25. Torren
25
TORREN
I lounge on the couch in the girls’ suite, my feet propped on the coffee table as Hammond scrolls through his tablet in front of us.
We’re set to leave for Houston this afternoon, but Ham wanted to have a meeting before we set off on the buses. I figure the first order of business is the stalker, so I cut to the chase and ask the question that’s on all our minds.
“So what’s the update on Savvy’s biggest fan?”
“They’ve been silent. The relationship story seems to be working. No texts. No letters.”
I glance at Sav. “That true?”
“Yeah. It’s like they vanished into thin air.” She frowns. “I still can’t make sense of it, though. It just...it doesn’t sit right with me.”
Hammond sighs. “Well, we’ll take what we can get for now.” He glances at Callie. “You’re doing a great job. With any luck, the investigators will have something by the end of the tour.”
“Sure. Um, thanks.”
Callie looks and sounds extremely uncomfortable, but she’s sitting too far away for me to comfort her. I send her a smile that she ignores, then Jonah places his hand on her shoulder, giving it a squeeze that somehow transfers to my windpipe. I glare at him in warning, but he ignores me too. Fucker.
Hammond goes on to give us a debrief of shit we already know, and when he dismisses us for the buses, I grab Jonah’s arm, so he hangs back with me. I wait for everyone to filter out before I speak.
“Back off, Jo.”
He arches an eyebrow. “Fuck you, Tor.”
“I’m serious. This isn’t a joke. She’s not some groupie for you to fuck with.”
Jonah rolls his eyes. “I’m not treating her like a fucking groupie, Torren, but maybe you should ask yourself why me interacting with her pisses you off so much. And don’t tell me it’s for the job . You’re only a possessive asshole when you care .”
I grit my teeth, but I don’t deny it, and he laughs.
“Fuck, man. I know you so well it’s almost sad. Have you kissed this one yet?”
“She’s not a this one ,” I spit out, and he smirks.
I bristle. I walked right into his trap.
Jonah’s real good at using people like pawns in a one-sided game, and you’ll never even realize you’re playing until it’s too late. The balance is tipped in his favor, and it’s frustrating that he thinks he’s got it all figured out when I’m still fucking scrambling to understand it myself. I hate how well he can read me. I hate how I can’t read him—not anymore—and that makes me feel exposed.
I shake my head with a laugh, forcing myself to appear unbothered. Forcing myself not to give him the satisfaction of thinking he’s got the upper hand. I know it’s futile, but I do it anyway.
“You don’t know what you’re talking about,” I say with a sigh, and Jonah scoffs.
“Sure.”
“I just don’t want to screw this up. It’s too important.”
“You tryin’ to convince me or yourself?” He shakes his head. “Never mind. Doesn’t fucking matter to me.”
I stare at him, running my eyes over his blank face. He’s sober. He’s only observant when he’s not fucked up, but I can’t read him, and it pisses me off. I hate when he turns to stone like this. I hate even more when he’s right. Right now, I’d almost prefer the antagonistic, asshole version of him, but we only get that when he’s high.
I resist the urge to argue and walk toward the door .
“Let’s go before they leave us.”
I don’t look behind me to make sure he follows.
I reach the parking lot and jog to catch up with the girls, making sure to position myself next to Callie. I take her hand even though there are no paps in sight. I feel her look at me, but I keep my eyes on the pavement in front of us. I keep them there until I hear squealing, then I whip my eyes up to see Sav sprinting across the parking lot with her dog barking and running beside her.
I don’t realize what’s happening until Sav launches herself at someone and wraps her arms and legs around them, letting loose a stream of laughing sobs as the dog circles around them with her tail wagging and her tongue lolling to the side.
“Who is that?”
I look down at Callie, but it’s Mabel who answers her.
“That would be Levi.” Mabel laughs. “Tor, I might have to bunk with you guys for a while.”
