I stopped at the door of the bus, ignoring the girls lined up along the side trying to get Ryder’s attention. “So what happens now?” I asked him, bracing myself for the worst case scenario.
Ryder looked at me quizzically, holding my hands. “We go to Milwaukee?” He asked me like he wasn’t sure himself. My knees weakened with relief. “Milwaukee, right, Tommy?”
“I don’t bloody know. Some other Godforsaken place that’s colder than a witch’s tit. Oh hello, lovie.” Tommy stopped to chat up an admiring fan and take pictures.
“I guess we go where Ralph takes us.” Ryder winked. “Let’s get on the bus. You must be freezing.”
“Are you going to sign any autographs?” I sympathized with those girls, standing in the cold in short shirts and halter tops. How many times had I done the exact same thing with Erin?
“Sure.” Ryder slapped my ass as I made my way inside. “I won’t be long.”
“Hey Ralph.” I needed an excuse to watch Ryder out the window. Besides the windshield, the rest of the windows on the bus were blacked out.
“You’re sticking around, I see.” Ralph sighed, heavily.
“Am I that bad?”
“No, just the opposite.”
“Listen, I know what I’m up against.” My tone was heavy with meaning, and I wasn’t surprised when the color drained from Ralph’s face. “I don’t know if this is a great decision, either, but I’m not ready to go home yet.”
Turning back out the window, I watched Ryder work the crowd. He posed for pictures, laughed at jokes I couldn’t hear, and talked to someone on a stranger’s cell phone. If he wasn’t happy, these girls would never be able to tell. After some girl pulled up her schoolgirl skirt and he’d signed her ass, he joined me on the bus.
“What are you doing?” He kissed me when he reached the top of the stairs.
“Watching you in action.”
“I’d think you’d be getting sick of that by now.”
“I don’t think I’ll ever be sick of it.” I slid my now warm hands under Ryder’s still cold jacket. Pressing my face against his chest, I again faced Ralph, who watched our exchange in disgust.
Was he really that concerned about me, or did he just hate what his employers truly were?
It didn’t really matter what he thought.
“We leave in two hours.” Ralph called out as we made our way down the aisle.
We joined the rest of the band, minus Drake of course, in the common room. The party had reached full swing already. Thomas invited his new friend to join us. She sat on his lap as they both passed a bottle back and forth between them.
“What do you want to drink?” Ryder asked, reaching for the small bar area.
“Whatever you’re having, I guess.”
“Tell me what you want, babe.”
I raised my eyebrows at him and looked back down the aisle towards the bunks. He half smiled, knowing exactly what I was insinuating. I balled the fabric of his shirt into my fists and pulled him in close enough so he could hear me whisper. “I want to be what you’re having.”
“Soon.” His hand squeezed my ass, pushing me in closer to him. I could feel him harden against my stomach. “You can’t have everything you want right when you want it. What fun would that be?”
“It would be a lot of fun.”
“I don’t know.” He kissed me to the low whistles of the rest of the group. “I think there’s something to be said for the simmer of anticipation.”
He let go of me, turning back to the bar. My heart pounded in my chest. “I guess I’ll have a rum and diet coke.” My voice shook.
“You know lovie, if you want it right now, Amy thinks you’re pretty cute.” Thomas declared. The girl on his lap beamed at me with a crooked-toothed grin. Her shirt was already open, exposing tiny breasts and bad dolphin tattoos. “There’s enough room on the couch for the three of us.”
“Tommy, leave my girl alone. For the love of Christ.” Now it was my turn to beam at someone. My insides turned to jelly hearing Ryder refer to me as his.
“Christ left this building, long ago, with Elvis.” Thomas declared while groping at Amy’s nipple, sending her into a fit of giggles. “We might as well have some fun. My girl wants us all to be happy. Isn’t that right, lovie?”
Amy nodded. I didn’t want to stick around long enough to find out what that meant. I’d been around enough groupies to know what most of them were willing to do to please a crowd.
