A Wicked Song (Brilliance Trilogy 2)

“He’s afraid to tell me.”

“But he’s told you that, and that matters. Because, like Chris, some things in their background make them hate themselves. You have to love him when he can’t love himself.”

“I haven’t told him I love him. We haven’t said those words. Almost, I think.”

“You will,” she says confidently. “You absolutely will, but no matter how much you love each other when his past comes out, and it will, expect him to push you away. That’s survival. That’s fear of rejection. You have to pull him back. You have to fight for him. At some point, this conversation is going to feel like foreshadowing. Fate has brought you to us. You are where you belong. Don’t let him forget that.”

Kace steps behind me, his body warm, his hands possessively on my waist, his lips to my ear. “See?” he murmurs softly. “Everyone knows you’re where you belong.”

I reach back and touch his face, and while I agree that I’m where I belong, fate isn’t all that’s at play. Kace doesn’t believe that any more than I do and right now, I really wish we could make all the other stuff just go away. Sara and I share a look of friendship and then I twist around in Kace’s arms to face him. “Mark and Crystal want us in the back in fifteen minutes,” he says, his hand laying on my lower back, a warm, even possessive, touch. “Let’s work the crowd on our way there” he adds, lowering his voice. “How did that go with Sara?”

“I kind of love her already. I told her, Kace.”

Surprise flits across his face. “And?”

“And a lot of things we can talk about later, but she’s friends with Kayden and his wife, Ella. I do think they can help.”

“Sounds like I owe Sara a thank you. You seem more relaxed.”

“I am,” I say, only now realizing that it’s true. I flatten my hand on his chest. “And you, sir, have a show to perform and crowd to work.” I slide my arm around his and we begin the mingling and Kace is an easy, sought after target but it’s all pretty wonderful. We slip into a good time chatting with people and I don’t miss how Kace introduces me to everyone and is always touching me. He has a way of making me feel like that princess for sure, even with a few gorgeous movie stars that have me just a tiny bit starstruck.

We’re almost to the door that leads to the ultimate performance room when to my shock, Alexander, decked out in a tuxedo, steps in front of us. “I thought I was going to miss the start of the night,” he says.

Kace’s fingers flex on my back and I can I feel the undercurrent of his anger. “What are you doing here, Alexander?” he asks, his voice low, even, but there is a whip beneath the surface that I do not miss.

“I bought tickets to all of your events,” Alexander says. “Important people seem to find you. It’s a good place to be.” He eyes me. “Like Aria. She’s important enough to claim your arm.” His gaze flicks back to Kace. “Did you tell her about Maggie?”

“Stop,” Kace warns.

“That’s a no.” He looks at me. “He ruined her.”

“Stop, Alexander,” Kace warns again. “Now.” That one word is low but no less lethal.

Alexander does not stop. “He’s the reason she’s dead,” he continues. “He wanted her dead. He wouldn’t stop until she was dead. She killed herself. That’s how humiliated she was after he was through with her.”

Kace does what I never believed he’d do. He steps toward Alexander and instinctively, I place myself between them, my back to Alexander, my hands pressed to Kace’s chest. “He’s not worth it,” I say softly, for his ears only. “The charity matters. He does not.”

But he’s not looking at me. His stare is locked on Alexander and I can feel the moment his anger recoils, replaced swiftly by something quieter, darker, and far more dangerous. “There’s a price to pay, Alexander,” Kace says, his voice a blade that promises to draw blood. “One you’ve escaped far too long.”

A guard appears by our sides. “Is there a problem, Mr. August?”

Kace eyes the guard. “Remove this man. Now.” He says nothing more. He rotates and starts walking away, and he does so without me.

I whirl on Alexander. “How dare you do this on a night he performs.”

“You needed to know. This organization needs to know the hypocrisy that is Kace August.”

I eye the guard. “Get him out of here. Kace just told you he wants him out of here.” I rotate back to Alexander and I don’t think. I slap him hard on the face. His head jerks with the force, but he just laughs. I give him my back and run toward the door to the performance room, just as Kace disappears to the other side.