Page 27 of Killer Notes

Shifting my focus back to where I’m walking, I make sure to pin every spot where someone could hide. Once I’m sure it’s safe, I call for Saint to follow.

Between sniffing and marking his territory, Saint keeps up. But when we approach a partially fallen tree on the east side of the property, Saint spots a squirrel. He yips and growls, all the while trying to jump up to get onto the low branch, where the animal sits. I have to chuckle at the sight of the damn thing looking at my dog like it’s stupid.

“Saint, come,” I order and walk back to the house.

As I approach the front stoop, my cell chimes with a text. I pull out the phone, and seeing that it’s John, I open the message.

John:Pen and Jordan just arrived.

Me:They are early.

John:Yes. It’s a good thing. Got to go. Wild is a whining child.

I bust out laughing, but then a thought hits me and I race into the house.

“Where’s your phone?” I demand harshly.

“Why?” Danny’s eyes go wide. He drops the toast he was lifting to his mouth, pulls the device from his side pocket and hands it to me.

I hand him back the phone. “Unlock it.”

He taps out the password and then passes it back to me. “What’s going on, Tobias?”

“Did you text or call anyone last night or this morning?” I scan his face before looking back down at the screen. I tap on the message icon and see that he did.

“I texted Connor when I got up. And I was going to call Laney after breakfast, to see how she’s doing,” he explains with a grimace. “Was I not supposed to? You didn’t say I couldn’t.”

“No, you can’t. But that’s my fault for not explaining that to you sooner. From now on, no calls or texts in or out.”

I don’t bother looking at Danny, all my focus is on his phone. Getting out of messages, I go into the settings and disable Danny’s location. Then I tap into the finder app and deactivate that. Now, no one will be able to find his whereabouts.

“The band is about to leave,” he says, glancing down at the cell in my hand. Disappointment shadows his frowning face.

“I know,” I throw back, promptly regretting my gruff tone. “John texted me.”

“Connor told me that the other two bodyguards arrived. He’s pissy as hell that he won’t be able to sleep.” Danny’s lips tip up into a small smile, and there’s a relaxed easiness in his eyes. “But I know that’s a lie.”

Danny’s face lights up. It irks me how he talks about the drummer in such an intimate way. But, I do have to admit, he’s even more beautiful when he smiles.

Something inside me loosens, seeing the happiness in his blue eyes.

“He can sleep when they get on the tour bus,” I say, glancing at Danny, and his smile widens.

“Trust me, Connor can sleep anywhere.” Danny chuckles. “One time, when he was about twelve, he fell asleep in his tree house. His parents looked all over for him for most of that day—they even called the police when it started to get dark. A bunch of us kids were screaming through the neighborhood calling out his name.” Danny shakes his head.

“He was trouble even back then,” I say with a smirk.

“Yes, he was.” Danny pulls out his gloss and glides the tip along his lips. I inwardly groan, smelling bubble gum. Christ, now I’m envious toward an applicator.

I clear my throat and ask, “So what happened?”

“We all searched for him. Until I had to go home because it was getting dark. Then I happened to look through my window and spotted the tree house in his back yard, which was connected to my back yard. And I just knew he was in there.”

Liking the sound of Danny’s voice, I want him to keep talking to me. “What did you do?”

“I jumped the fence, climbed up the rope ladder and sure enough, he was out cold. Connor was wrapped up in his favorite blanket, his headphones on, and music blaring from them.”

“That’s why he didn’t hear anyone calling out his name,” I say.