But there was this dark cloud hanging over us. Discovering that note last week, wrecked our enthusiasm. Hunter said, “Let it go. This might just be an isolated incident.” Privately, I prayed he was right. But I knew in my heart he was very, very wrong. I felt those prickles on my arms when I went outside. Someone was watching my every move.
My parents were doing well. I called them this morning and Mama said, “Yes, honey, we really like Steve.” He was the caregiver Hunter had hired, and the relief I felt was enormous. “Daddy looks good. He’s so much happier being back home.” It comforted me that things were going well with them.
“Mama, I love you so much. I just want you to feel better.” I decided not to tell them about that fucking note. Why give them more to worry about?
“Honey, I want you to stay focused on your shows. Tell me about Gaby. Tell me how Tenny is doing with him?” I heard the angst in her voice. She missed him terribly and even though she met Tenny before we left, she needed me to confirm things were working out.
“He’s good, Mama. He sleeps with me at night. Tenny and I take turns playing with him during the day. She’s so sweet with him, please don’t worry.” He hadn’t ruined anything. In fact, the truth was, he’d made the tour even more memorable.
I giggled, remembering something. “Mama, he said ‘Ca Ca’ last night!” Yeah, he did, I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. He grabbed my finger and shoved it in his mouth, but I heard it distinctly. “CaCa” and it made me laugh so hard. I loved this little guy! And though the circumstances by which he got here were fucked up, we were closer now and I appreciated that. I heard my mother gasp, and I knew she wished she was holding him.
“Baby! That's amazing. I just wish I could see him.” I could hear my mom crying softly.
“Let’s FaceTime!” I taught her some things on Facebook too, [ES30]I mean, she was going to be cooped up for a long time, and I thought she could use some ‘friends.’
I clicked ‘video’ and my mother’s beautiful face came into view. Her blond hair was pulled back in a ponytail, and she wore a weary smile. She looked exhausted. The healing process was wearing on her out and it really concerned me. “Here he is.” I held the phone to show her the sleeping form of my baby brother. He snuggled up against me on the bed, and I heard my mother’s crying turn into a tearful jag. “Stop, Mama. This is supposed to make you feel better, not worse,” I teased.
“I know, but it makes me miss him so much more.” Mama raised a brow, and I started laughing, doing my best to stay cheerful. We both laughed and cried at the same time.
“Yeah, I understand. He’ll be back with you in no time. I’ve got to go now. We can do this some more later when he’s awake, okay? I love you, Mom.” I pulled the phone back up to my face, and my mother gave me a weak smile.
“Sure, later. I want to see him awake. I want to see Tenny with him. Would you show me? I think it would calm me down if I just saw how he behaved with her on our next call. Okay, baby, love you too.” I clicked off.
It was difficult to see my mother struggling like this. She hadn’t taken one step either, and that broke my ever lovin heart. Was she ever going to walk again?
Hunter came into the room. He looked so ruggedly handsome in his low-slung jeans and t-shirt. He was wearing one of those V-neck t’s, that showed off just enough skin to make my mind wander down a lust-filled alley. When he bent over to kiss me, the shirt moved up just enough to showcase that V he had going on. Oh lord, this man was the hottest, most handsome man I had ever known. And he was all mine!
“Babe, we’re going to stop for breakfast. The hotel coffee is starting to wreck my stomach.” He grabbed his belly, not that there was much to hold onto but his washboard abs. He was all muscle. “I told Lip to stop at the next town. Cool with you?” He pulled me off the bed and wrapped his arms around my waist. I lost myself for a few glorious minutes, just relaxing in his arms. I melted into him. He seemed nervous this morning. I wondered if it was the note that had him on edge or if this was tour related.
“What’s up with you, Hunter? You've been antsy all morning. Tell me.” I urged him to share whatever the hell was going on. I had never seen him so edgy; he’d been pacing and chewing on his nails. I’d never seen him do that before. What the hell was wrong with him?