The drink Ryder served me was far more rum than coke. I shuddered as I sucked it down. He had poured himself an amber drink out of a fancy looking crystal bottle I’d never seen before.
“I’m kind of tired. I’m not used to sleeping on the bus.”
“Oh, honey, nobody sleeps on a tour bus!” Amy laughed. “You’ve got it all wrong.”
“Whatever. I’m going to go back to the bunk to not sleep.” I trailed my fingers against Ryder’s chin as I turned to walk away. He leaned against the counter, only his eyes following me at first. I stopped at the curtain to see if he’d follow. He finished his drink in one swig and pushed himself off the counter without a word.
I leaned against the ladder to the bunk, waiting for Ryder to catch up. My shoulders firmly in his arms, he kissed me deeply before we started our climb.
“I guess Amy’s got her work cut out for her tonight.” I giggled.
“She does. And she’s got to get it done in an hour and a half.” Ryder smiled. “You can take your time.”
“What the fuck did you idiots do?” Drake’s booming voice echoed through the bus, jolting me out of sleep.
I tried to jump, but I was trapped on the bed by Ryder’s arm. I hit my head hard against the side of the bus, and rubbed the pain away with my free hand.
“What’s wrong?” I whispered to Ryder.
“Hell if I know.” He murmured. “Drake, calm down!” He yelled out, peeking around the curtain.
I wondered if he ever got tired of saying that.
“How is he here? Is it night already?” I whispered. Or did Drake have superpowers that allowed sunlight to touch him without burning him?
“No. It’s an intercom.” Ryder sounded disgusted.
“The fucking cops are outside. And they want to talk to all of you.” Drake continued blustering. Ryder pulled the curtain back, and I could see the rest of the guys jumping out of their bunks like the bus was on fire. Pulling on T-shirts, boxers, socks. Bumping into each other on their way to the back of the bus.
Holy shit. All of us? My heart practically broke through my rib cage and on to the sheet. What did the police want? Were they here for me? I kept waking up all night, doing my best not to scream every time Angela’s face greeted me in my dreams. The news report from last night played on constant repeat in my subconscious. It was the breaking news that was determined to break me.
Ryder sighed deeply and raked his fingers through his hair before beginning to pull his clothes back on.
“Can you shut the curtain?” I pulled the sheet up over my chest. I didn’t need to give Milwaukee’s finest a free show.
“Oh yeah. Sorry.” He leaned down and kissed me as his left arm dragged the curtain back. “I’m not used to having company.”
I shimmied back into my clothes from last night. What felt sexy just hours before felt trashy now as I went to possibly face the music. It took everything I had not to run as far and as fast as I could away from here. I had to concentrate on breathing normally.
“Are you okay?” Ryder asked me as we made our way down the aisle.
I shook my head. My eyes welled with tears. I knew if I spoke, it would just be all over, I’d be hauled off to jail, never to see the light of day again.
If anyone could sympathize with never seeing the light of day again, it was Ryder. God, I didn’t envy him. At least I still had a chance at freedom. Maybe.
Ralph, Adam, Thomas, and Josiah, the rhythm guitarist, had already gathered in the common area. Everyone was half awake and
had bed head. Poor Josiah, the quietest one in the band, squinted awkwardly, not having a chance to grab his glasses before our forced roll call.
I noticed that Amy from last night was nowhere to be found. It looked like she got her work done in the time allotted.
Three police officers made their way down the aisle. Two of them were just massive human beings, well over six feet tall with wide shoulders. The oldest of the trio was considerably shorter, but much portlier. They filled up what was left of the space in the common area, and must have used up the rest of the oxygen because I couldn’t breathe. My hand clutched the back of Ryder’s arm.
I wondered if vampires bruised.
“We, uh, appreciate you gentlemen and ladies speaking to us on short notice,” the portly officer started, looking at me with disgust. “We know that you fellas keep late hours. We just need to ask you some questions, and then hopefully we’ll be on our way.”
