Snared(8)

I sat up, forcing the thoughts away. I hated thinking about that shit. There was nothing I could do about it, so why continue to think about it? I grabbed my pill bottle and water, and downed my three morning pills. Natalie didn’t like it when I called them my Crazy Pills, but it was just to make light of it. Though there was nothing light about it, and we both knew it. It was just my way of coping with the shit that encompassed me.



“You know I fucking hate wearing a shirt and tie,” I grumbled as my sister adjusted said tie. “This wasn’t part of the deal.”

“Stop whining, Beau. You’re handsome as hell. Plus, we have to meet Dr. Knight and his family tonight to kick off the fundraising event. They sold tickets to this meet and greet for over a thousand dollars a head!”

“We’re rockers, Nat.” I fought the urge to take the tie and throw it across the room. “We don’t fucking wear suits.”

“Tonight you do.” Natalie stepped back and smiled at me. “You look like a hot executive, Beau. I could get used to seeing my handsome brother all fancy every day.”

I furrowed my brow. “Over my dead body,” I said. “Nat, you are breathtaking tonight, though.” And she was. She was wearing a gold, sparkly form-fitting dress with heels I couldn’t fathom ever having to take one step in. Her blond hair was curled around her shoulders, and her makeup was heavier than usual. I thought the girl was fucking beautiful with no makeup and a ratty T-shirt, but she would turn heads tonight. I wasn’t sure I wanted her to turn as many heads as she would.

“Thank you, Beau. That means a lot to me.” She kissed me quickly on the cheek. “Ready?” Natalie grabbed a small purse and tucked it under her arm. The dinner to kick off the fundraiser was being held in the ballroom of the hotel. It was just down the street from the hospital, where we’d put on the concert tomorrow.

“Let’s get this over with,” I said, holding my arm out for her. We made our way to the elevator. Just as the doors were about to close, a familiar hand stopped the door. As it reopened, my jaw dropped at the sight of Johnny and Bex stepping into the elevator.

“You could all be on the cover of GQ magazine,” Natalie commented. “Would you look at you rockers, all cleaned up.”

Bex was wearing a tight black sequined dress with a slit up one leg. Her long hair was piled on top of her head. Her makeup was dark and edgy, the only part of her that resembled Bex. Johnny was in a monkey suit like me, his hair perfectly styled.

“I hate this fucking suit,” Johnny said, making me nod in agreement. “Good thing the second I saw Bex in that dress, it hit the floor and I was bending her over the—”

“Johnny!” Bex interrupted. “Are you fucking serious?”

“What?” Johnny wiggled his eyebrows at us. “I can’t help it that you are the fucking sexiest woman on this planet.”

“They are my siblings!” Bex sighed, turning back to us. “Who would’ve thought, right? All of us dressed like professionals and shit. Where’s Tanner?”

I cringed. God only knows who Tanner had found. “Haven’t seen him since we finished rehearsing earlier.” Tanner had his own room, which was dangerous to the women of Orlando.

The elevator door opened, and we all stepped out, heading down the long hallway to the ballroom. Soft classical music pumped out of the open doors, and men and women dressed in formal attire like us milled around, drinks in their hands. Servers scuttled between them, switching out empty drinks for full ones and making sure everything was pristine. This was completely outside of my realm.

Tanner stood just outside the main doors of the ballroom in deep conversation with a breathtaking blonde. She had her hand on his forearm, and he his eyes crinkled at her in his All-American way. The way that made panties fall. Hell, for all we knew, he could’ve already had her panties in his suit jacket.

Bex saw him at the same time I did, and we made our way in his direction. He spotted us immediately and grinned. “There you guys are! Holy shit! Someone needs to take a picture of us all dressed up like prim and proper socialites. Honey, would you take one with my phone?”

I knew he called her “honey” because he didn’t have a clue what her name was—if she’d even told him one.

She laughed and took his phone. “Only if we can have a selfie first. I can’t believe I’m meeting Jaded Regret! That’s so awesome!” Before any of us could say a word, she held her phone up and smiled, forcing us all to cooperate with her selfie.

Once “honey” took a photo of just the band with Tanner’s phone, Bex gave him the look he knew meant lose the girl. He made an excuse about catching up with her later and walked over to us.