New York?

  We’re not from New York.

  “But first, here’s the song that’s been setting the charts on fire⁠—”

  A song begins with rugged drums and a fierce guitar riff accompanying a male singer’s screaming roar.

  “Ignite the Night by The Electrics!”

  Harmony and I whip around to look toward the glass booth across the station. Jonny Red sits in his chair, but he’s not alone now. Three other people sit around his table. One man. Two women. Bright yellow shirts. Torn black jeans.

  Logan Shock winks at me through the glass.

  What the fuck?

  31

  KNOX

  “Jordan, what’s going on?” Jonah asks.

  I turn away from Logan’s stupid smirk and join my band, all of us in various states of confusion. “Good question,” I say.

  Jordan stutters a bit. “I… I don’t know,” she says.

  “What are The Electrics doing here?”

  “I don’t know,” she says again, already in motion toward the desk with Chrissy not far behind. “I’ll find out.”

  “Don’t bother,” I say. “We’re out of here.”

  Jordan stalls. “Knox, we agreed to an interview.”

  “We agreed to an interview,” Addison says. “Not an ambush.”

  “Yeah,” Katrina says. “This is low, even by Jonny Red’s standards.”

  “Exactly,” I say. “We’re leaving.”

  “Criminal Records!” Jonny Red pops out of his booth, his grin almost too wide for his face. “My favorite band!”

  I nearly punch him.

  He gleefully rushes over, crossing the lobby to intercept us. “Now, now, I know what this looks like, but if you’ll let me explain...”

  Jordan shoots me a look, urging me to let her handle it. Then she turns and smiles at Jonny. “Mr. Red,” she says, a hidden ire in her tone.

  “Please, sweetie, call me Jonny!”

  “Mr. Red,” she repeats, “when you asked us for an interview, you didn’t mention that you were double-booking us with The Electrics.”

  “No, I didn’t. But would you have come if I had?”

  “No,” I say.

  Jonny Red chuckles. “I know! It was very naughty, but just picture it!” He holds up both hands. “Knox Benton and Logan Shock going head-to-head in my studio with the beloved Harmony between them!” He smacks his hands together. “Sparks will fly!”

  “We don’t do sparks.”

  “I do! And I think it’d be such a shame for you to disappoint our listeners by leaving too soon.”

  “Too bad.”

  “Well, in that case, it seems I have an opening in my schedule.” Jonny Red spins to face Harmony. “Harmony, would you like to stay for an interview?”

  She hesitates. “Me?”

  “Oh, I’d love to talk to you,” he coos. “One-on-one. Exclusive. Just me and you. And Logan, too! I know the two of you have become quite close...”

  I push forward, purposefully nudging Jonny away from her. “Sorry, Jonny,” I say through gritted teeth. “She’s not interested.”

  He tilts his head. “Are you sure?”

  I glance at Harmony as her eyes fall to the floor. “Yes,” I say, taking her hand. “You’ll have to get your sparks elsewhere.”

  With that, I bound toward the door with Harmony, her hand in my grip. Jonny Red says a few more things, but his words go ignored by the rest of the band as they follow me toward the exit.

  “You’re listening to K-RED FM! Jonny Red here and you won’t believe what just happened, folks!”

  I try to ignore it.

  “We’re live today in the studio with Logan Shock, Tesla Kyle, and Goldie Locke of The Electrics! We planned on going head-to-head with Criminal Records today, but it looks like Knox Benton and his band of rebels are on their way out as we speak. Right, Logan?”

  “Yes,” Logan says. “Very disappointing. I guess some men can’t stand to face the competition.”

  I slow.

  “Knox,” Jonah says beside me as he sees me stop. “Don’t. He’s just baiting you.”

  Harmony squeezes my hand once, her eyes in agreement with Jonah.

  “Ain’t that the truth!” Jonny Red says. “Now that this is an exclusive interview, I want to dig deep. Get down and — hopefully — dirty with the details of you and Knox’s on-again off-again sweetie, the pop princess on everyone’s playlist, Harmony!”

