Treasure Me (One Night with Sole Regret Book 10)

by Olivia Cunning

  Kellen climbed the front step and stood in the cool shade of the porch.

  He might get a gig with another band—most likely an obscure band—but would Owen be a part of that? He wasn’t sure if he could play with another bassist. And the thought of not being able to play with Owen was far more frightening to him than splitting off from the rest of the band. He considered all the guys close friends, but Owen was an integral part of his life. He wouldn’t know how to get by without him.

  Maybe the two of them could form their own band. But neither of them had Jacob’s drive , Gabe’s energy, or the dark, demonic muse that possessed Adam, so the two of them would never replicate the magic of Sole Regret, and Kellen wasn’t ready to give up on that magic yet. So it was best that he and Owen help Jacob remove his head from his ass, calm Gabe enough for him to think rationally, and get Adam to talk to them about what was going on in his twisted mind, because they obviously weren’t relating to each other the way they should.

  And though all of these worries were weighing heavily on Kellen’s heart, he wasn’t still sitting in his car staring at Owen’s house for that reason. No, he was roasting alive in his Firebird’s stifling interior solely because he wasn’t sure how he would react to seeing Lindsey again. Since she was staying with Owen temporarily, he was bound to run into her. What if the mere sight of her reversed all the soul-healing progress he’d made with Dawn’s help last weekend? He guessed he’d just have to hole up somewhere with Dawn for another private weekend and set himself straight again. Not exactly a burden.

  He stared at the house. He could do it. He could handle seeing the pretty pregnant ghost again. Besides, Sara—damn—Lindsey was a minor concern compared to getting the band together. He climbed out of his car and hurried up the front walk, playing different conversations through his head. He needed a different approach for each guy. Gabe was driven by his head, Adam by his gut, Jacob by his heart, and Owen . . . Kellen didn’t actually need an approach for Owen. They were always on the same wavelength.

  When Kellen reached the front door, he hesitated for just a second before he tried the knob and found it unlocked. Owen’s home had always been like his own, just as Kellen’s door was always open for Owen. Even though he had guests, Owen would expect him to come inside. And based on the enormous black pickup parked out front, not every guest was a woman.

  “Is Gabe here too?” Kellen called to announce his arrival. “Isn’t that his truck taking up half the street?”

  “Hey.” Gabe nodded at Kellen when he entered the living room. His green eyes were troubled, and he looked about as well-rested as Kellen felt, which wasn’t well at all considering he hadn’t slept in over twenty-four hours.

  Caitlyn was sitting beside Owen, holding his hand, offering the support that Kellen usually gave him. Kellen didn’t feel jealous, not exactly. He felt lost. Where was his place if it wasn’t beside Owen? Maybe if Dawn was there to hold his hand, he’d feel a bit more grounded, but she was en route to Prague. As much as he missed her, he was proud that she was so worldly. He’d sort all the crap out somehow, but doing so would have to wait until he was alone and he could reflect. At the moment, there was too much turmoil in the band for him to reflect on anything but their pile of rubble.

  He doubted any of them would be able to sort themselves out if the band didn’t get back together. Jacob was obviously even more lost than Kellen—his actions were a cry for help. And as Jacob was the one who understood Adam best, without Jacob, Adam would be lost as well. The two needed each other, just as he and Owen needed one another. He wondered what it felt like to be Gabe, who didn’t need any of them to feel grounded and who never felt lost. Or did he? Based on his expression, perhaps Gabe was feeling lost as well.

  Kellen played it cool as he flopped down on the sofa next to Owen. He knew they expected him to be the even-tempered one and was committed to doing his best to be the guy they needed. Kellen glanced at the television, surprised they were watching a baseball game instead of Jacob’s news segment. He’d called Owen ahead of time with a heads-up.

  “Turn the channel,” Kellen said, extending a hand toward the television. “It should be starting.”

  “Already?” Owen scrambled for the remote. “I thought you said tonight.”

  “At five.”

  Owen cringed and flipped through the channels until Jacob’s face filled the screen. And then the camera panned out to show a woman sitting beside him.

