Halo (Fallen Angel, #1)(57)

“Viper was just about to go and find Halo and let him know it’s time. Right, V?”

If the choice was between that or murdering Brian, I knew which I preferred right then.

“Right, V?”

I aimed an eat shit look in Brian’s direction, and when he rolled his eyes, I ground my molars together. “Right.”

As I turned to leave the room, I took the shot Jagger still held in his hand and slammed it back, and when he offered the bottle, I took it from him. Not for me, but just in case Halo needed a shot of liquid courage.

It’d been a couple of days since we’d finished up the recording of “Invitation,” and with tonight’s interview, the track about to hit, and the trip to Florida all happening at a whirlwind pace, none of us had really had a chance to stop and think about everything going down.

That wasn’t so much of an issue for me and the guys—we were used to the chaos that sometimes surrounded our lives—but for Halo? I had a feeling that things were starting to catch up with the angel.

Pushing through the door of the men’s room, I wasn’t at all shocked to find Halo standing at the far end of the vanity in front of the mirror, staring at himself as though he were looking at a stranger—and tonight, he probably felt like one, at least to himself.

To me, however, he looked sexy as fuck. In black boots he’d left half unlaced, jeans that were ripped in all the right places, and a fitted white shirt he’d only buttoned to mid-sternum, the man standing in front of the mirror with the disheveled curls and luminous sea green eyes looked like a man who people would lose their fucking minds over.

Add in the black leather jacket, and when Halo stepped on that stage tonight, every person sitting in the audience, and at home in their living room, was about to fall in love.

“How you doing in here, Angel?”

Halo looked in my direction, and when his eyes fell to the bottle in my hand, he said, “Do you always carry a bottle of alcohol around with you?”

I raised the tequila and shrugged. “Maybe. I thought you could do with a shot before we hit the stage.”

“Ugh.” Halo scrunched his nose up.

“Or maybe not.” I put the bottle on the vanity and walked to where he was back to staring at himself in the mirror.

“I already feel like I’m going to be sick,” he said. “That will not help.”

I’d figured as much, but as I stared at Halo’s profile, I couldn’t for the life of me imagine why someone like him would ever be nervous. He was…magnificent.

“Angel.” When Halo didn’t respond, but kept staring at himself, I moved around behind him until he could see my face in the mirror beside his. “You are going to kill it out there tonight.”

Halo’s eyes searched out mine, and I could see the real worry there, the real…fear.

“I don’t know, I… What if it’s like it was back in Savannah? We all thought I was going to kill it there, and look what happened. I killed it. As in TBD is dead because of me.”

Without even thinking about it, I grabbed Halo’s arm and spun him around so he was chest to chest with me. Then I took hold of his chin and said, “TBD is dead because of Trent. Not you. Do you hear me?”

When Halo remained mute, I dragged my thumb over his lip and followed the path with hungry eyes. “You are giving us a second chance. Your music kicks ass, your lyrics are hot as fuck, and this face with that voice? Angel, you’re about to be a fucking superstar. Enjoy that. Be proud of it.”

When Halo slowly nodded and shifted closer to me, I groaned.

“And keep that look that’s in your eyes now, would you? It’ll make me uncomfortable as shit, but it’ll be perfect when you hit the stage.”

“What look’s that?”

Knowing my own limits, I dropped my hand from his face and took a step away. “Ask me after we’re done here and I’ll show you.” I walked back toward the door and snatched up the tequila. “Final chance.”

Halo walked my way but shook his head, and I was relieved to see the fear from a second ago had been replaced with a new sense of determination. “You really think my music kicks ass?”

I grabbed on to the door to open it for him and nodded. “I do.”

The smile that lit Halo’s face made something in my stomach tighten.

“Then what do I care what the rest of the world thinks?” he said. “That’s good enough for me.”

As we walked back to the green room, it was to see the rest of the guys coming out the door. When they spotted us, they all started shooting the shit with Halo, pumping him up for what was to come, and I hung back a little, hearing Halo’s words over and over in my head.

I had to admit, it felt really fucking good to know that I was the reason Halo was now standing tall and looking like he had won some goddamn prize, and as one of the assistants began to mic us up, I made sure to keep my eyes off him. Killian was standing close enough that he’d see any kind of thought or feeling that was on my face, and the last thing Halo needed was Killian calling me out on my wayward dick.

“Okay,” Killian said, as he clapped Halo on the arm. “Ready for this?”

Halo scoffed. “Uh…no.” Then he flashed a charming smile. “But I’m gonna rock it.”

“Of course you are, man.” Jagger peeked out of one of the curtains and then looked back at us. “And if you get nervous there’s a serious hottie, front row, on the right. Miniskirt, legs for days, blond hair.”