Ryder put his hand reassuringly on my knee in an effort to relax me. I was probably hurting him. I followed the three sets of eyes in uniform that landed on the fingers on my jeans. They might as well have just called me a whore out loud. Their thoughts were written all over their faces.
“Do any of you gentlemen remember seeing this young lady last night?” One of the tall officers held up a picture of Amy. “She posted pictures on her Facebook of herself with the band from last night.”
Everyone looked at each other, trying to decide who should speak.
“Yes, sir. She had a drink with us and then left.” Adam somehow became the silently elected spokesman.
“About what time did she leave?”
“Not sure, sir. We left town about three hours after the show, so sometime before then.”
“Was she with anyone else?”
“Not that I know of, sir. There were a lot of people out by the bus. It wasn’t clear who was with who.” Adam confessed. “May I ask what happened to the girl?”
I noticed he didn’t call her by name.
“She never made it back home. The babysitter called the local police just before dawn,” the officer said. “Thank you for your time, gentlemen. If you remember anything else, please give us a call.” He handed a card to Ralph, who looked to be the most responsible of all of us.
The officers left without another word.
I let out a breath I’d been holding too long, and everyone else looked ready to pee their pants.
“What the hell did you guys do to her?” Ryder asked, sounding like he was scolding children.
“She was into it,” Thomas started.
Adam shot him a lethal look. “Nothing. We were just having a little fun. Then Tommy bit her.”
Ryder shook his head. “You know better, man. It freaks the girls out, and never ends well. So where the hell is she?”
The three offenders looked at each other. Ralph sighed heavily. “Own up to it, fellas. You did it. She’s in the cargo hold.”
“What the fuck?” Ryder asked. “Don’t make me ask again. I’m going to be the one who has to explain this to Drake.”
“I can hear everything you assholes are saying.” Drake’s voice boomed in over a loudspeaker, like the Wizard behind the curtain. “And you’re on your own with this one. I’m not bailing you out of this shit.”
“So what happened to the girl?” Ryder repeated, pausing between each word.
“She tasted so good, man. Sweet.” Thomas started again.
“That’s just because you haven’t gotten any in forever. They all taste good.” Josiah said quietly.
“Anyway, she freaked out. The blood got everywhere. We’d all been drinking, having a good time.”
“We were drunk,” Adam tried to justify. “We couldn’t help ourselves.”
“You drained her.” Ryder sighed.
“I’m so sorry, guys.” Thomas looked like he was going to cry.
“You should be!” Drake’s voice cut through the awkward silence. “We can’t have the police following us from city to city. We have to keep what we are under wraps. It’s part of the contract.”
“I don’t understand why we have to be so secretive,” Adam said, sounding like a defiant teenager. “When those clowns in Immortal Dilemma are flaunting what they are on TV.”
“Nobody believes it. They think they’re all just actors. No one suspects a thing.” Josiah added.
“Don’t worry about what everyone else does!” Drake snapped. “No one is going to come see us if we leave a pile of bodies behind after every show.”
“It’s true,” Ryder said. “You guys can’t keep doing this shit.”
My mouth dropped, realizing a body count was growing in the band’s wake. Why would that surprise me? Just because Ryder had shown restraint – so far – didn’t negate what these guys were. Monsters that had no control and carelessly sucked mortals dry.
“I need some air.” I put my hand on Ryder’s shoulder before I headed back down the aisle to grab my shoes and jacket. The close call of the cops, Amy lifeless in the cargo hold, it all made my head swim.
I leaned up against the side of the bus, the cold metal sending an uncomfortable chill down my back. I relished it. Comfortable was something I couldn’t afford to be.
“Mel? Is that you?” A female voice that shouldn’t be here asked me. Erin, my partner in crime from my high school years, stood in front of me.
I was so thrilled to see someone from home that I practically knocked her over as I wrapped her up in a hug. As I squeezed her and rocked back and forth, I couldn’t help but think how thin she was. It was like hugging a doll. “What are you doing here?”
