“They will have an interesting evening,” Bodhi said as he pressed the button for the elevator. I bit back a smile, but when I got his grin, my own escaped.
Our gazes locked and we both said, “Not it.”
Then laughed. Definitely not it.
Chapter
Thirty-Five
LAINEY
The last time I’d been in this theater, it had been filled with workmen and crew. The lights had been up and the seats emptied. It had—potential. Tonight? This evening? It was electric.
Em answered her dressing room door at the first knock. “You’re here!” Excitement filled her eyes and she threw her arms around me. I hugged her tight and let her pull me inside. “Girl time, Bodhi.”
“Have fun, PPG. I’ll be out here,” Bodhi said with a faint smile before the door closed.
Leaning back against it, she stared at me with wide eyes. Her cosmetics were done and there was enough glitter and shimmer highlighting her eyes and along her hairline to make her sparkle in the air.
“Well?” she asked, stripping off the robe. Beneath it she wore a body suit that hugged her frame. The suit was sheer across her torso and arms, with the only filled in areas covering her breasts and her groin. It was black and silver. “How are they? Andrea first, then the boys. Milo’s been… less than direct about answering my questions.”
“Andrea will be fine,” I told her, setting my purse down on a side table before going to the small fridge and pulling out a couple of waters. “She’s still in some shock that we found her and I don’t doubt a bit of denial. But we’ll get her home and look after her.”
Em accepted the water bottle, then turned to put it down. Her outfit was backless and the phoenix tattoo across her back was stunning in its wild reds, oranges, and golds. It actually looked like living fire.
“I love that tattoo,” I murmured before taking a drink of the water. I’d only gotten to see it a couple of times, but the work was really exquisite.
She flashed me a smile. “Vaughn did it. I love it too. If you ever decide you want one…” She dangled it out there. But I wasn’t sure I was a tattoo girl.
Em had a few. The one on her abdomen that told her head up and wings out. A circle of birds flying around one thigh. The phoenix on her back. She had a Vandals tat too, but you couldn’t see that in her outfit.
“Maybe,” I told her. “As for the boys—Levi seems to be more open to the idea of a big brother and family than Theo is. But they’re both—very guarded I suppose is the best description. Who can really blame them?”
Chewing her lower lip, Em retrieved her bottle of water and opened it. “Milo isn’t sure Theo is ready to meet me.”
“Well, to be fair, I don’t think Pretty Boy is ready for Theo to meet you. If he cops an attitude with you, he’s probably going to get punched.” From more than one direction.
“Look, when Milo and I met, we were not… well, let’s just say I was the belligerent one then.” Her smile was almost wistful. “I gave him a really hard time. So maybe…”
“Maybe you understand where Theo is coming from?”
She shrugged. “Maybe? I don’t know. I do know Milo did not deserve quite as much of the shit that I gave him.”
“That doesn’t mean he didn’t deserve some of it.” I pointed my water bottle at her and she grinned.
“True. But Theo—Theo is different. We had no idea he existed.” Em went silent, looking at her water bottle before blowing out a breath. “I didn’t know Milo or the Vandals existed. At first… knowing they knew about me and I had no idea about them. It hurt.”
“Em…”
She shook her head, a small smile in place. “It’s okay now. I mean, I got over it. I forgave them for the secret because I understood it. But there’s a loneliness there… that I had this possible family out in the world who knew all about me. I had no idea. Theo doesn’t know that much about us. He has to learn to trust us, like I had to learn to trust them.”
Maybe Em would be the best one for him.
“We’ll figure it out,” I told her. “None of you are in this alone. Not you. Not Pretty Boy. Not Theo. We will make the time. The important thing is they’re safe. If it takes ten days, ten weeks, or ten years, we’ll get there.”
“Have I mentioned how much I love having you for a real sister now?” Emersyn said. “Even if it means having sex with my brother, which you absolutely do not do. You have a very chaste relationship.”
I snorted and she laughed. “Anyway… you ready for tonight?”
“I think so. Valentin came to see me an hour ago.” She turned to check her appearance in the mirror.
Sitting forward, I frowned.
“Don’t get upset,” she said over her shoulder. “Yes, he came to see me. He was alone and he wanted to thank me again for coming to do the show.”
Alone. Juraj Vedriš hadn’t been with him. He would turn up. Sooner or later.
“You look mad,” Em said, pivoting to face me again. She had a pair of thin slippers that she wore until she was ready to go on stage. “I wasn’t alone. Liam and Rome were right there. In fact, Rome is right next door.” She leaned over and tapped the wall in a quick tattoo of knocks, that was answered immediately.
“They’re only letting me be alone in here because you were coming. They’ve got eyes everywhere.”
“Have I mentioned how much I like them all? They are almost good enough for you.” The droll tone was the right one to take. Her grin was magnetic. “Now, stop worrying about me. I can’t wait to see you perform tonight. It’s going to be amazing.”
“You didn’t have to come,” she reminded me and I just rolled my eyes. “I know, I would have come too. But I did have to say it.”
We both stuck our tongues out at each other and then laughed. Rising, I crossed over to where she was standing and hooked my arm through hers. “Always going to be here for you,” I reminded her.
