Hidden Truths (The Shattered Halo #2)

Prologue

prologue

CAL

6 YEARS AGO

Looking around the small garage that our band has called home for the past few years, I take a deep breath. The smell of motor oil and mildew fills my lungs as I commit it to memory.

“Dude, what the hell are you doing?”

I look over my shoulder to see two identical faces looking at me with a mixture of annoyance and confusion.

“I’m memorizing everything about the space so I can talk about it in our documentary,” I tell Ezra and Kai, my best friends.

“Don’t you think you’re getting a little ahead of yourself?” Kai teases as he starts loading our instruments into the back of the SUV he shares with his twin.

“I don’t know. I have a good feeling about today,” Ezra adds. He’s been in a really great mood for the past few days, and I decided it’s because he must have a sixth sense about our impending success story.

“See? Manifest with us, Malikai!” I shout and then cough from inhaling all the dust that’s being kicked up by the twins. Kai just glares with those piercing blue eyes and resumes dismantling Willa’s drum set. He hates when we use his government name, so naturally I do it whenever possible.

“Are you going to help us or just stand there?” Ezra asks as he starts folding my sister Bellamy’s keyboard stand.

“Careful with that!” Kai yells before running over and wrapping the keyboard in a blanket and then gently folding the stand. Ezra raises his eyebrows at his brother but says nothing.

“I’d be more worried about damaging Willa’s drums,” I mutter. Willa is part of our band and one of our best friends, but she’s also scary. The tiny blonde has no problem speaking her mind and cutting down grown men with a few choice words.

“So, no helping us, then?” Ezra asks again.

“I have to go pick up the girls,” I shrug, like I would help otherwise. Spoiler: I hate manual labor.

Kai sighs, wiping the sweat from his brow and causing his dark, curly hair to look even more messy. Girls love it.

“Just go get them and make sure they make it to the gig on time,” Kai mutters as he lifts Belle’s keyboard and gently places it in the back seat of the car.

“It’s in the woods. We’re not being paid. And we’re performing in front of a bunch of probably drunk high school graduates,” I point out.

“I thought you said this was our big break,” Ezra teases, taking Willa’s drum kit from Kai.

There’s a party in the woods of Summer Bay, our small Maine town, every summer. It’s always the night after graduation and it’s always packed with the current grads and returning alum. It’s a great way to get our music out there to our peers and then hopefully spread the word.

Kai, Ezra, and I all graduated two years ago. Willa and Belle just graduated last night. We formed our band, Shattered Halo, four years ago. It started as just something for the five of us to do together, since we all enjoyed music. We slowly learned that we all had a passion for it and tonight is the first time we’re performing in front of an audience that isn’t our parents.

I’m the lead singer and the face of the band. Kai plays guitar and Ezra plays bass. Willa kicks ass on the drums, which I was honestly pretty skeptical about considering her lack of height, but that girl will prove you wrong the minute you doubt her. Then my sister is on keys, but her real talent is in writing and composing. One of the songs we’re playing tonight is a Bellamy Griffin original.

“Go get the girls,” Kai grumps, obviously over me standing there and not helping.

“Aye aye, Captain,” I say and salute him before taking off to collect the rest of the band. I hear Kai grumble and Ezra chuckle as I run across the street to my house.

“You look nice. Where are you headed?”

My mom startles at my question, having not noticed me sitting on the couch.

“Callahan! Must you sulk like that?” she huffs at me. My mom looks just like my sister. Dark curls and deep blue eyes, but where Belle’s eyes have warmth, my mother’s are ice cold.

“I’m just waiting for Belle and Willa. I wasn’t trying to scare you.”

Mom runs her hands down her blue, knee-length dress, flattening out the non-existent wrinkles before bringing her eyes to mine.

“Your father and I have been invited to dinner with the future governor and his wife,” she replies, a bit of her inner snob showing with the lift of her nose.

I lift my eyebrows in surprise. “James Wolfe?” The election hasn’t even happened yet, but my mom has recently become close with his wife. She won’t stop bragging about it.

“Of course. Who else would I be talking about?” she snaps. I just shrug her off. The maybe governor is Maverick Wolfe’s dad. He’s a year younger than us, but we all go to the same college, and he’s become close friends with Ezra. So we’ve become friends by default. He’s a cool guy, but his dad is kind of a dick.

“Where is Dad?” I ask, looking around for him.

“I’m here!” My dad yells, rushing into the living room from the kitchen as he straightens his tie. My dad is warm in all the ways my mom is cold. As I was growing up, their differences always confused me. Even now, I still can’t see how they fit together. “Good luck with your gig tonight, Cal,” he says, smiling at me and patting my shoulder.

“Thanks, Dad.”

