Rise (Rock God 1)

“Who’s that?” Julianna stares at Eve.

“Eve, Blade’s wife. I know, she’s gorgeous, right? Welcome to my world. Wait until you see the others.” I start to pull my carry-on over to her, and thank God it’s Rip who gets out of the driver’s side.

I’m not even at the SUV, and Eve throws her arms around me. “You’re in soooo much trouble.” We sway back and forth as my eyes pool with tears. I love Eve. I’m actually super close with her, and she’s one-hundred percent supportive.

She pulls back and her blue eyes look at me, shift to Julianna, then back at me.

“Oh wow. Um, Rip.” She snaps her fingers. “Get their bags.”

“Eve, this is my best friend, Julianna.” I’m wearing Julianna’s clothes, which are ten times more conservative than any of mine. But when I left London, I only had my purse and what I was wearing. It’s not like I’ve had time to shop. Besides, I have a closetful at my house.

“I’m so happy to finally meet you, Julianna. Gia talks about you all the time.” She smiles and I want to put my head on her shoulder and sleep. I’m fucking depressed.

“Okay. Well, let’s get going.” She looks at me rather unsure.

Rip walks over and hugs Julianna. We all go way back. He used to be my pot dealer at Berkeley.

“Did you finally realize that we’re meant to be?” He kisses the top of her head. Secretly I think Rip has a thing for her. Too bad she can’t like him instead of the six-five, dark-haired enforcer.

“Ripper, you never change.” She smiles up at him. He takes a step back as if her appearance surprises him. His blue eyes laser in on me and he scowls.

What the hell? I know we look a little haggard, but our hair is still holding up well.

“Okay, Eve’s right. We need to get going. They moved the wedding an hour earlier because of the heat.”

“What?” I climb in as Eve gives me an encouraging pat on the shoulder. He slams the door on my question.

The SUV has the air on, thank God. As Rip pulls out, Eve turns to me. “Listen, it’s been a little tense lately.”

I look out the window as we pull onto the 405 North. “Do you have a cigarette, Rip? My head is pounding.”

He looks at me through the mirror and hands me the pack laying on the console.

“Thanks.” I offer Julianna one, but she shakes her head no.

“What’s the drama?” I light up and roll down the window slightly, making it sound like we’re in a wind tunnel.

“Just club stuff, so they moved the wedding to a secret place. Dolly and Doug are doing our makeup at the clubhouse.”

I turn and look at her. “What the hell, Eve?” My heart starts to race in fear. Ever since the day Axel said he was getting patched in, I’ve hated this feeling. I’m always on edge, worrying something bad could happen.

“Don’t panic. They’re just being careful. No one wants unexpected guests today.”

I rub my forehead and try to let the nicotine calm me. “I can’t really handle anything, Eve. So if you need to tell me something, spit it out.”

She looks at Rip, then back at me. “Axel’s not happy for numerous reasons. So maybe wait until after the wedding to like, hug him.”

I blink at her. “Aren’t we doing pictures before the wedding?”

She just stares right back. “Do you need to borrow a dress?”

“Julianna packed me one.” I wave my hand, then glance over at her. “Maybe. What time is the wedding? I need a nap.”

“Three hours.” Rip looks back at us. “And what Eve’s not telling you is that Axel is pissed about everything. Starting with you, and ending with the fact that Eve and Dolly got Antoinette a stripper for the bachelorette party.”

I’m not exactly listening because I’m either getting car sick, or everything is catching up with me. I need to sleep or drink because I’m starting to sober up. Julianna must feel the same way because she takes my cigarette.

“Three hours?” I take off my seat belt and slide to the middle so I can talk easily to both of them. “What happened to a dusk wedding? What’s going on?”

“Relax, Gia. Everything is fine.” Rip holds up his hands. His mellow pot-grower attitude is getting on my nerves right now.

“It’s been a fucking nightmare.” Eve turns sideways. “Something’s going on. None of them will talk about it, but at the last minute, everything changed. Then you, and whatever is going on with Granger…” She points at me, and I slap her hand down.

“Sorry. Anyway, I thought it would be fun for Antoinette to have a stripper. Sue me.”

She looks at Rip who shakes his head. “Don’t bring me in on this.”

“You would have thought I had murdered someone. They freaked.” Eve rolls her eyes.