Sound of Heartache ("Sound of" Book 2) by Chelsea Roy

hard.
    “ How about you fuckin’ apologize to her before I lay you flat?” His raspy voice boomed next to her ear. Drunk guy’s friend did a double-take before taking an aggressive step forward.
    “ Man, fuck you!” he yelled back. Aimee felt Jack’s sigh. It wasn’t even ten seconds later before all three of drunk guy’s friends were laid flat by Jack, Jacob, Brent, and Eric. The four of them looked absurdly pleased as they stood over the wreckage. Two bouncers pushed through the crowd and Aimee was irritated they had taken so long to show up to provide assistance. Despite the fact that the drunk guys had initiated the fight, they were all asked, not so politely, to leave.
    As they all filed out of the restaurant, Aimee surveyed the carnage. A few chairs were knocked over but thankfully not broken. Two of the five assholes were sporting black eyes and split lips. They all looked a lot worse for wear and Aimee couldn’t stop a wry grin from twisting her lips. It served them right for being such terrible people.
    “ You guys sure did cause a lot of destruction,” she said to the four unrepentant men, and they all laughed at her.

CHAPTER TWELVE
     
    Brent waited impatiently at the San Diego airport baggage claim area. He’d gotten there ridiculously early idiotically hoping that Aimee’s plane would be early. His heart was beating rapidly at the thought of seeing her again after five long weeks without her. He hadn’t told her how he felt before she left, instead choosing to wait until after the holidays. He was crazy about her and after listening to her sweet voice almost daily but not being able to touch her, he was dying to get her home and back into his arms. He deeply regretted not letting her in to his thoughts before she left for her parent’s house.
    Aimee’s dark head finally came through the entrance to the baggage claim and Brent watched as she scanned through the crowd looking for him. Once her eyes came around his way, he lifted up his arm in a wave and she spotted him immediately. She smiled halfheartedly at him. The smile caused Brent’s stomach to light up with nerves. Aimee’s smile was always wide and natural and the one she was wearing was a weak parody of her real one. He wondered suddenly if maybe she had met someone while she was home.
    His nerves took a sharp dive as he began walking toward her. Brent had to force his own smile to remain in place while replaying the last five weeks in his head. He hadn’t noticed anything off in their conversations, but it had been a few days since they’d spoken. The last time they spoke, Aimee was getting ready to go on an impromptu hiking trip with her parents. It had been an overnighter and by the time she returned, Brent was busy rehearsing with his new band.
    “ Hey,” she said softly when she reached him. She leaned forward and pressed her lips to his. Her lips were unusually dry and he felt her tremble. Brent pulled her tightly into his arms and deepened the kiss. He was frantic to stake his claim, to reestablish their connection.
    “ Hey, baby,” he said, letting her up for air. He gently propelled her forward toward the conveyor so they could collect her bags. They were just beginning to come down the chute and Brent wanted to grab them on the first rotation. Whatever was going on needed to be fixed and the airport wasn’t the place to have any kind of serious conversation. He watched Aimee’s face carefully and was not reassured by her wan expression. He struggled to define how Aimee looked and if he didn’t know her better, he’d say she looked utterly defeated.
    “ Do you mind if I sit down over there?” She waved her arm in the general direction of a bank of benches. He could see beads of sweat forming along her brow and realized Aimee was sick. He felt a whoosh of relief pulse through his body. He squeezed her gently, running his hand along the back of her head.
    “ Go. Sit. I’ve got this. Black and white polk dots,