Someone yells something back, but their words don’t carry. Sean’s jaw is locked tight and he’s barely breathing. Once we’re back in the dressing rooms, he sits me down in a chair, kneels in front of me, and looks me over. “Are you hurt?”

Placing my hands on his shoulders, I shake my head. “I’m fine. Are you all right? What happened? I was so worried about you.”

“Did they mistreat you?”

At first I’m not sure who he means, but then I guess he’s talking about Trystan, Jonathan, and Bryan. Touching his hand, I smile at him. “No, of course not. Trystan was actually very nice to me, so was your brother—both of them.”

“Pete was here?”

I nod. “So was Sidney. I’m fine, Sean. Mel’s fine, except for the passing out part.”

“Is she drunk?”

“Nah, she’s got the hots for Trystan.” I laugh once and smile at him, pushing a lock of dark hair away from his eyes. “He talked to her and she fainted.”

That makes him grimace. “Seriously?”

“Yeah, apparently she’s got a weakness.”

Sean nods thoughtfully and then looks up at me. Our eyes lock and I can’t help but notice the massive amount of worry in his. “Thank God that’s her only weakness.”

“What do you mean?”

“I have to tell you something.” His voice sounds like he doesn’t want to tell me at all. “The police know the woman found in my room was a call girl, and that she was killed with a knife—one stab in her side, and then another, fatal, slash across her throat.” Sean’s voice is so still and devoid of emotion. I know what he’s trying to tell me, what he means, but I don’t want to admit it.

Shaking my head slowly, tears form in my eyes. “No, she couldn’t have—she didn’t…”

“She did, baby.” My breath catches in my throat and I lean into his shoulder as the tears start to fall. “Mel killed that woman and we need to find out why.”

CHAPTER 10

Sean and I stay like that for what seems like hours. His hands run down the back of my head and smoothes my hair as he whispers soothing words into my ear. At first I’m not sure why I’m crying, but then the images float through my mind and I know. After everything Mel’s been through—after fighting tooth and nail to climb out of the slum she grew up in, getting that scholarship, selling her body to pay the bills—it was all for nothing. She’s back where she started. If the cops catch her, there’s no way they’re going to call it self-defense, not with the wounds Mel inflicted. The thought makes me cringe even more. What would make her so frightened that she’d respond that way? She had to realize that she was giving up everything the moment she drew the blade across the woman’s throat. I close my eyes and hold onto Sean tighter.

“Do they think you did it?” I ask the question that I’ve been dreading. Everyone hates him, even his own family seems to have a distaste for Sean, but I can’t see why. Jonathan stormed off, but from the look of things Sean was trying to help him, the same way he helped Peter. Why can’t Jonathan see that?

There are more things at play in the Ferro family than I can see, issues that lay far beneath the surface. Even Peter, who for all practical purposes seems normal, is far from it. What the hell happened to them?

Sean’s chest rises and falls in a steady motion as he holds me close. His voice is soft and strained. He kisses the top of my head. “You don’t need to worry about me.”

Fuck. “So they didn’t clear you? They think you’re a suspect?” Pulling back, I look up into his tired eyes. “How? You were with me the entire time.” Sean presses his eyes closed and steps away, turning his back to me as if he’s trying to hide the fact that he’s losing his composure. “Sean, talk to me.” I reach for his shoulder and touch it gently.

He doesn’t shake me off, but he doesn’t turn. Sean runs his hands over his face and speaks softly, making sure no one else could possibly hear. “I’m not a suspect, not yet, but close enough and it’s because of Amanda.”

A chill runs through me and settles in my stomach. The sensation is so horrible that I want to cry and I know that it’s only a fraction of the emotion surging through Sean. I don’t wait for him to look at me. Instead, I step around and look into his face. There’s a glassy sheen on his eyes and he evades my gaze.

I say what I know, the thing that no one else realizes and the one thing that Sean is desperate to forget. “You’re a good man, Sean. No matter what they say, no matter what they see.” I touch his cheek and smile warmly at him. “You hide it so well that even you forget at times.”

He touches my hand, smoothing his fingers over the back of it. “You scare me more than anything I’ve ever encountered, and at the same time, I love you for it. You see through me, Avery Stanz, down to my mangled soul, and you stay. Every time, you stay.” Sean’s voice is uncharacteristically soft and he closes his eyes for a moment, and presses my hand more firmly to his cheek.

I don’t worry about shattering the moment this time. I’m sure of myself—and even more certain of us. I know what he needs, but I can’t give it to him here, so I take his hands and pull him to a clearing backstage. Sean follows without protest. When I stop, I take his hands and slip them around my waist and place my hands around his neck.

We dance slowly, saying nothing, until Sean bows his head and rests it on my shoulder. We stay like that for a long time, occasionally stepping as if we’re still dancing. It doesn’t escape me that Sean is letting me comfort him. He’s given up control for the moment and is relying on me to hold him together. This is so unlike him that it worries me. I don’t know if he’s growing emotionally or falling apart. Sometimes those things look identical.