I nod. I don’t blame her. Sav and Levi have been apart for weeks. I wouldn’t want to be trapped on a bus with them, either.
When we catch up to Levi and Sav, he’s already put her back on her feet, but she’s still got her arms thrown around his neck like a lifeline with tears rolling down her cheeks.
“I wanted to be here yesterday, but this was kind of a last-minute decision. I couldn’t get a flight out until this morning.”
Levi smooths Sav’s hair back, and she beams up at him in a way that would have pissed me off a year ago. It doesn’t now, though, and I don’t stop the small smile that curves up my lips.
“I’m just glad you’re here,” Sav says, her voice muffled when she presses her face back into his chest.
Levi glances over her head and nods in greeting, eyes jumping between us all as he speaks.
“Hey. Good to see you guys.”
“You too.” Mabel skips up and wraps Sav and Levi in a hug. “Where’s Boss?”
“STEM summer camp for a few weeks.”
“Damn. I’ve missed her more than I missed you.”
Levi laughs and gives Mabel a you’re stuck with me kind of shrug. His daughter, Brynn, is absolutely hilarious. She’s a really cool kid, and while she was on the first leg of the tour with us, we all came to think of her as an extension of the band. Even Jonah, who kind of took on the role of her unofficial English tutor as she was finishing up the school year.
Mabel releases them, her smile belying her previous statement. “How long are you here for?”
“I can stay through Nashville if that’s cool with you guys.”
“Fine with me,” Mabel says, then sends a smirk my way. “I’ll just take over the guys’ bus.”
Levi smiles, but he flicks his eyes to me in question.
I shrug. “Fine with me.”
I say it and mean it. This shit has been hard on Sav. She deserves some time alone with Levi. He nods at me, a silent thank you, and I nod back.
We’re not friends. Not yet. But we might be heading that way, eventually.
“Did Ham know you were coming?” Sav asks as she finally steps back, moving her grip from Levi’s neck to his hand.
“I told him when I bought the ticket yesterday, but I asked him not to tell you. I wanted it to be a surprise.” Levi gives Sav a wry grin, but then his brow furrows slightly at whatever he sees on her face. “What’s up?”
Mabel and I exchange a nervous glance as tense silence fills the air.
“Savannah.” Levi’s voice is low and commanding. “Tell me what’s going on.”
Sav releases a dramatic sigh and tugs him toward the bus. “Fine. I’ve got some stuff to fill you in on.”
“Shit.” Mabel winces and turns to Callie. “Hurry up. We got maybe five minutes to grab our stuff before they start fighting.”
“Fighting?” Callie’s eyes go wide as she darts her attention between me and Mabel. “Why fighting?”
“She hasn’t told him about the stalker.” Mabel gives Callie a grimace and starts walking quickly toward the bus. “Levi is going to be so fucking p?—”
Muffled, raised voices come from the bus, halting Mabel in her tracks. Her shoulders fall .
“Fuck.” She changes course and heads toward my bus. “Too slow. C’mon, Callie. We can get our stuff when we get to Houston.”
Callie looks at me with wide, nervous eyes as Mabel disappears up the stairs into the bus I share with Jonah.
“Looks like you’re riding with us for a while,” I say to her, and she nods slowly before marching with heavy feet toward the bus. She’s nervous, but I can’t help but be excited. I’m grinning until Jonah steps up next to me.
His posture is relaxed, almost too relaxed, and his lips curve into a lazy smirk.
“This should be fun,” he says slowly, making my spine stiffen.
When Jonah glances at me, his eyes are shielded behind dark sunglasses, but I have a feeling I’d find them red-rimmed and dilated.
Fuck .
We’ve only got four hours to Houston, but we’re taking two days to get to Miami, then another two to Nashville.
Fun indeed.
“Thank you so much, Houston. You’ve been fucking amazing.”
Sav’s voice booms through the stadium, the roaring crowd drowning out the end of her statement, and she laughs into the mic.
