Dash shot a look at Tom. ‘Three weeks.’
Tom laughed. ‘Oh, thanks for that, I bet you want me to tell the band?’
Dash grinned guiltily. ‘I would tell them but that girl Kym scares me. And you’ve already got an…in, as it were.’
Roman chuckled as Tom sighed. ‘Nice.’
‘So you’ll do it?’
‘Do I have a choice?’
***
Kym got home from band rehearsal buzzing. Bumbershoot! It had been her dream since she was a kid – she had never missed one, even insisting on going on her own when her parents had been on tour. Of course, as soon as she’d met Bay when they were twelve, it became their thing, their annual escape from the hideousness of adolescence. They had spent days talking about it afterward, planning their band, wishing, dreaming, writing songs.
And now they were on the playbill. She closed the door behind her and threw her jacket over a kitchen chair and dance around the dark room. She didn’t see him, sitting in the dim light, until he spoke.
‘Where the fuck have you been?’
She whirled around, clutching at her chest, painful adrenaline spiking through her veins.
‘Jesus, Stu…how the hell did you get in?’
He didn’t answer her but got up. Even across the dark kitchen, she could see the angry gleam in his eyes, the pupils dilated, the sweat on his upper lip. He was high.
Kym backed away. ‘Stu?’
‘Shut the fuck up.’ He hissed the words out through gritted teeth. ‘So I heard about the gig. Bumbershoot, eh? Funny how I was shut out of the conversation – again. How many times now, Kym?’ He was advancing on her and too late, she realized, she had no way out. He was in her face. ‘It’s your fucking best friend again, isn’t it? That fucking bitch, I should have killed her when I had the chance.’
Kym froze. ‘What?’
Stu wiped his nose with his sleeve and grinned. ‘I could have broken her like that,’ he clicked his fingers, ‘I still could…’
Kym felt abject terror flood through her. ‘Leave her alone.’
Stu smirked. ‘None of you are going to get away with this, least of all you. I thought you loved me.’
Suddenly Kym’s mind cleared and she faced her half-crazed boyfriend and saw nothing in him she recognized. ‘No-one could love you, Stu, not like this. You’re a mess.’
She didn’t have the time to breathe before the first blow came.
The journalist from Rolling Stone was the same one who had interviewed Bay in San Francisco so when Bay introduced her to Pete, the interview had already begun. As Pete told the interviewer, Lauren, about his story, Bay glanced at her watch. Kym was late, which wasn’t that unusual, but she knew how important this interview was – they were dropping their first single and video in the morning. She glanced at Dash who was talking to the photographer; he didn’t seem to be bothered that the blonde guitarist was missing. When Lauren turned to her, Bay covered for her friend, telling her about how talented Kym was, how she wanted to make a name for herself without the legacy of her parents (Bay couldn’t help resist a little dig at Charlie and Mac and their lack of support for their daughter).
As the interview neared its end, she saw Tom come into the room and talk to Dash in a low tone. Whatever he had told the younger man, Dash’s face drained of color. Bay’s heart started to thump unpleasantly. Oh, no, please, not Kym… They ended the interview without alerting Lauren that anything was wrong but as soon as they were clear, Bay went to Tom.
‘What? What is it?’
His eyes showed distress but he kept his voice calm. ‘It’s Kym. She’s in the hospital.’
She was okay until she saw Kym, her face a bloody pulp of cuts and bruises, propped up in the hospital bed. Her arm was bandaged and she was obviously in great pain. Bay sat carefully on the edge of her bed, her entire body trembling.
‘Hey girl,’ She tried to smile at her friend, took the uninjured hands in hers.
Kym smiled and then winced. ‘Stupid beer, getting me all drunk. I tell you, those stairs to my apart – ‘
‘Don’t.’ Bay’s voice was low. Tom and Pete had waited outside the room to give her and Kym the chance to talk. Bay’s eyes filled with tears. ‘I know it was him.’
Kym looked away from her. ‘Bay, I can’t…I’m scared of what he’ll do.’
‘Hey, listen to me. He won’t get the chance, you need to call the police, and if you don’t I will.’
‘No. Not that, please, Bay.’
Bay shook her head, incredulous. ‘He could have killed you.’
Kym sighed. ‘I know but he didn’t. Look, I just want to get well, get out of here and do the show.’ She tried to smile. ‘What else is make up for?’
