Play Mine (Brooklyn Dawn #3) - Cari Quinn Page 0,13

leave home without your important stuff. Lesson learned.

For all I knew, my license and credit cards were currently ash on the floor of my apartment.

Not going there now. I had bigger problems than needing concealer for my excessive number of freckles.

Like coming in the back exit of the club because the side door was being fixed due to my epic meltdown this morning.

I sighed and braced my elbows on the table. The shirt Cooper had given me to wear bagged forward, draping like a minidress over my pants from last night. I’d skipped the underwear, going without panties for the first time in my life. I couldn’t say I was a convert, but the alternative had been too icky to bear.

My bra, however, was necessary. There was no unholstering these babies, even with a dress-shirt to kind of hide them.

Oh, no. Not my bras. Were they all gone too?

“God, if I have to get all new bras, I’m going to shoot myself.” I fisted my hair in my hands. Braid be damned.

Cooper said nothing. Of course he didn’t. Because his best friend was crying about her tits when she’d destroyed private property and her townhouse was in rubble.

“You can buy more.”

“You act as if it’s so easy. Have you ever tried to shop for DDs?” Even as I asked the question, I knew it was ridiculous. That I was ridiculous.

Cooper had been nothing but sweet to me. But I was riding on not enough sleep and sorrow and embarrassment and the last thing I could handle now was someone being even-tempered while my life went up in flames—literally.

“No. But we have stylists we can use. You can have one pick you up some.”

“Some what? My entire wardrobe? Even if the fire didn’t reach the bedroom, it will be impossible to get all the smoke out.”

“You don’t know the extent of the damage yet or what you need.”

His tone was entirely too reasonable. Just as it had been when he’d told me I could skip tonight’s concert and stay home.

Right, but where exactly was home? I couldn’t go in my place. We weren’t touring right now, so I wasn’t living on the bus. Though that was a thought.

“Do you think Lila would let me live temporarily on the bus?” I asked suddenly, letting my hands drop from my hair as my gaze connected with his.

His jaw locked even more, if that was possible. “You can’t be serious.”

I frowned. “Why not? It makes sense. The buses are parked. I know we’re going back on the road soon, but until then, I think it could work for me to live on the—” The door swung open and Jamie, Lindsey, and Lila walked in, looking like a badass brigade of stupidly beautiful, put-together women.

“Bus,” I finished weakly.

For a second, the three of them looked at each other, almost as if they were having a wordless conversation on how to handle this. Me. And then their worried expressions vanished in favor of a smile from Lindsey, a fierce warrior goddess expression from Jamie, and a business shark-like look from Lila.

“Teagan,” she said calmly. “I didn’t know if you’d attend today’s meeting.”

She wasn’t calling me Ms. Daly as she tended to do when she was pissed, so I figured I was further ahead than I’d expected. “I’m all right, thank you. And this is my job.”

Cooper muttered something that could’ve been either a curse word or “stubborn” or both.

“Thank God you’re okay.” Lindsey hurried over to me and gave me a quick black orchid-scented hug. She grabbed the chair at my side while Jamie snagged the one on my other side. I couldn’t decide if they were surrounding me protectively or about to interrogate me.

That would probably be Lila’s job, since she was taking her usual spot at the head of the table. We were in one of the club’s random back rooms. Coming back here so soon after feeling like I’d been chased out had been hard. But what wasn’t today? And I had my band and Cooper with me, even if he was still glaring at me with enough heat I didn’t even have to look at him to know.

“I really am okay.” My voice wobbled so I said it again. I’d say it as many times as necessary until I believed it. “I’m okay.”

Jamie tipped up my chin and examined my face as if she was looking for wounds. “You need a puffiness minimizer though and some mascara. Maybe a little shadow. Hang