Regret Came Too Late

Lyle slid into the passenger seat, breath fogging up in the freezing air. His lashes hung low as he stared at nothing in particular, clearly lost in thought.

Grace didn't start the car right away. Lately, she'd had this gnawing feeling-like someone was following her. She got the feeling more than once. She didn't know if it was real or just paranoia.

She leaned back in her seat and cranked up the heat. "Where's Zack? Why are you out here by yourself?"

And more importantly, what the hell was he doing tailing her in the middle of the night?

Lyle kept his eyes on the window. What flashed through his mind was the day someone kidnapped them. The guy didn't kill them, of course-but Zack had been taken.

Zack was the calm and rational one, always thinking two steps ahead. Lyle, on the other hand, was reckless and loud. The two weren't blood-related, but they might as well have been. That man had held Zack back to keep Lyle in check, to stop him from running his mouth.

Grace reached over and handed him a bottle of water. "Lyle, you're technically one of my signed artists, but sneaking around and following people? That's creepy as hell. Do you realize that?"

Lyle took the bottle, downed a few gulps, and didn't say anything.

said too much,

took a slow breath. That cocky edge Lyle always carried wasn't there anymore. Something had happened,

drive you home," she

car pulled onto the road, Lyle shut his eyes and exhaled, the tension in

Grace spoke again. "You

expression lighting up like a spark had hit dry grass. It was written all over his

Grace kept her eyes straight ahead, focused on

up in the mountains before this. And what, you just happened to stumble into her? Doesn't add up. If you were chasing fame, you'd be signing with a major

before. I

bottle until

He remembered that

out first and opened

back. He took another

her arms folded, and a small smile tugged