Angel (Fallen Angel, #3)(43)
“Uh huh,” I said, nodding. I knew Killian as well as he knew me, and when he zeroed in on someone, then all bets were off. “I fucking knew it.”
Killian shrugged, not disagreeing, and then we all turned to look in our manager’s direction. Levi was dressed in crisp white pants and a bright turquoise button-down shirt, and as though he could suddenly feel three sets of eyes on him, he turned and looked in our direction.
Levi’s eyes narrowed on us, and then he cocked his head to the side, likely trying to determine what the hell was going on and whether he was needed.
“Act fucking normal,” Killian muttered from behind us. “I don’t want you two to scare him off before I go over there.”
So with Levi’s eyes still on us, I indicated we were leaving with a thumb to the door while Halo—fuckin’ drunk Halo—started laughing.
“Oh my God,” Halo whispered as we both rounded back to face Killian. “You and Levi?”
“If I’m lucky,” Killian said, and then winked at Halo. “Now you two get the hell out of here.”
Halo clapped a hand over his mouth and looked up at me. I looked to Killian and said, “Do I need to tell you not to fuck up a good thing here?”
“I mean, you can,” Killian drawled as he shoved off the wall and stepped up by my side to look between Halo and me. “But you’ll get the same answer you gave me.”
I arched an eyebrow his way, and Killian shrugged. “It’s none of your damn business.”
Fair enough, I thought, as Killian said his goodbyes and made his way through the crowd toward our manager.
Who was I to tell Killian who he could or couldn’t be with? If I’d listened to anyone other than myself when I’d first gone after Halo, I wouldn’t be taking the angel back to our hotel suite now, would I? So if Killian wanted to chase after Levi, then my only words of advice would be to Levi: run, if you don’t want to get caught.
Thirty
Halo
“HALO! LOOK OVER here!”
I turned my head in the direction of the shouting photographers to let them get their shot. They were all crowded in behind a velvet rope, at least fifty or so squeezed together while the guys and I walked down the red carpet of the Music World Awards.
“Viper, go stand by Halo,” one of them shouted, and Viper responded by shooting the photographer a choice finger. Before coming out tonight, we’d decided to keep the attention on the band and not us as a couple, so Viper and I stood on opposite sides as we posed for photos, the other guys sandwiched between us. If I was close to Viper, I’d reach for his hand or his waist or any part of him I could get my hands on, and that was not where the focus needed to be in front of the cameras. Once we got inside and sat down, though? All bets were off.
Levi walked over from the sidelines and moved us down the red carpet. He was the one who decided which media we’d do interviews with and was basically in charge of keeping the five of us in line tonight. Well, every night, but especially tonight, since I had no idea what the hell to expect from an awards show. It was the first one I’d been to, though I’d watched them before, and it was such a different experience being on the other side of things. It wasn’t as glamorous as I’d expected with all the photographers yelling instructions at us and reporters clamoring for our attention.
Levi bypassed an entire group of media without a glance their way and brought us over to a podium manned by E! News. As we waited for the host to finish up their current interview, Killian leaned in. “Not what you expected, is it?”
“How’d you know that’s what I was thinking?” I said.
He grinned. “I had a first time too. Wait till we get inside. It’s smaller than it looks on TV.”
Before I could respond, I heard Levi curse and looked over to where he was staring down the crowded red carpet. When he turned back to face us, he gestured for us all to move in closer.
“I was told he wouldn’t be here, or I would’ve given you a heads-up earlier,” he said.
“Who’s ‘he’?” I asked.
“Oh shit.” Jagger was looking past us, and I turned around to see who Levi was so worried about us running into.
At first, I didn’t see him, because a towering guy stood beside him, blocking my view. But then he moved to the side, revealing—
“Trent fucking Knox.” Slade let out an inelegant snort and shook his head. “What the hell’s he doin’ here?”
“He’s up for a few awards, but he wasn’t supposed to show tonight—” Levi’s words were cut off as one of the E! News producers tapped him on the shoulder, letting him know the host was ready for us. Levi nodded at them and then turned back to us, smoothing down his lemon-yellow tie. “Try to avoid questions about Trent, okay? Focus on your awards, the album, the tour—anything but that.”
Levi was looking straight at Viper when he said it, meaning someone had filled him in on past band drama. Or maybe it was that he knew if anyone was gonna get mouthy, it’d be my boyfriend. But Viper merely shrugged, like he couldn’t care less, and when he caught my eye, he winked.
We ran through the interview with no issues, and no questions about their former lead singer, while out of the corner of my eye I could see Levi running around doing damage control. In other words, making sure Trent and Fallen Angel didn’t come anywhere near each other tonight. I doubted any of the guys would make a scene in front of all these people, but I’d never met Trent, so who knew what his reaction would be to seeing us? I didn’t think he’d care one way or another that I’d taken his place, since he was the one who’d left the band. Part of me was curious about him, since he’d grown up with Viper and Killian and they’d been friends and bandmates for so long. And, yeah, regardless of the other guys’ opinions, I was still a huge fan, especially of his new solo stuff. Not that I’d ever tell Viper that, or I’d never hear the end of it.