right now, when he’s about to perform. He steps out of the vehicle and then helps me out as well. Savage and Dirty Dan, a tall man with blond hair tied at his nape, are by our sides as we walk beneath an overhang leading to the hotel door, when I hear squeals, followed by “Oh my God, it’s him! It’s Kace August!”
Suddenly, a horde of people, women mostly, surround us, shoving things at Kace, asking for photos and autographs. Kace pulls me close and whispers, “I know this is bad timing. Just stay close.”
Savage and Dan are instantly in action, along with several other men that I assume work for them or the hotel. Kace signs a few photos, but it’s all too much, too overwhelming, all the people who scream for him, the women who tell him they love him. I just want out of the circle we’re in and finally our path is clear. Savage leads us into the building. Once there, Savage and the men escort us past the lobby to a roped-off area that leads to red carpeted stairs. We hurry up them and once we’re on the next level, Kace directs Savage and the other guards to wait. He then pulls me down a deserted hallway and around a corner, where he plants me against a wall, him in front of me, one hand on my waist, the other on the wall by my head. “I’m going to help you find your brother.”
I blanch surprised that is still where his head is right now. “You need to be thinking about the event, Kace.”
“I’m thinking of you and your brother. I’m going to tell Walker to find Gio, at my expense.”
I swallow hard against the rise of emotion in my chest. “You can’t pay my way in the world.”
He glances skyward and then his eyes meet mine, turbulence in their depths. “I had a sister, Aria. I wanted to tell you earlier, but it felt too heavy. It felt like the wrong time.”
“You—you had a sister? You said you were the only one who could inherit your father’s money so his threats didn’t matter.”
“He gave Michelle less respect than he did me. She struggled with my father’s demands, with him running her life. She came on tour with me for a year and left me to go home, with a goal: being her own self. She wanted to be a tattoo artist. Dad blamed me and called her a loser. She killed herself, Aria. She was only twenty-one.”
“Oh my God. Kace, I’m—”
“Don’t say you’re sorry. You know that doesn’t help. What helps is me giving to a charity that does. That’s why I do this. That’s why suicide prevention is a mission for me. And that’s why I know you have to fight for your sibling.” He molds me close. “I’m going to help you. I want to help you.”
Fighting emotion, feeling his passion, his pain, my fingers curl on his jaw. “Thank you. I’m worried. I’m really worried, Kace.”
“I know you are, baby. We’ll find him. I’ll have Savage meet us in the morning before we leave.” He kisses my hand. “And as for the mob out front. It usually only happens when I’m touring with announced concerts. I’m not wrapped up in my hype. Don’t you be wrapped up in my hype. I’m just a man. A man who’s damn glad you’re here. Let’s go make some money for charity.” His arm wraps around me and together, we walk into a ballroom, and I have a new understanding of Kace. I am fighting for my brother, but he lives every day fighting a battle that started with his father and never seems to end for him.
CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT
We meet many of the charity handlers, as well as Chris and Sara, at the entry to the ballroom hosting the pre-event. Chris and Kace, I decide, really are a perfect pairing, as Chris, too, is a rebel in denim. He’s in jeans, boots, and a blue T-shirt with Live, Don’t Die etched on the front, his brightly colored dragon tattoo on full display. Sara is lovely as always, her long brown hair pinned up tonight, her gown emerald green silk.
Sara and Chris greet me with genuine welcome and as I listen in on talks with the handlers, I quickly learn that the crowd is much larger than the one at the Riptide VIP event, with at least a hundred extra guests. There will be an auction