Dressed, I joined Rich outside just as he ended the call.

“Any luck?” I hadn’t bothered giving him time to notice my presence before making it known.

“No,” he mumbled.

At least he hadn’t run off this time with divorce papers in hand just to hit another dead end. In the beginning, Braxton had been curious about his sudden disappearances, but we’d always blown her off whenever she allowed herself to ask. I knew we wouldn’t be able to pull that shit now. At least not without serious repercussions.

“So maybe you should just tell Braxton about Emily now instead of waiting until you’re both old and gray.” He’d have one foot in the grave, but Braxton would still send him to it early if he waited that long to tell her about his wife.

“She’s not my wife,” Rich claimed like he was still in denial after all this time.

“Technically, she is. How you feel about it doesn’t matter. Only the facts do, and the fact is you married her, you’re still married to her, and your girlfriend doesn’t know about it.”

“Why do you care so much?” he snapped after rounding on me. He knew there was nothing else he could say. I was right, per-fucking-usual. It was always my delivery that people hated.

“I care because Houston’s in there fucking the shit out of Braxton, and while I’m sure he’s having a jolly good time, I’m also positive that it’s for your benefit. That makes him an accomplice. I am too since I knew about Emily and chose not to say shit…for you. That means when this blows up in your face, it blows up in all our faces, and I’m not letting you fuck this up for me.”

Braxton was my first and only girlfriend. If she broke up with me, mark my words, I would never have another.

I could still see the stubbornness and reluctance in his silver eyes and sighed. “You said it yourself, man. If one of us doesn’t deserve her, none of us do. Houston and I risk losing her too because we don’t want to do this without you.” Eyeing Rich suspiciously, I added, “It’s starting to feel awfully one-sided.”

My gaze began to narrow when he stayed silent for too damn long. I knew he was considering my point, but I needed him to see the light this century.

“A few more weeks,” he eventually begged me. “I’ll find Emily, get her to sign the papers, and then I’ll tell Braxton.”

“Why wait?” I snapped. “It’s not like you need her consent. Just get the damn divorce.” I wanted to grab him by his collar, march his secretive ass inside that bus, and force him to come clean. I only cared about him doing the right thing for Braxton. Emily could go jump off a cliff.

The only thing that stopped me was the utter misery on Rich’s face as he took a silent trip down memory lane. He was staring into the distance as if the past was replaying itself right before him. “You know why.”

Rolling my eyes, I exhaled through my nose because, unfortunately, I did know why. And it was all my fucking fault. The least I could do, I suppose, was buy him the time to finally right the wrongs we made.

“Fine.”

My gut twisted painfully the moment I heard myself agree. I knew without this shit going left that I was making a huge mistake. I just hoped Braxton would be able to forgive us a second time. Unquestionably, it would be more than we deserved.

“On one condition,” I added the moment he relaxed.

He was eyeing me warily now. “What’s that?”

“You back off. Unless she initiates, you don’t touch her. Not until you tell her about Emily.”

“No.”

It was funny how he wasted no time thinking about his answer when doing the right thing still made him hesitate. “Cool. Then I will.”

I turned to do exactly that when he shoved me into the side of the bus. My reflexes were quicker than his, though, so I elbowed him in the nose, making him back off a step as he gripped it and swore. I was planning to blow off some steam between Braxton’s legs, but this worked too, at least for the moment.

Turning to face my best friend fully, I waited patiently in case he wanted more. I could see the temptation in his eyes, but he didn’t act on it.

Because Rich was in the wrong, and he knew it.

Scoffing at the irony of how well his last name fit, I shook my head. Jericho’s need to be noble, if not all that candid, was the reason we were in this mess.

“Braxton isn’t stupid,” he warned me. “She’ll notice.”

“Not my problem.”

Baby fawn noticing his distance if he backed off could be avoided if he just told her the truth. Rich, still as blind as a bat in a cave, stared at me as he waited for me to relent. When I didn’t, he wordlessly turned away from the bus, and I watched him go until he disappeared into the dark.

He didn’t realize it now, and considering how stupid he was being, maybe he never would, but I was doing this for him too. When Braxton inevitably finds out, she’d know he’d at least felt guilty about lying to her. He’d have a minuscule chance at earning her forgiveness rather than none at all.

After boarding the bus, I noticed the mess Braxton and Houston had made was cleaned up, and they were nowhere to be found. They weren’t in their bunks either, so I pushed inside the bedroom and found them in the middle of round two.

Undressing until there wasn’t a stitch left and not caring one goddamn bit, I tapped Houston on his shoulder, interrupting him mid-stroke. When he looked over his shoulder and scowled, I stared back at him impassively.

“Move.”

He stared at me long enough to make me consider knocking him out cold. I only refrained because I knew Braxton wouldn’t find us fighting over her cunt endearing. Apparently drawing the same conclusion, Houston lifted off Braxton after pressing a kiss to her lips. She looked a little dazed and out of it, but by the time I slipped on a condom and took Houston’s place between her legs, her gaze had cleared enough to notice me.

“Loren?”

Pussy warm and sopping wet, I slid right in with a groan. “Yeah, baby, it’s me.” My hips began to move, stroking her slowly as we kissed. “I missed you.”

Widening her legs to make room for me, she whispered, “I missed you too.”

My grandmother had always warned me to appreciate the tortoise because I’d be up against the hare one day.

The days were flying by faster than I liked, and the last thing I expected when we ditched the bus for good was that I’d miss it. The cities as we made our way through Canada became a blur. Montréal had been fun. Toronto, where we’d ditched the bus and said goodbye to the crew, was even better. After only one night in Edmonton, however, we were boarding a flight to Vancouver.

The SUV we rode from the hotel to the private hanger pulled to a stop, and we all climbed out. People were waiting to load our bags onto the plane, so Houston, Loren, Jericho and I immediately climbed the steps leading up to the plane.

Xavier and Dani had already arrived and boarded and were the only ones still traveling with us since they were Bound’s manager and assistant, respectively. The road crew had been booked on commercial flights and would be meeting us at the venues now.

I was nervous about the flight since this was only my second time flying, and I still hadn’t decided whether I liked it or not. Loren had to hold my hand the entire four-hour flight from Toronto, so I was determined to get through this one on my own. In another month, we’d be making our way to Europe, and I couldn’t expect him to coddle me the whole way there, now could I?

As if he’d heard my thoughts and wanted to prove me wrong, Loren grabbed my hand the moment we boarded the small, private plane.

As I looked around the cabin with its plush leather recliners and wood-grain interior, I couldn’t believe how much my life had changed. I suddenly wished Griffin and Maeko were along for the ride since they were the ones who’d known I’d be here. I’d been too afraid to chase my dreams, so my dreams found me instead. There was only a one-in-a-million chance of that happening, really dumb-blind luck, and it only made me regret not finding the courage sooner.

But I hadn’t been afraid that I’d fail.

The problem had always been that I’d succeed.

Even my baby sister had known, and she’d called me out on it.

My eyes squeezed tightly together as I unwillingly recalled the moment I decided to give into Oni and sealed my fate with Bound.

Rosalie’s face had been coated in tears, her sobs cutting me deep as her fragile body shook with rage and frustration from being tugged in two directions as she glared at me. “Why should I listen to you, Braxton? I looked up to you! I thought you were strong, but you’re not!” No longer yelling, she whispered, “You’re still afraid of them too.”