‘You’re lying!’
‘I don’t lie, Nate. I’m sure when you playback the secret recording of what you hoped would be my rape at your hands, you’ll see how you walked right into my trap. I wonder what your fans would think if they saw it. Shall we find out? ‘Cause I’m pretty sure once they see you for who you really are, your career will be over in the blink of an eye. You’ll spend years behind bars, and no one will miss you because you’re nothing but rapist scum!’
‘You wouldn’t dare!’
‘Try me, Nate. You have too much to lose to test the theory. This time, you picked the wrong girl to fuck with. I promise you that if you come near me again, or say one bad word against Dun’s Dungeon or any member of the band, I’ll leak the video. Then, I’ll stand back and watch you lose everything you ever worked for. Once I leave this bus, I’ll go back to my own where I’ll edit the recording to put you in an even worse light. Don’t worry, I’ll send you a copy as proof. Don’t bother thinking you’ll ever find the original because you won’t. Fifty copies are being made as we speak,’ Ember leans down. ‘I could end both your career and your life as you know it unless you stay away from us. Do you understand?’ Rigby nods his head. ‘Say, I understand, Ember.’
‘I understand, Ember.’
‘Good, boy,’
The screen goes blank, and I look at Tank.
“You told her to do that?”
I nod my head slightly. “Ember called me the other day and said she was playing a game with some of the others. She gave me some story she needed answers to, so I gave them to her.” I shrug.
“I want him dead by any means possible.”
“He’s famous, Tank. We can’t just go over there and kill him!”
Hammer is right. However, I have ways to get what I want. Nate Rigby will pay for what he did to Ember, and he won’t even see it coming.
Chapter Twenty-One
Marco
“You have to be kidding me,” Colin shakes his head while Bob and Saint stare at me. Ember and I sat everyone down together to let them know about our relationship. Neither of us expected them to be happy about it, but I didn’t expect Colin to look as if he wants to kill me where I sit.
“After everything, you were told!” I roll my eyes at Matt.
“There’s no use yelling about what’s already happened. We just have to put it behind us and move on.”
“Bob,” I take a deep breath. “This wasn’t one night, and I’m done,” I look at Ember and smile. She returns that smile and takes my hand in her own. “What Ember and I have is special. I don’t know what she did to me, but I don’t want to let her go.”
“Well, you’ll have to let her go because this is not happening!” I raise both my eyebrows at Matt. I don’t know who the hell he thinks he is all of a sudden, but I won’t have him tell me what to do when it comes to Ember. “I told you all this would happen if you brought her in,” He points at Ember. “I told you she’d talk Marco into bed!”
“Shut up!” I yell at him while getting out of my seat. “Ember did not talk me into bed. Say that shit again, and I’ll break your fuckin’ neck!” Ember gets out of her seat and wraps her hand around my arm. I look at her for a moment, and she shakes her head. I can see the hurt in her eyes at the reaction of our friends, and that guts me.
“You think your fans will see it that way?”
“Oh, shut up, Matt!” Caren jumps out of her seat and snaps at Matt. He looks at her with wide eyes. “The damn fans already think Marco and Ember are a couple. They like that fact and even support them. You know full well Marco and Ember are photographed together a lot. You also know what people write on social media about the two of them being a beautiful couple, and they didn’t know for sure they were one then. When they have proof, they’ll give nothing but love and support for Marco and Ember.”
“What happens when you’re done fuckin’ around with her?” I look at Saint and grit my teeth. I can’t stand that my friends think so poorly of me. “Where the fuck will that leave the band then? We all love Ember, she fits well with us, and her damn lyrics will have us at the top of the charts. But this can’t happen, Marco. When things between the two of you don’t work out, it will ruin the band.”
I run my hand through my hair. I’m frustrated, but I know where Saint is coming from at the same time. “I know what you’re saying, but it won’t happen. Ember is different, man. I don’t want her for one night. Ember is special, so fuckin’ special, and she’s got me right here.” I thump my heart through my chest.