  Tina? Kellen exchanged a flabbergasted look with Owen before searching the television screen for clues to the reason their obviously insane lead singer was holding hands with his ex-wife on live television. Last Kellen had heard, Jacob despised Tina and was getting pretty serious about her sister, Amanda.

  Owen couldn’t even get a full sentence out of his gaping mouth. “What the . . . ?”

  “That settles it,” Gabe said. “He’s completely lost his shit. We’re having him committed.”

  Owen cranked up the volume so they could hear better. Jacob’s words scarcely registered with Kellen—something about family being more important than success. Kellen was more interested in body language. Jacob sat as rigid as the oak tree Kellen often likened him to, while Tina leaned into him with a satisfied smile on her pretty face. She was holding Jacob’s hand, not the other way around, and there was something in her eyes. Something triumphant. There was something in Jacob’s too. His expression was closer to defeat. Despair? It was hard to read him clearly on television.

  “So the rest of Sole Regret’s summer tour is canceled,” Jacob announced in a flat tone. “I’ll personally repay the fans for any nonrefundable tickets.”

  “What?” Tina’s triumph faltered just a bit as she turned her astonished gaze on Jacob before fixing her stare back on the camera.

  “What?” Gabe shouted at the television.

  “Are you back together with your ex-wife?” a reporter asked. “If I recall correctly, your divorce was rather messy.”

  “And final!” Gabe leaned closer to the TV as if he wanted to climb inside and strangle Jacob.

  “We’re going to live together as a family,” Jacob said. For a second, a small smile turned up the corner of his mouth.

  Kellen recognized the smile Jacob reserved for his little girl. He could very easily see Jacob giving up everything for Julie. But not for Tina. Never for Tina. Kellen searched his memory for some clue as to why Jacob’s world had apparently tilted on its side, but came up lacking. He’d been so concerned with his own drama that he hadn’t been paying attention to anyone else’s.

  “I won’t be able to afford two homes once all the lawsuits start being filed,” Jacob continued, “so I’ve moved back in with my w-wife and daughter.”

  And there would be lawsuits. Lots and lots of lawsuits. Kellen wasn’t even sure how many contracts they were breaking here.

  “Lawsuits?” Tina asked. Her confident smile was gone now. She gawked at Jacob, but it was the way she suddenly released his hand that made Kellen wonder if the band breakup was a front for something that had nothing to do with Sole Regret. But Jacob wouldn’t use them for selfish gain, would he?

  “I’m breaking all sorts of contracts to be with you,” Jacob said, his gaze turning soft, almost loving, as he looked at her. Kellen shook his head at the TV. Jacob’s mixed signals were impossible to read, but Tina seemed to be as stunned by his claims as the rest of them. “But none of that’s important. My career is over. I’ll be utterly broke, but none of that matters. All that matters is that you get what you want, Tina. You want me, right?”

  Tina blinked at him. Her gaze shifted to her lap where her hands were now folded. “Of course I do.”

  But there was an unspoken stipulation there, Kellen mused. He could practically see it on her forehead. She wanted Shade Silverton, the rock star, not Jacob Silverton, the regular guy, and Jacob seemed to realize that that was the only card he had left to play in their troubling game.

  “Does he really not care that he’s goi
ng to lose everything?” Gabe fumed, barely staying in his chair. “He doesn’t even like her!”

  “All we need is love,” Jacob said, his gaze solidly locked with Tina’s.

  Maybe she would settle for Jacob the gifted actor, because wow, Kellen could almost buy his sincerity. If he hadn’t known Jacob better, hadn’t lived with him through the hell of his divorce, hadn’t witnessed how hard it had been for Jacob to straighten out his life after Tina had insisted they split, Kellen would have though Jacob was in love with the gold-digger.

  “Isn’t that right, sweetheart?” Jacob kissed Tina’s hand. Her lips were pursed too rigidly to actually smile.

  “That’s right,” she managed to say.

  A vicious game was being played out right before them. Tina held all the aces, or made Jacob think she did, but Jacob wasn’t as stupid as she thought he was. He knew what she was really after and knew how to take it away. Kellen didn’t like that he’d tangled Sole Regret up in his scheme, but they couldn’t accept the situation at face value. Deeper issues were churning beneath the surface.

