Jay stayed at her side, carrying a plate piled with bacon and buttered toast. Lowering into the chair, he pulled her with him into his lap. “Half of this is yours.” He held the plate under her nose.
Dishes rattled in the kitchen and multiple footsteps shuffled in around her. Faye perched on the armrest of a love seat. Rio, Laz and Wil spread out on the couches, unusually quiet as their eyes lingered on her longer than she was comfortable with.
Nathan must have gestured them over. Why was everyone staring at her as if they’d never seen her before? Her insides knotted and she tried not to fidget under their scrutiny. Their expressions were heated, not with the anger she expected, but with a rawness that turned her stomach.
She jerked her gaze to Nathan. “You told them.” How much had he told them? Did they know every sickening detail of her time with Roy?
Tony paced into her periphery and stood beside Nathan. “We both did. They needed to understand—”
“It’s fine, Tony.” Jay set the plate on the end table and shifted Charlee in his lap to face him. “I was going to tell them regardless. The band and everyone we employ will be impacted by your presence here, whether it’s adding more guards, upping the safety precautions… changing record labels.” His eyes were soft, gentle.
Guilt stabbed her anew. In a way, it was a relief to not have to live in subterfuge and filter everything that came out of her mouth, but she didn’t want those luxuries at the expense of Jay’s friends and their careers.
She swiveled in his lap to meet their eyes, the effort in her movements slogging with shame. “I knew this would reach beyond me, and I came here heedless of the trouble it would cause. I’m sorry.” She held the eyes of each musician. “Did they tell you everything?”
Laz shrugged and leaned back in the couch. “We got the cliff notes. I already knew some of it, what you told me in the limo in New York. They filled in the rest. Imprisoned twice by this Oxford prick. He did things to you. Bad things. To his guards. Killed your boyfriend, too.” His expression was soft in the way that made her neck sink into her shoulders. He knew exactly what those things were.
He sat forward, elbows on his knees. “Then there’s the arms-trafficking. Blackmailing. Bullying acquisitions. And now he’s on a mission to destroy our band.” He shrugged. “To rip us apart from the top down. That about sum it up?”
She nodded, numb. He hated her. As he should. She looked at Wil, who fiddled with the drawstring of his trunks. His eyes rolled up and snagged hers. “I just want to know when you’re going to tattoo Laz’s dick.”
A ripple of chuckles relieved some of the tension in the room. Well played, Wil. But the muscled legs beneath her turned to stone.
Jay moved to the edge of the chair, taking her with him. “Are you mentally handicapped? She’s not going anywhere near Laz’s dick.”
Wil flicked a blond coil out of his eyes. “A bet’s a bet.”
“A bet I didn’t make. Someone else can do the tat.”
Nathan rubbed his temples. “Can we focus on the point of this meeting?”
“You’re touching him.” Rio’s deep bass jerked every head in Charlee’s direction. “Fucking hands all over his fucking body.” His dark eyes were the size of cymbals and wrinkles formed on his bald head.
Charlee’s palm stilled on Jay’s bicep beneath his shirt sleeve. The other pressed against the sinews straining in his neck.
“No one touches Jay,” Rio rose. “No one ever touches Jay.”
Laz dropped his jaw. “You’re a fucking miracle.” He pointed to guys, grinning. “She’s cured him!”
In the next breath, Rio’s massive body plowed into them, knocking the chair backward and sprawling the three of them across the floor. Charlee rolled free of the grappling limbs.
Rio pinned Jay to the floor, straddling his hips, and arms hooked around him in a bear hug. She crawled toward Jay’s head to make sure he wasn’t lost in his memories.
His eyes were shut, his arms crossed over the other man’s back, and a smile tugged one side of his mouth. It was a pose that might’ve made a straight man blush. A man outside the intimate circle of the band, anyway.
Nathan hadn’t moved from his spot near the TV. Hands in his pockets, eyes on Tony’s stiff stance a few feet away. He seemed to be taking advantage of the diverted moment. He looked so content, Charlee hoped he had a lot more of those moments in his future.
Charlee climbed to her feet to watch the strange display of affection from afar. Laz and Wil jumped on Rio’s back, pulled him off and took his place. Wil grabbed Jay’s hands. Jay widened his eyes just as Laz’s fist caught him in the stomach.
Gasping, she jumped up to intervene, but Jay caught her gaze and shook his head. His smile convinced her to back off.
Rio pulled away from the twisting pile of bodies and approached her. “How’d you do it?”