“I should ask you the same thing. Have you been on Facebook? Melanie, do you know what happened to Jamie?”
All the blood stopped moving in my body. I leaned back against the bus, frightened of what she was going to say next.
“What happened to Jamie?” I asked in a small voice.
Erin’s face paled. Her hand went up to her mouth, like she regretted saying anything, and hated herself for having to say more. She bit her lip, her eyes wide. “He’s dead, Mel. He was murdered along with some other girl. In your apartment. I didn’t know you guys broke up.”
She didn’t suspect me. My dear friend didn’t think I could be capable of such a horrible thing.
I inhaled deeply, closing my eyes in relief. Tears flowed down my face, and my body shook. The news, even though I was responsible for it, still shocked me.
“Oh, Mellie.” Erin cried too. She’d always really loved me with Jamie. Thought he was good for me. “I’m so sorry. You know, people are looking for you, too. Is everything okay? I mean, you are the last person I expected to see here.”
“I’m okay now,” I told her when I was finally able to form the words. I clung to her for dear life. “But you can’t tell anyone you’ve seen me.”
Either Ralph had a better opinion of Milwaukee than he did of Detroit, or he seemed to think that Erin and I could hold our own. Or he just didn’t care what happened to us anymore after last night. Obviously we weren’t safe from attack on the buses. Whatever his reason was, Erin and I were free to go off on our own.
“Can you believe after all the time we spent chasing after the band together, we meet up with each other here?” Erin chattered nervously as we walked down the busy road away from the parking lot of The Raven night club. “Think they have Starbucks around here?”
“Um, probably not.” Many of the stores in this neighborhood hadn’t been open for business in a long time. We walked past a nail salon, a Columbian convenience store, and a pizza place. “There’s a diner up ahead.”
“They’ve got coffee. Sold.”
The diner was strangely quiet for being so close to lunch time. We sat ourselves and waited a while for anyone to acknowledge us. Neither of us was ready to really talk yet. We spent the time waiting for a waitress to acknowledge us as we looked around at the dusty Americana cluttering the walls.
“Would you ladies like coffee?”
The waitress finally surfaced, placing sticky menus down in front of us. Maybe she meant for us to sample previous customers’ meals before making a decision. I pulled hand sanitizer out of my bag and silently offered some to Erin.
“You have no idea.” Erin said, rubbing the gel together in her palms. “Keep it coming.”
“It’s going to be a minute. I need to brew a pot.” The waitress walked away without asking us if we wanted anything else. Erin and I were both at a loss.
“Shouldn’t a diner always have coffee? I mean, isn’t that the point of a diner?” Erin spoke rapidly. “Oh well, at least it will be fresh.”
I noticed she’d already placed her menu aside. Granted, it was gross, covered in jelly and syrup. I had my old standbys at places like these. Chances were I’d order Eggs Benedict or a cheeseburger. I didn’t know if I could resist diner fries. Yesterday’s salad didn’t quite cut it. But Erin always used to take forever to make a decision.
The waitress returned with our coffees. “Have you ladies decided?”
“Yes, I’ll have a cheeseburger. Cooked medium.”
“I’m all set.”
“Really?” I questioned Erin. The waitress couldn’t care less.
“Yeah. I have some protein bars back at the car.”
“You can’t live off of protein bars!”
“Don’t give me a hard time, Melanie. I mean, I’m the one who should be grilling you. It’s just food. Who cares?”
I sighed. “You’re right. I’m sorry.” I did have a lot of explaining to do. “So what do you want to know?”
“When I told you about Jamie, it wasn’t a surprise, was it?”
I shook my head.
Erin looked like she might get sick. She swirled her spoon around in her coffee cup vigorously. For such a protein bar aficionado, she certainly added a lot of sugar to her coffee.
“Why didn’t you tell anyone?” She whispered, eyes wide. I don’t know if she assumed I had anything to do with his death or not. And I wasn’t looking for clarification.
Night Moves (The Night Songs Collection) Page 5