Bay looked out of the window at Tom and Pete. They were talking to a nurse. She turned and said ‘He attacked me. A few weeks ago, his actual words were ‘Don’t fuck this up for me.’ So, if you want me to – ‘
‘Bay, no.’ Kym looked terrified. ‘He’ll kill both of us.’ She was clinging on to Bay’s hand now and winced when she realized she was using her damaged arm. ‘I mean it. We neither of us have any proof other than our word. I’m not saying do nothing, I’m just saying let’s give Stu enough rope to hang himself. He’s doing more and more coke – he’ll crash and burn soon enough.’
Bay eased her hand free and leaned her head against Kym’s.
‘Okay. Okay, for now, we’ll bide our time. But I will make him pay for what he’s done to you, I swear to God, I will.’
***
On the way home from the hospital, Tom looked at Bay. ‘Was it Stu?’
Bay nodded. ‘Scum bag. God, Tom, I could kill him.’
He took his hand from the wheel and took hers. ‘I already hired some people to look for him – no, not the police, don’t worry, I heard what Kym said. And we’ll invoke the penalty clause of his part of the contract. Don’t worry, he’ll no longer have anything to do with The 9th & Pine.’
She smiled gratefully at him but then shifted in her seat. ‘I feel so antsy. Do you mind if I go to the studio for a couple of hours?’
‘Not at all. I have some stuff to finish up at the office. Pick you up at nine.’
Stuart Lawson had been in a fleabag bar ever since the previous night. He vaguely remembered seeing Kym, getting angry, maybe slapping her. Shit. He’d have a serious bitching out coming his way. He almost toppled off the bar stool and staggered to the restrooms, not caring if anyone saw the small bag of cocaine he pulled from his pocket. He tapped out a line and snorted. Nothing. It was getting harder and harder to get a buzz from the drug.
His phone rang. His eyebrows shot up when he saw it was Bay calling. He pressed accept, smirking.
‘What do you want?’
‘We’re having a meeting. I assumed you’d wanted to be told.’
Stu sniffed and wiped his nose. A thin trail of blood snaked across his hand but he ignored it. ‘What’s the meeting about?’
Bay sighed. ‘Do you want to come or not? If not, we’ll carry on without you.’
Stu pushed out of the restroom and headed for the doors. ‘Why isn’t Kym calling me?’
He didn’t catch the slight hesitation. ‘She’s in the can, look, Stu, shall we wait?’
‘Where are you?’
‘The studio.’
Stu smiled. ‘I’m three blocks away.’
***
Tomas put down the phone, frustrated. Whatever rock Stu had crawled under; it was a well-hidden one. He didn’t like this, not knowing where that creep was. He also suspected Bay was keeping something from him, something about the attack on Kym but he couldn’t think what it might be.
Roman knocked. ‘Hey, how’s it going? How’s Kym?’
Tom filled him in and Roman blew out his cheeks. ‘I knew that dude was dirty. What do you want us to do?’
‘Get the lawyers to draw up a new contract for the band and get Dash to find a new manager or agent. Make sure Lawson doesn’t see a
penny. Shouldn’t be too hard if the band hasn’t made any money yet.’
Roman smiled. ‘Then we’d better get that done tonight – the single will drop in the morning and there’s already huge buzz on the net.’
When Roman had gone, Tom glanced at the clock. It was too early to go pick up Bay but he was antsy just sitting there. The hell with it, he’d hang out with techs if she was busy. He picked up his jacket and left the office.
***
Stu pushed into the studio to find Bay waiting for him. She stood, still and watchful. Stu glanced around. ‘Where’d everyone go? I thought I told you to wait.’
She gave him a chilly smile. ‘They were never here, Stuart. It’s just me.’
He raised his eyebrows. ‘Oh?’
‘Yes. Stu, you’re fired. So very, very fired.’
‘The fuck are you talking about?’
She moved so that she was in front of him. ‘You put Kym in the hospital. And I know it wasn’t the first time it’s happened, the first you’ve beaten her. This time, though, you weren’t careful, were you? You didn’t hit her where it was easy to hide.’ Bay’s rage was so calm and yet so white-hot, she could tell Stu took her seriously. He was silent and she could see his dumb-ass brain working, putting together everything. How messed up was he?
