Shattered Dreams (Boys of Bellerose, #3)(57)

I hadn’t been. That was the problem.

Tense and ashamed, I silently pressed the stop-release button, putting the elevator in motion once more.

Jace gave a frustrated sigh, scrubbing his hand over his face. Then when the doors opened a moment later, he just stood there instead of getting out.

“Jace,” I murmured, pausing just outside the elevator doors. “What are you doing?”

His head lifted, his eyes meeting mine with an anguished glare. “Heading back out. Maybe if I pick up a Bellerose groupie, I can finally fuck someone who doesn’t look like she hates herself when we’re done.”

Not waiting for my answer, he smacked the door close button and I stood there utterly frozen in shock as he disappeared from sight.

I’d fucked up. Again. Story of my goddamn life at this point.





twenty-five





RHETT


The flight to Edinburgh was tense. Grayson, who’d only appeared a few minutes before takeoff, was right at the back, a silent watcher, leaving everyone else to their drama.

I wasn’t sure what his plan with Billie was—he wasn’t talking to any of us—but my brother would only exist on the fringes for so long. He was giving her time now, but it wouldn’t be long before he forced her to listen to his explanation. One all of us were ready to hear.

Jace showed up completely wasted, half-carried by his security, and I would have smashed his fucking face in if he didn’t already look all kinds of fucked up. Getting back to the hotel room last night, after securing some quality weed, to find Billie sobbing into her pillow had fired me up. If Jace had been somewhere close by, there would have been a new fucking story for Dirty Truths.

“He went out for groupies because I screwed up,” my little Thorn had sobbed, and while I very much doubted Jace was doing anything other than drowning his sorrows—the bastard was totally in love with my girl—I was still pissed on her behalf, especially since she was once again blaming herself for what was no doubt mutually questionable behavior.

She was curled up by my side now, and I adjusted the blanket over her, letting her doze. It wasn’t a long flight today, just a touch over an hour, but Billie was wiped out. I made a note to contact Brenda and make sure that Dr. Candace had a video appointment set up.

Jace was a large part of the demons in Billie’s past, and just when she was learning to deal with them wasn’t the time to take ten steps back.

Fuck, I should really schedule my own appointment with the doc. Maybe I would ask Brenda for that.

Shooting off a text to our manager, who wouldn’t get it until we landed, I relaxed into the seat and brushed my hand gently up and down Billie’s hair. Angelo, who was across with Vee, caught my eye and mouthed, “Is she okay?”

I shrugged because what the fuck could I say? She wasn’t okay. None of us were fucking okay, but we were well used to existing within the darker slice of life and we’d always gotten through it before.

We’d get through this as well.

There was no other option.

Billie remained asleep, only waking when we touched down. “Shit,” she rasped, sitting up and rubbing a hand over her face. “I was totally out of it.”

Pushing back some of her tangled hair, I forced a smile. When life was at its darkest, you had to smile the brightest. Sometimes it even tricked your mind into believing that true happiness was just around the corner. “We’ll be at the hotel soon, sweetheart. You can keep sleeping there.”

She shook her head, before a yawn stretched her face briefly. “Shit, fuck. No, I’m awake. I want to see Edinburgh too. This is my first time out of America, and it might be my last. I don’t want to miss anything on this whirlwind tour.”

There was no fucking way this would be her last. I’d take her around the damn world as many times as she wanted. We had one last album owed to our record label, and then we could take some time off and reassess our priorities. Mine, for fucking one, was no longer Big Noise. If Jace didn’t wrangle us up a better label, then I’d be going elsewhere.

When we landed, cars were on the tarmac waiting for us, and we were on our way to the hotel in no time. Not worrying about luggage or going through anything other than customs was a perk of this life. Billie was in the car with me, Angelo, and Vee. She had her face all but pressed to the window, watching the otherworldly charm of Edinburgh pass us by.

It wasn’t hard to imagine this exact version of the city existing hundreds of years ago. So much history and so many ancient buildings could be seen, right up to the castle on the top of the hill. Our hotel was one of the nicest in the region, with an absolute world-class view of the castle from every window.

At least that’s what Brenda had told us when she was going over our schedules just before we left.

Billie’s face was filled with enchantment when she finally turned to me as we entered the parking lot. “Please tell me we can figure out a way to get out and explore this city. I absolutely have to know every freaking story and event that took place in these cobbled streets.”

Angelo let out a low chuckle. “Never thought my Bella would be a history buff. Didn’t you used to fall asleep in history class at least four times a week?”

She glared for a beat, before it morphed into a resigned laugh. “Look, what can I say. Sixteen-year-old Billie was interested in other things. History really didn’t make the cut.”