“We’ve had such a great time with you. And even though this might be goodnight...”
Sav pauses, and just like at every show, the crowd finishes the statement for her.
“It’s not goodbye!”
Sav sends me a smile before leaning back into her mic.
“But just in case, so you don’t forget us, we’ve got Mabel on drums, Jonah on guitar, Torren on bass, my name’s Sav Loveless, and we are The Hometown Heartless. Thank you for always showing up to rock with us. We love you so much. Have a great night.”
I wave at the cheering crowd as the stage lights dim. A roadie rushes up to me and I hand him my guitar, then I follow Sav off the stage just as the house lights come on. I’m sweaty and riding the high of another successful show, so when I see Callie, I don’t stop myself from lifting her into my arms in what’s become our post-show performance. My blood heats in my body with the need to put my lips on her, the desire to pull her tighter and consumer her, but I resist.
“How would you feel about going out tonight?” I ask as I set her back on her feet. “I know a good club.”
“Do we need another public appearance?”
Her question is tentative, almost leading, as if she’s searching for a specific answer, and I’m hoping I know which one. I shrug and give her a sincere smile.
“I haven’t been given any orders by Hammond, if that’s what you’re asking. I’d just like to take you out.”
“Oh.” Her eyebrows rise in surprise before she catches herself, then she clears her throat and nods. “Sure. Of course. When do you want to go?”
I check my watch. “An hour? I need to shower.”
“Okay. I’ll be ready.”
“You want to head back with me?”
“No. I need to call my mom. I’ll just meet you back at the hotel.”
“I’ll see you in an hour then?”
“An hour.”
She turns and heads the opposite direction, walking toward the girls’ dressing room. When she opens the door and steps inside, I turn and head back to mine. I brace myself to find Jonah banging another groupie, but the room’s empty. The urge to text him nags at me, but I don’t. Instead, I grab my things and head to the car.
I’m showered and outside the girls’ suite in forty-five minutes. When I knock, Callie opens the door and steps into the hallway. I look her over and force myself to breathe slowly. She’s fucking stunning in a pair of skin-tight black jeans, a green tank top, and a pair of green platform heels. I put a lot of green in her wardrobe, and I’m so fucking glad I did.
“You’re ready.”
“I knew you’d probably be early.”
“You look gorgeous,” I tell her honestly, letting my eyes drag down her body once more. “I’ll admit, though, I was hoping for a dress.”
Her face and chest flush pink, and I can’t help the smirk that curls my lips. I know she’s thinking about it now, just like me. The way I’ve touched her. In the club. After the concert. In my bus at ArtFusion .
The way she set me on fucking fire.
Then she narrows her eyes, her lips twitching almost as if she’s fighting her own smile.
“I didn’t want to risk getting into trouble.”
I let my smirk spread into a grin and take her hand in mine. I don’t say what I’m thinking—that I could still get into plenty of trouble with what she’s got on right now—as I lead her to the parking garage.
Things have been notably different between us since I took her to see Constance Chen perform. She’s been warmer. More relaxed. The more time I spend with her, the more time I want. Jonah’s words have been sneaking into my consciousness, getting louder and louder.
You’re only a possessive asshole when you care.
I know you so well it’s almost sad.
He does.
He fucking does, and I can’t deny it.
At first, his statement irritated me. It made me anxious because he noticed it before I did. But now that I’ve been slapped in the face with the truth, I’m accepting it.
Calla Lily James is my Firebird.
She was burned into my chest four years ago, and even when I couldn’t grasp anything more than the smoky haze of a memory, she’d stuck with me. I never even considered the fact that we’d ever cross paths again. I wasn’t searching for her. I wasn’t holding out for her. But in more ways than she knows, our encounter in the desert affected me. It fucking branded me, and as much as it scares me to have her this close, it excites me as well.
I hold on to that excitement on the drive to the club. I keep Callie’s hand clasped in mine, absently rubbing my thumb over her wrist until we pull up to the valet, then I slide out of the car first so I can help her climb out after me.
