‘Oh, Jesus!’ Danny sighed, throwing his head back. ‘Yeah. She certainly did that alright. Why the hell didn’t I just say something?’ He looked at her again. ‘So, if Davina hadn’t told you I didn’t want you anymore, and I hadn’t believed Andy when he told me you were taking Robbie back… If we’d both just… none of this would have happened?’
Aimee said nothing for a few seconds. ‘Who knows, Danny? Maybe, maybe not. All I know is that it sounds as though a lot of people have been trying to keep us apart. For some reason.’
‘Yeah. And I think I know exactly who’s behind it all.’
‘Hang on… Danny!’
But it was no good. He was off. Running back inside the ship, heading towards the Vegas Show Lounge, crashing through the double doors like it was some kind of emergency, and it was, in his eyes. ‘You’re one hell of a fucking bastard, Andy Crabtree.’
Everyone turned to look at him, including Brummie Barry and his ever-present camera, sensing more TV gold.
‘What the…’ Andy looked at Danny, narrowing his eyes, trying to read exactly what was going on but deciding very quickly that maybe it was best if this didn’t get captured on camera. Whatever it turned out to be. Better to be safe than sorry.
‘Turn that off, Barry, mate. Please,’ Andy said, not taking his eyes off Danny.
‘Got something to hide then, have we, Andy?’ Danny smirked, determined not to let this go now. Andy Crabtree had taken enough away from the rest of them, and now he’d almost taken Aimee away from him too and that was the final straw as far as Danny was concerned. He’d had enough. The rest of the guys needed to know the truth. Finally. They needed to know just what kind of a man Andy could be.
‘I’ve got nothing to hide, Danny,’ Andy carried on.
‘Oh, I think you have, Andy. And I think you know you have. Don’t you?’
Andy didn’t take his eyes off Danny, staring him out in the hope that he could unnerve him just that little bit too much, enough to make him step back and leave whatever this was going to be alone. But it wasn’t his lucky day.
Danny finally looked away from Andy, turning his attention to Ross, Cal and Frankie, who were all standing watching this exchange with expressions on their faces that read as if they didn’t know quite what to do – leave them to it or make sure they didn’t come to blows again.
‘Why did Bon Voyage split up, guys? Do you remember the reason?’ Danny asked.
‘We’d got bored with each other,’ Frankie replied. ‘We’d taken the band as far as we could and…’
‘Yeah, that was the official reason trotted out for the media. But think back, lads. Go on. Think back. Yeah, okay, we’d been niggling at each other a bit more than usual, but we were tired, weren’t we? And who wouldn’t be, after all those years of constant touring and recording. We were frigging knackered. But, do you remember that talk we all had? About three days before we officially announced we were splitting up? Remember how we talked about, maybe, just taking a break, giving ourselves a rest and seeing how we felt after that?’
He watched as the expressions of the other three slowly changed to ones of recognition, obviously all of them now remembering that very conversation.
‘Oh, yeah? We all went to that hotel on the Quayside, didn’t we?’ Ross said, looking at the other two.
‘And do you also remember how one of us in particular didn’t like that idea at all?’ Danny carried on, throwing a fleeting look in Andy’s direction, taking great delight in the fact his expression was now one of slight panic.
Cal frowned. ‘Yeah. Yeah, I do remember that, actually.’ He looked at Andy. ‘You really weren’t going for that at all, were you?’
‘It wouldn’t have been in our best interests, Cal…’
‘No. But it was definitely in your best interests to make sure the band split up, wasn’t it, Andy?’ Danny asked, staring right at him. And he had him cornered this time. There was no way back for him now. The truth was finally going to come out.
‘Danny… what good is this going to do…?’
‘Oh, they’re not gonna leave this alone now, are they?’ Danny said, indicating Cal, Ross and Frankie. ‘You owe them an explanation, Andy. In fact, you probably owe them a lot more than that. You probably owe us all a lot more.’
‘What’s going on, Danny?’ Cal asked, slightly confused now.
