Songbird (27 page)

He glanced up through coke bottle glasses,
briefly ran his dark eyes over my appearance, and then went back to
his panel. “You okay?”

I reached out and placed a hand on his
shoulder. “Yeah.” I looked up at the stage and sighed a little. “I
am.”

The whole band was shirtless and clearly
sweating under the lights. Distracted by considering where I would
start to lick I almost missed Henley’s next comment.

“Almost shit a brick when Taylor said you
called. Messed up, the way you left.”

“Yeah.” I squeezed the younger man’s
shoulder. “I’m sorry.”

He looked up again. “Don’t do it again.”

I held his somber gaze and nodded. “I
won’t.”

He returned a nod and went back to adjusting
sound. I dropped my hand and stepped away.

I’d only made it three steps away before he
called me back. “Hey, Bella?”

I turned. “Yeah?”

“Welcome back.”

For family it was that simple. The feeling
stayed with me all the way to the edge of the crowd barricade
already set up. I leaned against them and watched for a moment,
sipping my coffee and considering.

I knew the moment I had Nicholas’s attention
because he missed a note on the guitar he was playing. Or rather,
missed a whole lot of notes. The music stopped when Nicholas
did.

I waited for the silence before using my best
fan girl voice. “Oh my God, Nicholas Walker I love you.”

He laughed and rolled his eyes jumping down
from the stage even as I climbed over the barricade.

He fingered my shirt. “I do believe this is
mine.”

“Something funny happened to my clothes.” I
shrugged with a bland face, “It looks like they’d been mauled by
some kind of wild animal. All of it was completely
unsalvageable.”

Those grinning lips widened. “Is that so?”
His eyes trailed over my body and turned hot. “All of them?
Terrible. We can have Henry set out traps.” He reached up and
pulled the hat from my head sending all my hair cascading in a free
fall down my back. He placed his hat on his head and inched
closer.

“Bella, my flower.” Taylor walked over and
dropped his arm over my shoulders effectively discouraging Nicholas
from getting any closer. “I still need a few hours of work out of
him.”

Nicholas reached out and flicked Taylor’s arm
off my shoulders. His eyes held a different kind of heat when the
landed on Taylor.

Taylor smirked. “She was mine first,
cowboy.”

“She’s mine now.” Nicholas growled, his smile
gone.

“Nicholas, knock it off.” I sighed. “Get back
to work. I’m going to see about lunch.”

Nicholas’s gaze returned to me and there was
something in his eyes I couldn’t identify. He tipped his head as if
considering then smiled again. “Tacos.”

I turned to the men still on the stage and
called out to them, “Tacos?”

I received three thumbs up.

“The five would like permission to eat with
the band.” Taylor spoke and winked. “Juliette and Fitz want a real
conversation.”

I shrugged. “I have no problem with it.”

Nicholas sighed. “If we must.”

I pushed up on the balls of my feet to kiss
his cheek. “Thanks. I appreciate it.”

He turned his head and deepened the kiss to
something less public appropriate. The coffee cup I held slipped
and I didn’t even notice. Nicholas’s hand fisted in my hair holding
me in place until he was good and ready to let go.

“You’re welcome.” He nipped my lip lightly
before stepping back completely.

My voice was lost somewhere so I gave him a
thumbs-up and stared blankly at the coffee cup Taylor held out to
me with a smile that bordered on laughter. I snatched the cup and
stormed away.

The taco joint manager wept with either joy
or frustration when I ordered enough taco fixings to feed fifty
people—even though Denton declined to include his girls in the
luncheon. The sound was hard to decipher over the phone. I paid him
in advance and I even added a handsome tip to have it delivered in
two hours. The tip was more of a bribe since I knew I was asking a
lot on short notice and they didn’t do deliveries on the norm.

When the guys came in to the dressing room
with the rest of the Five, I had finished setting up the buffet
table of taco servings. Arc whooped and rushed over to fill a
plate. I shook my head and moved over to the table where my salad
waited. Nicholas would have to get over it. I liked salad. I did.
My mouth watered for salad. That’s what I kept telling myself.

“Good to see some things remain constant.”
Juliette walked right over and in a single motion picked up my
salad.

“Hey, I’m eating that.” I jumped up as she
dumped it into the trash. I snarled at Nicholas’s quick smile and
approving nod.

“You’re wasting away.” Juliette fisted her
hands on her hips. “It hurts me to see you starve.”

“I’m not starving.” I mimicked her pose ready
to defend my salad. “But I will now, since you threw my lunch
away.”

Fitz walked over with two plates and set one
down where my salad had been. “This is better for you.” He took a
seat opposite me next to Arc.

I pinched the bridge of my nose.

“Are you feeding my flower power right?”
Juliette whirled on Nicholas. “You don’t let her eat just muffins
and salad, do you?”

Nicholas grinned and took a seat next to me.
He slid one of the two water bottles he carried over. “We try. She
really needs her comfort food, you know?”

“Here.” Henley handed Juliette the second
plate he carried. “Eat with her. You might get more in her if you
do.”

I didn’t scream in frustration. Instead I
crossed my arms. Those damnable fatting tacos would not be entering
my mouth.

“You’re thinner than you were.” Taylor
frowned as he sat directly across from me.

“Hips don’t lie.” Juliette nodded. “Yours
have melted.”

I snorted and propped an elbow on the table.
“Like hell they have.”

“Fitz makes the best tacos.” I watched worry
creep into Juliette’s eyes. “Please, Bella. Just one?”

Nicholas bumped my shoulder with his. “Do I
need to make airplane noises?”

I sighed in disgust as Arc and Max
laughed.

Guy shrugged at our newest additions.
“Doesn’t like when we use her own words against her I guess.”