“Keep an eye on your sister. We can’t have her doing anything embarrassing,” my mother orders before leaving the house. I roll my eyes. Belle would break out in hives if she ever broke a rule. Mom should be more concerned about me, but that’s never the case. Probably because I’m a guy, as fucked up as that is.

My dad sighs and shakes his head before looking at me. “Keep an eye on Belle to make sure no one tries to take advantage of her. Not because she could ever do anything to embarrass us.”

I nod, and my dad squeezes my shoulder before following my mom out of the house. He’s always trying to re-word the cruelty that spills from his wife’s mouth, like he thinks we believe she doesn’t mean it the way it sounds. Too bad she means every word.

I check my watch and see it’s getting close to the time we need to leave. I already saw Ezra and Kai leave their house. That was almost twenty minutes ago.

“You’re going to be late to your own graduation party!” I yell toward the stairs.

Belle and Willa make their way down the stairs in what looks like matching black dresses, while Belle argues with my statement. I just walk out to my truck, knowing they’ll follow me.

Belle is nervous the entire drive. She’s lucky it was only about five minutes, or I would have left her on the side of the road. Or at least threatened it. As much as my mom telling me to babysit my eighteen-year-old sister annoys me, I wouldn’t actually leave her anywhere alone.

I hop out of the truck the moment I put it in park, needing to get away from all the nervous energy.

“Hey Cal,” some leggy brunette greets me, batting her eyelashes. “Can’t wait to hear you sing tonight.”

“Thanks, babe.” I can’t remember her name, so I go with a generic pet name just to be safe. She lets out a high-pitched giggle that has my balls shriveling. She tries to grab my arm, but I slip out of her reach. “I have to go get set up and do some sound check stuff. You know, band things.”

She giggles again in a way she must think is cute, but I have to fight the cringe. “Find me after,” she says in a flirty tone. I nod and quickly walk away.

“Took you long enough,” Kai mutters. He and Ezra have all the instruments set up and are currently plugging in amps, lighting, and anything else that requires power. We’re using portable batteries that Willa’s dad has from their camping days.

“Where are the girls?” Ezra asks, looking around me.

“I drove them here.”

“And left them in the parking lot?” Kai asks, disapproval clear on his face.

I roll my eyes. He’s always been protective of Belle, but I swear it got worse when we went away to college. “It’s a two-minute walk, and you can probably see my truck if you move a little to your left.”

I leave him to his overprotective nature and start getting my mic set up how I want it. The minute I sing a couple of practice notes, people pay attention. I can hear the quiet descending and feel the eyes on me. It’s part of why I love this. My voice makes people listen.

I look at my band, making sure they’re in place and ready to bring the house down. Figuratively, since we’re surrounded by trees and zero walls. Belle’s hands are shaking above her keys. Ezra is pale, but Kai and Willa are both serious-faced and ready. I lock eyes with Willa and nod. The next moment, she bangs her sticks together, and the music starts.

I open my mouth and the lyrics flow. I’m in my element like this, on the stage, lights blaring down on me, fans ensnared by my voice. It gives me a sense of power that I don’t have in other aspects of my life. They hang on to every note and octave. It’s a high that can never be matched.

“You’ve been great, Summer Bay! We are Shattered Halo!” I shout once the last note of our ten-song set fades. I’m covered in sweat, some of which has been dripping into my eyes and making them sting. But not even that discomfort can take away from the crowd that’s clapping and screaming our names right now. Bras are even flying at us. I manage to catch a nice lacy black number before stepping back and helping the twins unplug everything.

I assume we’d normally have more time to bask in our glory, but since we’re in the woods on a makeshift stage, we all agreed to get our instruments back in our locked cars as quickly as possible before celebrating with our peers. We’re halfway done before I notice Ezra isn’t with us or helping. I’m about to open my mouth and complain to Kai about it, but I quickly shut it when I remember I did nothing to help them set up.

The moment Kai hits the lock button on his key fob, making sure our instruments are safe, I’m high tailing it back to where the party is. I’m not as big of a man-whore as I make myself out to be, but I won’t say no to a congratulatory blow job.

I find a group of girls, some of which I recognize from my graduating class, and make my way to them. They’re all huddled together, probably trying to keep warm. It may be June, but it’s still cold once the sun goes down, and their dresses are barely covering anything.

“Don’t worry ladies, I’ll warm you up!” I shimmy my way in and wrap my arms around two of them. They giggle as they all get closer to me.

“You were ah-maaaa-zing,” the girl to my right, who I’ll be calling Blonde One, says.

“Like the hottest singer there is right now,” Blonde Two says to my left.

I’m smiling like a fool at all the compliments, waiting for the other two girls to sing my praises.

“You were kind of pitchy, and your cover of Fortunate Son was subpar at best,” the girl across from me says. My jaw drops. I hear the others gasp and Blonde Three elbows her. “What?” she mutters. “It’s the truth.”

