Tainted Heartbreak

by Terri Anne Browning

  Genesis linked her arm through mine, pulling me toward the stairs. “Girl, we want to hang out with you two. You look like fun, and you heard the fire-breather. We have to stay in groups. That means you two as well. You can’t piss off the redhead. The flames that come out of her mouth will sear the flesh from your bones.”

  Riley stepped off behind me with London at her side. “I thought managers were supposed to bend over backward and kiss their clients’ asses and get them whatever they want the minute they open their mouths.”

  Aubree, walking with Roanna beside her, laughed out loud. “I’ve seen some managers do that. And it was actually what we had in mind when we first formed the band. It was the dream. Having someone wait on us hand and foot. Making sure we only had blue M&Ms in our dressing rooms, fanning us, and feeding us grapes once we got offstage. Ah, the good life.”

  “But she seems more like your boss than your manager,” Riley observed.

  “That’s because Emmie knows what she’s doing. She’s a hard-ass, sure. But that’s because she has to be to deal with everyone’s drama and get stuff done. Her bossing us around is out of love more than bitchiness—but yeah, she’s a major bitch.” London and Genesis nodded adamantly in agreement. “Still, she does it to ensure we don’t let the fame go to our heads. And that we remember what’s really important. The bands she manages are some of the hottest sounds on the radio at any given time, but how often do you hear of some scandal they’re involved with? She forces us to keep our noses clean, busting our metaphorical balls if we so much as think about stepping into the kind of situation that can ruin our entire careers. In the end, that’s what we all really need. Not another kiss-ass.”

  “Okay, no more talk about the fire-breather,” London commanded. “We have to be over at the signing tent in thirty. Let’s get something to drink and relax a little before we have to go do that.”

  To get anything alcoholic to drink, we first had to go to the VIP tent and get bracelets that verified we were over twenty-one. Riley, already twenty-one, handed over her ID, and I gave my fake one. The guy behind the counter didn’t notice a single thing wrong with it. Lindsey had some mad skills when it came to making forgeries of any kind. She hadn’t charged me for mine, though. But I seriously rather would have shelled out the five hundred dollars she normally charged for her work instead of having to run interference for her parents for a month which she had taken as payment instead.

  After we had our bracelets, we went over to the bar in the middle of the massive tent and London ordered us all a round of shots. The tequila warmed my stomach, and I ordered a margarita, not wanting to lose the burn.

  “Make that six,” Genesis told the bartender, tossing him a few bills before I could attempt to pay for Riley’s and my drinks.

  The six plastic cups were set in front of us, and we each snatched one as London and Roanna led the way out of the tent. I noticed how shy the band’s lead singer was now that she was offstage. During their set, Roanna had been magnetic, keeping our gazes locked on her as her voice hypnotized not only us but the entire crowd. Now, she was completely quiet, seemingly trapped in her head rather than actually being present. The other three Bombshells were always close by, as if on guard to protect her from any unforeseen danger.

  “Are the guys here yet?” London asked Aubree as we walked by another smaller stage that had a crowd already lining up for the next performance.

  “A few of them,” the drummer informed her. “I think Gray and Jace flew in last night, but the others came earlier. Their family is in Bristol, so they flew in there and are driving down.”

  “And we know this, how?” Genesis’s voice was teasing as she glanced at Roanna.

  “Shut it, Gen,” Roanna mumbled, her cheeks filling with pink.

  “Ah, come on, Ro. You know I’m only teasing.” She hugged the other blonde, leaving her arm around her as we continued to walk. “But I knew if anyone had the details on the TK assholes, it would be you.”

  As they pulled Riley into conversation, one of the vendor tents caught my attention, and I stopped. Guitars hung on the back wall of the tent in various colors. Even from where I was, I could see the scribbles of signatures across them.

  I was definitely going to have to check that out and hoped they could ship one for me so I wouldn’t have to risk damaging it on the plane ride home. Lifting my drink to my lips, I turned back around to tell Riley, when I walked right into a solid wall. As I started to fall backward, the air rushed out of me.

