Page 129 of Never Sleep with the Enemy

“About what?”

She grins, eyes flaring with mock drama. “About us kicking your ass so hard in this Battle you never want to speak to him again.”

I chuckle. “Maybe.”

Her fingers absently twirl through a strand of my hair. “It’s just more of that pride. He’ll be our Logan again in no time.”

I smile, stealing a glance across the bar at him, hoping she’s right.

I slide off my stool, Tesla and Goldie each patting my back as we part ways—me heading toward my band, them drifting back to Logan’s side.

After a few minutes, Pam appears from backstage, her heavy boots thudding dully against the floor as she walks out. She’s wearing a slouchy pair of overalls, a far cry from the fierce punk aesthetic she usually sports.

“Hello, everybody!” she says brightly as Jordan and Priscilla fall into step beside her. “Good to see you all again.” Her smile is warm, more elementary school teacher than club owner. “I promise this won’t take long. I don’t usually require a pre-show meet-n-greet, but this ain’t no ordinary gig. It’s a competition. A friendly one. And I want us all on the same page to keep it that way. Agreed?”

There’s a general murmur of agreement all around.

Knox stays silent, however, his eyes sharp, locked across the room on Logan.

“Knox?” Jordan nudges.

“Yeah,” he says. “We’ll be friendly… assuming they show up on time.”

“There was a wreck off The Strip,” Logan replies. “Traffic held us up.”

“We still made it.”

“Knox,”Jordan says again, her tone sharper this time.

Priscilla shoots Logan the same look.

“Sorry for the tardiness, Pam,” Tesla says pleasantly, stepping in.

“It’s all right,” Pam replies, waving it off. “A few minutes ain’t hurt nobody. We’re all here now, so let’s move on. I’ve been chatting with your managers for a while now, hammering out the details, so nothing I’m about to say should come as a shock to anybody—pun intended.”

She chuckles at her own joke, then powers forward.

“Here are the rules for tomorrow night’s event. Rule number one I’ve already said, but I’m gonna say it again anyway:this is a friendly competition.We’re all music lovers here. And you all know I don’t take kindly to those throwing punches in my bar, so I won’t remind you again to keep your tempers in check.”

She pauses, eyes flicking to Knox and Logan. Can’t blame her—they’ve both been arrested for exactly that before.

“Rule number two: there’ll be a coin toss on stage to decide who goes first. Seemed the fairest way to do it.” She gestures toward Harmony and Harvey in our section. “The lovely Harmony Max and Harvey Moon have agreed to warm up the crowd beforehand. Unless The Electrics object?”

Logan shakes his head. “No objections.”

“Very good.” Pam nods. “You two will hit the stage at six forty-five sharp.”

Harmony and Harvey exchange a glance and a nod. “We’ll be there,” Harmony says.

“Excellent. Rule number three: Ten-minute sets. Three songs each. You can go under, but not over. Not a lot of time, but I doubt either of you will struggle to make an impression. Audience reaction determines the score. Winner take all.”

Knox raises a hand, snapping his fingers once. “How do we know the scoring will be fair?”

“Yes,” Logan adds. “How do we know the audience isn’t stacked with local Criminal Records shills?”

Knox snorts. “You think we’d rig a competition we could win in our sleep?”

“Actually, yes.”

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