  I grind to a fucking halt.

  Logan’s laughter makes my blood boil. “A gentleman doesn’t kiss and tell, Jonny.”

  “There ain’t no gentlemen here!” Jonny Red jokes.

  “Ah, good point.”

  They laugh together and I tighten my free fist so hard my nails dig into my palm.

  “So, it’s true then?” Jonny Red asks. “You and Harmony are…?”

  “Harmony is a woman who’s attracted to a certain type of man. That’s all I’ll say!”

  “Oh, so she came on to you? Can’t say I’m surprised. Rumor has it, she spent the morning cuddling up with opening act Harvey Moon as well — but don’t tell Knox!”

  Harmony recoils silently, wounded by the accusation.

  I don’t bother waiting for whatever bullshit response to that Logan comes up with. I spin on my heels and barge back into the station, ignoring the calls from the others not to go back. Plowing through the scattered mess of desks and coffee carts, I bound straight for the windowed box in the back.

  “Oh, boy, folks! Looks like we might get that interview after all, as Knox Benton has reentered the studio — and he doesn’t look happy!”

  I shove into the booth, the door smacking against the wall as I push it open.

  “Knox!” Jonny Red says. “Welcome back. Please, have a seat.”

  I don’t bother. Instead, I reach for a microphone, yanking the arm toward me as I scan the table. Goldie and Tesla sit on either side of Logan with their own microphones, but neither of them seem all that interested in using them beyond the occasional hum or giggle.

  I lock eyes with Logan. “The fuck is your problem, man?” I ask.

  “Whoa!” Jonny Red warns. “Careful with the language, Knox. We’re a family show.”

  “Then you should think twice about the kind of gentleman you invite,” I say, holding my glare on Logan. “Because the man you have in your studio today is a lying opportunist.”

  “Am I?” Logan asks.

  “Harmony wanted nothing to do with you,” I say. “You approached her and, from the way she told it, you begged her to come home with you. But guess what? You’re not me. And Harmony is mine.”

  Logan smirks. “So possessive.”

  Goldie and Tesla giggle sweetly.

  “You and Harmony have been broken up for a few years, Knox,” Jonny Red points out. “What changed, eh?”

  “Nothing changed,” I say. I look up, somehow drawn to Harmony’s stare through the glass. She looks at me with bright eyes and pink cheeks and the words fall from my lips. “A man doesn’t choose his muse. But once he finds her, he chooses her. Always. Harmony is mine, Shock. And together, we’re going to destroy you and your glam rock douchebag ass.”

  “Won’t that be something?” Logan says, unbothered, as Goldie and Tesla laugh some more.

  I release the microphone arm. Jonny Red lunges for it before it falls.

  “You heard it here, folks!” Jonny Red says as I exit the booth. “The musical battle of the summer begins! Two rock gods! Two sold out tours! But only one can be number one!”

  I grab Harmony’s hand, taking her and my band with me toward the exit.

  “We’re going to take a quick break, folks! When we return, we’ll chat with the Shock Girls, Tesla and Goldie. Before then, here’s the number one most requested song of the week, the appropriately named Boom Boom by Harmony!”

  Another bait, no doubt. But it’s not enough to stop me this time.

  Besides, it’s strangely appropriate.

  Boom, motherfuckers.

  It’s on.

  As we charge through the exit, a woman passes us on the way inside. I perform a double-take; her face strikingly familiar. For a second, I wonder when Chrissy went outside, but she’s also currently a step behind Harmony, which means…

  Ah, the twin.

  Chrissy gasps. “Prissy, what are you doing here?”

  “Oh, hey, sister! I’m just here with my band.”

  “Your band?”

  Harmony slows her stride to listen. All I want to do is pull her along with me and get the hell out of here as quickly as possible, but I’m curious what Prissy meant by that as well.

  “Yes. My band,” Priscilla says, looking sharp in a jet black pencil skirt and yellow blouse. “I’m The Electric’s new manager.”

