“I wasn’t expecting you.” I leaned back to look at her. “You look lovely. Married life certainly agrees with you. As does being pregnant.”
“Yes, and I think I can say the same of you.” She gave me a knowing look.
“Don’t you dare tell him before I can.” Once again most everyone here knew before Juaquin.
“When did you get in? I thought you and Todd weren’t going to be able to come.”
“I couldn’t miss this. It wasn’t even a consideration.” A shadow crossed her eyes. Had they argued about her visiting? Her husband wasn’t a big supporter of what he liked to call ‘her crazy celebrity family.’
“King’s woman.” I turned yet again to a voice I well knew.
“War.” I rolled my eyes. He rarely used my actual name. “What’s up?”
“Tempest is ready sans our drummer. You heard from him?”
I shook my head.
“Alright.” He touched my arm. “We’ll cover until he gets here. Shaina and I will do something on the piano. Don’t worry.”
“Mrs. Acenado.” Another familiar voice. “It’s time for your speech.” My PA. I had a personal assistant. It was bizarre. Celia Black was one of the nonprofit’s few paid employees. Her unflagging dedication to our cause was as important as the generous donations of so many. Giving and receiving embodied the spirit of the entire enterprise. She believed in our mission as much as anyone. She had been trying to get her youngest son to talk to one of our counselors. It was too late for his brothers. One was dead, the other in prison for life. All three had gotten involved in illegal activities.
“Alright, Mrs. Black,” I told her. “Let’s go. Lead the way.” My sister squeezed my hand, Mike patted me on the back and War gave me a nod of approval before I fell in line to follow her. Shoulders too stooped for a woman of her age, but understandable given what she had endured, she marched up the platform ahead of me. At the top we separated. I moved to the podium by myself, yet not really alone as I stood there and looked down, because besides a few media and staff, I saw mostly people I knew and loved looking back up at me. Sager and Melinda. Bryan and Lace. Dizzy and April. Shaina and War. Mike. Jasmine and her mother. Many of them survivors of abuse themselves or directly affected by it.
“Hi everybody. Thank you for being here today.” Even Justin Jones and his sister Avery Jones were here. I’d become an even bigger fan of hers after getting to know her better. She and her brother had been abused as teens. They had been very supportive since the conceptual stages of our planning. Justin’s hotel heiress wife had been one of the largest financial contributors. “I know you’re all as eager as I am to open the gates and get started.” I noticed a figure near the entrance, his face handsome though sullen. Logan Black. My PA’s son. Dressed head to toe in garb that reflected both his last name and his general outlook. Acting like he didn’t want to be there, but I recognized that for what it was…acting. He raked a hand through his dark hair revealing a scar on his cheek that his father had carved into it with a switch blade, but it didn’t detract from his looks. His mother had mentioned that he told a hundred different stories to girls about how he had gotten the scar, none of them the real one.
“I’ll make this short and sweet unlike one of Warren’s famous band speeches.” I got some clapping for that quip, and the one clapping that had moved directly below me made my heart stop, pause and then beat a lot faster. Juaquin. He looked so good, wearing just a grey v neck and jeans. But I knew what was under those jeans. And even across the space that separated us, I could see and feel his desire. I licked my lips. His golden eyes gleamed at me beneath the bill of his ball cap. He rarely went anywhere without wearing a cap or a hoodie. He was no longer just the drummer from Tempest. The temporary spike in recognition after his appearance on Rock Fuck Club wasn’t the reason. It was because of his solo stuff. He gave people music that made them want to dance. Mr. Southside. He might not have planned it, but he had become the face of his community. This community. Our community. I refocused for their sake. For all of ours. “The dream for Hope House is to transform suffering into beauty. Art. Music. Literature. Drama. Dance. In my own life acting was cathartic. It made a difference. It helped me overcome my abuse. The inspiration for Hope House is my husband. He helped me realize that it’s not weakness but strength to reach for what you need. Hope House is named for my daughter. I’m reminded every single day when I look at her that there’s always hope for a new beginning. Hope for everyone. Hope for those who need it. And hope for those of us who care enough to help.”
Author Note
I hope you enjoyed this story. I certainly enjoyed writing it. I hope you get a chance to read or listen to all the books in this series. They’re all fractured fairy tales. Cinderella addicted to heroin. Snow White pregnant as a teen and then a single mother. Rapunzel with depression. Wendy and domestic violence. The Little Mermaid with anorexia. And Miriam a scandalous Belle to her beast, a queen to her king.
Imperfect princesses in situations where love makes all the difference which I truly believe it does. Love between families. Love between friends. Love between significant others. Self love. Love from dedicated professionals. Seek one immediately if you find yourself in a real situation that might be similar to one of the heroines in my stories. There is no shame in reaching for and seeking help when needed. That is true bravery. That is true love.
Michelle Mankin, October 23, 2017
About the Author
Michelle Mankin is the New York Times bestselling author of the Black Cat Records series of novels.
Rock Stars. Romance. Redemption.
Love Evolution, Love Revolution, and Love Resolution are a BRUTAL STRENGTH centered trilogy, combining the plot underpinnings of Shakespeare with the drama, excitement, and indisputable sexiness of the rock ‘n roll industry.
Things take a bit of an edgier, once upon a time turn with the TEMPEST series. These pierced, tatted, and troubled Seattle rockers are young and on the cusp of making it big, but with serious obstacles to overcome that may prevent them from ever getting there.
Rock stars, myths, and legends collide with paranormal romance in a totally mesmerizing way in the MAGIC series.