  “We’re missing something,” Owen said. “Something monumental.”

  Exactly. Kellen snorted because Owen’s thoughts mirrored his. “Don’t you see what he’s doing?” Kellen asked.

  “Being the biggest fucking idiot who ever lived?” Gabe yelled.

  “He’s calling her bluff.”

  Tina didn’t have as many aces as she thought she did.

  “What bluff?” Owen asked.

  “I don’t know,” Kellen said, “but look at her face. She started off smug—like she had him by the balls, like she was in charge and held all the aces. And now she looks like she’s ready to fold.” Or puke.

  “You don’t honestly think he’s willing to give up everything just to get back at her?” Gabe said. “And he’s not the only one he’s screwing here. What about us? We have a stake in this too. Did he ever consider how this would affect anyone but himself?”

  “It has to have something to do with Julie,” Owen said.

  Kellen’s heart skipped a beat. Owen was probably right. Jacob’s seemingly irrational behavior likely involved Julie. She was the only person on the planet that Jacob would sacrifice everything to protect.

  “I’m going to kill him,” Gabe said. “If Adam doesn’t get to him before I do, I’m going to reach into his gut and yank out his balls from the inside.”

  “Give him a little time to sort himself out,” Kellen said. Jacob wouldn’t betray them for the hell of it. Kellen hadn’t been sure of that before, but now, seeing him with Tina, he had no doubt that she’d somehow forced his hand, and he’d called her on it.

  “He’s getting back together with Tina.” Owen pointed at the television where Jacob was discussing plans for his less than spectacular future.

  “I might paint houses,” Jacob said. “Or sell tires. I do want to finish my education—get my GED and set the right example for my daughter.”

  “I don’t think he is.” Kellen tilted his head slightly, looking for more clues in the couple’s body language. All was not easy and happy in the Silverton household, that much was clear.

  “You’re going to let him get away with this bullshit?” Gabe said. “He walked out on us, Kellen. And without him fronting the band, Sole Regret will never be the same.”

  Lead singers almost always made the band. Kellen couldn’t deny how much easier it was to find a replacement for a rhythm guitarist, a bassist, even a drummer. But a singer? Or their lead guitarist and songwriter? The two of them really made the band. None of them could deny that reality.

  “Maybe he’ll change his mind,” Owen said.

  “And maybe we’ll tell him to fuck off,” Gabe said.

  “He’s obviously struggling. Look at him.” Kellen rose to his feet and pointed at the screen. Couldn’t they see the tension right before them? Or maybe he was the odd one for recognizing it so easily. “Look at his posture.”

  When Owen and Gabe looked at him as if he were discussing an imaginary friend, Kellen sighed. They really didn’t see it. Did either of them ever pay attention to how Jacob normally behaved?

  “He was acting off before Adam left, you morons. I’m telling you, something is going on with him that he didn’t share with us.”

  “Obviously,” Gabe said. “But that’s no excuse to stab your friends in the back. He just up and left.”

  “Adam also fucking left,” Kellen shouted, since calm discussions didn’t get through to Gabe.

  Gabe punched the sofa’s arm and growled, “And the three of us are left here holding our dicks.”

  Kellen couldn’t argue that fact. The three of them were totally screwed if Jacob and Adam never reconciled. And Jacob was the key to settling their differences. Adam was too self-centered to put anyone before his own agenda.

  “Jacob has only fucked us over this once; Adam has left us high and dry dozens of times,” Owen said.

  Kellen smiled at his friend—who always sided with him, always had his back—but Owen’s attention was fixed on Gabe, so he offered no return smile. Jacob had left, but only because Adam had added the final straw. Jacob needed their backing right now, not their animosity. Adam needed support as well. Hell, Kellen could use a little reassurance himself, and he was sure he wasn’t the only man in the room feeling that need. They had to come up with a way to get everyone back together and on speaking terms, or this band really would be over.

  “I think we have to support him until he figures out what he wants,” Kellen said, figuring Gabe wasn’t ready to hear that. He’d never seen the guy so angry before.

  “I’m not supporting his insanity.” Gabe jerked to his feet and covered his head with his ball cap. “We put all our faith in him, and he left us. Without a word, he left.”