  “What?”

  So, that explains why she’s hanging around Logan.

  “You made the job look so fun,” Priscilla says. “I just had to try it out myself!”

  “You can’t just try out my job, Prissy!” Chrissy says.

  “Why not? If you’re doing it, it can’t be that hard, right?”

  Chrissy recoils, genuinely hurt.

  Priscilla notices, her devious smirk good enough to rival Logan’s. “And hey, my band is still together, so I might actually be better at it than you, too.”

  Harmony pulls her hand free of mine and rushes toward them. “Come on, Chrissy,” she says, taking her arm. “We gotta go.”

  Chrissy leaves willingly and the rest of us follow.

  “Bye-bye, sister!” Priscilla says, her laughter carrying across the lot. “See you soon!”

  Gee, that’s not ominous or anything.

  I retake Harmony’s hand, and we bolt.

  32

  HARMONY

  “We know it’s wrong, but it feels so right.

  In the shadows, you’ll hold me tight!”

  Harvey and I finish the song together once again. Two days of rehearsing in my hotel room, and it’s damn near perfect.

  “Awesome,” I say. “You’re really getting it, Harvey.”

  He strums the final chord and releases a pleased sigh as he sets his guitar down. “Luckily, it’s an easy song to learn. Not that that’s a bad thing! I didn’t mean for that to sound…”

  “I know what you meant. ”

  “Easy is good! Easy is catchy. It’s like my hero Dade Connery always says: Simple sticks.”

  “He wasn’t just talking about his drum set?” I joke.

  Harvey recoils slightly. “You know who Dade Connery is, right?”

  I smile. “Of course I do. I was just kidding.”

  He exhales with relief. “One does not joke about the greatest living guitarist in the world, Harmony.”

  “I’ve learned my lesson,” I tease.

  “Good.” He stands up from his chair. “Mind if I use your bathroom?”

  I gesture at it. “Go for it. I’m thinking of ordering up some food. You want anything?”

  “I’ll take a basket of fries!”

  “Sounds good.”

  I pick up my phone as he closes the bathroom door. Without thinking, I check my messages, looking for a reply from my mother.

  We’re in San Francisco, Mama! Want to get dinner?

  Can’t wait to see you.

  Do you want to get together before the show?

  No replies. Not yet, anyway. She must be busy.

  I swipe to my browser instead, refreshing the comments on the latest article about the Jonny Red interview.

  Gotdamn Knox just challenged Logan to a duel!

  Holy crap!

  I wish I were Harmony right now. Fight over me, pretty boys!

  Well, this just got interesting.

  Fake! It’s all fake! Don’t buy it!

  Take him down, Shock!

  So many opinions, all screaming over each other. Each one of them believes they’re right, despite only knowing a fraction of the whole story.

  But it’s just noise. The noise behind the music. None of it matters as much as this show, when my mother can finally see me on stage. Not at some hotel ballroom or a rec center, either. A real stage.

  I’ll finally get to show her it wasn’t all for nothing.

  As Harvey exits the bathroom, I tap over to the Botsford app and put in an order for some drinks and fries.

  “Texting Knox?” he asks as he returns to his guitar.

  “What?” I glance up. “No, just getting food.”

  “Oh. Sorry. I just assumed. Like…” He cutely lowers his voice, even though we’re the only ones in here. “I know you guys are faking it and everything, but you do still seem close. You know?”

  “I guess,” I say, thinking it over. “Well, it’s all just make-believe.”

  “I don’t know. The guy defended you on live radio,” Harvey says. “If you ask me, fake or not, the guy threw down in your name — and that’s pretty rad.”

  Butterflies tickle my stomach. “He did, yeah.”

  A knock taps the door.

  “Food already?” Harvey asks.

  “Doubtful,” I say as I rise from my chair.

  I look through the peephole, releasing a quiet sigh as I see Knox’s face hovering a bit too close.

  Speak of the devil.

  I swiftly pull it open. Knox flinches a step back.

