“Apparently he watched Jurassic Park and now he wants to make it real life.” Holden shot Jacob a mockingly stern glare, which only earned him an even cheesier grin from the boy in question.
“Oooh, if you do, I want a pocket-sized T-Rex.” Ice held his hands a few inches apart to show the proper size. “In the movies they’re always trying to make them bigger, but you just know if they made them smaller everyone would want one.”
Turning his glare on Ice, Holden narrowed his eyes. “You’re not helping, Elias.”
Ice’s smile shifted to a smirk. “Who said I was here to help?” Glancing around, he raised his brows when he didn’t spot Braden. “Quick subject change. Where’s the groom?”
Holden nodded toward the closed bedroom door. “Needed a few minutes with his babygirl for some, ah, stress relief.”
“Ah, the age-old dance. Wonder if Silver will be in need of some 'stress relief’ before the wedding.” She’d certainly seemed stressed enough earlier, for reasons he still hadn’t worked out. Maybe he should have spanked her at the house, regardless of her protests that they would be late.
Or maybe he’d just take a page from Braden’s book and haul her off somewhere private for a half hour or so.
Hmmm.
“Knowing our women, they’ll all be over here at one point or another,” Holden said with a low chuckle.
“True.” Letting out a laugh of his own, Ice reached into his pocket for his buzzing phone. Almost instantly, his amusement faded, replaced by nerves twisting in his stomach at the sight of his manager’s face on his phone screen. “Hey, I gotta take this. It’s Simon.”
Holden nodded and Ice slipped out onto the balcony, making sure to close the door behind him before answering the phone. “Simon. What’s wrong?”
“Nothing’s wrong. In fact, everything is fucking amazing.”
Surprise had Ice’s brows raising. It had been months since he’d heard Simon this excited. Longer, maybe. But certainly not since everything had gone down with Ace and Silver. “It is?”
“It really fucking is. You got invited back to Play Me Like That.”
All the air rushed from Ice’s lungs and for a moment he could only stare out over the grounds of the hotel, lush even in winter as his brain tried to process Simon’s words. “What?”
“You and Silver. Everyone loves the new song, and you’re being invited back as ‘special guests’. And they chose a domestic violence charity this year, in honor of Silver.”
Emotions, too many and too varied for him to name, clawed at his chest. “I don’t know what to say.”
“You don’t have to say anything because I already told them you’d be there. But I thought Sil might want to hear it from you.”
“Thanks, Simon. Hey, uh, I’m getting ready for a wedding, but we’ll call you later, work out the details.”
“Sure thing. Give our girl a hug from me.”
“Will do.”
Ending the call, he gave himself a moment to lean against the railing of the balcony and breath. Just breathe.
He’d never expected to get a callback to one of the largest rock festivals in the world.
Had let that dream go when the band had broken up, when Silver’s injuries had made it nearly impossible for her to do the one thing she loved more than anything in the goddamn world.
She was better now, though still not quite to where she’d been before the attack, and he knew it weighed on her.
Knew she still grieved for what she’d lost and might never get back.
But now… Now they had a chance to live out one of their biggest fucking dreams. Even if it was just for a single song, the one he’d written for her and recorded in the home studio he’d built for himself, with her singing the backup vocals to a haunting melody that had shot up the charts the second they’d released it.
Didn’t matter. They could get up there and sing the fucking Wheels On The Bus and it wouldn’t matter. Because they’d be there on that stage they’d dreamed of for so fucking long.
Excitement pumped through him as thought of the look on her face. The way she’d light up at the news, then probably break down sobbing with a mixture of happiness and heartbreak because they were getting to live out their dreams but they weren’t them anymore. They weren’t Deviant Whispers.
Fuck. Maybe he should keep it to himself until after the wedding. She’d never forgive him if he ruined her makeup before she walked down the aisle.
After, however… she was his to ruin.
Ice
Waiting was easier said than done. Especially when Frankie popped over and there was no ignoring the sounds of her whimpering and pleading and begging Daddy to let her come from the other room.
Even more so when her screams came through the closed door and a few minutes later she stepped out again, looking perfectly rumpled and well-fucked, followed by a rather smug-looking Holden.
They kissed goodbye at the door to the suite, and Ice cocked a brow in the older man’s direction as he settled on the couch again.
“Stress relief?”
Holden’s grin widened. “The best kind.”
