I start the engine and pull out of the clearing. Navigate the fog-shrouded road back toward the highway with steady hands and a pulse that won't fucking calm down.
Mates.
I'm going to tell him.
I'm going to tell Rex.
Tonight.
CHAPTER 23
RAFAEL
We're all going to fucking die tonight if Bells doesn't give Rex another blowjob.
Rex showed up to the studio two hours ago like a thundercloud in a leather jacket. Hasn't spoken to anyone. Played the same riff what had to be fifteen times and then slammed his pick hand against the strings hard enough to snap his high E. When Phoenix tried to hand him a replacement, Rex took it without looking at him and turned his back.
We're rehearsing the unmasking stunt tonight.
In front of Carmine.
For the first time.
Which means Rex has to stand on that stage and let Bells tear his mask off while people watch. Even knowing there's a prosthetic underneath. Even knowing the audience at the real show will see a fake skull, not scars.
So Pleasant Rex has left the building and Stormy Rex is back with a fucking vengeance, and I'm stress-tuning my bass in theback room while Phoenix sits across from me picking nervously at a callus on the side of his thumb.
"He broke a string," Phoenix says.
"I heard."
"He hasn't broken a string in months."
"Iknow, Phoenix."
I adjust my tuning peg. The low E hums into pitch and I pluck it twice, letting the note resonate through the body of the instrument and into my ribs. It's grounding. Bass always is for me.
The frequency is too low for bullshit.
"He's scared," I mutter.
"Obviously."
"And when Rex is scared, Rex gets aggressive."
"I know how Rex works, Raf."
"Then stop looking at me like I have answers you don't."
Phoenix slumps back on the couch with a groan, his massive frame making the cushions wheeze.
My eyes linger a little too long.
Then the studio door opens and Bells slips in.
She's in her usual getup with the loose jeans, oversized hoodie with the rabbit ears, combat boots. Binder underneath, prosthetic in place, collar tight around her throat.
The full disguise.