  “Hello, Knox,” I say.

  “Hi,” he says, his eyes instantly on Harvey over my shoulder. “Oh, you guys are still…”

  “Practicing. Yes.”

  Harvey waves from his seat on the edge of my bed. “Yo, Knox!” he says. “You wanna hang out? We’ve got food coming.”

  “Hey, Moondog,” Knox says. He clears his throat. “No, I gotta get back. Band meeting in five. I just thought I’d swing by and check in. So, you guys are… gonna be here for a while longer?”

  “Sure,” I answer. “Why not?”

  “No reason.” He shifts on his toes, his eyes straying over my shoulder again and scanning around. “You were at it this morning when we left for practice and… you’re still here.”

  “Is that a problem?”

  “No. Just… you should remember to take breaks.”

  “Oh, we are,” I say.

  “Yeah?”

  “Frequently.”

  His brow twitches, sending a familiar impish delight through my stomach. “Frequently?” he repeats.

  “Uh-huh,” I say, smiling. Back in the day, I would relish in making Knox jealous. I could have him on his begging knees in a few minutes if I really wanted to.

  But I don’t.

  A little twist of the knife won’t hurt, though.

  His throat clears again. “Then you’re still going through with this thing, huh?” he asks.

  Or he’ll twist the one he stuck in me instead.

  “Yes,” I answer, my spine a little straighter. “I am.”

  He nods and takes a step back. “Okay,” he says. “I’ll leave you guys to it, then.”

  “Thanks for stopping by,” I say.

  “Bye, Harvey,” Knox says.

  “Bye, Knox!” he replies.

  He walks off, leaving me with a sudden tightness in my chest that quickly subsides with the first breath.

  I close the door and return to my chair while Harvey plucks at his strings.

  “Just swinging by,” he murmurs with a smile. “Pretty rad.”

  I smother my grin as my phone vibrates. With a few quick taps, I check my messages, hoping for a reply from Mama. But it’s just Chrissy.

  Chrissy

  How goes it?

  Almost perfect!

  She sends back a heart emoji.

  I nearly ask about Priscilla, but think twice. No news is good news on that front, I think.

  My phone vibrates again. I flick to my messages and… it’s just the kitchen downstairs confirming my order. Still nothing from Mama, but I’m sure I’ll hear from her soon.

  I set my phone down. “From the top?” I ask Harvey.

  33

  KNOX

  Istand behind the curtain, enjoying the excited hum of the sold-out hall. We’ve played this arena plenty before, but there’s something in the air tonight that feels… different.

  It’s no mystery, though. We’ve officially added Pure Blue back into our main set list. We practiced it over the last several days to be sure we’ve all still got it down, but the roots of that song dig deep and those callouses have never fully healed.

  Also, there’s Harmony.

  She’s playing with Harvey tonight. In twenty minutes, actually. In less than half an hour, my muse will be on stage for the first time. Sure, she was right to say she’s done this before, but never in front of an audience of this size. I wasn’t lying when I said I was worried about her.

  Or, perhaps, I’ve just gotten that good at lying to myself.

  My chest rumbles with a familiar feeling. An unwelcome feeling tied to an urge I do everything in my power to smother.

  I don’t want her to sing for them.

  I want to find her, throw her over my shoulder, and stop her from doing it.

  But I won’t.

  That would be insane.

  Harvey rushes out of the back hall, his eyes tinged with a slight panic. That’s normal, though. Even mine will look like that for the few minutes before our set.

  “Hey, Harvey,” I say, giving the closed door of the girl’s dressing room behind him a quick glance.

  I haven’t seen Harmony since this afternoon, but I can imagine she’s not looking much better than he is.

  “Feeling good tonight?” I ask.

  “Uh, yeah,” he says as he approaches the stage, his gear already sitting and waiting for him. “Not too bad. You?”

  “Same.”

  “Actually…” He stops and turns to face me. “I’ve been wanting to talk to you about something. If you have a minute.”