‘Kym’s in the hospital. So why aren’t the police here? Huh?’
Bay’s voice was steady, calm and quiet. ‘Because Kym decided to protect your sorry ass one last time and I want to respect her wishes. But you are fired and if I ever see you in Seattle again, Stu, I will call the police, I will have your ass in jail so fast you won’t know what hit you. Do you understand me?’
Stu laughed, mocking, trying to save face. ‘As soon as you give me my check, sweetheart, you got it.’
‘No check. No money. Nothing. Just your freedom.’
He stopped smiling. ‘You can’t do that.’
Bay smiled, a wide grin, that split her whole face. ‘There are definitely some perks to sucking the boss’ cock. You don’t get a penny, asshole.’
‘You fucking whore!’ Stu launched himself at her, throwing her to the floor and clamping his hands around her throat, squeezing and choking her. Bay fought back, jamming her fingers into his eyes and kicking out. She caught him with her foot in his groin and immediately he rocked back, groaning. Bay scrambled up and went for the door – and almost made it. Stu, roaring his anger, picked her up and threw her through the glass partition between the studio and the mixing room, smashing the glass. Bay landed heavily on the mixing desk and rolled off, completely winded, her body screaming in pain. Stu, incensed, followed her through the shattered window and grabbed her hair, pulling her back against him, Bay swiped at him with a shard of broken glass but he grabbed her arm and twisted until she dropped it. Stu smashed her across the head with a heavy bottomed ashtray and Bay, stunned but still awake, crumpled to the floor. Stu straddled her, clamping her arms above her head with one big hand. He grabbed the shard of glass she had dropped and drew his arm back to drive it into her stomach.
Tom dragged him off of Bay with a roar, punching the shocked Stu into unconsciousness. Bay scrambled away from them, backing up until she was leaning against the door, breathing hard, shell-shocked by the speed of the attack. Tom finally let Stu drop and went to her. She was covered in blood but a quick check told him that she had no major injuries. She told him what had happened and Tom looked appalled, pulling her into his arms.
‘God, you insane girl, what were you thinking?’
‘Insurance,’ Bay said, breathlessly. ‘A way to get rid of him for good.’
Tom stared at her in alarm. ‘Please tell me you weren’t going to kill him? Bay, he’s twice your size, you’d be dead now if…Jesus.’
‘No,’ she made him look at her then pointed upwards, around the room. Cameras, seven of them, around the room, recording everything that happened in the studio
‘In case a band decides to trash the place,’ she grinned at him, ‘which I suppose I did.’
He started to laugh then and kissed her. ‘I’d called you a genius but you could have told me, Bay.’
‘I won’t hide anything from you again,’ she promised. He helped her to her feet and she went over to Stu, nudged him with her toe. He moaned. ‘Jack off,’ she said. ‘What do you say we take out the trash?’
***
Stu Lawson woke up four hours later, a stray dog licking his face. He sat up, realizing he was on a landfill site, trash everywhere. To his jacket was pinned a note. Guess who’s got it all on camera, asshole? Leave Seattle or the film goes to the police.
The stray dog turned and lifted his leg to pee on him.
Bumbershoot. A crowd seething with anticipation. Bay wished she hadn’t looked to see how many people had turned up to see them. Seattle Center was full to capacity.
Their single had now been steadily climbing the Billboard chart. ‘Fire for You’ was the song America was talking about; The 9th & Pine, the biggest new band on sicoal media. They had arrived.
She slunk back to the dressing room and made a face at Tom who laughed.
‘Everyone ready?’ He looked down at Bay, who gazed up at him, a small smile playing on her lips.
Tomas looked at Pete and Kym, who exchanged barely concealed grins. ‘Guys…can we have the room for a minute?’
Bay was crimson but her smile was sweet as her friends left the room, pulling the door closed behind them.
Tom pulled her gently to him and smiled down at her. He opened his mouth to speak but she shook her head, stayed silent, gazing up at him, her eyes soft. She smoothed some hair over his ear gently. He bent his head and brushed her lips with his, hesitant but she leaned into the kiss, her fingers sliding into his hair. She stood on the tips of her toes to reach his mouth. His hands slid around her waist, tightening his hold on her. His lips moved against hers, caressing, his tongue exploring hers.
