by KT Strange
"Hey!" I protested.
"Shut up, all of you," Eli rumbled from the front. The cop was walking toward us. Eli rolled down the window. "Officer?"
"You here on business?" The cop asked, motioning to the lot. It was cordoned off completely. Now that I could properly look, I saw Glory Rev's bus, and another, smaller sleek van similar to ours but a bit longer, the black paint glinting in the sunlight.
"We're the opening act," Eli said. The cop consulted his clipboard. "Phoenixcry," Eli added. The cop nodded.
"We're going to pull back the barrier, and then you can drive in," the officer said, stepping back away from our van and blowing his whistle, two short, sharp blasts. Eli rolled up the window.
"Oh shit, they're taking pictures," Ace said, hands still on the glass. I peered over his shoulder. There was a throng of people, mostly girls, sandwiched between two barricades, one to keep them from spilling into the street and the other to stop them from going into the lot. A bunch of phones was pointing in the direction of our little van. I felt very exposed, and I hunched down behind Ace's broad shoulders. Ace was lapping it up though, grinning wide and waving to the excited fans.
The boys were quiet as the barricade was pulled back for us, and Eli carefully drove us through the crowd barely held back by the cops.
"I'm not gonna argue against cops," Charlie piped up again.
"Really? We're fucking lucky the cops didn't catch our dust up at the last show," Cash replied. "We're fucking lucky that hunters want to avoid the police since getting caught murdering people isn't a part of their great plan." His words were cold and bitter, and I glanced at him with concern. Charlie glared at him for a moment.
"Don't be a salty old asshole," Charlie snapped. "Be grateful that there's humans all around us who are going to be watching to make sure we don't get our asses cut up, and so that Darcy stays safe."
You mean so that Darcy doesn't accidentally fry another hunter. I bit the words back. I'd had a nightmare the first night after the Thing, as I'd started to call it in my mind. I never wanted to do that to a person again, even if they were attacking us.
I knew I would though. I knew I would kill for the pack. That knowledge burned inside me, like a well of strength that I'd never known I had.
"Stop yapping. Let's get unloaded and—" Eli shut up quickly as a small crew, five well-muscled guys with black shirts on that all read the venue's name, Switzer Plaza, on the breast. The first guy waved to us. Eli opened the door.
"We'll get you unloaded, buddy. You just point and we're gonna haul in for you," the guy's voice was faint at the back of the van.
"Seriously," Finn said, his voice flat. I could tell he was surprised and didn't know what to think.
"Is this really happening?" Ace nudged me as he sat up.
"Looks like we went from eating scraps to head of the table, kids," Charlie murmured. "Whatever the fuck is happening, let's enjoy it while it lasts, alright?"
We tumbled out of the van, stretching after our morning drive. I shook out my curls, the smell of campfire smoke still thick in my hair and sticking to my clothes. The last few days had made me feel like a new person, and I felt my place with the boys was even more cemented than before.
"I'm Darcy," I said, pushing Eli out of the way to greet the crew member that had walked up to her van first. "Tour manager. Let me show you what needs to be brought in."
"That's our girl," I heard one of the guys say quietly as I walked around the back of the trailer, my head held high. There was something about ordering around a crew of men who could have broken my back by sitting on me, and by the time I was done with instructions, the band was waiting for me with my backpack slung over Ace's shoulders.
"Ready?" Ace asked. I looked around. The crowd that was edged around the parking lot, hoping for a glimpse of Glory Rev, Chelsea, and (maybe) us, had been making noise the entire time, but I'd sort of drowned it out with my orders to the stage crew.
"Let's do this," I breathed out. As we walked inside, I couldn't keep the smile from my face. We were going to be just fine. We were safe, cops and security were everywhere, and finally, the guys were being treated like a real band.
Twenty-Six
Darcy
A familiar scent greeted me when I stepped into the green room.
“Hey, it’s little Llewellyn.” Jake Tupper was sprawled across one of the black leather couches. Time sputtered to a stop as I stared at him. That was the scent. It was his cologne, familiar to the many times I’d found him hovering around me. Finn, right behind me, stopped in his tracks.