‘Andy wanted a solo recording contract and a massive financial payout in return for keeping his mouth shut, didn’t you, Andy? He wanted the rest of us out of the way so he could concentrate on his quest for solo stardom,’ Danny said, still staring at Andy, whose shoulders visibly sagged the second Danny had said the words. He couldn’t get out of this now.
Ross, Frankie and Cal looked even more confused than they had done a few seconds ago. ‘But… I don’t get it,’ Cal frowned, more confused than ever now. ‘Andy wanted us to split up? And… and what was it he needed to keep his mouth shut about? I don’t understand…’
Danny continued to stare at Andy. ‘He’d had enough of being one of five, of fading into the background, of not being one of the favourites. He’s got one hell of an ego has Andy Crabtree. So, he wanted to move onto the next step. He wanted to ditch us lot, move onto bigger and better things as a solo artist, but he couldn’t guarantee that anyone would want him without the rest of us.’
Cal, Ross and Frankie were still confused, all three of them looking from Danny to Andy as they waited for some kind of explanation that would start to make sense.
Danny carried on talking, his eyes still fixed firmly on Andy’s. ‘So, when he stumbled upon some information that nobody was meant to know about – information that concerned all of us – he decided to, rather than share that information with his band mates, he decided to take what he’d found out and use it to his own advantage. Which, in the end, was to our detriment.’
Cal was still frowning. ‘What… what did he find out, Danny? What the hell is going on?’
Danny swung round to look at Cal. ‘Our management company had been stealing from us, mate. For over two years they’d been siphoning off money, withholding royalties – stuff that should have come to us was going in their back pockets thanks to a dodgy accountant and a team who cared jack-shit about us. They thought that, because we were earning big bucks after a couple of years, we wouldn’t miss the odd few grand here and there. But Andy, he got suspicious. I’d never have noticed because I was too busy spending what I was earning on too much drink and too many women but Andy, he’d sussed something was up. So he confronted them, didn’t you, Andy?’
All Andy could do was nod. What else could he say? Every word of it was true.
‘He confronted them, told them what he knew, told them he was going to tell the rest of us, make it public knowledge if they didn’t make it worth his while. And what suddenly became worth his while was getting rid of us and going solo. That was his price – ditching the band for a solo career. And they paid it. In order to keep their dirty, cheating secret. Losing us as a band was the price they had to pay to make sure Andy Crabtree kept his mouth shut, and their reputations were kept intact. We were just something that had to be got rid of. An innocent casualty.’
Cal, Ross and Frankie listened with open mouths and wide eyes, finding it difficult to believe what they were hearing. ‘How… how much exactly are we talking about?’ Cal asked. ‘I mean, how much were we actually cheated out of?’
‘Each?’ Danny asked, shrugging. ‘Difficult to say exactly, mate. But I’m guessing – from what I’ve heard – tens of thousands.’
‘Jesus,’ Ross sighed, sitting down on the edge of the stage. ‘But… how do you know about all this, Danny? When… when did you find out what had happened?’
‘I ran into someone who used to work for our old management team when I was in London a few months ago. He hadn’t been part of what had gone on back then, but he’d been only too aware of the ins and outs. Including Andy’s involvement. He thought it about time we all knew the tr
uth, and maybe I should have said something sooner but I just didn’t see the point in raking it all up again when we all had new lives. When the past was behind us. But then this reunion happened and I struggled with my conscience, y’know? And, to be honest, I didn’t know whether I even wanted to go back and rake up all those old memories again but when I got here, and I saw you guys, and… Well, you deserve to know the truth. Because it’s only really become evident to me now how far this man will go to get back that fame that’s eluded him for so long.’ Danny looked at Andy again. ‘You just couldn’t settle without being the centre of attention, could you? I mean, your solo career didn’t even really take off, did it? You wanted rid of us so that all the attention could be focused on you, but that backfired, didn’t it? Because you were nothing without the rest of us. You couldn’t do it alone. So now I can understand completely why you’re so desperate for Bon Voyage to reform. Why you’ve gone hell-for-leather to make sure it happens. But, tell me, Andy, what I don’t understand is why keeping Aimee and me apart is so important to you, because…’
‘Danny!’
