Chapter Thirty-One
BLISS
Amelia and Blake have been holed up in Blake’s room since we got back last night. Since Jordan or possibly another homicidal fae was out there somewhere, it wasn’t safe for Amelia or I to be hooking up with random fae we didn’t know, and Blake volunteered to “feed” her immediately.
Taser, Dericia, Tubbs, and I sit around the living room of the rental. Dericia is napping on the couch, her feet in Tubbs’ lap as he plays a game on his phone.
Taser is halfway through a bag of chips, sitting at the dining room table next to us.
I’m trying to read, but my current romance novel is not holding my attention.
It’s not a bad book, I just can’t get all the events of the previous days out of my head.
The memory of Jordan ripping into me comes ramming into my head at random times, as do the images of the two dead women—Carly and Stephanie.
Grim stopped by earlier this morning. I asked for details on the attacks, on whether they’d figured out if Jordan was involved. I also asked if he knew who they were. Their names, their life stories. He told me as much as he knew from his police contacts.
My breathing turns more rapid, and one look at Taser tells me he can hear my increased heartbeat.
“Want a chip?” he asks, somehow knowing I don’t want to talk about it. I nod, throwing down my book and joining him at the table, where he hands over the chip bag. I take one out, dipping it into the salsa and crunching into it, letting the taste bring me back to the present moment.
“So Amelia and Blake are currently using the buddy system,” Taser says slowly.
I look over at him as I dip another chip into salsa.
“If you also need a buddy, um…” He coughs awkwardly.
“Let me know. I know you probably feel okay with Grim or even Wrath, and I know things with us haven’t been easy lately, but I’m not sure you should trust anyone right now. ”
“You really think either of those guys is going around killing people?”
“No,” he responds slowly. “Look, I just mean, for your safety, I’m here if you need to feed.”
I smile, an immeasurable surge of gratitude flooding me. I reach out and grip his hand in mine, giving him a light squeeze. “I’m so lucky to have you as my friend, but we shouldn’t—we can’t do that anymore.”
Taser’s eyes fall to the floor. “Why not?”
“Because someday, probably very soon, you’re going to find your mate, and when you do, this friends with benefits thing can’t fuck that up like it did with you and Stacey.”
“You really don’t need to worry about that,” Taser says, still not looking at me. He takes a chip out of the bag and cracks it into teeny tiny pieces, the chip dust falling to the table. He watches it intently, like it’s the most interesting thing in the world.
“I do, Taser. I really care about you and I want you to be happy.”
He looks over at me and gives me a soft smile. “Bliss, you’re one of my best friends. And I spend most of my time getting to play music that I love with my best friends. I don’t need any more in life.”
“Yeah, but—”
He cuts me off with a light squeeze to my arm. “Bliss, don’t worry about me, just know I’m here if you need, and seriously, I don’t mind.”
“Okay, but when you find your mate, there will be no more of this.”
He smiles again and nods at me. “You talk as if you don’t have a mate yourself.”
“I might not. You know about that spell, how my bond is incased in some sort of unwieldy magic.”
“Yeah, but it’s there.”
His words stop me in my tracks, preventing me from taking that oh-so-addictive downward spiral into hopelessness. It’s like a bucket of cold water was thrown on me, and I get goose bumps.
Taser stands up and places his finger underneath my chin, lifting my gaze to his. “He’s out there, okay? And until you find him, I’m here for you.”
I stand up and throw my arms around his torso, hugging him tight.
I’m not entirely sure how I deserve a friend like him.
I’ve been so focused on myself and what happened with me that I completely ditched my closest friends.
I put the rift between us, and as Taser wraps his arms around me and presses a light kiss to the top of my head, I vow that I will do whatever it takes to mend that rift, to make it as if it was never there in the first place.
The doorbell to our rental rings, interrupting our heart to heart.
I jump out of Taser’s embrace and go to answer the door, but Taser’s already there, using his vampire speed to reach the door first. He rolls his eyes at me.
“What are you not getting about there being a homicidal fae somewhere out there?”
“What? You think whoever it was is going to politely ring the doorbell before coming in to murder us?”
“Well, yeah, if it’s what gets them into the house.” Taser shakes his head at me and motions for me to get back. I take one very small step back as the doorbell rings again.
“Anyone home?” Simon’s very muffled but distinctive British accent sounds on the other side of the door.
I roll my eyes at Taser and push him aside, throwing open the door and grinning at Simon, noting that he’s flanked by two very tall guys, both of whom I’ve met before.
I ignore the one to my left. “Hey, Simon,” I say, motioning for them to come in.
Simon wraps me in a quick hug as he comes inside, then turns and greets Taser, shaking his hand.
Pisces and Evan, both easily over six four, tower above us as they prowl in behind Simon. Evan dips his head in greeting to me and Taser.
“Good to see you again, mate,” Evan says to Taser, a hesitant smile on his face. Pisces ignores us, his eyes skimming over the living room and then to the dining room table where our chips and salsa are still out. He eyes Taser uncertainly.