I take her in for the first time. She’s not wearing a dress like the rest of them. She’s smartly dressed in jeans, black boots, and a tight pink sweater. Her red hair is a mess of curls, and her green eyes slice right through me. She’d be breathtaking if she hadn’t just insulted me.

“Is that so, sweetheart?” I ask in what I meant to be more of a sarcastic tone, but it comes out gravelly.

“Why did you pick Fortunate Son? It doesn’t have the same sound as everything else you sang,” she asks, seeming genuinely curious.

“It was my grandfather’s favorite song. He died the year before we started the band. My sister, she’s the one on the keyboard —”

She scoffs. “I’m aware of who Bellamy is.”

“Right. Well, to answer your question,” I say, frustration bleeding into my tone, “my sister and I chose that song to honor him.”

Firecracker, because that’s what she is, tilts her head, seeming to look for the truth in my words. She must find them because the side of her lips twitch up in a small smile. Then she turns on her heel and leaves me with Blondes One, Two, and Three.

I barely hear what they’re saying to me. My mind is scrambled by that entire conversation. I mean, I know she was right about my pitch. Even I heard it, but I didn’t think anyone in the crowd of teenagers was going to notice that. I start to growl when I think about her critique of Fortunate Son. That one is too personal —

“Oh, you like that, huh?” Blonde Two interrupts my thoughts. She’s rubbing my chest in a way that she apparently thinks I like. Is that a turn on for guys? I kind of like my nipples played with, but she isn’t doing that. It’s like she’s trying to clean a spot from my shirt.

“Let’s go find somewhere more private, babes,” I say, leading them into some dense trees.

“What the fuck is that supposed to mean?” I hear from somewhere to my left. The tree coverage is too thick, and night has fallen, making it hard to see anything other than what’s right in front of your face. “I can’t!”

I know that voice. It’s either Kai or Ezra. Judging from the anger, I’m guessing it’s Kai. The guy has been in a mood since sound check.

“You can’t be fucking serious!” I hear Kai yell. Deciding this is a private chat between him and not me, I lead The Blondes far enough away to give him his privacy.

A rough hand jerks me away from sucking on Blonde Three’s neck.

“What the fuck?” I grumble, coming face to face with Kai.

“Have you seen Ezra? I can’t find him.” The concern in his voice has the anger quickly leaving my system.

“Not since we loaded your car.” I think back for a moment, trying to get the blood from my dick back to my brain. “Actually, he wasn’t there for that. So I guess I haven’t seen him since we played.”

“Fuck,” Kai says, running a hand through his messy curls. “Willa said the same thing.”

“I couldn’t find him in the parking lot or near the picnic tables,” Willa says, as if she was summoned by speaking her name. I jump a little at her appearance out of nowhere and she just laughs at me.

“I’m going to go ask Belle if she knows where he is. Can you guys start looking near the river?” Kai asks, and I grimace. I hate the river. The water is too fast, and it smells kind of gross. Kai doesn’t wait for a response before he goes to find my sister.

“We can go get a group of people to start searching the woods. I have a flashlight in my car,” Blonde Two offers. I forgot they were there and now I kind of feel bad for not learning their names. They seem nice.

“That would be great,” I tell them. They straighten their dresses and head off as a group.

Willa snorts and shakes her head.

“Shut up,” I grumble. “Let’s go look in the river.”

“He better not be in the river. We won’t be able to see him,” Willa says, eyes wide from the implication of my words.

“Shit. I didn’t mean it like that. I just hate the damn thing, but I’ll search near it for Ez.”

I grab my phone from my pocket and turn the flashlight on. The area around us is covered in leaves and red plastic cups. As we make our way toward the sound of the rushing river, the crowd and the scattered cups thin. There’s no sign of Ezra.

“Are we sure he didn’t walk home?” I ask, assuming Kai already checked if he has us searching, but wanting to ask anyway.

“Yeah, Kai called home, and his mom said he wasn’t there. He’s been calling his phone nonstop too. Ezra isn’t answering.”

I shake my head. Ezra doesn’t wander or take off without telling anyone. If anything, he’s probably the most responsible out of all of us. Which is making me feel uneasy. Any buzz I had left from the show or the beer I was drinking has been sufficiently smothered.

I look over my shoulder and see Belle motioning for us to follow her and Kai. I grab Willa, and we quickly catch up to them. Belle had seen Ezra in a small opening in the trees, but that was hours ago. At least it gives us a starting place.

“What do you want us to do?”

I turn around to see Blonde One with a flashlight in her hand and a group of people behind her, including Firecracker.

“Split into groups, but don’t go too far. These woods go for miles, and I don’t want anyone else getting lost tonight,” Kai says, his voice tight with barely restrained emotions.

We take off in groups, all screaming Ezra’s name until our voices are hoarse, our feet hurt, and the sun begins to rise.

