CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
GRIFFIN

“Hey, this is London. Leave a message and I’ll probably call you back.”

I’ve called her phone six times since she left this morning and she still hasn’t called me back. I don’t think she has any intentions of it, and the worst part is I don’t even know what I did wrong. This feeling is like I’m suffocating. I finally found everything I’ve ever wanted and just like my brothers, I got in my own way. My fists clench and I go to punch the wall, but that’s not me. I breathe and let my muscles relax. I swipe my phone screen and try her number one more time.

“Hello?”

Her voice catches me off guard. I was already preparing my speech for her voicemail.

“Hello?” she says again, clearly annoyed.

“I’m sorry,” I stammer. “I—”

“Griffin, listen—”

She’s going to end it completely. My heart clenches in my chest. “London, please. I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean any of it the way it came out. I should have expressed myself better.”

She laughs.

She effing laughs.

What in the hell is so funny?

“Mister Rockstar,” she says with a smile in her voice.

Wait. It was just Griffin this morning. I’m back to Mister Rockstar? Talk about whiplash.

“I overreacted. I’m sorry. I told you about my triggers and sometimes things like what happened last night make me bury myself so far in my own cocoon that I lose sight of what’s happening around me.”

What dimension am I in? “You don’t owe me an apology. I should have expressed myself better. I was just so nervous—”

“Ha!” Her laugh makes every muscle in my body relax. It’s soothing. Finally, I can breathe again. “Mister Rockstar? Nervous? Because of me?”

“You have no idea…” I clear my throat trying to recover from the emotional rollercoaster. “How were the donuts?”

She pauses. “I didn’t eat.”

“Why not?”

“Stressed.”

That breaks my heart. I don’t want her to feel anything but joy and know that she’s completely loved when she thinks of me. “I’m sorry.”

“It’s fine. I talked to Casey and she kind of helped me realize I was projecting my past onto you. I am going to work on that.”

“You don’t have to work on anything.”

She sighs into the phone. “Okay, I’m going to go get ready for the show. I’ll see you there.” Click.

---

I check the clock on my phone. “It’s almost showtime, has anyone seen London?” I’m met with one blank stare after the next. “She never cuts it this close.” Casey is at the other end of the stage area and looks just as lost as I am. I jog over to where she is leaning against the side of the backdrop. “Have you seen—”

She holds one hand up to stop me. “I haven’t seen her or Devon and neither one of them is returning my calls.”

“What the hell?” I’ve already worn out London’s number for one night, so I try Devon. Straight to voicemail. “This is really weird.”

“I know.”

Nash and Adair are already on stage and warming up the crowd. I hear my cue but can’t make myself give a single shit. “C’mon.” I grab Casey’s hand and tug her along with me. “I think I know where Devon might be.”

I fling the door of the security area open and find Devon on the phone and perched in front of the surveillance screens. “It’s coming through now. Thank you.” He ends the call and hops up, grabbing Casey around the waist and giving her a kiss on the cheek. “I’m so sorry. That was the longest phone call in the history of my career.”

She’s clearly not impressed.

“Whatever’s going on, it better be good because I’m missing my cue up there.”

Devon nods and flicks the screen of his phone, turning it so I can see the image loading. It’s the same dude I saw in the audience a few shows ago. “Remember when you told me to have this dude checked out?”

I nod. The feeling in the pit of my stomach isn’t getting any better. It’s a cross between wanting to hurl and feeling like it’s actually eating itself from the inside. “What’s that got to do with tonight, bro?”

“When we met London at the donut shop today, I saw this dude there. I assumed since we’re at least a state away from where we first spotted him, that it wasn’t a coincidence, so I got a clear shot with my phone’s camera and sent it in for identification. Dude’s name is Thomas Walker.”

Casey snatches Devon’s phone. “Did you say Thoma—shit!”

“What?” Devon and I ask in unison.

“That’s Carter’s father. If he’s anywhere around here, it isn’t good.” She shoves his phone back in his hand and takes off through the security entrance heading toward the bus camp with us right behind her.