I place my hand on the small of her back as I escort her through the doors and to the back of the club toward the roped-off VIP section. This club isn’t as exclusive as the last one I brought her to, but since the stalker has pretty much disappeared, I’m not worried.
“Want a drink?”
“Sure. A beer is fine. ”
I smirk at her. “No tequila to make it easier to pretend to like me? Does that mean you’re warming up to me?”
Callie rolls her eyes. “Maybe it means I’m just becoming a better actress.”
I take a step closer. “Or maybe you’re finally giving in to the chemistry.”
“Don’t flatter yourself, King.” She bats her eyelashes, then pats my cheek. “I’m just earning my paycheck.”
If it weren’t for the sparkle of humor in her green eyes, the statement might sting. It doesn’t, though. Instead, it flames the embers of desire stirring in my stomach. Without breaking eye contact, I take my knuckle and drag it across her collarbone. Her breath hitches, and I chuckle. I lower my lips to her ear.
“I like when you call me King.”
“That’s not surprising.” Her voice is slightly shaky, as if she’s unsettled but hiding it well. She exhales slowly, breath fanning over my neck before she takes a step back. “It’s because you have a big, fat ego.”
I laugh outright and raise my hand, signaling for a server. Someone shows up within a second, and I order two beers. Callie arches an eyebrow.
“Is it always that easy?”
“What?”
“Getting what you want. You just wave a hand, and it falls in your lap?”
“No, Calla Lily.” I shake my head slowly and run my gaze over her face, settling briefly on her pouty lips before looking back into her mossy green eyes. “It’s not always that easy.”
I don’t look away until the server returns with our drinks, and then I lead Callie to a couch at the back of the VIP section where we can sit. It’s far enough from the dance floor that we don’t have to shout, and it feels a little more private than the bar tables.
“How’s your mom?”
Callie takes a sip of her beer and shrugs.
“Good, I guess. She says therapy is going well. Glory says Mom seems to be moving better. She’s healing. She’s good.”
“And what about you and her? Has that healed? ”
She pauses and thinks over my question before answering, her brows furrowing just slightly.
“I mean, she’s not actively mad anymore. I’m not getting the silent treatment. But I can tell she’s not forgiven me yet. She still thinks what I’m doing is stupid. And she still doesn’t like you. At all.”
I laugh. “I guess I don’t blame her. I did steal her daughter away.”
“Nah, I don’t think it’s so much that as it is you remind her of my dad.”
I wince and blow out a slow breath. “Ouch.”
Callie gives me a rueful grin. “A musician who sweeps the poor girl off her feet and promises her the world? For all my mom knows, you’re exactly like my dad. And according to her, you’re going to knock me up and then leave me home alone while you screw women all over the country.” She sighs dramatically. “Oh, such is the lot of a rock star’s girlfriend.”
I purse my lips and lean in closer. “I wouldn’t do that, you know.”
Callie arches a brow in disbelief.
“Honestly,” I insist. “I don’t cheat.”
She scoffs, then narrows her eyes at me. “You’re saying you never cheated on Sav? Not once?”
I hear the challenge in her voice, and I understand why it’s there, but it’s important to me that she believes me.
“Sav and I were a toxic mess, but I never cheated. Not when we were together. We’d break up every other week, and we’d both...” I trail off and look away, gathering my thoughts. I’m treading on dangerous ground. When I look back, she’s glaring, but I give her the truth. “When we weren’t broken up, I was faithful. Always.”
“I don’t know if that holds as much weight as you think it does,” she says, her voice flat, and I nod.
“I know. But it’s the truth, for what it’s worth.”
“Would Sav agree?”
“Yes. You can ask her if you want.”
Her eyebrows slant harshly and then she shakes her head. She looks away and takes a sip of her beer before finally looking back at me.
