Page 61 of Hard Rock Tease

"You said something happened to Lily?" I asked softly.

He looked away, avoiding my eyes, not acknowledging my words. "I got her out of that house as soon as I was able to. I took my first check from Etude Entertainment and got a place for me and Lily to live."

"So that's why," I mused quietly.

"Why what?"

"Why you said you only care about marketability. About how much money you make. You wanted to be able to provide for Lily."

He grunted and looked away.

"It's okay if taking care of your family is a motivating factor," I said. "It just doesn't have to be the only factor. I'm sure your fans would love to hear something more personal from you."

"Are we back to this?"

"I'll drop it." For now. I needed to convince Noah to put more of himself into his song. That was going to be an uphill fight the entire way. "So Lily came to live with you?" Somehow I doubted the story ended there with a happily ever after.

"Our whole life it had just been the two of us. Noah and Lily against the world. Then Darkest Days exploded onto the music scene. All of a sudden I had money and fans and media attention. All the band's hard work had paid off. But…"

"But things changed?" I guessed.

"People starting crawling out of the woodwork. People I'd barely spoken to as a teenager would show up and act as if we were best friends. With our mother taking off, and having to grow up in foster care, me and Lily felt unwanted. Unloved. We only had each other. Now I was suddenly in the limelight and had everyone fawning over me."

"And is that when Noah Hart started getting a big head?" I said, trying to lighten the mood.

"I hated it," he said flatly. "I wanted me and my sister to be left alone. But Lily loved it. She was always having people over. We were always going to the best parties and events. People wanted a piece of Noah Hart, and sometimes that meant they wanted a piece of Lily, too. Anything to get close to me."

"She finally got all the attention and love she'd never had growing up," I murmured thoughtfully.

"But being in the spotlight had a price. Paparazzi started following her around everywhere, taking pictures. People would pretend to be our friends, only to turn around and spill everything to the media for cash. Then one night—" he stopped abruptly, his expression pained.

Unease settled over me. "You don't have to tell me."

"These two guys we knew broke in. They thought the place was empty. They planned to steal everything," he said in one breath, as if trying to get the words out as fast as possible. "They had been in foster care with us. We bonded over all the shit we went through. I thought they were my friends. My brothers. But they'd just been using us the whole time. And they found Lily home alone."

Cold dread ran down my back. I feared what Noah was going to say next.

He shifted across the sofa to press himself next to me, seeking comfort from my presence. He looked up at the ceiling so he didn't have to meet my eyes.

"They threatened her. Held her at gunpoint." He clenched his fist, rage exploded across his face.

My heart clenched in my chest. "Did they…?"

"No. They took everything and left her alone. Tied up. For hours. I found her that way when I got home."

I let out a small breath of relief. It could have been so much worse.

"She was so scared." Noah's mouth was set in a firm line, the rage on his face not easing. "I should have known better than to trust those assholes. I thought, because of what we'd gone through as teenagers… I thought they were like family." He finally turned to look me in the eye. "I sent Lily away. I didn't want her to get hurt again. Didn't want people using her again."

"Is that why she's in London?"

"I sent her to a private boarding school. Then she spent some time studying art in various workshops and programs. She wants to come back home to start college. I'm trying to convince her to stay in London."

"Don't you miss her?"

"Yes. But she's safer there."

I wrapped my arms around him and squeezed, leaning my head on his chest. He brought his arms around me, resting his cheek on the top of my head. We were practically cuddling. My heart swelled.