Jericho, swaddled in a navy blue hoodie and toying with his lip ring as his dark hair pressed against his forehead and brushed his ears, brought back all the teenage angst that made my stomach ache and my toes curl.

When I felt my feet itching to carry me forward, I wrapped my hands around the cold metal of the railing as if it were a life raft in the middle of the sea. I didn’t have much, but I still had my dignity, thank you. I wouldn’t run to them as everyone else had.

Spotting me at once and seemingly hearing my thoughts, the guys stopped only a foot away from the stairs. I could see the command in their eyes for me to come to them. Loren wore his perpetual smirk while Jericho eyed me warily, and Houston scowled.

What the hell were they doing here?

“Pretty fucking rude of you not to invite us to your show,” Loren accused.

The first chance I got, I’d find out why he always insisted on being the first to speak. Was it to fool everyone into thinking that he was the one in charge? My gaze drifted to Houston, the silent but undisputed alpha of the pack—oh, how it must have twisted Loren’s knickers. I filed that away for later, though I was sure Oni would disapprove. My mission was to salvage, not sabotage.

So much for my actual mission. With each encounter, I began to wonder if succeeding was worth putting up with their crap.

Of course, it is, Fawn. Keep it together.

Houston, Loren, and Jericho were obstacles, and while they might seem impenetrable, I wouldn’t let them get in my way. Crossing my arms, I went for indifference. It was quickly becoming a familiar ruse.

“You’re here, aren’t you?”

The only questions were how and why. The only person who could have tipped them off was—

Oni.

Through vigorous effort, I moved my gaze away from the stunning trio and searched the eager crowd behind them. The festival’s security helped the ones Bound came with to keep them at bay, but it didn’t seem like it would be enough.

Where is she?

“Sridhar isn’t here,” Jericho informed me.

I couldn’t tell if it was out of kindness or cruelty. It didn’t matter when I realized they were his first words to me and how easily I lost myself in his attention. The finest silver had nothing on the pureness and beauty of Jericho Noble’s gaze. But that wasn’t what called to me.

It was the sadness.

I willingly submerged myself.

Just when I thought I might never find my way back to the surface, the commanding drawl of Houston’s voice yanked me out. It was no wonder he could captivate a crowd.

“It’s not like Sridhar could help you if she were,” Morrow taunted in the blandest tone he could muster.

With one threat, he’d reminded me that they, for now—or always—were my enemy. Getting lost in their beautiful gazes was unequivocally out of the question.

“Bold of you to assume I’d need it,” I heard myself say. “It’s three against me, Moe, Curly, and Larry.”

I delighted in the subtle shift of their eyes and the quiet agony over which Stooge I’d associated them with. They wouldn’t let themselves ask, and I wouldn’t enlighten them. Instead, I let them decide and hoped it destroyed them.

“And when we get you alone?” Houston challenged. He started up the stairs, and I backed up a step before catching myself and staying put.

They could crowd my space, but it would still belong to me. They could make my belly ache with want, but I’d still hold all the power.

Their control was a fallacy.

An image of them surrounding me, clothes discarded, and souls bared, invaded my thoughts in vivid fucking clarity—a warning of what would happen if they ever let go.

Waiting for the taste of cherries to dissipate, I glanced at the crowd again, wondering how much they could hear. They hadn’t grown bored or lost their determination to reach the rock gods yet. Some women had resorted to lifting their shirts and baring their tits in the hope of capturing Bound’s attention. If the guys noticed, they didn’t let on.

They were used to it.

I didn’t linger on how much that annoyed me.

“I’m curious,” I pondered out loud. “How did you plan on getting me alone when you’ve been running scared of little ole me for two weeks?”

Before they could respond, the band I was supposed to replace on stage at that very moment pushed through the curtains.

Shit.

I looked around but didn’t see Liam, Mason, or Abe. I just hoped they were busy plugging in for the show and not one of the eager ones behind Bound straining to reach them. Our only saving grace was that the festival supplied a surprisingly good backline, so we didn’t have a ton of equipment we needed to prep for stage. The rolling riser we’d rented for Mason to set up his drums beforehand was a godsend.

No one else seemed to notice that the festival had come to a halt. I didn’t doubt that every breath held out there was for Bound. No doubt, I’d be booed off stage simply for not being their idols.

Crazed Nuts—what a name choice—stood with their mouths agape and eyes wide as they realized who stood ten feet away from them. Once their shock cleared, they inched closer, eager for a chance to mingle with legends. The amateur band didn’t make it two steps before more security appeared from thin air and carted them toward the stairs, stage right. It was only then that it occurred to me—no one had bothered to shoo me away. It’s not as if the world knew that I was Bound’s newest addition, so why—

My lips formed a curse since there was only one other explanation.

Everyone thought I was their goddamn groupie.

My gaze returned to Bound. The matching feral grins the trio wore told me they’d read my mind and came to the same conclusion.

“Fuck you,” I blurted unapologetically.

“You might as well,” Loren retorted with a shrug and a snort. “Everyone already thinks you are. Congratulations, groupie. Now you’re a part of the band.”

My lids lowered until my eyes formed slits. “I’m going to offer you the same advice you gave me two weeks ago. Get out of my sight and get lost.”

Jericho spoke first, and Loren followed up.

“No can do.”

“We came to enjoy the show.”

Fuck.

My stomach twisted, wringing free my tumultuous emotions. Bound watching me perform was even more nerve-wracking than twenty thousand pairs of eyes. I didn’t stand a chance. Not when the alternative was them.

A light bulb went off before I could finish losing my shit.

“I’ve got a better idea,” I announced with a confidence I didn’t feel. “Why don’t you go in my place? They’re all expecting you anyway, o’ great ones.”

I mocked them with a curtsy.

When I tried to push past the wall they’d formed with their bodies, Houston caught my wrist. The warmth of his skin and the strength behind his grip was not something I’d been prepared to face. He could easily break me in two with half the effort. Our height difference, even in my heels, was daunting enough. Loren matched his height, with Jericho standing a couple of inches shorter. All three dwarfed me, but that didn’t give them permission to make me feel small.

“All that lip and you have the nerve to run and hide?” Houston spat.

“No pun intended,” Loren added through a fake cough. I blinked in surprise before catching myself. Yes, I had full lips, but I didn’t think they’d noticed. Why would I, considering how they treated me.

“I’m walking away from a situation that doesn’t interest me,” I corrected Houston. “If you’ll excuse me.” I tried to free my hand, but he tightened his hold. “Let go of me.”

“Or what?”

I’d never forgive myself if I let Houston know he was getting to me, so I steeled my spine and dug in my feet. “Do you really want your adoring fans seeing you get kicked in the balls? It’s not a pretty sight on anyone.”

“Do you really think you’d make it through them if you tried?”

No.

Dammit, he was right. I wouldn’t.

Some of the women looked ready to kill me just for allowing Houston to touch me. Some looked willing to lay on train tracks if he told them to. Only a few seemed envious but not entirely threatening.

“You go, girl!” someone shouted, proving my theory. More shouting followed, each more alarming than the last.

“Jericho, I love you!”

“Can I please suck your dick, Houston?”

“I’m having your baby, Loren. Call me!”

My gaze darted to Loren, who didn’t even blink. I guess having babies pinned on him wasn’t anything new. I snorted, surprised I could find anything about this situation humorous.

Ignoring the shouting, Houston held me tighter. “Get your ass on stage and play for me.”

“So that’s why you’re here? To assert your dominance and put me in my place?”