All eyes are on me as I wrap my arm around Ember’s shoulder, bringing her closer. Colin folds his arms around his chest, Saint scratches his jaw with his thumbnail, and Bob’s looking at me while shaking his head. Matt is gritting his teeth, Hannah is saying nothing, and Caren is smiling to herself while writing something down.
“We ain’t getting dragged into it when it goes south, Marco.” Colin tells me.
“Nothin’ is going south, Colin. I’m not playing games here,” I look at Ember and wink. I then look back at the others. “This is real, and we’re gonna make it work.”
He rolls his eyes at me. “How do any of us know that, Marco? How do we know this ain’t all just words?”
“Because you fuckin’ know me! Jesus Christ, you know me, Colin. Do you really think I’d be standing here if all I wanted was a night with Ember here and there?”
“What else am I supposed to think, Marco?” I don’t answer Colin, and he looks at Ember for a moment before looking at me again. “Ember is a good girl, don’t mess with her heart, it’s been broken enough!”
“I think I can speak for myself, thank you very much.”
“Ember, we’re not trying to hurt you, but you have to know how this looks to everyone. What will happen to us as a band when you and Marco break up?” When not if. Motherfucker!
“You know, I think it’s tragic that you all think so little of your friend. Marco may have been the man who slept around, once upon a time, but I know he hasn’t been that man for months, not since I joined the band. It doesn’t matter if you believe that or not, because I know the truth. I also know what you all told us. We tried so hard not to feel anything for each other. I swear that we did.”
“And if things don’t work out with you guys?”
I open my mouth to answer Bob, but Ember beats me to it. “If it doesn’t work out between Marco and me, if things become difficult for everyone, I will leave the band.” Each one of us opens our mouths, but she holds her hand up. “I won’t argue about it, I was the last in, I’ll be the first out. But I want you all to know that this relationship is very real for me, and I know it is for Marco too. Whatever you believe about Marco, please believe that what we have is special. I wouldn’t be with him if I didn’t think this could last. You know me, Colin.”
“I do. I do. You’re a good girl, heart of gold. But I want to know you’re sure of what you’re getting into with this one.” He points to me.
I can feel myself about to blow up at this asshole. Colin can’t seem to allow himself to believe that I’m not the man I once was. I’m pissed because he knows how much I’ve changed, yet he won’t acknowledge it. Ember’s fingers squeeze my hand, calming me. She doesn’t want me blowing up because it won’t get us anywhere.
“Shit,” Bob laughs. “She’s proper bewitched him. There’s no way in the past he would have just stood there, taking all of this. He would have punched you out by now, Colin.”
“Ember’s good for me,” I shrug. She has bewitched me, so much so that I’m lost to her. She squeezes my hand again and smiles at me shyly. I wink at her, my beautiful angel. Ember has no idea how she’s saved, my soul.
Colin sighs while Hannah rubs his back with one hand and takes his face in the other. “Baby, I know what you’re thinking and why. But don’t you understand that Marco and Ember are serious about each other? If they weren’t, if it was just one night, don’t you think Marco would have walked away? There’s
no way he’d be standing in front of us, holding Ember’s hand if all he wanted was to sleep with her. Deep down, you know that, Colin. It’s it possible that they may be falling in love?”
Colin tucks Hannah’s hair behind her ear. “You can’t help who you fall in love with.” He smiles and kisses his wife. He looks at me. “Just make sure this is really real. Don’t go into this with any doubt because it’s the rest of us who will suffer.”
Colin and I hug it out, and the others follow suit. They even hug Ember, and she’s laughing excitedly. It feels good to get my new relationship out there. It means that I can kiss my girl in front of everyone, so I do. Ember smiles against my mouth and kisses me back.
“I can’t believe you’re all letting this happen!” Matt screeches, Ember sighs, and I grit my teeth.
“Shut the fuck up, Matt. No one cares what you think.” I’m starting to like Caren more and more as the second’s tick by. “Enough about Marco and Ember’s relationship for now, we have a music video to get ready for,”
* * *
One damn day to shoot a video. Whose idea was this?