  Gabe’s anger was a front for his hurt, Kellen realized. Jacob had hurt Gabe by leaving, by potentially breaking up the band, and Gabe didn’t know how else to react.

  “You need to think this through before you go off, Gabe,” Kellen said. “You could make things worse.”

  “Stop being so goddamned even-tempered, Cuff! This doesn’t piss you off? Not even a little?”

  Kelly shook his head. “It makes me sad.” Which hadn’t been his first reaction. Like Gabe, he’d been pissed, but Kellen was past anger now and falling into despair.

  Gabe glared at Owen, who grimaced. “And I suppose you’re in agreement with your friend here. You two practically share a brain.”

  “Maybe Julie is sick,” Owen said, and immediately Kellen’s heart sank. Julie being sick would be terrible, but it would explain Jacob’s rash behavior.

  Gabe’s rage finally ratcheted down a notch. “Why would you think that?”

  “He’s been adamant about spending time with Julie lately. Scheduled the entire tour around his visitation days. So maybe something is terribly wrong with her.”

  “It could be that,” Kellen said. He hoped not from the depths of his soul and searched for any reason to discredit the idea, because thinking Julie was sick was too agonizing to face. “But I don’t think he’d hide that from us.”

  Gabe was standing over them with his fists on his thighs—a divisive force in the room. Except nothing would ever divide Kellen and Owen. Not even Gabe’s temper.

  “Will you sit down?” Kellen said to him. “We need to figure this mess out.”

  “We need to get Shade back,” Owen said.

  Kellen loved that they were thinking the same way—not that it surprised him. He smiled and nodded at Owen, but noticed that Caitlyn was doing a good job of offering her silent support to Owen, so turned back to Gabe.

  “Maybe I don’t want him back,” Gabe said, but he sat.

  “Which of us do you think he’d be most likely to listen to?” Kellen asked.

  “Gabe,” Owen said. “But not if he goes there all pissed off like he is now.”

  “I’m not pissed off,” Gabe said.

  “Riiiight,” Owen said, rolling h
is eyes, and Caitlyn giggled.

  “Why shouldn’t I be pissed off? The fucking dolt has destroyed my career just like that.” Gabe snapped his fingers. “If Sole Regret is really over, what am I supposed to do with the rest of my life? I don’t have a fucking plan B, okay? I don’t know how to proceed.”

  Kellen caught movement out of the corner of his eye and for an instant, he thought Sara had risen from the grave to stand crying in the doorway, but it was Lindsey. He would likely never get used to how much she resembled Sara, but now when he looked at her, he didn’t see Sara. He saw a pretty young blonde trying to sort out her life. To that he could relate.

  “Are you okay?” Owen was instantly on his feet, squeezing Lindsey’s slight shoulder and looking her over with concern. “Are you in pain? Is it the baby?”

  Kellen didn’t miss the way Caitlyn stiffened when Owen touched Lindsey, but Owen didn’t see her reaction.

  “Is Sole Regret really breaking up?” Lindsey asked.

  She was crying over that? Now that Kellen thought about it, there would be a lot of upset fans when news of the band’s demise spread.

  “We hope not.”

  Lindsey hugged Owen, who cringed and tried patting her without actually touching her. He glanced at Caitlyn, but she just shrugged. She probably recognized that Lindsey wasn’t a threat for Owen’s affection. If that was his baby, though, Kellen hoped Caitlyn realized there would be no way that Owen could give up his child.

  “It’s all my fault.” Lindsey sniffled. “I show up pregnant, and you all start arguing and then Adam leaves and now Shade is gone and . . . and . . .”

  “This has nothing to do with you,” Gabe said. “Adam has been unreliable and self-absorbed since the day I met him.”

  “But he left to be reliable for Madison,” Kellen reminded him. “Selfless for Madison.” Stepping up to help another person was a big step in Adam’s personal growth, even if his action negatively impacted the band.

  “How very nice for Madison,” Gabe grumbled. “How utterly devastating for the rest of us. Did Adam even admit he was in the wrong when you talked to him?” he asked Owen. “Because when I talked to him, all he wanted to know was what Jacob had done.”