"What the hell are you doing here?" Finn demanded, his hand coming up to sit on my shoulder. Jake's eyes flickered from me, to Finn behind me, to the Finn's fingers on me. Jake's eyebrow raised, slowly. There was a soft low rumble, and I realized that Finn was growling.
My phone in my pocket buzzed, and I grabbed it out of instinct. Willa's number flashed on the screen. She'd sent me a text message.
Call me. Urgent information about tonight's show. New addition to the lineup. Must discuss.
"It'll be good to get the original tour lineup back together," Jake said lightly, as if he hadn't just crash landed in a place he had no right to be. My mind raced back to the parking lot outside, and the sleek black tour van. It had to have been Jake's tour van.
"I gotta make a call," I said, backing out around Finn, grabbing him by the wrist as I went. I didn't want him to do anything stupid. I yanked the door closed. Finn was glaring at it.
"What the fuck is he doing here?"
"Stop growling," I hissed at him and he gritted his teeth and glanced away. I dialed Willa's number.
"Hello?"
"Uh, so—"
"I wanted to tell you, but I was stuck in a meeting, and please tell the guys I am so sorry. If it was up to me..." WIlla sounded like she was caught between embarrassed and irate.
"Is this Troy's doing?" Finn asked, keeping his voice low. Willa still heard him, and she sighed in my ear.
"It's the up-stream label, Worldwide Records. They're financing a bunch of the smaller development acts, and they want Jake to finish this tour starting tonight. Apparently, he's friends with one of the A&R guys at Worldwide and pitched a fit. We don't have a choice. We don't do this and we lose funding for a bunch of acts we just signed." I could hear how upset Willa was. I took a deep breath and looked up at Finn. His brow furrowed and he nodded.
"I'll tell the guys. It's not a problem. We are going to make sure it's not a problem." He touched my cheek with his fingers for a moment. He was gone in the next heartbeat, the heavy soles of his boots thumping on the ground.
"Darcy?"
"Hey Willa. It's—we'll do whatever we need to do." I sighed. The guys were going to be pissed, but it was what it was. In life you don't always get to pick who you work with. It was just gross that someone like Jake Tupper kept throwing temper tantrums and getting what he wanted.
"I am so sorry. Please tell the guys how sorry I am. And stay away from that creep. If he does anything—"
"Are you going to be able to do anything if he does?" I cut her off. Willa was quiet. I bit my lip. "Don't worry about it then. Okay? I'm good. I'll text you after the show." She said her goodbyes to me and I hung up.
I texted Max.
People suck. Everyone sucks. Douchebag fedora-bros who are literally walking dick-pics suck.
She texted me back almost right away.
Okay that's true but oh my glob, did you see the guys’ Twitter? I'm totally social-stalking them right now.
Her response made me smile as I walked out toward the stage where the guys were setting up their gear for soundcheck.
You know, I bet if you paid for your flight, you could come out to a few shows, ride in the van with us. We kinda have an extra bed now. My heart squeezed, my body remembering how good it was to be sandwiched in between Ace and Finn. It felt perfect. It left a bunk open, and if Max really wanted to come and sorta escape everything for a weekend, she coul
d. Charlie had mentioned it once when he'd seen how homesick I was for my best friend.
Holy shit holy shit really? Holy shit.
I laughed out loud as I walked backstage. Black curtains hung everywhere, and I could feel the heat of the lights on my skin even from off in the wings.
"What's got you so cheerful, sweetheart?" Cash was sitting on a gear box, going through a pile of drumstick, testing their weights.
"Just Max being awesome," I said. "Did Finn talk to you?"
Cash made a face, which I took to mean yes, Finn had talked to him.
"You just stick real close, doll-face, and I'll keep you safe," he said with a playful smile. I rolled my eyes but grinned back at him.
"Oh yeah? You? You're gonna keep me safe?"
"Mmm, that would be a yes." He got to his feet, setting down a pair of drumsticks, and advanced toward me, heat burning up in his eyes. I swallowed hard as he towered over me, his dark brown hair tousled over his forehead as it swooped down across one cheek. He lifted his hand and raked it through the unruly locks. My mouth was dry and I forgot about Jake, caught in the intensity of Cash's presence. "I got a lot of apologizing to do," he said to me. "Figured maybe, I can start on my knees. Show you how real damn sorry I am."
