— SEPTEMBER, ONE MONTH LATER—
“You got it wrong. We took your deal to piss off our dad. Not because we’re stupid.”
Finn catches my eye.
I shake my head and throw the phone, still murmuring dollar amounts and empty flattery, over to my brother.
Picking up my guitar, I tuck myself into the backseat of the limo, glad that I have a level-headed sibling who’s willing to deal with the greedy music agents and starry-eyed record producers.
“We know who our dad is,” Finn says into the phone, his tone edgy with impatience.
Like anyone will ever let us forget.
Jarod Cross’s sons.
That and dollar signs are all anyone can see when they look at us. Which is why we’ve decided we don’t give a damn about chasing fame and making a name for ourselves. All we’ve got is each other and music.
I pluck at the strings, and the heaviness in my stomach lightens a bit.
I’m the only one who wanted to come back home for reasons other than exhaustion and boredom. Being on the road for hours on end made me sick to my stomach most of the time. I’m sure there’s a pill or potion I could take for motion sickness, but if there’s one that works, I haven’t found it yet.
The discomfort increases when Zane sticks his head out of the back seat with a wolfish smile.
My twin plops like a rock into the space beside me. The limo is boxy and stretchier than the average ride. But it’s still not enough for him to sprawl like that.
I glare at him when I see his glassy eyes. “Didn’t I tell you we were going straight to Redwood Prep?”
“Why do you think I had to fuel up?” He arches an eyebrow at me. The heavy scent of cologne is his attempt at covering the stench of booze.
The only things Zane does with any consistency is hit the drums like a maniac, post cringy shirtless videos online, and drink his face off whenever he feels backed into a corner.
We each have a reason for not wanting to go back to school, but Zane’s got it worse than the rest of us.
“We could have stayed if you wanted,” I offer.
“Nah. I was getting tired of it too.”
I pick the G scale in rapid succession, my fingers blurring over the strings.
“You didn’t get much action this time.” Zane slaps me on the shoulder. “What? You’re too high class for the groupies now?”
“Maybe.”
He smirks and plucks a bottle of water from the mini-fridge. “You shouldn’t be so picky. An easy lay is an easy lay.”
I shrug him off. I’m not the type to sleep with fans. It’s too easy to run into the crazies that way and I don’t have the taste for drama that Zane seems to thrive on.
But my brother is wrong. I did mess around on tour. The problem is… even when boredom had me indulging in a nameless chick with her legs spread open, it didn’t rid me of the redhead from the back-to-school showcase.
I can’t remember a melody ever sticking in my head the way hers did. She played like an animal. Not in a bad way. It was raw. Bare. Spirited. Like no one had taught her the rules or maybe she knew but didn’t care.
It’s rare to see something that flawed and unpretentious at Redwood. The redhead served her heart out on a freaking platter and she didn’t care if the blood spattered. If things got messy.
I’d noticed her from the moment I walked in. She was beautiful, standing there like a goddess in a leather jacket and a short skirt that showed off legs for days.
Her lashes were thick and a dark black compared to her red hair. Her nose was pert and tilted up at the ends. Her bottom lip was way too big for the top one. It was the kind of mouth that could keep a man up late at night.
I’d wanted to touch her the moment I saw her standing backstage, but when I heard her play, I knew she was the type of fire I sure as hell should stay away from.
Women like her… they’re the reason empires fall and kings turn into losers. The magic in her fingers has that kind of power. And I want no freaking part of it.
Finn motions to me. “Heads-up.”
I have to fumble around to set my guitar away and free my hands, but I manage to catch the phone out of mid-air. “Took care of the problem?”
“And made it seem like taking a break was his idea.”
When Finn smirks, his eyes turn into half-moons. That expression right there has charmed the panties off more chicks than our quiet brother would ever admit.
Unlike Zane, who posts his naked butt for likes, Finn is the silent killer. By the time you blink, he’ll have your girl and her sister under his arm. No words spoken. No apologies given.
Zane leans back in the couch. “You think dad’s gone quiet because he’s planning the punishment?”
I lift one shoulder calmly. Our father isn’t the type to get involved unless he’s truly pissed off. Which he was when he found out we’d agreed to open for his arch nemesis Bex Dane. For a whole month. At the beginning of our senior year.
“Nothing he can do to stop us anyway. It’ll ruin his pretty reputation.” Zane wiggles his eyebrows. “Jarod Cross will eat his own puke to protect his family man image.”
A corner of Finn’s lips hitches up. He’s a big part of that scrubbed-down image. Nothing more humanitarian than adopting a kid from a foreign country for the virtue points.
At least dad thought so after his fourth DUI charge almost turned into an aggravated assault charge. If he hadn’t swerved at the right moment, two kids would be without their parents.
Normally, nothing good comes out of dad’s meaningless vies for attention, but gaining Finn as a brother was about the best thing he’s ever done on one of his repentance tours.
“Damn.” Finn’s soft voice brings both our heads whipping around.
Zane caps his bottle of water. “What?”
“I hit up Jinx to find out if there’s anything at school we should be aware of,” Finn begins.
Zane cuts him off. “Why do you support that blackmailer? Do you know how many times I’ve had to pay Jinx to stay quiet about me?” He groans. “Don’t give that creep any more of our money.”
“Not my fault you can’t keep your pants on in front of security cameras,” Finn snaps back.