He swung round to see Aimee standing there, almost pleading with him not to say anything.
‘Does this really matter, Danny?’
‘Oh, yeah. It matters, Aimee. I need to know exactly what’s going on here, because something is, isn’t it, Andy?’
‘I don’t know what you’re talking about,’ Andy said, trying desperately to extricate himself from this mess. The one he was already in was a big enough one.
‘Did Aimee tell you she was taking Robbie back?’ Danny asked Andy. ‘That night, when you said you saw her outside Sirocco’s, did she actually tell you – in person – that she was taking him back?’
Andy looked over at Aimee, realising the game was up. He couldn’t lie when she was standing right there in front of them. But he wasn’t going down for this alone.
‘No, she didn’t, but…’
‘But nothing, Andy! Jesus, what the hell were you playing at? If you hadn’t interfered, if Davina hadn’t told Aimee I didn’t want her anymore, then me and Aimee we…’ He looked over at Aimee who was standing completely still, her arms folded across her chest, watching him. ‘Me and Aimee could have been together. Because I never really wanted Davina back, do you get that now? Never.’
‘Nice to know you cared, Danny.’
Everyone turned round to see Davina Black walk into the Vegas Show Lounge, dressed to kill in a tight orange sundress and matching heels, her bleached-blond hair piled up on top of her head.
‘Well, the thing is, Davina, I don’t think I do care. Not anymore.’
Davina looked over at Andy, raising a questioning eyebrow, a look that Danny caught.
‘Are you… are you involved in this too? Are you and him… You had something to do with this too?’ he asked, slowly putting two and two together – Andy making sure he thought one thing, Davina making sure Aimee thought another, conveniently meaning that neither would go near the other one again. Or, Danny was sure, that had been their intention, anyway.
One look at Andy told Davina the game was up. And what was the point in pretending now anyway? When everyone seemed to know the truth – or most of it.
‘I needed this band to get back together,’ Andy said, an almost resigned tone to his voice. ‘And the only one who didn’t seem to have the enthusiasm was you, Danny. And without you there was no reunion.’
‘And no reunion meant you fading back into obscurity, is that it?’ Danny asked.
Andy nodded, looking down at the ground for a few seconds. ‘I needed this second chance, Danny…’
‘No. You wanted it, Andy. You didn’t need it. There’s a difference.’
‘Okay. I wanted it. I wanted that second stab at fame, I wanted the celebrity back, the money; the status. What’s so wrong with that?’
‘Because you’ll step over anybody to get it,’ Danny exclaimed, throwing his arms in the air. ‘Jesus, mate, can’t you see that?’
‘I just wanted a second shot, Dan. And I’m sorry for what I did all those years ago, truly I am, and if I could turn back the clock…’
‘You’d do everything exactly the same, so don’t pretend you’re suddenly a changed man, Andy. Because I’m not buying it.’
Andy said nothing for a few seconds, trying to work out where he could go next with this, to try and make everyone believe that he really did regret his past actions. Because he did – now. ‘I just thought if we could all try again… I thought we deserved that, Danny. We all deserved another chance, not just me, but your mind wasn’t really on this reunion, was it?’ Andy went on, staring at Danny. ‘And I had to make sure you were on board. I had to make sure that this reunion worked with all five of us otherwise it was never going to get off the ground, and you were so distracted. Too distracted. So I panicked. I thought that if I could get a bit of stability back into your life then you’d settle down and realise that being back with Bon Voyage was the best thing for all of us.’
‘The best thing for you, you mean,’ Danny said. ‘But, how exactly did you think you could do that, huh? I mean, what I don’t get is that when I met Aimee I was the happiest I’d been in ages. I was more enthusiastic, I had energy, didn’t you see that?’