  Along with the mouthful of margarita I’d just filled it with.

  The spray of lime juice and tequila hit the solid wall right as a pair of hard hands caught me by the ass.

  Mind racing, I lifted my eyes, and my heart seemed to trip over itself as I met dark brown eyes. Definitely not a wall that I’d walked into, but an actual, living, breathing, deliciously solid guy. An ache started low in my tummy, and I squeezed my thighs together as I focused on his entire face rather than those coffee-colored, soul-stealing eyes.

  Recognition and humiliation filled me the second I realized who he was.

  Cash Graves.

  Sweet Jesus.

  His full mouth lifted in a grin, and I nearly passed out at how beautiful this guy really was up close. The neatly contained scruff on his jaw made him look a little older than I knew he was from the band’s website biography. His hair, shorter on the sides and considerably longer on top, was pushed back from his face in a feigned-careless way. He lowered his lashes, giving me a sultry kind of look from beneath them that did nothing for the inferno that was already starting to blaze deep inside.

  “You okay, Dreamer?”

  The amusement in his tone snapped me back to reality, and I clamped my mouth shut before I could embarrass myself even more by actually drooling. “Oh, um, yeah,” I squeaked out. Seeing the mess I’d made of his shirt, I quickly started wiping my hand over it. “Shit, I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to give you a margarita shower.”

  Laughing, he caught my wandering hands, which had been doing more of a muscle inspection than cleaning him off. “It’s okay. It was kind of refreshing in this heat, actually. A little sticky, but I think I’ll live.” He skimmed his gaze over me, taking me in from head to toe in a matter of seconds. He veiled his eyes completely from me as he stepped back, releasing my hands and offering me one of his. “Cash.”

  Swallowing hard, I placed mine in his. “Amara.”

  “Pretty name. I like it. Suits you.” He glanced down at my now-empty cup lying on the ground. Bending, he picked it up. “I think I owe you a fresh one.”

  “No, no,” I laughed, shaking my head. “I think I’ve had plenty if my walking skills are anything to go on. I’ll stick to lemonade and water for the rest of the day.”

  “Then let me buy you one of those.” Putting his hand on the small of my back, he urged me over to one of the lemonade vendors. “You should stay hydrated in this heat. It can turn dangerous in no time if you aren’t careful.”

  Pressing my lips together, I accepted the large cup of fresh lemonade and murmured my thanks. My eyes were glued to him, unable to tear them away even though I had no idea where Riley and the Bombshells had disappeared to. Right then, my best friend could have been on her way to the moon without me, and I wouldn’t have cared.

  When his gaze met and locked with mine again, I saw his pupils dilate and knew that whatever the hell was going on wasn’t one-sided.

  I gulped down a drink of lemonade then offered it to him. “You look a little thirsty yourself,” I murmured.

  Eyes still trapped with mine, he took the cup and swallowed two big mouthfuls before handing it back. “Thanks. I needed that.” Lifting a hand, he pushed my hair back from my face, his fingers lingering on my cheek for a moment longer than necessary.

  “Amara!”

  My head snapped back from his touch as if I had been caught doing something wrong, and I spotted Riley waving like a lunatic from the other side of the field. “Crap,�
� I muttered. “I forgot all about her.”

  Cash cleared his throat, and I noticed his hand ball into a fist at his side. To keep from touching me again? That thought made something warm unfurl in my stomach, and it had nothing to do with the tequila from earlier. This warmth was strong, more intense, and I never wanted it to burn out. “You should rejoin your friend. I actually have some work to do. I’m in a band, and we’re playing later this afternoon.”

  “I know who you are,” I assured him with a grin. “Sorry, I’m not the type to start bouncing up and down when I see someone famous. Especially when I’ve just doused him in tequila.”

  “That is refreshing.” He smirked, and he skimmed his fingers over my cheek again, having lost the fight not to touch me. “Will you come watch us? We’re on the bigger stage, and it would be nice to look out and see your beautiful smile.”