A flicker of movement catches my eye when one of the curtains across from us stirs. I lift my gaze and see Jonathan standing there in the shadows, watching. Our eyes meet and I mentally beg him to leave Sean for the moment. I can’t stand to see him hurting any more right now, because it doesn’t matter what Jonathan thinks—Sean cares about him. The man would do anything for his brothers, I’m certain of it.

The anger melts off of Jonathan’s face and he stands there a beat longer than he should, almost shocked. His lips part slightly and his hands, which were fisted, unclench and linger at his sides. Has he never seen his brother hurting before? Sean the invincible is weakened at the moment, no doubt reliving the hellish night his wife took her life.

Maybe the embrace, and the way he hangs his head, makes Sean seem more human, I don’t know, but whatever the reason, Jonathan shrinks back into the shadows and disappears without a sound. No one else comes looking for us either. We stay like that for a long time, and don’t break apart until we’re ready to face whatever comes next, even though I don’t think I’ll ever be ready.

CHAPTER 11

Mel. This whole goddamn mess stems back to her and I need to find out what happened. I’d assumed she wasn’t in the room after I found out that it wasn’t her dead body under the sheet. There was no blood on her clothes and no indication that she’d done anything wrong. It seemed like Mel left the hotel when she found out what happened, the same way I did. If one of us gets caught and it gets back to Black, we’re all screwed.

I don’t want to believe that my best friend killed someone, but this is Mel we’re talking about. I’ve seen her threaten people with knives and so it’s no shock she used one on somebody. Actually, I was under the impression that she’d cut someone up in the past for messing with her, but that was a past life, way before I met her.

The question that’s swirling in the back of my mind is why didn’t she run? Even after stabbing the woman, she stayed and slit her throat. Why kill her? Self-defense is understandable and forgivable—this isn’t. Mel’s ruined her life, everything that she was running away from has come back in full force. She’ll never finish college or have a career. She threw away her entire future and I don’t understand why.

Sean agrees to find the bar and give me and Mel some space. I walk through the worn curtain and wander toward the stairs that lead off the stage. Mel is awake and talking to Trystan who seems to be a night owl. Does anyone sleep anymore? I feel like a zombie. I’ve been running on fumes for hours and I’m pretty sure I’ll trip and smear my face on the floor in the next hour.

Mel is sitting in a chair across from Trystan. She glances up and beams at me, before lifting a finger toward Trystan. “It’s really him.”

I can’t help it, I laugh. “I know. He caught me outside. I pretty much fell on him.”

“You did fall on me, not that I minded.” Trystan sits up slightly and glances around. I’m sure he’s looking for Sean.

I roll my eyes as I fold my arms over my chest, and throw my hip out. It’s a naughty look that my mother gave me too many times. “Are you picking fights, Trystan Scott?”

“Psh, no.” He grins broadly, which contradicts his words.

I drop my arms and walk towards his seat. Trystan leans back and looks up at me when I sit on the arm of his chair. “Listen, Sean will skin you if you mess with him tonight. Do me a favor and leave him alone.” I wouldn’t have said it, but I don’t think Trystan’s a jackass. I’m guessing the disdain for the guy is coming from Sean, because I’m not feeling it the same way from Trystan. It’s more like Trystan is reacting to something. It’s hard to like someone when they hate you. I need to ask Sean what he has against the rock star, because he seems fine to me.

Trystan doesn’t promise anything, but his gaze meets mine and his smile changes. The corners of his mouth lose that teasing grin and his gaze softens to something that resembles understanding, and maybe even empathy.

Without warning, he glances at Mel and slaps his hands down on his knees. “So, I’m guessing you two want to talk.” Trystan jabs his thumb at Mel. “She’s had a rough night. Go easy on her.” Then he’s gone.

I slip into his velvety seat and look at Mel. She looks picture perfect as always. Silence stretches between us and for the longest time neither of us speaks. When I can’t stand it anymore, I blurt it out. “What happened? Are you all right? How can you just sit there and pretend—”

Mel points a manicured nail at me and her expression flashes from pleasant to furious. “Don’t you dare act like you have a f**king clue about anything!”

I lean forward and my hands start flying while I speak, begging for an explanation. “Then tell me!”

“Don’t pretend you care about me. If this didn’t happen in your room, you wouldn’t have even spoken to me tonight.”

That’s it. She pressed my psycho-bitch button. I fly out of my chair and I’m on my feet, screaming in her face. “Bullshit! That’s total crap and you know it! You know what I thought when I went back to the room? I thought you were under that f**king sheet! I saw your hand laying there, limp and pale and I thought I lost you. I thought you were dead! So don’t sit there and act like I don’t give a shit about you!”