“Looks like Henley might have to go back to
making the protein shakes.” Taylor didn’t look up from his plate,
letting his threat hang over my head.

“I brought the Bullet.” Henley swallowed
another mouthful before adding, “Totally doable.”

I grimaced. “Fine, fine. Christ.” I picked up
one of the tacos, trying to figure out how I was even going to take
a bite. “Person can’t even enjoy salad in peace.”

“But Bella.” Juliette smiled. “We know you
don’t
actually
like salad. Not even a little bit.”

Nicholas stiffened next to me. “Then why is
that at least one of her meals every day?”

Juliette worried the inside of her lip and
Taylor wisely filled his mouth. Fitz and Henley took their cues
from Taylor. The table fell silent looking from me to Nicholas.

Nicholas twisted to look at me. “Songbird,
why do you eat something you don’t like so often?”

That seemed like the perfect moment to stuff
my mouth. Fitz did make good tacos but he normal cooked those from
scratch. These were almost as good or would be if I didn’t have
lead in my stomach and bile rising in my throat at the thought of
the calories in one bite.

Nicholas waited for me to swallow.
“Well?”

Juliette smiled and shrugged at the death
glare I sent her. She mouthed an, “
Oops
.” However, she
didn’t look one bit sorry about the slip.

The truth was the only option left now that I
was backed into a corner. “Because I’m fat.”

His anger was likely going to scare our
guests at the table. However, instead of anger Nicholas responded
with a wicked smile and the look that certainly said he was
undressing me in his mind. I shifted feeling the heat rise in my
face and squeezed my legs together to calm the sudden ache that
wanted more than his eyes.

“We all know how I feel about that and I’m
the only one that fucking matters.” He nudged my plate closer. “Eat
your tacos.”

Trying to please Nicholas, I took another
bite and had to force myself to swallow not spit it out. My stomach
revolted when I did manage to swallow and I reached for the water
to wash it back down. There was no way I could eat another
bite.

Nicholas leaned over and whispered in my ear.
“You’re beautiful, Bianca. I would crawl over hot coals for a
single touch from you. I would kill a man for a single taste of
you. There is nothing on this earth that compares to the glory of
your body; your scent,” his tongue flicked out and licked my
earlobe. “Your taste. There is no one that you are required to
impress or please but yourself. Are you telling me you’re not happy
with who you are?”

Heat rose in my face as the others around the
table pretended to not watch Nicholas molest my ear. His words
however, struck a chord as I imagine he intended to.

I was happy with me. My job was great—when
Nicholas wasn’t being a child; my friends were here with me. There
was no reason to be unhappy. With a sigh I picked up the taco again
and nibbled.

Juliette leaned over to Arc and whispered
loud enough for the whole table to hear. “Does she know he likes
her?”

Arc replied in the same tone. “I don’t know.
It’s really hard to tell.”

“Knock it off.” Taylor and Max bellowed in
unison.

Laughter spilled unchecked from my mouth.
God, this was real family. Right here. I had almost forgotten what
they felt like.

Nicholas leaned over and brushed his mouth
over my temple. “You think we can sneak out when you’re done?”

“Not a chance.” Taylor pinned Nicholas with
serious eyes. “There’s still work to do.”

Nicholas grunted and sent Taylor a mildly
annoyed look. “Cock block.”

“That’s my sister you’re trying to sneak out
with. So yes. Yes, I am.” Taylor grinned and didn’t apologize.

Halfway through the meal, someone knocked on
the door and stepped in without waiting for a response. Henry held
a long white box like a parent would hold a child for a nap.
Flowers? Here?

“Miss Sheridan these were delivered for
you.”

My brows drew together as I studied the box.
The only men that would even think to send me flowers were sitting
at this table. I stood, walked over and took the florist box.

“Thank you, Henry.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

Driven by curiosity I opened the box where I
stood. The box came from a local florist, but there was no tape or
seals. When the light struck the roses my heart stopped. The world
spun and a scream escaped as I threw the roses away from me. White
noise filled my ears. I staggered, stumbling like a drunk as my
stomach churned and nausea rose choking any sound I could have
made. I barely made it to the bathroom before my stomach emptied
what little lunch I choked down.

“Get rid of those fucking things,” Taylor’s
voice ripped through the room.

I closed my eyes but I could still see the
roses. Dried white roses, hybridized with red that looked like they
had been dipped in red paint that now dripped down the petals.
Darker stains spotted them. I didn’t need a closer look to
recognize them as blood.

Tyler’s blood? Or was that dad’s? Why would
Benjamin have kept the roses all this time?

The last play, those last moments swirled in
my head. But above all the chaos the damnable song looped in my
head.

The roses, the roses, they must be red;

The roses, the roses. We’ll all lose our
head.

The clock winds down,

Do you hear the herald’s sound?

Here comes the Red Queen; we’re all dead.

Strong arms wrapped around me and lifted me
from lying on the floor into his lap. “Bella, come on. It’s fine.
It’s fine,
bella
.” Taylor crooned and rocked gently.

“What the hell is going on?” Nicholas voice
cut through the noise both angry and hurt.

“Get a bottle of water.” Taylor didn’t stop
rocking as he barked orders. “Come on,
bella
. Open your
eyes.”

I couldn’t do it. I couldn’t look into his
face. Not yet. Not into the face he shared with Tyler.

My heart slammed against my rib cage As if
trying to break free of the confinement. My lungs burned and nausea
churned my stomach harder but there was nothing left to expel.

“Nicholas.” I reached out a hand blindly.
Strong fingers linked with mine and I was pulled away from Taylor
and against the firm and familiar form. I shuddered and buried my
face into his chest. I let his scent fill me even as terror ripped
at my soul.

“I’m here, Songbird.” His hands stroked up
and down my back.