My cheeks lit on fire and I took a step back. He let me go, without following, even if I saw his muscles tense under the short, ripped sleeves of his shirt like he wanted to grab me. I was struck with the sudden urge to climb him like a tree. Wrestling with that desire, I took a deep breath to steady myself.
“I’m good actually,” I said. “Apology accepted. Don’t worry about it.” I paused and watched him, his brow furrowing as my answer took him by surprise.
“What?” he asked.
Charlie breezed by and waved at Cash.
“Shut your mouth, you’ll catch flies,” Charlie said. “Darcy, you got a sec? The merch girls here have questions.” I winked at Cash and tilted my head.
“What, your line didn’t work on me, sorry. Try harder next time.” I held back my laughter as he stared after me and I followed Charlie.
“That was mean.” Charlie paused in the middle of the stage and chuckled. “I approve.” I elbowed him.
“Now who’s mean.”
“Not me! C’mon, time for merch stuff, manager-girl.”
I sat cross-legged on a gear-box behind stage, just right to the side of the curtains. Finn’s vocals were performing audible backflips. It was the last song, and the energy from the crowd was unreal. The boys were feeding off the energy from the crowd, the constant cheers, the screams, the flashing lights, and they were doubling down hard, each song thundering out of their instruments harder and heavier than the last. There’d been more than a few moments where I felt like I couldn’t breathe. I ran my fingers over the black-painted, matte wood under me and sighed. I lifted my phone up to take a quick snap, catching the edge of Charlie’s guitar, and the arch of Finn’s back as he turned away from the audience to wail into the high note of the bridge.
I shot it off to Max.
Look what you’re missing.
God his ass is nice, she texted back. I bit my lip. It was nice. He was wearing snug, bright red jeans that clung to him and made me want tug them down to his knees. An ancient hunger had woken up in me, and I’d gone from virgin-by-accident to sexed-up-music-vixen in a few short weeks.
I got a ticket out of my dad. Thanks PlanePoints! You cool if I come next week? I read her message several times, trying to think the best day for her to come. Right before the show I’d asked the boys, and Finn had swept me up in a huge hug, Ace following him after Finn set me down.
“Sure sweetheart, can’t wait to meet your best friend,” Charlie had said.
Lemme check dates and I’ll get back to you. I texted Max and tucked my phone away as the boys ended with a trash-can ending, the drums and cymbals going crazy under Cash’s pounding. The lights flashed up and then the stage went dark. I swallowed hard and got to my feet, slipping off the gear box.
Applause erupted and nearly deafened me. Frozen, I took a sharp breath and snuck right up to the curtain as the house lights came up as they always did between acts. Finn was leaning down at the middle of the stage, exchanging fist-pounds and high-fives with the crowd, nearly getting dragged down as a girl wrapped her arms around his leg.
Hunter, my brain screamed. Hunter!
Charlie turned, Ace too, but they were both weighed down with instruments. Footsteps pounded behind me and I jerked aside as security raced by me. I nearly stepped out onto stage, when I saw another black-shirted security guard emerge from the other side of the stage. They physically got their arms around Finn’s waist and hauled him back from the crowd.
Finn was laughing, shaking his head, and Charlie squinted into the lights, eyes tracking the girl who’d grabbed Finn.
The tension running out of Charlie’s shoulders made me relax and I stumbled backward. Security dusted Finn off and he waved once to the crowd then jogged off stage, closely followed by the rest of the guys.
Crew members swarmed the stage, unhooking instruments and turning off the amps.
Finn was sweaty, but I didn’t care. I barreled right into him, my arms wrapping tight around his chest.
“Holy shit,” I said. “That was crazy. I thought she was a—"
“I’m good,” he whispered into my hair and tlifted me up straight into the air. I laughed, surrounded by the pack, my heart giddy with relief that it had just been a fan and not someone who, y’know, wanted to murder my werewolf. Finn smiled up at me, thousand-watt grin. “We’re fucking unstoppable,” he said, and pulled me down for a kiss. I slid down his body, arms locking around his neck, my toes barely touching the ground as I kissed him hard and deep. Ace’s hand snuck up my back, caressing the back of my neck, and then I felt Charlie step in too, his scent invading my senses.
