Page 55 of Louder Than Words

And the view counts?

Each one racks up over a million.

Every single video is an interview with a band that blew up right after.

Seeing the numbers makes my stomach drop and my mouth go dry.

I glance over at Don, suddenly frozen in place.

He doesn’t look impressed. Not even a little.

This is fucking great.

“They’re the top music vlog in the Northeast.Everyonewatches them,” Don says flatly.

Yeah, I gathered that.

Then he sniffs the air, face scrunching like something died.

“And you guys were gonna go… like this?”

James shrugs and pushes off the wall. “Yeah? What’s so wrong with that?”

Don laughs—but not in theha hakind of way. More likeI’m about to commit a felony.

He points at each of us. “Jax, you’ve got bedhead. Gareth looks like he hasn’t showered in a week. James has a goddamn hickey. And Desmond…” He pauses, finger still aimed at him. “Desmond is actually the only one who looks remotely put together.”

Desmond beams, nodding as he says, “Hell yeah.”

My eyes dart to James’s neck just as he ‘scratches’ at it. But sure enough, I can see it. The little purple love bite sits right at the base of James’s neck.

The room falls silent, everyone standing still with the only sound coming from the girls on the other side of the wall, laughing at something.

Don breaks the silence with a sharp breath. “You’ve got thirty minutes,” he says, voice clipped. “Get ready. Now.”

When Carly said her roommate ran this vlog, I didn’t realize she meantinsidetheir apartment.

The second we walk in, the first thing I notice are the tapestries strung across the walls, microphones set up along an oak coffee table, and neon orange sofas arranged in a horseshoe shape right in the middle of the room. The set honestly looks like it was pulled straight from the late ’80s.

I barely have time for my eyes to adjust to the vampire lighting before a body collides with mine, arms wrapping around my neck.

“It’s so good to see you guys again!” Carly practically screams in my ear.

I resist the urge to peel her off, mostly because she’s the reason we’re even here for this interview in the first place, but this already feels like too much. And with Allie waiting back at the hotel, all I can think about is getting this over with so I can go straight back to her.

She finally releases me and takes a step back, giving me a slow once-over while biting her lip slightly. My skin instantly crawls.

“So,” she says, twirling her long jet-black hair around her finger, “where’s your girlfriend?”

I smile at the mention of Allie, wishing to God I’d dragged her along. “Oh, Allie decided to stay back. We like to keep work separate,” I say, hoping the hint from me saying her actual name is clear enough.

She arches a brow, a smirk tugging at her lips. “Oh? How fun.”

The way she saysfunmakes my skin crawl even more.

It’s just an interview. Then we can leave.

Carly opens her mouth to say something else but is cut off by another woman. She doesn’t even have to speak, I can tell she’s the one in charge.