“To what do we owe this honor?” Taser asks, his expression matching Evan’s. I know Taser likes these guys well enough, but after their last meeting things are a little awkward.
And after the events of last night, I’m not sure what to feel about Pisces. So the awkwardness builds. He was so nice, letting me sob all over him. But now in the daylight, I’m having trouble reconciling last night with my previous dealings with him.
“Well, we wanted to come and officially offer you the spot as our opener on our next tour,” Simon explains excitedly.
Pisces looks over at Simon, something like annoyance on his face, as if maybe he’s not super happy about this, though I don’t understand why.
I’m not even sure why he’s here. It’s not like a guitar tech would have a say in which band opens for the one he works for.
And it’s not like our paths would have to cross all that much during the tour.
He’d be working strictly on Voracious Maw’s guitars, and I would be solely dealing with my band.
His gaze finds mine and I’m caught staring at him. I quickly look away, turning to Simon. “I’ll go grab the others!”
Within minutes Amelia and the rest of the band are gathered round. Amelia and Blake are a little annoyed at their no doubt multiple rounds of sex being interrupted, but as my sister takes in my beaming smile, her face softens and she grips my hand in hers, smiling at me.
“Bliss, do you want to do the honors?” Simon asks, practically bouncing up and down on the balls of his feet.
I nod excitedly and grip my sister around the shoulders. “Goddess’ Trance is going to be the opener for Voracious Maw’s next US tour!” I’m practically shouting at her by the end of my sentence. Amelia’s eyes go wide in a combination of what looks to be excitement and disbelief.
“Are you fucking serious?” she asks, her voice coming out breathy.
“I’m super fucking serious!” I reply, looking over at Simon.
He lays out the logistics to the rest of the band, the dates, the travel, all that. As I listen, my eyes wander off to Pisces again. He’s leaning against the wall looking completely bored. He looks up at me, a smirk appearing on his face.
I scowl and look away, returning my attention to Simon as he’s exchanging numbers with everyone so we can chat more.
There are contracts to sign and hotels and tour buses to figure out.
We won’t always be able to make use of portals to travel.
With the amount of people, and all the gear, we’ll definitely have parts of the tour where we’ll have to drive the whole way between locations.
Dericia comes over to me and slings her arms around my shoulders, giving me a huge hug. “This is so fucking amazing. Bliss, you are the best manager we could have ever asked for.”
My returning smile is genuine.
Amelia is beaming and looking so radiant. I’m just happy she’s finally getting the recognition she deserves. Everything else is a fucking bonus.
Simon motions to Evan, who’s been standing quietly behind him, a friendly smile on his face.
“Amelia, this is Evan, pretty obviously our bassist,” Simon says by way of introduction.
“Of course,” Amelia replies, extending her hand to Evan.
“It’s great to meet—” She stops short as her eyes meet Evan’s and the two of them fall completely still.
A look of awe crosses both their faces, but in an instant both of them recoil.
Amelia rips her hand away from Evan’s, appearing horrified.
Evan’s eyes narrow on her, looking like she’s just kicked his puppy.
Without a word, Amelia backs out of the room, running up the stairs faster than I’ve ever seen her run.
In a second long glance with Dericia, we somehow communicate that she’ll go after my sister while I try to smooth over whatever the fuck just happened.
Dericia rushes up the stairs after Amelia while I turn to Evan and Simon.
“I’m so sorry, I’m not sure what all that was about.
Amelia’s always been a bit quirky,” I say with a laugh.
“She’s one of those flighty artist types, probably just thought of some new lyrics…
” I trail off as Pisces comes to stand by Evan, who still looks pissed off.
Simon looks between the two of them and back at me. “It’s alright, Bliss. We totally understand,” he says, though by his tone I can tell he’s extremely confused, just like everyone else.
“I didn’t think you really knew Amelia,” Taser says to Evan, the only one apparently willing to broach what actually just happened.
“I don’t,” comes his clipped reply. He turns and walks out of the house, the door falling shut behind him so fast a picture hanging on the wall next to it shudders.
“Well, I guess we should go,” Simon says uncertainly. “Bliss, I’ll stop by later and we can hash out more details?” I nod and Simon motions for Pisces to follow him as he goes after Evan.
Taser, Tubbs, and Blake all retreat to the living room, talking quietly about Amelia’s reaction.
Pisces is about to close the door behind him.
He turns back and pins me with his dark blue eyes.
His gaze rakes down my body, coming back and settling on my face.
Smirking, he comes and stands before me, reaching out and taking one of the strings of the hoodie I’m wearing between his fingers.
The one that belongs to Wrath. The one that I keep nervously fiddling with and can’t seem to stop wearing.
He cocks his head to the side as he plays with the string. His eyes flip back to mine as he leans in close and whispers in my ear, “When do I get my hoodies back?”