I lift a hand before the two can get into it. Setting my eyes on Finn, I ask, “What secret did Jinx give you?”
“It’s about Sol.”
“Sol?” Zane rolls his eyes. “You got fleeced, Finn. There’s nothing Sol could have done that we wouldn’t know about.”
He’s not wrong. Solomon Pierce and his family were the only slice of normal in our crazy, rock-and-roll world. We’re tighter than tight. What happened earlier this summer proves that.
“Sol got expelled,” Finn says abruptly.
My guitar slides out of my lap.
The glaze in Zane’s eyes is temporarily overpowered by shock.
“What the hell do you mean?” I bark.
Finn shows me his phone.
Jinx: Four hotties walked into Mulliez’s locker and tampered with evidence. Only three came out. Solomon Pierce’s suspension turned into an expulsion the day New Girl got her scholarship to Redwood.
“New Girl?” Zane scrunches his nose.
The limo slows to a stop in front of Redwood Prep. I slap my guitar in Zane’s lap and scramble for the door.
“Where are you going?” my twin calls.
Finn looks on with a concerned face.
“Take care of my guitar.” I point to the instrument and storm inside the building.
The hallway’s empty. School started an hour ago, but I wasn’t in a rush to get here.
I blow past the principal’s receptionist and slam through the office door. Principal Harris is on his phone when he sees me. His bald head turns red and his cheeks puff out in a sigh.
“I’ll call you back,” he says before setting the landline back in the cradle.
“Why the hell was Sol expelled?”
“Dutch, I was not aware you’d be back in school today. Let me call the teachers to adjust the schedule—”
I slam my hand on the desk. “Cut the bull, Principal Harris. Why the hell did a suspension turn into an expulsion?”
He gapes like a fish. “Mr. Mulliez pushed for it. He said it wasn’t Mr. Pierce’s first time getting into trouble and we’d given him too much lee-way already.”
A thread of guilt tugs at my gut. Sol’s been a handful, sure. But he only got in trouble this time because he took the rap for us that night.
“You should have called me.” I poke a finger in my chest.
“I don’t see what this situation has to do with you. It was Mr. Pierce who snuck into the teacher’s lounge and tried to steal—”
“He didn’t steal. My father’s camera was confiscated that day. It belonged to us. We were taking it back.”
He nabs a handkerchief and dots at the sweat on his brow. “I’m going to pretend I didn’t hear that.”
“No, you did hear that,” I growl. “You’re a smart man, Principal Harris. You know Sol wouldn’t have broken into school alone.”
“Perhaps. That’s why I’m not informing your father about this incident.”
“Dad’s too busy to handle something like this. He’s on tour. Whatever you need, you deal with me.” I tilt my chin up. “I’m going to assume this matter is cleared up. I’ll tell Sol he can come back to school.”
“I’m sorry, Dutch. Someone’s already taken his spot.”
“Who?”
Principal Harris shakes his head. “I can’t tell you that.” He purses his lips.
Sensing that I won’t get any further with him, I storm out of the office.
In the hallway, I bump into Mr. Mulliez, the trash music teacher who’s had it out for us since day one.
He couldn’t make it as a professional musician, which is why he had to tuck his tail between his legs and slink back to Redwood. He’s got an obsession with my father’s success and he takes it out on the three of us.
“Dutch, you’re back.” He gives me a friendly smile that’s not enough to convince me of his intentions. “I guess we’ll be seeing you in class more often.”
I walk past, ignoring his words.
Finn and Zane are still outside.
Zane gives me a worried look. “What did Harris say? Is this about that night we broke in?”
I nod slowly.
My brother runs a hand through his dark hair and curses under his breath.
Finn gets pale. “I’ve been trying to call Sol. He’s not answering.”
“His mom probably took his phone and laptop.” I pace nervously. “Principal Harris is a dead end. When we weren’t around, Mulliez put his claws in and got him to kick Sol out.”
“That bastard,” Zane hisses.
Finn leans against the railing and crosses his arms. His eyes are narrowed in thought. “What are we going to do now? Sol’s parents are stricter than ours. There’s no way they’ll let him stay out of school until we figure this out. He’s probably enrolled somewhere else.”
I think about the night Sol stayed back to get the security guards off our tail.
‘Go! I’ll hold them off.’
The pressure on top of my chest increases.
“Sol is coming back to Redwood,” I growl.
“Dad’s not going to lift a finger. Not after we spit in his face by going on tour with Bex,” Zane points out.
‘We’re not gonna leave you, Sol.’
‘Go!’
My eyes burst open. “Sol is coming back to Redwood,” I say again. As if they didn’t understand me the first time. “I’ll handle it.”
My brothers exchange looks but I pretend not to notice.
Jinx told us ‘New Girl’ had taken Sol’s spot and Principal Harris confirmed it.
I don’t know who New Girl is, but she’s keeping my best friend from his rightful place. She’s in my way. And I’ll do what I always do with the things that keep me from getting what I want.
I’ll destroy them.
And there won’t be a brick standing when I’m done.
Dutch: I sent the money to your account. Who’s the New Girl?
Jinx: Cadence Cooper. Shy. Reserved. She’s been invisible to everyone since the start of senior year. But be careful with this one. She might seem fragile on the outside, but this wallflower bites.
