Free Torn - Part Two (The Torn Series) by Ellen Callahan Page A

I could convince Tony to keep his mouth shut, just about this one thing, just this once. Fat chance.
     
    “Uh oh,” she said, looking past me. “Take a guess who’s here.”
     
    Preceded by an “uh oh,” I only needed one guess. “Tony.” I frowned. “What’s he doing here?”
     
    “Jen invited him. I didn’t think he’d show, he kind of rolled his eyes when she talked about it.” A fake smile spread across her face and I felt his presence just behind me. “Hi, Tony,” she said, “Nice to see you again.”
     
    I didn’t turn, just twisted my head to look at him over my shoulder. “What are you doing here?”
     
    He grinned a shit-eating grin. “Your girl invited me.” I inwardly cringed.
     
    “No I didn’t,” Riley said, her smile wavering.
     
    “Oh,” he said, waving a dismissive hand, “Must have been the one with the purple hair.”
     
    Riley’s eyes narrowed. I needed to knock this conversation off track, fast. “Since when are you into the music scene anyway?” I asked him.
     
    “Just wanted to see if the girls are as good as they claim,” he said. “All three of them were full of big talk.”
     
    Riley’s smile was completely gone now. “We’re just as good as we say.” Shit. She’d taken his bait. I recognized his pattern because I knew him so well. She had no such defense. Now was the part where he dropped the bomb, though what it would be I couldn’t even begin to imagine. Either way, I tensed all over and waited for the explosion.
     
    “All right,” he said, “I just know one of those other bands hired a pro at the last minute. The Swordfish Fight? Their new bassist played for a whole bunch of semi-famous bands.”
     
    I shouldn’t have let him say it. I should have punched him in his stupid smug face before he tried to psych Riley out. Why did I keep letting him get away with this shit? “Do you have to be such a fucking bastard all the time?” I asked, finally turning to face him.
     
    “It’s fine,” Riley said, gripping my arm. “Please. Mallet. It’s okay. It’s better that we know, he’s doing us a favor.” I could feel her fingers trembling. I forced myself to calm down.
     
    “Go on,” I said, giving her a nudge towards the backstage door. “The girls will be wondering where you’ve gone.”
     
    Her eyes searched mine. “You’ll be okay?” Fuck. The competition wasn’t enough, now she was going to worry about me.
     
    “Promise,” I said, then planted a quick kiss on her dark red lips, careful not to smudge them. “You look amazing, by the way.”
     
    “Thanks.” Her smile finally returned, though faintly. “See you after the show?”
     
    “I’ll be right here.”
     
    “Good luck,” Tony said. She didn’t respond to him as she slipped away through the crowd.
     
    I didn’t want to get myself kicked out but once she was gone, I didn’t need to play nice anymore, either. “You dumb fuck,” I snarled, “Why do you have to mess with her? She has nothing to do with any of the shit between us.”
     
    He had no answer. Of course. So instead he tried to change the subject. “Saw you fight a couple days ago. Your chokes have gotten better.” He nudged me with an elbow. “Not good enough, though.”
     
    “You’re only taunting me because you’re scared,” I said, tilting my head. “Why the hell else would you come all the way down here to bother us? You want to mess with Riley’s head and mess with mine because you think it’ll give you the upper hand.” I shoved him backwards, not too hard, just enough to jostle him a step. Just enough to piss him off. “It’s not gonna work, brother. ” I spat the word out like a curse. “Go home. Leave us the fuck alone.”
     
    People were starting to eye us and move away. Tony showed his palms, refusing to shove me back. I would have loved the excuse to hit him in the face but he always did manage to remain infuriatingly calmer than me. “Sorry,” he said, “I