Protective Secrets (The Protective Series, Book 3)

Chapter Twenty-Five

[Jarmo's P.O.V]

The deep sound of Jed's bass guitar reverberated through the hotel room, the flawless progression from A to G, to A minor touching the depths of my soul. I felt like I was back in the year two-thousand and thirteen, watching in complete awe as Jed had skilfully strummed the thick strings of his bass like it was what he'd been born to do; the way his long, slim fingers curved over the strings, moving with precision which normally took a number of years to master, seeming so natural to him.

I distantly remembered the steady one-two-three-four rhythm alternating between deeper and lighter sounds, but couldn't quite place my finger on its original source. It sounded like it came from the 80s, either performed by ABBA or The Beatles.

"I've always loved the way you make your bass sing," I commented idly, not realising the fact my thoughts had been spoken aloud until Jed looked up from what he was doing. "It's such a rare ability. I've only ever seen one other person do that, and unfortunately, him and I are no longer friends."

For the most part, it was true - Matti and I cut all contact from each other after Daniel kicked me out of the band. Sometimes when I felt lonely and dispirited, I searched his name into Facebook to see what he was up to. As far as I could guess, he met a girl and later married her after he left Naildown in two-thousand and twelve, alongside Asko. Like every proud parent out there, his photos mainly consisted of his baby daughter with captions about how unconditional his love for her was.

I never saw the appeal in passing yourself off to a total stranger, entrusting them with the most important part of your body. Eighty percent of the time, they ended up leaving anyway. Still, for some unknown reason, people continued to seek out love, hoping that maybe they wouldn't die alone after all the pain and chaos life shredded them through.

Just as I loathed the idea of seeing my parents, explaining to them why I still refused to be in a relationship with anyone would be as excruciating and time-consuming as sticking splinters underneath my fingernails. They never understood the reason for my stance on the ludicrous concept of love, nor did they care. How could they, when they weren't the ones trembling in fear behind a dumpster while their best friend's father belted the sides in with a metal baseball bat, hoping it would crack straight through your head.

And on top of those painful memories came the most agonising of all: loving and devoting all my time to someone who never once returned my feelings, only to wind up hurt at the hands of my first crush later down the track.

Asko was the prime reason why I never bothered getting involved with anyone else, nor would I ever for the rest of my days.

"I've been thinking about your proposal," Jed bit the inside of his upper lip deliberatively, staring at the wall. I knew how hard this whole situation must have been for him, choosing between who he should be and who he really wanted to be. Part of me felt like the world's worst friend for putting him on the spot like I had, but Jed was too modest to call me out on it. "If I do decide to rejoin the group, can you promise you'll fire Mark? It's not that I don't like him," he chuckled softly to himself. "He's a cool guy, I'll give him that much. I just don't approve of the way he abandoned you all in the heat of battle like that. Anyone who can't push their fears aside and lay their lives on the line to save other people should not be a part of Protective Services. You know it as well as I do, Jarmo."

It felt like my heart was about to burst straight through my chest as Jed's words slowly sunk in, the endorphins coursing through my veins giving me a feeling of lightness. I wanted to throw my hands up in the air and scream, pulling Jed into a hug so tight his face would be squished against my chest. Never in my wildest dreams did I picture him agreeing to rejoin the band. The thought had crossed my mind only once, brusquely dismissed as just a stupid pipe dream.