“Nothing it’s...nothing.” Yeah, I wasn’t buying it. He was starting to worry me big time.
“Come on, we vowed to always be honest with each other, right? You can’t go hiding things from me. Is this about the note or something else? Did something happen? Did we get a cancellation or something?” I demanded answers, though I doubted the reasons for his squirrelly behavior could be any of these. He wouldn’t have a problem sharing business issues that might arise. My heart started to do this dadum dadum thing. I started to feel really scared, again.
What if...fuck! I promised I wouldn’t go there. But the way he was acting, I thought he was being hell of secretive. And that worried the fuck out of me. What could it be?
“Nothing, babe. Nothing at all. I guess I’m just tired. Everything that’s happened, right? I need to get more sleep.” He wrapped his arms around me again and gave me small kisses on my lips, my eyes, my cheeks. “That’s all this is. I need more rest.”
I wished I could believe him, but fuck, I really didn’t. I knew he was hiding something big. This wasn’t the deal we made, but how could I get him to open up? Damn it. There was no relationship manual for shit like this. No one told, you how to behave in a sticky situation. I didn’t want him to think I was accusing him of anything, but on the other hand, he definitely acted reticent. He was hiding something that was for damn sure. I decided to dop the subject for now. I’d deal with it later.
“Sure breakfast. Sounds good. How long until we get to the next stop?” I changed the subject because I had to, I just needed to think of something besides that goddamed note. It really had wrecked me. Maybe one of my ‘fans’ had gotten a little over exuberant about me and the Doves. Fuck me. I wondered if they were following us. I was going to keep my eyes wide open from now on. I was gonna keep tabs on the fans that lingered after a show. Most of them were so sweet. Obviously one of them was a creepy, creeper stalker that might do something violent against me. Was a fan trying to warn me of impending doom?
Oh fuck!
Hunter hugged me one last time and left the room taking his smexy self away from me. I watched his sexy ass sway as he walked to the front of the bus to talk to LIp. “I’m gonna go check on everyone babe,” he said and kissed my cheek. “The next town is about ten minutes out.”
Once he was gone, I got off the bed and pulled out my keepsake box. I wanted to sift through all that fan mail. Maybe I’d find a clue in there? It was definitely worth a shot. I needed to keep everyone safe, not just me. Maybe I'd get lucky and find something that would help solve this mystery. There was more mail sitting on the table, too. I took the box and the pile of mail and sat down in the middle of the bed next to Gaby’s sleeping form and sorted through it.
I had to believe I could tackle this huge problem.
I needed to figure this shit out. I loved a puzzle, but this one was the biggest, most confusing situation I had ever faced.
Tick Tock.
Chapter 48
MSK
I was lost in a sea of darkness; I heard the ocean crash on the shore. It was cold as fuck here. I could barely see my hand. I held it up close to my face and could make out the shapes of my fingers, sort of.
There was an eerie feeling that flowed over me. It was shrouded in a filmy netting that I couldn’t shake. My heart pounded against my ribs and sweat poured from my brow. My hair was sticky with filth that clumped tragically over my shoulders.
I didn’t know where I was.
I walked thru the creepy night looking for something to help me escape. I felt trapped like a steel cage had snapped closed. I couldn’t see through the murky atmosphere. I heard a ‘Snap!’ nearby and turned quickly just in time to see
a whisp of blonde hair.
I didn’t recognize the intruder; I clamped a hand over my quivering mouth. I wanted to scream loud and shrill. Someone had to save me!
Clomp clomp I heard in the distance, are those footsteps coming closer or getting further away?
Mystery swarmed all around. I didn’t know where I was or why. This sinister feeling overtook me completely.
I heard a sneeze in the distance. What the fuck?
Clack clack clack.
I was falling, falling down a steep hill. I rolled down, crashing into the cliffside, feeling out of control. I landed at the bottom with a thunk.
And then nothing.