  If that was a line, I wasn’t going to call him out on it. Not when it was making the heat in my stomach burn hotter. “Riley and I will be as close as we can possibly get,” I promised him, then shot my friend a glower when she started screaming my name louder. “Damn it, Riles!”

  Cash stepped back. “I’ll see you later, then, Dreamer.”

  Chapter 3

  Amara

  I stepped on a random rock—not for the first time—and rolled my ankle. Not for the first time.

  “Shit,” I groaned as I stopped and stretched my aching foot, causing Riley and the Bombshells to pause.

  “You okay?” London asked sympathetically. There were stray rocks everywhere on the festival grounds, and I wasn’t the only one to step on the damn things.

  But I was the one who did it the most often. Which was completely unlike me. My mother’s voice, a constant evil that haunted me daily, was already scolding me for being so clumsy, something that definitely wasn’t thanks to her. Even if I was making a total liar of myself after showering Cash with my margarita and having nearly fallen at least ten times now.

  This was worse than the time I went two days with a concussion without anyone realizing something was wrong with me. Then, I’d had a medical excuse and a few bruises to prove it. But right now, I had nothing to excuse my clumsiness.

  “I’m good,” I muttered, shaking off the lingering discomfort and clutching the cup in my hand a little tighter for fear of dropping it.

  Riley lifted her brows, silently asking what was going on with me. I hadn’t told her yet about my literal run-in with the Tainted Knights’ bassist, but she knew something was up with me. The fact that I hadn’t discarded the plastic cup once I’d finished my lemonade hadn’t gotten past her either, and any time she asked if I wanted to toss it in the trash, I clung to it a little tighter.

  I couldn’t bring myself to let it go. Juvenile, sure, but I was keeping the cup because Cash had bought it for me.

  Me, the girl who never kept anything because she never got attached to inanimate objects, was clinging to what would have been considered trash to everyone else on the planet.

  I shrugged at my friend, telling her without words that I would explain later. I didn’t want to talk about the crush I suddenly found myself swimming in the deep end of with the Bombshells listening in.

  “The TK guys will be going on in twenty,” Aubree announced, tossing her beer in the trash after chugging the last drink down. “Let’s go hang out over there. We can watch from the sidelines until they get the stage set up and do their soundcheck. Then we can watch the show from backstage.”

  “I’m game,” Riley told her, tossing her own empty beer into the trash. “Amara?”

  “Let’s go.” I was proud of myself for not giving away just how excited I was. My adrenaline had been escalating for the last few hours as the countdown to the Tainted Knights’ set ticked to the beat of my heart.

  I’d been looking forward to seeing the band perform long before I’d met Cash. Now, it wasn’t about the music they played, but getting to see him again. Which was ridiculous. He was only a guy. He probably forgot all about me the minute I was out of sight. Ten other girls had probably fallen over themselves the moment they saw him, and he was probably making out with any one of them right that second.

  The thought was kind of depressing, but I pushed it down and kept up with the others. We found a safe spot off to the side of the stage. There were two larger stages situated on opposite sides of the festival grounds, but Tainted Knights was the more popular band getting ready to play. Since each band’s sets were staggered, everyone was able to see every band perform. But if you wanted to be close to the front of the more popular ones, you had to get there early, which meant missing watching other bands live.

  The other stages were showcased on the huge screens on either side of the stage, however, so the fans currently standing in front of the Tainted Knights’ weren’t bored. There was a sea of fans, stretching back the length of an entire football field with more people pushing forward every minute.

  It was late afternoon, so the majority of the fans running around now were staggering, drunk off their asses. For the most part, they were friendly, and I didn’t doubt that new friendships had been made already. But there were the random few, the angry drunks who should never be allowed in public, that were already causing fights.

  A glance at the people standing closer to the stage told me that most of those drunks were standing front and center, waiting for Tainted Knights to take the stage.