‘I love you,’ he whispered against her mouth. He felt a wetness on her cheeks, tears dropped from her eyes as she smiled back at him. God, she was so beautiful.
‘I love you too.’ He groaned at her words, pulling her tightly against his chest. God, he wanted to tear off her clothes and kiss every part of her glorious honey skin. He had to break away now or she’d never get on stage.
She smiled at him, stroked his face. ‘Later.’
‘So many laters.’
‘You bet your sweet ass, Meir.’
God, just that promise, that certainty in her voice.
‘Go knock ‘em dead, beautiful.’
He followed her out and stood on the side of the stage, listening to the M.C. announced them, hearing the swell and roar of the crowd as the three of them made their entrance.
This, this was the moment he lived for, a talent being celebrated, appreciated.
Only this time, it was different. This time, it was more.
Because the love of his life was taking her first bow…
Quartet #2
Burn for You
By Michelle Love
San Francisco
After signing The 9th & Pine to the Quartet Record label, Tom asks Dash, the younger brother of his deceased best friend, and a wunderkind of the marketing world, to begin to promote the band. Dash seeks out an agent for the band and finds the perfect candidate in San Francisco. Emily Moore is struggling to balance her burgeoning career with caring for her sister's kid after he is left orphaned. She impresses Dash by not being fazed by his looks, money or reputation and when Bay and the rest of the band meet her, they agree, she is the one. Dash and Emily clash over the direction to take the band which only makes Dash want her more and after he steps up for her young nephew in a school dispute, she realizes that under the bluster lies a good heart. After a sensual, passionate night together, they are woken to terrible news: Stu has shot Bay in a rage of jealousy and now their friend's life hangs in the balance...
Emily Moore was woken by her eight-year-old nephew, Henry, tapping her s
houlder. She opened her eyes and mock-glared at him in the way that always made him laugh.
Not today, though. His hands were twisting in his pajama top, his face was tense. Emily sat up, pushing her long blonde hair out her face.
‘What is it, punkin?’
Henry, his hair sticking up in clumps, handed the phone to her. ‘Mommy’s on the phone.’
Oh damn. Emily tugged the boy onto the bed and hugged him. ‘It’s okay, champ.’ She kissed the top of his head and sighing, spoke into the phone. ‘Paige?’
‘Hey cutie, how’s things?’
Emily rolled her shoulders, tension making them hurt. ‘We’re good, nice of you to call.’
Unfazed by her sister’s sarcasm, Paige laughed. ‘Hey, you know what it’s like on the road.’
‘Not really.’
‘How’s Henry?’
‘Why didn’t you ask him yourself?’
Paige finally caught onto her sister’s mood. ‘Look, Emily, I know, I know it’s been hard for you but – ‘
‘Hang on,’ Emily pulled the phone away from her ear and smiled down at the boy sitting beside her. ‘Go get a shower, pal, give me a few minutes.’
Henry knew the drill. Auntie wanted grown-up time. Emily watched him leave and gently closed her bedroom door. She sucked in a frustrated breath.
‘I’m back.’
‘I was saying I know I left Henry in your care for a while but – ‘
‘Four years, Paige. Half his lifetime. It was meant to be for three weeks while you went on tour. Four years.’ Emily’s voice was brittle with anger.
When she was growing up in suburban San Francisco, her older sister had been her idol. Paige Moore had been the biggest rock star in the world for a heady three-year period in the mid-2000s and even now sold out stadiums in every major city. This latest tour had been rolling around the globe now for the last four years – which would have been cool if it weren’t for Henry. Paige had fallen pregnant after a one-night stand with a groupie – Emily suspected on purpose – and when the guy had refused to have anything to do the kid, Paige had seemed relieved and when Henry was born, Paige had fallen in love in a way that Emily had never seemed. Paige had millions in the bank, a much-loved child and a restless heart. After being a stay at home mom, she got antsy. Emily, just out of Stamford law school and already building her reputation as one of the best agents in the business, was in no position to take on a child but she could see Paige starting to resent her child for taking away her freedom, her dream. That’s when she’d told Paige to take a few weeks, tour, get it out of her system. Emily had blinked – and it was four years later. Paige had missed Henry’s first day at school, the first time he’d read a book on his own, the first time he’d won a science prize.
Quartet Complete Series: Billionaire Romance Box Set (An Alpha Billionaire Romance) Page 7