Page 55 of Never Sleep with the Enemy

Just Knox, Addison, Bronson, and Jordan.

And they’re all staring at me.

“Good morning,” I say, swallowing hard. “What’s up?”

“What’s up?”Knox repeats, scoffing. “You’re askingwhat’s up?”

“Uh... yeah?”

Jordan clears her throat, balancing her clipboard on her lap as she gestures to the last empty chair in the circle. “Kat, how about you take a seat?”

I scan their eyes, my spine growing taut as I realize what this is.

An intervention.

I slowly step forward and sink into the chair. “What’s going on?” I ask.

“You haven’t seenGossipathis morning?” Addison asks.

“No,” I say. “But I usually go full media blackout after a tour...” I go quiet, their stares sharp enough to draw blood. “Why?”

Knox holds up his phone, the screen pointed at me. Music blares from the speakers, expanding in the crushing silence of the room.

A video of last night’s performance at the Sin and Sand.

The Electrics.

And me.

“Oh,” I say.

“Oh?” Knox spits. He silences the video as if hearing mine and Logan’s voices together makes him physically ill.“Oh?”

“Oh?!” I try again.

“Pick another vowel, Kat, and explain yourself.”

“Knox,” Jordan warns. “Remember what we talked about? Lowered, even voices. I-statements only.”

“Okay,” Knox says.“Ifeellike Katrina has some ‘splaining to do.”

I glance around the circle at Bronson and Addison and Jordan. All of them look at me with the same quiet intensity as Knox. Curious. Concerned.

“I was just... playing,” I say.

“Playing?” Jordan asks.

“Uh-huh.”

“With... The Electrics?”

I nod. “Mm-hmm.”

Knox exhales impatiently. “Gonna need a bit more than that, Kat.Whywere youplayingat the Sin and Sand withThe Electrics?”

“I didn’t mean to,” I say. “It was an accident.”

“An accident?” he asks. “So, you tripped and fell on stage?”

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