  I wasn’t sure if the staff had taken Emmie’s suggestion seriously or not, but there were triple the men in yellow polos standing in front of the security fence, ignoring the verbal abuse that was being thrown at them by the drunks who seemed to be getting rowdier by the minute.

  On stage, roadies were setting up instruments and doing the soundcheck. The Blonde Bombshells had done their setup themselves, but it seemed like Tainted Knights had their own crew to do it for them. There were whispers of Tainted Knights headlining their own tour in the fall, but nothing had been announced on their social media or website yet.

  “Looks like we can sneak backstage now,” Aubree told us as she took Riley’s hand and pulled her around the side of the stage.

  We got to the back of the stage just as the band stepped out to the deafening roars and cheers from the fans. They played their most popular song first, then went into an older song that the entire crowd seemed to know every word to as they sang along. I squeezed in closer to Riley, trying to get a better look at the guys on stage.

  Jace, the lead singer, was running from one side of the stage to the other, never faltering or rushing over the words as he hyped up the crowd more and more. Gray stuck to the right side of the stage, while Sin kept to the left where we were standing out of sight, leaving Cash in the middle. Sometimes the two on the outside switched with Cash, but they always returned to their respective spots before the song was over. They seemed to have it down to an art form, the way they played up to the crowd.

  From the right side of the stage, movement caught my attention, and I saw a beautiful brunette and a gorgeous blonde standing with Bruce, the muscle from earlier. I recognized the blonde, who was Jace’s sister and Gray’s fiancée. The sight of the huge, butterfly-shaped diamond on her left hand confirmed that even before he left the stage during one song to kiss her. The brunette was only vaguely familiar to me, but I thought she might be Kale’s girlfriend. The drummer posted a few pictures on his Instagram every week of him and Santana, his girlfriend.

  When the music began again, the band playing a song I hadn’t heard from them before, my gaze went straight to Cash. That was where it had mostly stayed during the last half an hour, and I was glad Riley and the others were so into the music that they hadn’t noticed me drooling a time or two. Right then, he was doing backup vocals, his bass hanging off his back from its strap.

  From where I was standing, I had the perfect view of his ass in jeans that hung mouthwateringly on his hips. His T-shirt had the sleeves cut off but clung to his back. The muscles in his shoulders flexed ever
y time he moved. Sweat had soaked through his shirt and caused his hair to fall across his forehead, but I liked it.

  A frown wrinkled his brow, his head angling left and right as if he were looking for someone, and I wondered if he was actually looking for me out in the crowd like he said he would. Telling myself how stupid I was even to think that, I forced my gaze away from him, only to find Sin’s had turned toward us.

  Aubree nudged Roanna, who shot her a death glare, but I saw the pink that filled her cheeks. A cocky grin teased at Sin’s lips, and he turned back to face the crowd—but not before winking at Roanna. The Bombshell moved back until the rest of us had swallowed her. The next time Sin glanced our way and she wasn’t where he’d last seen her, the cockiness disappeared and something dark clouded his face.

  He left the stage, bulldozing through us until he got to Roanna. His guitar bounced off my hip, but he didn’t issue an apology as he caught her chin between his thumb and forefinger, forcing her to give him her eyes. “Okay?”

  That one word was growled out, but I could tell there were a hundred different meanings behind it. I nearly melted into a puddle beside Riley just watching the interaction between the two rockers. She sighed heavily, but after a moment, finally nodded.

  Sin’s face eased into that cockiness again. Stepping back, he spared me a glance. “Sorry,” he grunted and walked back onstage to finish the song with his band.

  Moments later, the song was over, and so was their set. Sin was off the stage first. He took Roanna’s hand without sparing anyone else a second glance, and they walked toward where I had noticed tour buses parked earlier.

  My gaze followed them for only a second, until goose bumps popped up along my arms. Lifting my head, I found Cash standing only feet away, his gaze trained right on me. As if in slow motion, I watched as the frown he was still wearing turned into a smirk. “Dreamer.”