We’ve been filming the same scenes over and over again for hours. Ember has just come to the part where she finds her fake boyfriend in bed with her fake best friend. The whole thing is a little too close to home. However, this is how Colin wanted the video to go, so that’s the route we took.
The only trouble is, I can see how much it’s getting to Ember. I never wanted any of this to cause her pain, and I hate that it’s bringing back old memories. Once today is over and done with, I’ll make sure Ember knows just how important to me, she is. I want her to know that nothing in this world means more to me that she does.
The music video starts with Ember at the breakfast table with a man posing as her boyfriend. The guy is just some model with super good looks, hired to play the part, he’s dressed in a suit for work, kisses Ember’s head, then leaves. Secretly, he’s meeting with another woman and sleeping with her, a woman whom you find out thirty seconds in is Ember’s best friend.
It becomes apparent because flashback scenes will picture Ember and the other woman’s friendship before the cheating. Ember finds them in bed together, she screams and throws things, which will be shown in slow motion. The fake boyfriend reaches for Ember, but she rushes from the house in tears.
We see Ember walking through the streets barefoot in her gray flowing dress, tears streaming down her face. At this point, the camera will flip to a clip of the band playing while I’m singing my verse. Ember belts out the chorus as the camera flicks back to her scene. Rain begins to pour, and Ember steps out into the road where a car plows into her, knocking her down and out.
This is the point where you see a faceless man, through Ember’s fuzzy vision, get out of the car and lift her into his arms. Ember is then taken to a cabin in the words where faceless guy tends to her wounds.
When Ember finally wakes to see the face of the man leaning over her, as she lays in his bed, she smiles. The man stroking Ember’s face is me. At that moment, a montage of scenes moving in fast succession, scenes of Ember and my friendship, will flash on screen. The viewer will also see that my character has loved Ember’s all along. I wanted to add that part into the video because I wanted the story to end how things did for Ember and me, with us together. It’s technically down to the viewer to make up the ending in their own minds. Does Ember stay and become mine? Or does she go home to her cheating boyfriend?
It’s my scene next, and I do my job and climb out of the Audi I’m pretending just ran down the woman I love. The makeup girl has done an excellent job in making Ember look a little bloodied up from the accident. I crouch down and touch her cheek. Ember squints as though she were trying to figure out if I’m real or not. She not bad at the acting lark.
“That look is perfect!” Ember winks at me from her position in the road when the director yells that we’re doing great.
There’s a lot of movement as makeup artists rush over to touch up our makeup. Then Ember and I are told to get back into position, and we pick up right where we left off. I lift Ember gently into my arms and lay her down in the back of the car. This is where we’re told to repeat the process six or seven times.
We’re given a fifteen-minute break while we move to the next location, a cabin a mile away. Here’s where Ember and I film our last scene together. When the director finally calls, ‘That’s a rap!’ I’m exhausted.
I wrap my arm around Ember’s waist, and she laughs while sliding her arms around my neck. “Thank you for suggesting we add the last part. I know this is your song, but my whole family is going to work out from the video what happened with Toby and Lydia.”
“I know you’re scared of what they’ll say,” I tuck her hair behind her ear. “But just remember that you did nothing wrong, Ember.”
She nods. “I’m just glad they’ll be able to see that you saved me.”
I kiss her just because I can. “The music video is going to be amazing, and you’re the star of it, baby.”
Ember clutches the back of my neck with a smile on her face. She brings my head down enough for her lips to hit mine. I bring her closer to my body, and she moans softly. She pulls out of the kiss and presses her forehead to mine. “You make me feel so good about myself, Marco. I don’t know what I ever did to deserve you.”
“I was thinking the same thing about you,”
“Eww, put him down!” I stare at Colin with a raised eyebrow, though I don’t let go of Ember. “Caren reckons the video will be ready by the end of the week. She’s arranging a small gathering so we can watch the premiere together.”