‘Yes, I know. But I got it all wrong, didn’t I? Because I just assumed that it was some holiday romance, something that would fizzle out once this cruise was over and I couldn’t predict how you were going to feel about that, could I? You were always so unpredictable, Danny. Nobody ever knew where they were with you and I needed to know. Back then it didn’t really matter because there were others to keep you in line, but this time it’s all down to us and you weren’t playing the game. There was no guarantee that you were still going to be a part of Bon Voyage after this cruise was over. So, I just thought that if we got you away from Aimee, ended this holiday romance before it had time to go anywhere and got Davina back in your life then you’d be more likely to… more likely to stick with the band.’
‘Weird logic, there,’ Danny said. ‘Funny what desperation can do to some people, isn’t it? And your plan was, exactly…?’
Davina picked up the explanation. ‘Andy called me the day before the ship was due to dock in Palma again, told me what was going on with you and when I told him about that picture I’d seen of you and Aimee on the Celebrity Secrets website I had an idea. Me and Andy, we talked about it, thought it could work, y’know, benefit us both…’
Danny narrowed his eyes as he looked at Davina. ‘Benefit you how, exactly? Oh, sorry, forgive me for being dim. You’re just as fame hungry as he is! In fact, I wouldn’t be surprised if you and him…’ He suddenly looked from Davina to Andy, not missing the look that passed between them, realisation hitting him like a sledge hammer. ‘Jesus Christ! I really have been taken for a mug, haven’t I? So, tell me, Davina – what was this plan you and lover boy over there cooked up in order to make sure I was miserable but towing the line so that you two got what you both wanted? I’m dying to hear this one.’
‘I contacted Robbie,’ Davina said, looking at Aimee, who swallowed hard, a bad feeling rising up inside her. ‘We offered to pay him to make sure that Aimee stayed away from you, if he came with me to Majorca to join this cruise. You had to think that she was back with Robbie, and that you coming back to me was for the best. You had to think that, because the band needed to succeed.’
Danny was speechless for a minute or so, unable to take in what he was hearing. ‘So, hang on. Say I’d towed the line to the letter, and everything had gone according to plan, what exactly were you going to do about your relationship with…’ He looked from Davina to Andy again. ‘You were just gonna dump me, weren’t you? Once you both got exactly what you wanted, you were just gonna dump me?’
‘Danny, I don’t know,’ Davina began, because she hadn’t actually thought that far ahead. Neither her nor Andy had. They’d started this affair only after Davina had turned up on the boat, but neither of them had actual
ly thought about the impact that Danny finding out about that could have on the band. A potentially more devastating effect than him having a holiday romance could ever create.
‘Bit of a mess this, isn’t it?’ Danny said. ‘You really aren’t as clever as you both think you are, are you?’
Neither Davina nor Andy could argue with that.
‘Are you two serious about each other?’ Danny asked Andy, taking a second to check on Cal, Ross and Frankie, who looked as dazed and confused as everyone else. This was sure as hell going to take some sorting out.
‘I think we are,’ Andy replied, looking over at Davina, who smiled at him. A smile of relief? Maybe. This hadn’t been an easy thing to carry around with her. Despite what Danny thought, she did have a conscience, and she didn’t carry guilt around with her all that easily.
‘Then you’re welcome to her,’ Danny said, leaning back against the wall, a strange yet calming sense of relief washing over him. It was all out in the open now – no more carrying around secrets or pretending he was doing something just because he felt he had to. ‘But I’m telling you something, mate. You have got some fucking explaining to do to the rest of us. And Aimee. She didn’t deserve any of that.’
He turned to look at Aimee but she’d gone. And he should have gone after her, he should have gone looking for her, but there was too much to sort out here. But then, wasn’t there something really important to sort out with her, too?
‘So, where do we go from here then?’ Cal asked, breaking the sudden silence. ‘I mean, how do we move on from this one? Huh?’
Danny threw his head back again, closing his eyes as he pushed both hands through his dark hair. ‘I think we need one hell of a meeting before we go on stage tonight. Don’t you?’
There didn’t seem to be anyone putting up any kind of argument on that score. It had certainly been an afternoon for revelations, that was for sure. But the one thing nobody was certain about was whether Brummie Barry really had turned off his camera or not.
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