“Bianca?”

“Far’s I know, same thing with her. She started inching away from us well before Dad died but she was still in contact. And that’s totally something she’d share. At least with me.”

“She give you the heads up she was into this guy too while he was with your other girl?”

She was chewing sandwich and nodding.

When she could, she told him, “She confessed all. It was sad, honey. Because, honestly, love my Lacey girl, but Tony and Bianca suited each other. She has this…” she paused, “fragility. Lace and me, we could take on the world. Bianca was ballsy and she had attitude but under that, well, obviously since she sunk into the life she did, there was a disconnect. There was something missing. Something she needed. I was young and I obviously didn’t know much about the world, I still sensed that something she needed was a man in her life like Tony. He was sweet but he was strong. And when it came to a woman in his life, it was all about her. I mean, he managed to do that being with Lacey at the same time falling in love with Anc.”

She shrugged and finished.

“It’s weird but true.”

“Okay, babe, not gettin’ why you two are on this bent about this guy,” Deke told her.

She got another text. He clenched his jaw, ate more chips, waited for her to get through it, something she did nodding like she was agreeing with whatever her girl was saying, then she looked to him.

“Lacey knew,” she declared. “She’s not dumb. She felt it, saw it, what was happening with them. I think after it was all over, she kinda felt shit about it, not stepping aside for them. We never broached it. All of us or Lacey with just me. But things didn’t end for her with Tony because of that. Things ended with Tony because Terrence put his foot down that Lacey needed shot of him.”

“Terrence?”

“Terrence Town. Lacey’s dad,” she explained, ate another chip and told him through chewing it, “He was not a hardass. He was a lot like my dad. He and Dad and Perry, Bianca’s dad, they were tight all the way to the end, that end being the end of Dad.”

“Got that, baby,” he said gently.

She nodded and wisely moved past that part quickly.

“Terrence is still tight with Perry and Nova, Nova being Anc’s mom. Dad, Terrence and Perry, they came up in the business together. Out on the road, would run into each other. Worked on music together. At one point, bought houses in LA close to each other. That’s how us three girls became such good friends. In the father stakes, Terrence was like Dad, Perry, as I told you, wasn’t.”

What he knew of Perry Constantine, lead guitar of the metal band Let, and his three-time wife Nova, was that the two of them were a mess, Perry being the bigger one. Their marriages, and the end of them, played out in such a way even Deke, who didn’t give a shit about that type of thing, couldn’t get away from it.

Perry had been in and out of rehab several times, all of them big splashes that included run-ins with police, photographers, fans…and his wife.

Nova, something he didn’t know but learned through Jussy when she’d given him further details about Bianca last week, did one stint in rehab. She waited too long to do it but at least it took and that was the end of the on and off with Perry.

Nova was now married to some television actor and kept hold on her minimizing fame through him and doing guest starring stints on various programs or straight-to-video movies.

But regardless, according to Jussy, most of Bianca’s parenting came from Johnny, Joss and Lacey’s parents, when they were around, which, with their careers, was not much.

“Dad and Terrence, they could be dads,” she kept going. “And they pulled those dad cards anytime we fucked up. But they were never assholes about it. That said, Terrence was an asshole about this. Making threats to Lacey that he was going to cut off her money, shit like that. Shit he never did. He wanted Tony gone and he made that so.”

Now she had his complete attention.

“You reckon he knew something about this guy you didn’t?”

She nodded, indicating her phone on the bed with her hand. “Or at least that’s what Lacey thinks she figured out.”

Her voice got even more serious when she carried on.

“Deke, honey, I haven’t seen Tony in over a decade but I have spoken to him.”

“Shit,” he bit out. “When?”

“After Dad died. Not right after, a month or two, before I moved here. He called to give me his condolences. And he asked after Lacey. He also asked after Bianca.”

“And you told him,” Deke guessed.

“I didn’t go into full details or speculate but I was worried about her and getting more worried. I knew he still lived in LA. Bianca was, and obviously is still back there. He had money back then, worked hard, nice clothes, nice cars, and we always got into clubs and places not only because we were who we were, but whenever we were with him it was because Tony had connections. Even better connections than us. So I told him and I think I even asked him to keep an eye out for her and let me know if he sees her or hears anything about her.”

“So you think, he was into her back then so much he stayed into her, he heard she was in trouble, went in search of her, found her, cleaned her shit up and now they’re together.”

“That’s Lacey’s theory but I think it’s a good one.”

“Gotta tell Deck this, Jussy.”

“Yeah, you do,” she said softly.