Page 87 of Lies and Lullabies
“I really can’t figure out that building, though.” Ethan pointed into the distance. “It looks like Batman.”
“It’s the AT&T building,” I muttered. The logo was visible right at the top of Batman’s head, between the ears.
“No kidding. But why? Did the architectmeanto make it look like a superhero? It can’t be an accident. Nobody could draw that shit on a big roll of paper and miss the connection.”
Ignoring him, I hit “refresh” on the weather app on my phone for the thousandth time. “Chance of thunderstorms, seventy-eight percent.”
“Fuck,” Ethan groused. “A little rain would be okay. But you can’t play if there’s lightning. This is going to be a total shit show.”
“When does the venue have to decide?” I asked.
“Soon. If there won’t be a show, they have to let people know.” He looked at his watch. “It’s eleven now. Sound check in an hour. Doors open at four. I’d say they have to make the call by two.”
“Hmm.” I tapped out an impatient rhythm on the arm of my chair. If this concert was canceled, it would create a windowjustwide enough for visiting my girls. So long as I could find a flight to Boston. I’d have to leave again tomorrow, catching a flight to Atlanta to rejoin the tour.
But it would be worth it to check in on Kira. I needed to make sure she was okay, and apologize in person for my most recent fiasco.
“What’s on your mind, man?”
I looked up to find Ethan staring at me. I shrugged.
“You’re plotting something, aren’t you? Going to try to go to Boston if we cancel?”
“Do it,” Nixon encouraged.
I squinted at the sky again. “I might. But she isn’t taking my calls right now.”
“That’s cold,” Ethan said.
But was it? I’d be mad, too. “Maybe I should just leave her alone for a little while. I told her that she wouldn’t regret getting involved with me. But she already does. We have a big life, you know? We have things that other people only dream about. But maybe you just can’t have everything.”
Nixon’s snort sounded a whole lot like agreement. He got out of his chair and headed toward the room.
“Where are you going?” I asked.
Nixon stopped halfway through the sliding glass doors. “To the john. That okay with you? I don’t think I’ll find any contaminated pills between here and Ethan’s toilet.”
“Don’t be a smartass,” I grumbled, scrolling through my phone, hoping to see a new message from Kira.
There wasn’t one.
“Hey, Jonas?” Ethan interrupted my thoughts. “There’s something I need to tell you.”
I looked up in alarm, because discussions that began that way never ended well. And the big man’s face wore a grim expression that was already ratcheting up my anxiety. “What is it?”
“I’ve been offered a job with Premier.”
Oh, hell. I held back a groan. “Is it a really good job? Because the timing is really rough, dude. Do they expect you to quit in the middle of my tour?”
Ethan chewed on his lip before answering. “Itisa really good job. I already have a really good job, though.”
I sure as hell didn’t know what to say. I didnotwant Ethan to leave. Not ever. But making him feel guilty about it wouldn’t be fair. “You have to do what’s right for you,” I said. “If they’re offering you something you can’t refuse, then I’m not going to be a dick about it.”
“That’s it?” Ethan tipped his head slowly backward until it collided with the wall. “That’s all you’re going to say?”
The prickle of discomfort that had hovered at my temples all morning now blossomed into a full-blown headache. “That’s not all Iwantto say. But I just told you I don’t want to be a dick.”
Ethan crossed his arms across his enormous chest and frowned. “Thensayit, man. Now is your chance.”