“Lucky bastard.”
“You could always pop over to the other suite and see if Silver needs some relief.”
Before Ice could do more than consider dragging his babygirl off somewhere to fuck them both silly, the door to the suite flung open again and Frankie hurried back inside, the expression on her face practically shouting that whatever stress relief her Daddy had given her had already worn off.
“I need to talk to you.” Frankie’s gaze slid to Ice and then back to Holden. “Alone. It’s about Ruby.”
“What’s wrong with Ruby?” Sitting up in his chair, Jacob frowned, worry creasing his brow. “Is she okay? Ice said she and Beckett would be late because she got in trouble.”
“She’s fine, honey.” But there was something in Frankie’s tone that told him Ruby was very much not fine.
What the fuck was going on?
And where the hell was Beckett?
While Frankie and Holden disappeared into the bedroom again, Ice pulled his phone from his pocket and pulled up Beckett’s number. He’d called twice now, with no answer, so he shot off a text.
Ice
Where are you?
No response.
He gave Beckett as long as he could before he gave into his need to know what the fuck was going on. “Fuck it,” he muttered, pushing up out of his chair to make his way over to the bridal suite.
“Hey, no boys allowed!” Popping up from where she’d been perched on the couch, Aria waved her hands at him. He only vaguely recognized her from the handful of visits he’d made to Braden’s house, as he understandably didn’t keep pictures of his daughter in his office at the club.
But then Aria’s eyes widened and her hands dropped to her side. “Holy shit. You’re Ice. Oh my god.”
“I am, and I won’t be long. Just checking in on everyone, making sure everything is going smoothly over here.” Flashing his best ‘rockstar smile’ at her, he sauntered over to where Silver and Ruby were seated, waiting to get their hair done.
“You heard her,” Silver said with a grin and a shooing motion of her own. “No boys allowed.”
“I’ll only be a minute.” Deliberately turning his back on the rest of the crowd, he pinned Ruby with a look that had her squirming in her chair. “I haven’t heard from Beckett and he’s still not here. What’s going on, Ruby?”
Red blossomed on her cheeks. “Nothing, Sir.”
Little liar. She was hiding something. Ruby had the worst poker face of any of the subs, which was unfortunate for her since she was also one of the brattiest of the lot.
“Ruby. Are you being honest with me right now?”
Her gaze dropped to the floor, but to his surprise it wasn’t Ruby but Silver who stood, squaring off with him. “We’re handling it, Elias.”
Elias. She only called him that when she really wanted to make a point. Which meant that whatever was going on with Ruby was between them, and he wouldn’t be let in on the secret until later, if ever.
Meeting his babygirl’s dark gaze, he waited a heartbeat, then two before speaking. “You’re handling it.”
“Yes, Sir.”
“You’d tell me if there was something wrong. If Ruby was hurt or in trouble.”
Everything about his girl softened as she laid her hand on his chest. “Yes, Daddy. I would tell you.”
The memory of her from his morning, skittish and clearly hiding something popped into his mind. “And you?”
“Sir?” Her voice rose a bit, a worried little squeak he might have found amusing if he wasn’t so damn certain she was keeping secrets.
Keeping his gaze locked on her stunning face, he let his voice harden, let it become more ‘Daddy’ as he spoke. “You’d tell me if there was something going on with you that I needed to know.”
There it was. Just a little flicker of guilt before her gaze shifted away. “Yes, Daddy.”
Now they were both lying to him, and his palm physically itched to spank the truth out of them. It wouldn’t be the first time he and Beckett had shared those duties, and he doubted it would be the last.
But before he could make up his mind about it, Frankie came barreling back through the door. “Oh no you don’t, Elias Turner. We don’t have time for”—she waved her hands at him—“whatever this is.”
Annoyance pricked at him, but he knew they were on a tight timeline to get things done before the ceremony. He’d have to trust his babygirl when she said that whatever was going on was being ‘handled’.
Sliding an arm around Silver’s waist, he jerked her to him, dropping his voice low, his words for her only. “I love you, my naughty little goddess. Lottie may have a claim on you for the rest of the day, but as soon as this is all over and the cameras are put away, I’m claiming what’s mine again.”
A quick, hard kiss and then he turned, leaving her staring at his back, her gaze hot enough he could physically feel it as he strode out of the room.
Mission Successful.