Chapter 48
Hunter
It had been over a week since we jumped on this streamlined bus and set off into the misty, dark night. I got to say this was an amazing way to travel. I’d never been on a bus like this before and let’s just say, it felt completely luxurious. We each had a place to lay down, to rest, a bunk of sorts that was curtained off for privacy. The community space up front was always filled with music and friendly fun as they worked on new songs, creating music that would put them into the music stratosphere.
Lip. I was struck with a deep-seated appreciation for this man. He took care of everything. He made his job look effortless. He was efficient and friendly. The clubs loved him, and the band had unofficially made him the fourth member. At night, before we drifted off to our hotel rooms to sleep, Lip regaled us with stories of the road less travelled.
One night he told us about a tour he’d road managed. Lip recounted life with a rising star.
”Now, Ray Charles, was one of the most honorable men I ever met in my entire life. There’s this misnomer that rock stars, music stars, are so self-involved and their ego needs a boost at every turn.” Lip coughed over his shoulder, “That they only care about who will warm their bed that night. All this talk about ‘the pussy’ they’re gonna snatch at every turn. But from my own experience this just isn’t true. Nobody I know who has real music chops, would ever take their fans for granted.” Then Lip looked at me, “He was a quiet man, he demanded his fans be treated with respect.”
Ted’s eyes widened with surprise and Marko said, “Really?” while Lip nodded.
When Lip talked about how humble these stars were...how they never forgot who put them where they were? Well, it awakened something deep inside me. I hoped I’d never forget, either. Lip should write a book about his experiences. We all told him that. “I tell you, once I met George Harrison at a studio, and he was so kind, even though we were there to fix some of the tracks that I had messed up. I hadn’t captured Tom Petty like he wanted. Tom was with him when he grabbed my shoulder and said, “It’s okay Lip, we’ll get it this time.” Lip looked between all of us like he was telling us a secret and whispered, “I didn’t feel so bad, and he was right. We captured Tom on tape the way he wanted that time.”
Having Lip travel with us had been a true eyeopener, that was for damn sure. “Yeah, the Moody Blues weren’t a big deal anymore, but they had fans that had stuck with them for over twenty years.” Lip chuckled, “They knew who had put them on the top back in the day. They weren’t taking any fans for granted, that was for damn sure.” He looked between all of us and continued. “Their show was pretty amazing, to hear all their hits. They opened for Ray once.”
Callie felt safe with Lip too. For now, she stayed with him if I couldn’t be with her. We all kept an eye out. So far, nothing out of the ordinary had happened. But every night when the show ended and Callie went out to meet her fans, we were all on high alert. We watched her interactions; it was critical to keep her safe. I wanted to protect her, and my heart pounded wildly when I couldn’t be near her.
One day I finally said, “Callie, babe, until we know more, I think you should stop the meet and greets.” Those M&G’s were stressing me the fuck out. I told her just last night that I wanted to take extra measures to keep her guarded.
“Absolutely not, I’m not cancelling the one thing that connects me to my fans.” Her smile tried to charm me, but I was still worried.
Ted and Marko were the coolest cats I’d ever known. Their enthusiasm stretched over the miles as the bus ate up the road, clocking mile after mile of endless highway. It shouldn’t have surprised me, but they never complained. Ever.
I loved seeing the states like this. Every morning we woke up knowing this day would be the best one yet. And Callie, oh my sweet Callie and I were closer than ever. I chuckled thinking back on the beginning of our love affair, how I fought my attraction, fought touching her. I would never give her up now.
“I love you H,“ She whispered as we snuggled down in the bed. Tonight, we gave Gaby to Tenny so we could have our alone time. He had gotten so used to hanging out with her we didn’t worry about a thing. He was a happy boy with any of us.
“I love you babe.” I folded my arms around her sexy body and pulled her close. I could feel her melt into me. She was the woman of my dreams.
Travelling with Gaby and Tenny hadn’t dampened our enthusiasm for the road. His giggles kept us laughing and we all loved him so much. Tenny gave us a break and she was sweet and kind. I was grateful every single time I saw them together. I couldn’t wait to have our own baby someday. My head was filled with all my dreams for our future. Callie would be a star; we would get married, and the Turtledoves name would be on everyone’s lips.