She opens her mouth to speak, and I brace myself for more harsh truths, but she stops herself when her phone buzzes on the couch beside her. Whatever she sees on the screen has her snatching it up, then glancing around the bar.
“Everything okay?”
“Yeah. I just, um...” She puts her beer on the table in front of us and pushes to standing, then gives me a forced smile. “I’ll be right back.”
As she steps away, I glance at Craig, but he’s already turning to follow her.
I tell myself to give her space, but the look on her face when she saw her text has my protective side surging to the surface. I only make it three minutes before I’m standing and heading in the direction Callie went.
I find her in the hallway of the club’s bathrooms. Her back is to me, her spine rigid, and when my eyes rise from her to who she’s talking to, jealousy rages in my chest. There are people everywhere, so this is a terrible location for this whatever it is to take place. The guy must have been the text that lured her out of the VIP lounge.
I stalk toward them, putting my arm around Callie’s shoulder, and pull her to my side without taking my eyes off Becket Walker.
“There a problem here?”
I cock my head to the side, meeting Callie’s former band member’s scathing glare with one of my own. I don’t bother acknowledging the other two guys with him, but it’s not hard to guess they’re also former band members.
“Torren,” Callie says, looking up at me with a tight smile and a warning in her eyes. “This is Becket, Ezra, and Rocky. They, um, they were?—”
“We were in Caveat Lover with her. I’m sure you know this,” Becket sneers, his words sharp and full of barely restrained rage. He doesn’t even bother with fake pleasantries. He hates me. It’s all over his face.
Good. I don’t like him, either.
I tear my eyes off the snarling ex and look at the other two. They’re also pissed, but their anger is mild in comparison to the bassist. I give them a nod, then look back at Becket with a taunting smirk.
“You played bass, right?” He nods, and I plaster on my most cocky smile. “Me too. Were you at the show tonight? It was sold out.”
Becket snorts. “We’re not fans.”
I let out a humorless laugh and nod slowly. “Of course not. ”
I don’t break eye contact with Becket as I slide my arm from Callie’s shoulders to her waist, resting my hand on her abdomen. His eye twitches.
“Well, it’s great to meet you, but we really shouldn’t be out of the VIP lounge. Safety, you know.” I wave the hand not gripping Callie in the air, pointing out the growing crowd around us.
“We were talking to Callie.” Becket takes a step toward us, so I take a step back, keeping Callie at my side.
“Sorry,” I say, clearly not sorry. “But my girl and I really need to get back to our date, and they won’t allow you into the lounge.” My words are veiled arrogance with feigned sympathy, and I can tell how much it irritates him. I could easily get them into the lounge, but I won’t, and he knows it.
“Look man, I know you think you’ve got some sort of claim on her now, but we’ve known her a long time, and we’d like to talk to her,” Ezra says, then he looks at Callie. “You met this douche, what, a month ago? Use your head, Cal. We’ve been with you for years .”
I hear the hidden meaning in his statement. You can’t trust him. He’s going to hurt you. This relationship won’t last. Come back to us. It fuels the fire inside me, coaxing out my possessive side until my hold on it slips. I force a smirk, flicking my eyes from Ezra to Becket.
“Callie and I actually go further back than the media knows,” I say suggestively, and I feel her stiffen slightly under my arm. “We only recently reconnected.”
Adrenaline pumps through my veins as I toe the line of truth. The surprise on the guys’s faces is rewarding, but it’s the need to finally come clean that keeps me talking. Keeps me confessing. I turn my attention to Callie’s surprised face, my smile softening as I trace my eyes over her features.
“When I first saw Callie, she was dressed like a phoenix, and I thought, I have to know this woman. She was gorgeous and intriguing, and I couldn’t stop myself from approaching her, even in a crowd full of people. ”
Her eyes widen as she tips her face up to mine, and I put my knuckle under her chin gently, holding her there. My voice drops slightly, so her bandmates can still hear me, but the message is clearly for her.