Catch the perfect wave with irresistible surfers in the ROCK STARS, SURF AND SECOND CHANCES series.
Romance and self-discovery, the FINDING ME series is a Tempest spin off with a more experienced but familiar cast of characters.
Exploring the sexual double standards for women, the ROCK F*CK CLUB series is a what-if the groupies called the shots instead of the rock stars.
When Michelle is not prowling the streets of her Texas town listening to her rock or NOLA funk music much too loud, she is putting her daydreams down on paper or traveling the world with her family and friends, sometimes for real, and sometimes just for pretend.
CONNECT WITH MICHELLE MANKIN
Connect with Michelle Mankin on Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Author-Michelle-Mankin/233503403414065
On Twitter:
https://twitter.com/MichelleMankin
On her website:
http://www.michellemankin.com/
On Instagram:
https://instagram.com/michellemankin/
The Black Cat Records newsletter.
Autographed paperback and swag giveaway each month:
http://eepurl.com/Lvgzf
Other Titles by Michelle Mankin
BRUTAL STRENGTH series:
Love Evolution
Love Revolution
Love Resolution
Love Rock’ollection
TEMPEST series (also available in audio):
Irresistible Refrain
Enticing Interlude
Captivating Bridge
Relentless Rhythm
Tempest Raging
Tempting Tempo
Scandalous Beat
The MAGIC series (also available in audio):
Strange Magic
Dream Ma
gic
Twisted Magic
ROCK STARS, SURF AND SECOND CHANCES series (also available in audio):
Outside
Riptide
Oceanside
FINDING ME series (also available in audio):
Find Me
Remember Me
Keep Me
ROCK F*CK CLUB series:
Rock F*ck Club (audio coming soon)
Rock F*ck Club 1.5
Acknowledgements
I am feeling nostalgic as I close this series. So many have helped and encouraged me.
My family. My husband and two boys. My mind wanders. I often play music to get in the mood or mindset of my characters. Over and over again. For Irresistible it was Guns ‘N Roses Appetite for Destruction album. For Scandalous it was Enrique Iglesias and his Sex and Love album.
My best friend. To know Lisa Anthony is to love Lisa Anthony. But she is mine. You will have to be second on the list.
My best writing friend. The incredibly talented graphic artist who designs my covers and has the uncanny ability to decipher my ‘michellespeak’. So grateful you stepped out on a limb all those years ago before we really even knew each other and said, “let me design your covers.’ I love you, Michelle Warren/Preast @ MyIndieBookCovers.
My test readers.
Brandee Veltri. You have been along for the ride from the beginning. Doing my blog tours way back at one time. Believing in me. Sprinkling your megawatt joy on each and every book in this series.
Brandee Price. Since we bumped into each other at the Kansas City RT and bonded over our love of Shakespeare. You are incredible. This story, King, would not be who he is if not for you.
Valerie Manriquez. We met at a Highly Suspect concert. Lined up hours before the doors opened. I didn’t think there was a person on the planet that had as big a concert going obsession as me…I don’t think that anymore.
Artist Jodi Tomer. We met at the Wild and Windy author event in Chicago. I fell in love with her paintings. She fell in love with my stories. We collaborated on a book called, The Music and Art of Black Cat Records. She let me know that she just had to have an advanced copy of King.
Research creds.
Lori M. For sharing without filtering about her former career as a stripper.
Homeland Security Investigator Chris McGrath.
Pitbull
And
Enrique Iglesias. If you know him let him know there’s this NYT bestselling author that couldn’t have written her story without his music as inspiration.
Final product. The polishers.
My editor, Dr. Diane Klein. She is so cool and so intelligent. Her feedback is incredible and coveted. I ask her every time if she is still up for copy editing. It is a three week job and so far she has never said no.
My proofreader. Lexxie Lin of Unconventional Book Views. Scandalous went all the way to Switzerland to get her stamp of approval. Her Pm’s and emails as she read the story made me smile huge. Thank you for sharing your beautiful heart with me. For taking care of me when I got sick at the RT Atlanta. You live too far away, Lexxie. Let’s do the meet halfway Iceland thing. Seriously. I think to write a story about a rocker from Iceland.
My formatter, Julie Titus of JT Formatting. From the first book, I knew you were something special. Honesty. Integrity. Reliability. She takes my word docs and makes them into books. She blew me away when she wouldn’t let me pay for a charity compilation with 29 authors and then she didn’t want me to tell anyone. That is the type of woman she is.
Book bloggers. Gosh there have been so many. I started PM’ing them when I finished this story. I was actually sobbing as I typed some personal thank you’s, uh-um, Fred, Denise, Lisa’s x 2, Nicole and Rebecca from Author Groupies, and I am tearing up again now. Natasha, Maryse, Gitte and Jenny, Vilma, Ana. You guys! You love books like I do, like a lot of us do, but you are like the rest of us on steroids. Super-readers with super powers. Thank you for all you do to spread book love.
A shout out to a librarian in New Zealand who is a true friend. Halfway around the world, but your enthusiasm for reading and books inspires me. Love you, Paula Phillips of Phantom Paragrapher.
Readers. Those that have been with me since the sweet little story about a girl who dresses up like a guy to get into a rock band and who stuck with me when I stepped WAY out on a limb and wrote Rock F*ck Club, a story exploring the sexual double standards for women, a what-if the groupies called the shots instead of the rock stars. You guys are amazing! Your support is what keeps me going. Every email, every pm, every review you put up, every word of encouragement you send me is treasured.
Scandalous Beat (The Tempest Rock Star series Book 6) Page 30