Page 58 of Never Sleep with the Enemy

“Okay!”Jordan shouts as she pushes out of her chair. “Let’s all calm down.”

“We are calm,” Knox and I say in unison,

“Well, let’s hit reverse on the trauma train, then,” she says. “And take a break.”

“No,” Knox says, his hands planted on the back of his chair. “It’s fine. You’re right, Kat. Go do whatever the hell you want.”

I look down and say nothing.

Knox taps his fingers repeatedly against the chair back before pushing off. “I’m calling Jonah,” he says.

“No, you’re not!”Jordan and Addison shout together, halting him mid-stride.

Knox pouts. “But I miss him!”

They glare at him until he relents.

“Fine,” he says, sighing.

“I think we’ve all said what we wanted to say here,” Jordan says, giving a look around the circle to be sure, but no one speaks up. “Katrina is aware of our concerns and we can move past it. Right?”

She looks pointedly at me and waits for a response.

“Yeah,” I say.

The rest of them nod, murmuring their own agreements.

“Now...” Jordan takes a breath. “I’ll handle the media. As long as there are no furtherincidents,I see no reason this shouldn’t blow over. The rest of you go home, get some rest over the weekend, and we’ll meet back here on Monday morning for practice.We’re prepared for the Battle of the Bands, but we aren’t ready. And I want to be ready. Got it?”

When no one replies, she repeats,“Got it?!”

“Yeah,” we all say in various ways, avoiding each other’s eyes.

“Good.” Jordan nods. “Now, scoot.”

“Scoot?” Knox asks, confused.

“Engage? Activate?” Jordan glares at us all.“Get out!Grandpa Garland is still staying here and he and Fiona will only be out to lunch until noon.”

We all jolt out of our chairs. Jordan shoos us outside, but Bronson sticks around to help her fold up the chairs and put the furniture back where it belongs.

I rush past Knox and Addison and hit the garden path, feeling a little too much under the spotlight here. Especially after last night’s performance—which is in the process of going completely viral, apparently.

Too curious not to, I pause outside my car and reach into my pocket for my phone. As I swipe it on, the sound of feet pounding across pavement beelines in my direction.

“Kat, Wait?—!”

I startle back as Knox plows into the driver side door.

“What the hell, Knox?” I ask. “You almost made me drop my phone.”

“Sorry, I thought you were leaving,” he says.

“I am, so... please move.”

I pull the door handle, but Knox shoves the door closed.

“Hey!” I say, snapping my hand back.

---