Bound’s reaction to me, a stranger, had been almost violent. I hadn’t done anything to earn it. My only crime was being fashionably late, but they seemed prepared to hate me either way. Curiosity and a little disappointment that my idols turned out to be jerks had me wondering why.
Feeling my head begin to ache, I decided I didn’t care. I had an agenda that was bigger than me, and three overgrown toddlers weren’t going to get in my way.
My mind was a whirlpool of jumbled thoughts and emotions, and any moment, I’d drown. Ever the mind reader, Griffin’s fingers began gliding through my hair, and it took no time at all before my eyes began to close.
“Wake me in a few hours,” I sleepily managed to get out. “I’m meeting someone tonight.”
I felt her fingers pause in my hair, but I was asleep before she could interrogate me.
A quarter past nine, I was rushing through Poison’s doors.
Since the night was young, it was easy to spot Oni sitting at a table furthest from the dance floor. She was sipping the bar’s most lethal drink with the look of someone who’d fucked up royally. It was a far cry from the confidence she’d displayed earlier, but I didn’t take it personally. Witnessing her uncertainty only assured me that I was doing the right thing.
Houston, Loren, and Jericho had been right.
It was their delivery that sucked.
I had no business breathing Bound’s air, much less sharing a stage. I could predict each minute change in Houston’s pitch, the pluck of Loren’s pick, and the pattern of Jericho’s strikes as if I’d choreographed them myself.
It. Wasn’t. Enough.
I didn’t know them. There was a reason they played so beautifully together. The answer was in the name they’d chosen. Houston, Loren, and Jericho were bound, which meant I was trespassing on destiny.
No wonder they hated me.
I powered ahead, pushing through the thin crowd. Spotting me before I could reach her, the hopelessness vanished from Oni’s eyes as she watched me closely. When I finally reached the table, my lips parted, but she quickly held up her hand.
I was silenced before I could even get a syllable out.
“Whatever sad spiel you’re about to give me to try to pull out of this deal, save it. You’re doing the tour.”
“This was a huge mistake,” I admitted anyway. There was no use pretending she hadn’t known exactly what I was thinking. She’d at least saved me from trying to find the right words.
“Probably,” Oni agreed with a shrug. “But it doesn’t matter now, so let me give you a warning that I hope you’ll heed.” She paused to make sure I was listening before continuing. “The last thing you want to do is bare your belly to those assholes. They won’t show you mercy.”
“Thanks.” I dragged myself onto the high stool before snagging her drink and taking a large gulp. I barely knew her, but since we were about to walk through hell holding hands, I figured swapping cooties was the least of our worries. “Speaking of warnings, I could have used one before walking into that room.”
“I wanted to see what you would do when your back was against the wall. Get used to it because what happened today was just the start, and when you’re on the road, there will be no one to play the mediator. I needed to know you could hold your own.”
“Sure.” I still wasn’t happy about being ambushed, but what could I do other than let it go? No one else was beating down my door to give me an opportunity like this. I wanted to make some noise, and now I had my chance. Touring with Bound would reach all corners of the world.
I could take that to the fucking bank.
“Now, for the reason I called you down here.”
“You mean scaring the shit out of me wasn’t the reason?”
“Not even close.”
“Fuck.”
She looked away, toying with a dark curl as she sunk deep in thought. I took the time to check out the band walking on stage now and realized I’d never heard them play before. I wondered if they knew who sat in the audience tonight. Oni was one of many A&R reps at Savant Records, but she was obviously willing to think outside the box, and what she managed to pull off this afternoon was huge. I’m not sure how many strings she pulled behind the scenes, but it seemed so effortless from where I sat. If I weren’t so desperate, I’d be suspicious, but I couldn’t afford to look a gift horse in the mouth.
“Did I ever mention I was the one who discovered them?” she asked after several minutes had passed in silence.
I felt my brows dip as I turned away from the five-piece on stage. “Who?” Surely, she couldn’t mean—