Page 151 of Never Sleep with the Enemy

“You don’t look sure.”

“Well, I am.”

“Okay. If that’s what you want.”

I nod.

He nods, too. “Then what do we do next?”

“We?”

“Yeah.We.You and me. The siblings Benton. What’s next for us after Criminal Records?”

I frown. “What?”

“Well, if you’re quitting, I’m not sticking around, either. What’d be the point?”

I roll my eyes. “Don’t do that, Knox.”

“What? I’m serious. Don’t you remember what I said the day you joined the band?”

“Don’t make me look uncool,”I quote.

“After that.” He smiles. “I said Criminal Records wasn’t my band—it wasourband. Without you, it’s meaningless to me. So if you’re out, I’m out. And considering what a pain in the ass that’s going to be, I’m hoping you’ll take another second to think it through and come to your senses.”

“Knox.”

“It’s fine. I’ll wait.”

“How...”

My voice cracks. My eyes sting.

“What?” He leans in, gentler now. “What’s on your mind, little sister?”

I swallow hard. “How am I supposed to... get over this?”

“Easy,” he says with a shrug only an older brother can pull off. “We get up. Head back to the hotel. Grab a drink with the others at the bar. You apologize profusely—the hardest part. Trust me, I know. But they’ll forgive you, and then we’ll all move on.”

My lip trembles.

“Oh,”he says slowly. “You mean Logan.”

I wipe my eyes with my sleeve. “It hurts so much,” I whisper.

“Yeah. It does.” He sighs, long and heavy. “Well, I’d recommend a steady diet of whiskey and snack cakes for a few days. Not much longer than that, though. Things tend to get weird.”

“Yeah. I remember.”

“But then, you get back up. You sit down at that ridiculous piano of yours, and you get back to doing what you love. That’s how you get over a broken heart.” He smiles at me, eyes warm and supportive. “Were you in love with him?”

“I thought I was,” I answer quietly. “But he didn’t… He didn’t love me back. He…” I sigh, the words too hard. “I don’t think I can talk about it.”

“Okay,” Knox says, his hand rubbing my back. “That’s good, actually. Gives me a chance to do what I do best and make it aboutme,if you don’t mind.”

I chortle under my breath. “Sure.”

He inhales like he’s about to launch into a long, rehearsed speech. “When I found out about you and Logan, I was really pissed off.”

---