A Love Song for Liars (Rivals #1) - Piper Lawson Page 0,28

I figured,” I say when he doesn’t respond.

When I get to my room, I set the rose on my nightstand and call to tell Norelli I can’t come to practice.

Through the window, I hear Tyler’s voice, Brandon chuckling on the patio.

I drop the phone on my bed and grab my music box off my shelf, the one that plays “It’s a Small World.”

I lift the window frame and chuck the music box into the bushes, where it lands on a garden light with a sickening crunch.

The laughter stops.

9

“You gonna tell me where we’re going on a Friday?” I ask Jax, shielding my eyes against the morning sun.

He drums his fingers on the steering wheel. “A meeting. Last day of your suspension, so we might as well get something accomplished.”

We turn off the main road and drive up to a gate. If there’s a house beyond, I can’t see it, just rolling pastures and white fence. Once the gate buzzes us in and we make our way up the driveway, a huge house reveals itself.

After we park, a butler shows us to a bright reading room surrounded by glass overlooking a stable in the backyard where horses play in green fields.

“Jax.” The man walking in looks at ease in jeans and a sport coat.

"Zeke." Jax shakes his hand. “This is Tyler.”

I extend my hand, and he takes it.

Zeke gestures out the window. “These are champion racehorses. Retired now. Some take to it better than others. Some of them you’d swear are replaying the races behind those big eyes of theirs.”

“Zeke left Wicked a number of years back, but he helped with my first platinum album. He now has a number of interests in LA and New York.”

He smiles. “I’ve established more than two dozen major recording artists at three labels.”

My brows rise because that’s impressive.

“I’m going to be honest. Jax tells me you’re interested in a career in the industry. He’s sent me a few of your demos, but I prefer to see things firsthand.”

We follow him to another room, where he flicks the light switch to reveal instruments everywhere.

Zeke passes me a guitar. “Let’s hear it.”

Jax studies me. This is a test.

I can play anything for anyone, but I wasn’t expecting to do it today.

Still, it’s as natural to me as breathing.

The song starts out slow, picks up tempo without losing its mood. It’s thrumming and alive, crisp and precise one second and messy the next.

But all of it’s on purpose.

Everything is on purpose, or you lose more than a moment.

You lose yourself.

When I finish, Zeke’s face is unreadable, until he cuts a look at Jax. “Say it.”

“Told you.”

I pass the guitar back, feeling relief.

“I need someone who’s willing to work hard and who has the natural talent. That spark.” Zeke replaces the guitar before holding out a hand once more.

I go to shake it but stop when I see the business card in his fingers.

I look between him and Jax. “I have another six weeks of school. I’m a senior. I want to graduate.”

Everyone in my family managed it. I’m sure as hell going to.

Zeke smirks as if school is a trivial thing. Jax doesn’t react.

“You know what makes opportunities exciting? They don’t last. Don’t wait too long, kid.”

They make small talk for a few more minutes before we head back out to the car.

The property recedes into the distance as Jax’s Bentley cruises down the road.

“Today was about me,” I say after a few miles.

“I said I’d help you. This was the plan all along—polish your skills and get you out into the industry.”

“Why me?” I ask the question that’s been hanging over me for a year, the one I know the answer to but he won’t admit.

“You remind me of me. Music was more than my pressure release. It saved my life. It’ll save yours, too.”

My fists ball at my sides.

Did you expect him to just say it?

I could call him out right now.

Because he’s not only saving my life…

He destroyed it in the first place.

“What about Annie?” I hear myself ask instead. “She loves music too.”

He shoots me a surprised look. “I don’t want her anywhere near the music industry.”

“The longer you ground her, the more she’s going to dig in.”

“Says the kid who brought her home at two in the morning yesterday.”

My mouth snaps shut. How he knew about that I’m not sure. “She needed someone to talk to.”

Jax shoots me a look as we stop at a light.

There’s no reason for him and Annie