Time (Laws of Physics #3)(47)

“You better believe you need my blessing, because Mona is my family. My. Family. Mine.” His voice was a rumble, and it raised the fine hairs on the back of my neck. I’d seen him angry, but I’d only seen him this angry once before, when another of our friends insulted Lisa in an extremely—uh—unsavory way. “And no one fucks with her, got it? No one. I will ruin you if you break her heart. You know I can, so don’t doubt that I will.”

Staring at my friend, I found myself fighting a smile. “Yeah. Okay. I see your point. Good talk.” I was still irritated with him about how he’d treated Mona, but it was clear he was making an effort now to be a good brother.

Leo continued scowling at me, his aggression fading slowly, but doubt remained. “We clear?”

I smiled. “Mostly.” Before he could get too upset, I added, “I believe you can ruin my music career, I believe that. But the truth is Leo, the only way you could ruin me is if you somehow convinced Mona to leave me.”

The frost left his stare, and the heat diminished to warm affection.

“So, no.” I turned, reached for my phone, and glanced at the screen. No messages. I tucked it in my back pocket. “I don’t believe you can ruin me.”

My friend’s mouth curved into a pleased smile and he nodded. “Glad to hear it.”

I missed having him as a friend. Leo was a good guy. Clueless sometimes, but someone who was truly trying his best. “You have anything else you want to add? Anything you want to apologize for? Now that you’re here, sharing feelings.”

“Nope.”

“Nope?”

“Nah, man. I did what I did. I was wrong, yeah, but not about you. I was wrong about Mona, and I’ve already apologized to her.”

“You apologized?” That surprised me.

Mona and I still hadn’t talked about her family, though she always wanted to hear about mine. I had a suspicion Mona talked to my mom and sister more than she talked to me.

“I did. She deserved more and better than I was giving her.”

“Huh.” Inspecting Leo, I absorbed this information. When Mona and I were in London, face-to-face, I would make a point to ask her about her family, get her talking about her upbringing. I wanted to understand her, know her. Maybe I needed to do a better job of showing Mona the depths of my interest. “What changed your mind?”

“About Mona? Or about me being a shitty brother?”

“I guess both.”

Leo stared at me, like he was searching for something behind my expression. Eventually, frowning, he said, “You’ll have to ask her. It’s not my—uh—story to tell.”

“Okay. Fair enough.”

“So, we good?” Leo extended his hand. “No more psycho phone calls?”

I snorted a laugh and rolled my eyes. “You know I can’t promise that. You’re the first number I call when I drunk dial. But I’ll try to keep them to a minimum.”

I accepted his handshake just as the door opened and we both turned toward the intrusion of noise. It was Charlie and he was bouncing on the balls of his feet, a bundle of nerves and energy, as per usual right before a concert.

“If you two are finished holding hands, we need Abram. Showtime.”

“Right.” Leo released my hand, giving me that grin again. “Well, see you after the show.”

I shook my head. “I’m leaving right after the last song. I’ve got to catch a plane to London. But Charlie and Ruthie will be here.”

Leo continued smiling but said nothing. He left with Charlie, but neither closed the door. No need. It was time for me to go to work.

And then London, Mona, three days.

I was just pushing my way through the backstage crowd, trying to find Melena to hand over my cell phone—she was the only one I trusted with it—and grab my mug of pre-show tea, when I felt my cell go off in my back pocket. I waited until I made it past the security rope where no fans were allowed before retrieving my phone and checking the screen.

My pulse stuttered. It was a message from Mona followed quickly by a candid shot.

I glanced at the photo first, but it confused me. She was standing in what looked like a darkened stadium, lights and stage behind her. She wore a dark dress, maybe blue, hair down, heavy—for her—makeup, and a giant smile. On one side was Allyn making a funny face and on the other side was Marie, grinning like she’d just done something brilliant.

Then I read the message and experienced a shock, current racing up my spine, wrapping around my heart, an electric tremor. I read it once, and then had to read it again and again to comprehend its meaning. Even then, even as I smiled widely, and my heart beat wildly, I read it again.

Mona: SURPRISE! I’M HERE!!! I’m sitting in the center section with your sister and can’t wait for the show to start! LOVE YOU!





12





The Lorentz Transformations





Abram





“No,” I called over my shoulder, shaking my elbow out of Charlie’s grasping grip, knowing he couldn’t hear me. But he’d get the picture. “No more encores. We’re done.” I handed my bass off to Geoff, one of our roadies, and darted around a group of smiling techs for the security rope at the side of the stage.