Three months. It’s been three fucking months and not a single word on Ezra. We’re supposed to go back to school soon. How the fuck am I going to do that without him? Kai isn’t even considering it. Belle and Willa still went shopping to get things to decorate their dorm with, but I think it was a feeble attempt at keeping things positive.

My phone dings, letting me know I have a new email. I check it quickly, expecting it to be my advisor. I emailed him, asking about the withdrawal process. I haven’t officially withdrawn or even made that decision, but I want the information in case I need it.

“Holy shit,” I mutter as I read the email I just received. “Holy shit!”

It wasn’t from my advisor, it’s from one of the many record labels I sent a video of us performing to. I took a risk and sent in the original song. The one Belle wrote. And one of them responded.

“Belle?” I scream as loudly as I can so that she can hear me no matter where she is in the house. “Where are you?”

“I’m here,” she says, making her way to where I’m standing in our parents’ rundown kitchen. I miss the yellow walls and worn wooden cabinets when I’m at school. Belle and I made a lot of macaroni in this room. Ever since she and Willa watched Practical Magic and wanted Midnight Margaritas but were way too young to drink, Midnight Macaroni became one of my best ideas. “What’s up?”

I explain the record deal to her at the same time I text Kai and Willa.

Guys, you need to get to my house right now.

Kai

I was about to go check the train station and the hospitals again.

I cringe. We’ve been checking everywhere we can think of on repeat for months.

Willa

I can be there in two minutes. Kai, I’ll go with you after we go see what Cal needs.

Kai

K.

Once everyone is here and I finish explaining why and how this deal came about, I take in their faces. Willa looks shocked and Kai is glaring at Belle for some reason. Okay, not exactly what I was expecting.

I open my mouth to complain about the lack of excitement, but Belle speaks before I can.

“I’m out.”

Her words feel like a slap. “What? What do you mean? You can’t miss the opportunity!”

“Then don’t! You don’t need me to do this,” she fires back.

“You wrote the song they want!” I yell, completely blown away by her lack of understanding.

“Keep the song, Callahan! I’m not taking that from you. This isn’t what I want. I can’t do this without Ezra. I just. . . I can’t, Cal.” I see the plea in her eyes. She needs me to understand. I quickly glance at Kai and see she won’t be getting the understanding from him. He looks angry. I don’t know if that shocks me or not. He’s been in a constant state of anger for the last three months.

“Let her go, Cal. She said she doesn’t want to be with us anymore. Just leave it,” the anger in Kai’s voice is almost tangible, but there’s so much pain woven into it too. From the look on Belle’s face, she’s only noticed the anger.

“What about Ezra? You’re just going to do this without him?” she asks, knowing how painful her words were and not seeming to care. What the fuck had happened between the two of them? They used to be so close.

“Ezra is gone. You heard the cops. He ran. Just like you’re doing.”

I flinch at Kai’s words. Yes, the cops ruled Ezra a runaway, but none of us believe it. That’s why we still search. Why we look under every rock and behind every dumpster. Kai is the one leading most of the searches. His words are out of anger, meant to hurt like a dagger.

“What the fuck, Kai?” Willa yells, jumping up to her feet. I grab her and pull her with me back into the kitchen.

“I think they have some shit they need to work out,” I mutter under my breath. Willa nods but keeps her eyes on Belle.

Once we’re out of their range, she turns to me. “Can we even do this? Without Ezra or Belle?”

I think about it for a moment. “I already knew we had to get another bass player. We could go without a keyboard player.” I hated saying those words, like I was fine replacing my best friend and making my sister’s role disappear. But what else are we going to do?

Willa nods, her brows drawn together in a frown, like she’s thinking the same thing I am.

“I know a bassist,” Kai says, entering the kitchen calmly like he didn’t just have a fight with Belle.

“Who?” I ask, choosing to ignore the fight if he was. At least for the moment. I sure as fuck will be bringing that up later.

“Mav. He and Ezra would practice together sometimes,” Kai supplies.

“How did I not know that?” I ask, more to myself than anyone. Kai shrugs, knowing the answer is because I was busy trying to maintain my barely passing grades, so I didn’t flunk out. It’s not that I’m stupid. School just didn’t interest me, and I couldn’t pay attention. But like the good friend he is, he doesn’t call me out on it.

“Too busy chasing women,” Willa says.

I wag my eyebrows at her. “Jealous?”

She makes a barfing sound, which makes Kai laugh. I feel my shoulders lower, thankful that the mood is less tense.

We spend the rest of the afternoon on a call with the label. They agree to our only demand. That Belle and Ezra be allowed to return to the band, if or when, they so choose.

By the next day, Kai has convinced Maverick to join Shattered Halo, and we all sign on the dotted line. And just like that, we’re rock stars.