Page 32 of Relentless
“Ah, hell, I know that look. You have an idea, don’t you?” Ethan said, before taking the last sip of his amaro. It was fifty-fifty whether the idea would be a good one. Cody’s tended to be either genius or monumentally stupid. Neither of which seemed to prevent Ethan from usually going along with them.
“As a matter of fact, I do,” Cody replied.
“Well?” Kara pressed when he didn’t continue right away.
Cody’s gaze flickered to Ethan before settling on Kara. “I think you should come on tour with me.”
CHAPTERTWELVE
“No,”Ethan said at the same time she said, “Tell me more.”
Ethan glared at his cousin, but Kara ignored him. The idea had potential, and she wanted to hear more. Cody winked at Ethan then looked at her.
“It’s a short one. Just under three weeks and only the West Coast. Starts in San Diego with stops in LA for two nights, San Francisco, and Tahoe. Then up to Oregon for three stops, before heading to the Gorge in Washington and a final stop in Seattle.”
She blinked at him. Of course, she’d seen concert shirts with the list of dates and stops. But hearing Cody rattle off his schedule madeherprior travel schedules sound like child’s play.
“That sounds exhausting,” she said.
A look flashed across Cody’s face that she recognized. It was gone so quick, though, that she wondered if Ethan caught it. She glanced over to find him still scowling at his cousin. Mentally, she sighed. He wasn’t in a place to seeanythingbeyond his own opinion.
“Not a good idea, Cody,” Ethan said.
“How does it work?” she asked, once again ignoring Ethan.
“Kara,” he admonished. “Traveling with Cody will put you in the middle of thousands of people. It’s not a good idea.”
“Cody?” she pressed. For the first time, Cody hesitated. But then his attention focused on her, and he answered.
“We travel in buses. I can get you one of your own, so you don’t have to bunk in with anyone. You wouldn’t ever have to leave it if you didn’t want. They have showers, beds, TVs, kitchens. And we can even have food or groceries delivered. If you wanted to stay out of sight all the time, they’d be a good hiding spot. No one is going to question the number of buses the tour has. They are also parked in secure lots that are patrolled both in person and electronically.
“If you did decide to leave the bus, I travel with personal security. It’s a firm HICC recommended, so I know they are good. We could probably have them send a few extra folks to watch over you.”
It sounded ideal. In a hellish kind of way. She’d traveled a lot in her career, but usually to one place at a time. The idea of moving every night—for weeks, or months on end—held zero appeal to her. From Cody’s earlier look, she thought the shine was wearing thin for him, too.
But the fact that it sounded so unpleasant, so out of character for her, was exactly the thing that made it perfect. She didn’t mind holing up in a bus for a few weeks. She’d want to get out for an occasional walk. And she wouldn’t mind seeing one or two of Cody’s shows. But hanging out on a bus, with a good book (or several) and Ethan, didn’t sound so bad.
“I assume the buses also have internet?” she asked.
“Kara,” Ethan all but groaned. No doubt sensing defeat.
Cody’s brows dropped. “Of course,” he answered, sounding taken aback that she’d even asked. “And Sabina worked on their security, so you don’t have to worry about that. If you were.” To him, his answer might have been a given. But her version of traveling for work was a lot different than his. While he might be on the go constantly, he had luxuries she often didn’t. Like showers. And internet.
“When would we need to let you know?” she asked.
Cody pulled a face. “If you want to fly down with me tomorrow, I’d need to know tonight so that I can get a coach ready for you.”
“And what would we tell your crew? I might be able to stay out of sight from the general public, but probably not your crew,” she asked.
Cody paused, his gaze flickering to Ethan. “We could tell people that my cousin is taking some time off work because he injured his leg. And that he and his fiancée are joining the tour to get away for a few days.”
“Fiancée?” she asked, with an arched brow.
Cody grinned, and Ethan closed his eyes, as if praying for patience. “Do you think I’d let my cousin join a tour with someone who was just a girlfriend? The relationship has to be more special than that.”
“You’d let Josh bring Sofia,” Ethan pointed out.
“Of course I would. They may not be married, but they’re married,” Cody said. Logically, the sentence hurt Kara’s head. But he spoke the truth. The couple was as committed to each other as Chad and Sabina, although neither seemed interested in walking down the metaphorical aisle.