I had been working on our plans to record our album. As soon as we got home, we would jump in the studio and lay down these new tracks. They had written some of their best stuff since we were out here, and I couldn’t wait to get in and record all twelve songs. Honestly, they had more than that and I thought all of them would stand up. Paring them down was going to be a tough call. Callie was leaving the choice up to me, even Lip loved the new stuff. We were onto something bigger than I had ever dreamt.
Tonight, after the show, Callie came out to the front of the stage for her post show meet and greet. Women and men flocked to her like bees to honey. They couldn’t get enough. Every one of them snapped pics with their cell phone and grabbed hold of her autograph like it was made of pure gold. The gay community had embraced my girl. This was the key to our success I thought. First the Gays, then the teens, then we’d have everyone eating out of the palm of our hands.
“You know what you’re doing Hunter.” Lip assured me. He had seen many acts faltered before they reached their pinnacle and didn’t want this to happen to the Doves. He had become one of our biggest cheerleaders but only offered advice when I asked for his opinion.
Callie’s sparkle dripped off of her like colorful confetti. We were achieving our goals. I hoped she was ready for everything coming her way, cuz the Doves were going to explode onto the scene, and everyone would want a piece of her.
I kept my eye on my girl, I watched every single fan with suspicion. I felt as though any one of them could be the culprit we had been searching for. Her stalker was a sneaky son of a bitch. that’s for fucks sure.
Suddenly, I heard a scream and ran wildly to the front of the stage. Oh my God, what was that? I looked around frantically. My heart pounded in my throat and sweat broke out all over my body. I yelled out, panicked, “Callie!”
Where the hell was Callie?
Where was my girl?
Chapter 50
Hunter
I ran in the direction of the scream and searched frantically for Callie. I searched high and low throughout the space. Where the fuck could she be? Just as I was about to freak the fuck out, I found her hiding in a small space under the stage. She did exactly what I had told her to do if anything happened and I wasn’t there right beside her. This just got real 100%. The panic crawled up my throat and left me breathless.
“Baby, come on, let’s get you up.” I pulled her off the floor and wrapped my arm protectively around her lithe body. This had gotten completely out of hand, and I decided not to wait any longer, it was time to call the police. I wasn’t sure if t
here was anything they could do, but I wanted something to be done about Callie being terrorized. I just really didn’t understand this. If a fan loved her so much to go to all the shows, why would she want to scare her? Was the culprit even she?
“Hunter, this is so fucked up. That fangirl screamed something nasty and threw a rock at my head. I was so frightened I hid in the first place I could think of.” Callie took a large stuttering breath, and tears glistened in her eyes. Her hands were shaking, and she felt clammy to the touch. This was such bullshit. I didn’t know if this incident had anything to do with all the other crazy crap. But I needed to make a stand now, right the fuck now. This had gone on way too fucking long.
“Shh baby, shhh, I’m here now.” I held her tighter. I pulled her as close to me as I could. If anything happened to her, I would be devastated. By the time I had reassured Callie, I went in search of the fan, but it was too late. She had disappeared into the sea of people.
Since we returned to the tour, shit had been weird. We had gotten notes and even that pic of her show. How were they getting so close to her? We still had no clue how to find this crazed fan. And now this? Yeah, it was time to take action, this was no longer a ‘what if’ scenario. I had to keep her safe.
I pulled out my cell and put in the call. Someone picked up on the second ring. “Police, how may I direct your call?” I put the phone on speaker and Callie leaned in.
“I need you to send someone out to Callie Jenson’s tour bus. We have an incident to report.” I breathed in my fear for Callie. My hands went clammy and sweat broke out on my brow.
“I’ll direct your call.” The receptionist put us on hold. Once Detective Genovieve came on the line he took down our information and said, “I’ll come to you right now.” Then the phone clicked off. I looked to Callie, tension coursing through my blood.
Rock Star Page 18