“Sounds good,” I tell him. Ember lays her head on my shoulder while tightening her arms around my waist.
“You two did good today; you should be proud of yourselves.”
“Thanks, man,” I shake his outstretched hand. Colin nods and walks away, finding his wife just behind him.
“I’m so tired, Marco.” I’m not surprised, eighteen hours we’ve been shooting this video. We’ve been awake for over twenty-four, but luckily, we have tomorrow off. Sleep is calling, and I intend to take full advantage of it.
“Let’s get you out of this costume and back to the hotel. A shower and sleep are long overdue.”
“Will you stay with me tonight? I want you to hold me while I sleep.”
I smile and kiss her head. “For as long as you want me to.”
Chapter Twenty-Two
Ember
I never thought I’d like this as much as I do. Screaming fans are calling my name as I sing my heart out on stage, Marco by my side, both of us singing mine and his lyrics. I always knew this would be amazing, but it is so much more.
God, the buzz is something else!
The album is about to drop. We’re also a couple of days away from seeing our music video for the first time. I’m so excited to see what the finished product looks like, and I know the others are too.
Marco and I did a radio interview yesterday, letting people know that the rumors are true, he and I are a couple. Caren set it up because she believed it would be good to get it out, so the fans know once and for all. Matt was not pleased, but Colin and the others wanted us to go ahead with it, so we did.
The guy interviewing us, Benny Casto, asked all sorts of private questions. Most we skipped because where I come from and my family is no one’s business. Marco didn’t answer questions about his family either. Everyone knows Marco, me, and the rest of the band are from Tennessee, that’s all they need to know. So, Benny changed tact and asked about the tour, the album, the music video. We plugged the album to death, and Caren couldn’t have been happier.
I’m sure it’s annoying the other guys that everyone wants to talk to Marco and me, however. I’ve mentioned to Colin, Bob, and Saint that they should be doing interviews also. Colin told me that they do answer questions asked, but they knew they’d never be front and center even before I joined Dun’s Dungeon. I’m not sure I feel
comfortable with that, but Caren told me that I need to get used to it instead of questioning things so much. So, that’s why I’m trying to do.
Tonight, the show is sold out, and the arena is packed to the rafters. Our names were screamed, individually even before we took to the stage. Caren said that she’d never heard so much hysteria for a little known band in her life. I found that hard to believe; after all, she’s been doing her job a long time. But it didn’t matter to us, the guys and I reveled in the overwhelming feeling of love coming from our fans.
My heart is pounding with joy today. I love what I’m doing, and I am so honored to be on this ride with these men, my friends. I can’t believe that I’m here with the man I’ve fast fallen in love with, a man who appreciates me and loves me just the way I am.
The bass is pounding right through me as I bounce around the stage in my chain covered black pants and mesh shirt, with my purple bra showing. My long hair is tied in a high ponytail, and I am so thankful for waterproof makeup because I’m swearing buckets!
I love seeing Marco like this, he’s in his element. He looks so hot tonight. Hell, he looks hot every night. Marco is wearing low riding tight jeans and an old band T-shirt, Pink Floyd. His long, wavy hair is falling all over the place, sweat dripping from the ends. We’re all sweaty thanks to the colossal stage lights, not to mention the body heat radiating off of everyone in this vast room. The fans are loving it, and singing along with Marco, and I have never been more proud of anyone in my life the way I am of him right now.
As Marco sings the last verse of Fallen Cambridge, while I play the violin to accompany the guitars and drums through the final chorus, my eyes are on the man I love. Nothing is sexier to me than seeing Marco like this.
“Now, ladies and gentlemen!” I make my way back to my mic and grab Marco’s outstretched hand. It’s my turn to sing a solo. I’m always nervous when it’s my turn. “It’s time for my beautiful girlfriend to sing her heart out. Who wants to hear Roman Angel?!”
Ember: Next Gen (Snakes Henchmen MC Book 12) Page 17