The Ghost and The Hacker (Dark Fire Book 3) by Ivy M. Jones Page A

mouth.
    Andy's confused, obviously.  But not for long.  The baby outfit is cute and all of us guys start looking around to make sure we're not alone in our cooing.  Justin breaks out the ring and Andy dissolves into tears.  This time, we all look away.
    There are cheers and happy smiles as Andy agrees to marry Justin in less than a week.
    I have to go sit down.
    I open a bottle of something a hell of a lot stronger than root beer and start in, hoping it will make me feel better.  One of my best friends is going to get married to a woman he's crazy in love with and I can't get over how I hate him just a little for it.
    I don't want to, but a part of me hates Justin's happiness.
    I don't want to, but a part of me hates how I can still feel such anger at my father- a man who's been dead for years.  I hate the man so much...  He took all this away from me .  If it weren't for him, Sarah and I might have been standing together tonight, celebrating our own wedding date being set.
    I don't want to, but I hate how everyone around me is so happy.  I hate how, if I could go back and change what happened that night, it would mean giving up Dark Fire- if I hadn't come to New York to disappear, I never would have ended up in the band; I could have one or the other, but not both.  Dark Fire or Sarah.
    Maybe Random might have blown up for us, but I doubt it.  None of us had enough talent individually to make magic together.  Years of busking and practicing got me to the level I was at when I met Cy.
    I smile at people and interact when required, but I'm feeling worse and worse until I hear Andy loudly say, "This is such a great night!  Everyone's so happy...  I thought it was time to let you guys be happy, too.  No use hiding it anymore, right?"
    I watch Justin grip Griffin's arm and then take a swing.  They're on the floor in seconds, but I can see Griffin - who I know could take Justin down in a heartbeat - isn't doing anything besides defending himself.  Dude will have bruises up and down his arms and a few on his face... 
    Oops.  I guess he'll also need to get his lip re-pierced at some point, but he's not doing everything to stop Justin-
    Oh, shit.
    Pregnant Andy throws herself into the fray and the air in my lungs evaporates.
    "Justin!  Stop!  It was a mistake!  Please, let him go!" She tries to pull Justin away, but there's a zig when someone should have zagged, and the next thing I know, Justin takes one to the chin and goes lax over Griffin on the floor.
    "Shit!  I didn't mean to knock him out.  I was just trying to stop him.  I- I..."
    Andy sobs through some sort of explanation only to run away and a minute later, we all hear a car take off.
    At Nicki's request, Cy and I carry Justin back to one of the four spare rooms and pull off his shoes, leaving him in bed and covered.  He's knocked out, but it was a chin hit, so I'm not too concerned.  He's breathing fine.  Later, I learn we probably should have taken him to the ER to check for a concussion anyway, but really, between the party alcohol and the late hour, no one is thinking clearly.
    I make my way to my room, the master suite, which I actually hate.  If I ever end up spending more time here, I'm having the place redone.  I hate the decor, but it came free with the house so I didn't care at the time, too grateful have a permanent guaranteed home forever.  I have money I'm not using, however, and if this is my fallback home, I should probably make it somewhere homey .
    If you asked the guys, the first thing they'd guess was that I'd fill in the pool because I hate looking at it.  I would never do that, though.  First, this place is as much for the rest of the band as it is for me, and they like the pool.  Second, it's not that I hate the pool; it just reminds me of the lake.  With Sarah.  Looking out over the cool water, all I can think of are those times when we parked in the dirt lot at the lake's edge in the evening, looking out over the