“I couldn’t stay away from her. She consumed my thoughts. I only got a few days with her then, but now that she’s back in my life, I plan to make up for lost time.”
Her eyelashes flutter, and her lips part on a small gasp. I watch her beguiling green eyes as they change from confused to shocked to downright murderous. Her nostrils flare and she flicks her eyes to Becket.
“Beck, I’ll call you.”
She turns and storms back toward the lounge, and I follow. She bypasses the couch where we had been sitting and heads down the hallway of the VIP bathrooms before whirling on me. Fury. Nothing but pure unadulterated fury. I plant my feet and square my shoulders, readying myself for anything she might throw at me. It’s been a long time coming.
“How long? How long have you known? Because you sure didn’t fucking act like you remembered me when I signed that contract.”
The words are a furious hiss. She’s so angry that her hands are fisted at her sides, and she only unclenches her teeth to speak. I respond calmly and honestly, hoping like hell to defuse the situation. This conversation needs to be had, and I knew it would likely be messy. She deserved answers, and after weeks of keeping this from her, I deserve her ire.
“Since Glendale.”
Her jaw falls open and she scoffs as she puts it all together. “That was weeks ago.”
“The memories came back in waves.”
She narrows her eyes and cocks her head, taking a single step in my direction. “And how much do you remember?”
“I remember everything.” I close the distance and hold her eye contact.
“ What ?”
“Everything. I remember all of it.”
Her eyes bounce between mine, her expression softening in a way that fills me with hope. She sinks her teeth into her bottom lip, then lowers her gaze to my mouth. When she speaks again, it’s a shaky whisper.
“Was it real? What you just said? About when you first saw me? ”
I take another step toward her so there’s only a few inches of space between us.
“It’s real. It’s all been real. Every fucking word,” I confess, and when her breath hitches, I lose all restraint. “Goddamn it, Calla Lily.”
I wrap my hand around her neck and bring my face to hers, taking her lips in a searing kiss. I groan at the contact. I’ve not felt this in so fucking long. I’ve not wanted to. But now? Now I won’t be able to stop. Until now, I’d never missed kissing, but the feel of her soft, plush lips sliding over mine is something I didn’t know I needed.
I will never get enough.
Callie opens for me immediately, her tongue tangling with mine, moaning into my mouth. Her hands fist into my shirt. Her knuckles press against my abs. I bite her lip lightly, putting my other hand on her hip so I can tug her closer. So I can feel her entire body on mine. The contact fills in the fuzzy details of my memories. How her body felt under my hands. How she sounded. How she tasted.
She keeps her mouth on mine for a few more blissful seconds, and then her hands shove hard at my chest. Callie tears herself away from me and steps back. I have just one moment of warning—just one look at her pink, swollen lips twisted into a furious frown—before she shoves me again, hard enough that my body jerks backward.
“I’m not some starry-eyed fan you can manipulate.” She steps forward and shoves me backward for a third time. “You can’t just kiss me and expect me to forget everything you’ve done.” On her next shove, my back hits the wall, and she stops with only inches between us. She seethes up at me, pure fury in her green eyes as she hisses her final words. “Stay the hell away from me, you lying, arrogant son of a bitch.”
Then she turns on her heel and storms away. I watch her with wide, shocked eyes and a gaping mouth, my chest rising and falling rapidly, until she rounds the corner and disappears. I want to rush after her, but I know nothing good will come of it. We don’t need a public shouting match, and rage like hers requires space to cool down or it will incinerate us both.
“You good?” Damon asks, slight humor in his tone. When I glance at him, he’s fucking smirking.
“Walton?” is all I say .
“He’s already with her. He’ll drive her back. We’ll have someone come pick us up from the back entrance.”
I nod and close my eyes, dropping my head back on the wall.
Fuck .
I’ll give her this head start. I’ll give her some time to cool down. But then I’m going after her, and we’re going to have a fucking chat. We’re clearing shit up once and for all.