A slow clap cut through the moment and I jerked away from Finn, spinning on my Converse AllStars.
“Good show, boys,” Jake drawled, leaning against the gearbox I’d been sitting on, just a few minutes before. He looked at Finn hard, not glancing at me at all. Finn wrapped his arm around my shoulders, silently marking his claim, showing Jake he wasn’t afraid that Jake knew we were a thing. I wondered if Jake had seen us though, our weird group hug, just before we’d pulled apart. From the expression on his face, part confusion, part contorted fury, I decided I didn’t want to know.
“Have a good set,” I said airily, tugging on Finn’s hand. “C’mon guys, let’s go celebrate.”
“Have fun… celebrating,” Jake’s voice carried after me as we walked by. I swallowed down my nerves when we emerged into the back halls of the venue from the wings of the stage.
“Shit—" I started but Finn pressed a kiss to my open mouth. I made a noise and went to push him away gently.
“It’s fine,” he said, “Not now. It’s good. We’re good.” He looked between the other four guys, varying widths of grins on their faces. “Did we fucking crush it?”
“Good job, brother.” Eli slapped Finn on the shoulder. “Lit them on fire.”
“Let’s go sign autographs, say hi, kiss babies, shake faces, whatever,” Charlie added. I clung tight to Finn, a shivery excitement building inside of me. I knew then I was witnessing something amazing begin to happen. The guys were humming with energy.
Jake Tupper? Hunters? My family?
Fuck them all. We could take them on. We were damn well invincible.
Twenty-Seven
Finn
Three shows in with Jake Tupper and I was about ready to murder him. He was stalking Darcy. There was no other word for it. Charlie and me had called Willa, bitching about him, but it was more to let off steam or anything. Her hands were tied, and we weren’t about to fuck over a bunch of artists who had just been signed. That wasn’t our way. We’d deal with Jake Tupper, even if it meant keeping Darcy away from his presence.
The guys in Glory Rev helped keep Jake busy, and so did Chelsea. C
helsea was a fucking godsend, and I was grateful that Darcy had another girl around to do girl stuff with or whatever. Not that if my girl asked me to do a face-mask I wouldn’t. I would. I would totally get down and smear activated charcoal or oatmeal-avocado mash all over my face if Darcy had really wanted me to.
It just looked uncomfortable, that was all. Food was supposed to go into my stomach, not onto my face. So, I was grateful to Chelsea that she and Darcy had some time together. They even went to get manicures done one afternoon before our show. Things were relaxing for all of us since there was security around at every show. Darcy was convinced it was because our star was rising, but I knew it was more for Chelsea, since her fans were crazy with a capital ‘c’.
“Hey, Gunner.” Jake had invaded the green room thirty minutes prior to doors. We’d already sound checked, a full hour just for us, and I’d gone back to the green room to grab some tea and honey for my throat while the band and Darcy talked to the merch crew. Chelsea was with Dean and the rest of her guys on the bus, or she would have been there to deflect the asshole. Something about Chelsea set Jake on edge, and he was constantly sort of bowing and scraping to her, like he didn’t want to piss her off. Maybe it was the fact she was unicorn, not that he knew that, or maybe it was just the fact she was a huge recording artist and could have tanked his career with a single tweet if she wanted to.
Too bad she was ethical and didn’t start drama. The nasty side of me, the wolf side of me, wanted her to tank him. Hell, it wanted me to tank him, with my fangs in his throat for looking at Darcy like he was undressing her with his eyes.
“I said hey,” Jake sat up on the couch he was sprawled on, glaring at me. I glared back.
“Hey,” I grunted. Jake raised an eyebrow.
“Figured you be more fucking grateful to me.”
“Oh really? You figured wrong.” I stood up and tossed my empty cup in the trash.
“You know you wouldn’t be anywhere if it weren’t for me.”