Instead, I focused on rock ‘n’ roll – my constant, my touchstone, the only thing other than Sissy that could get me through anything.
I pulled on my supremely faded jeans and a thick tan belt, the leather tooled with flowers and vines that had been painted. I topped this with a fitted, chambray cowgirl shirt, complete with pearl snap buttons at the breast pockets, down the front and four up the cuffs. I wore this over a white tank top and finished the outfit off with tons of silver and my fawn-suede cowboy boots.
It was cowboy chic, not rock ‘n’ roll chic but I was in Denver and Denverites swung both ways.
Mace wasn’t Mr. Talkative. In fact he was actually kind of broody but, like all of the Hot Bunch, this character trait worked for him (in a big way). I did find out that his name wasn’t actually Mace, his name was Kai Mason, he was from Hawaii and he wasn’t talkative. I found out the last bit because the first two bits took me a gazillion questions to get out of him so eventually I gave up.
The girls (and Mace) did dinner then we all went to the gig at Herman’s Hideaway on Broadway.
Santo had disappeared which I decided to take as a good sign that the bad guys were no longer after me. However I wondered what this meant regarding my tenure at Luke’s loft since, if the bad guys weren’t after me anymore, I wouldn’t need to stay with Luke anymore.
Another thought to put on the list to consider later.
We sent word to Stella that we were there but other than that we didn’t bother her pre-gig. As always she’d have a drink with us during a break.
Stella and the Gypsies came out only fifteen minutes late (they were usually half an hour late or more). They looked pissed off but ready to rock. This wasn’t unusual either, the band fought all the time. They were constantly in danger of breaking up but somehow, likely using all of the piss and vinegar she had (which was a lot), Stella kept them together. She was like the mother of a dysfunctional family and I knew (because she told me) that it took all her energy. If she wasn’t practicing guitar or the band wasn’t rehearsing, she was caught up in some band member’s mess. She did this because the Gypsies played so well together they were worth the struggle. She also did this because she cared about them, from what I knew probably more than they deserved.
Stella started the set with serious head-bouncing energy including the guitar riffs and piano of The Doobie Brothers’ “China Grove” and didn’t give herself a breather before she slammed straight into Molly Hatchett’s “Flirtin’ with Disaster”. She didn’t make us wait for the famous “black” portion of her set list starting with Ram Jam’s “Black Betty”, sliding straight into The Black Crowes’ “Kickin’ My Heart Around”, taking it easy a bit for the Doobie’s “Black Water” and Alannah Myles’s “Black Velvet” then twanging through the Black Rebel’s “Ain’t No Easy Way”. She gave us a break from screaming out lyrics and bouncing around like lunatics by slowing it down with The Marshall Tucker Band’s “Can’t You See”, one of the few songs she didn’t sing herself but handed off to her bass player, Buzz. It was after that Stella and the Gypsies started the “Jessica” jam.
Stella didn’t often pull out “Jessica” but when she did the crowd ate it up. This was no exception and the Rock Chicks at the front were acting like it was our last meal.
Stella was rocking into Melissa Etheridge’s “Bring Me Some Water” when Mace and I peeled off from the rest of the Rock Chicks for a beverage break, getting Fat Tire orders from the girls before we went to the bar.
I was standing amongst the crush at the bar when I looked up at Mace and noticed his eyes were locked on Stella. I followed his eyes to the stage and watched for a few seconds while she rasped out Etheridge’s lyrics.
Stella was definitely Rock Chick Hot, tall, built and wearing low slung, faded Levi’s with a heavily tooled and riveted black belt with a kickass buckle that was a wide set of wings. She had on a faded black, fitted tee with the rebel flag mostly peeled but still discernable on the front and finished with scuffed, black cowboy boots. She had long, thick, dark brown hair that she held off her face just at the top with a clip at the back and she wore even more silver at her neck, ears and fingers than I did.
“You like Stella?” I screamed at Mace over the music and his eyes cut to me. His face was closed and I knew right off he wasn’t going to answer me and I was not invited to question him further.
Before I could push this (because I felt the need to be ornery as we were at a rock gig and something about Mace invited being ornery just to see if I could get a rise out of him and Mace was staring at a friend of mine like he wanted to carry her to a deserted island, build a hut out of palm fronds and never leave) when his body got tense, his eyes focused on something and he stepped close to me. Real close.
I turned and my mouth dropped open when I saw Ren had materialized out of nowhere, right in front of me. He was real close too, ultra close, but his eyes were on Mace.
I looked over my shoulder. “It’s okay Mace, I know him,” I shouted.
Mace’s eyes didn’t leave Ren nor did he move away from me but he answered in an unhappy voice. “I know.”
Ee-yikes!
I stood there, the meat in a Hot Guy Sandwich. Normally one would savor a moment like this but the bad vibes flowing weren’t conducive to savoring.
I looked back to Ren. “Hey Ren,” I said, trying to be cool.
“Where’s Sissy?” Ren replied, shattering my always tenuous hold on cool.
Uh-oh.
I stared at him. He was a Zano and Uncle Vito wanted Sissy. I didn’t want Ren to turn into a bad guy. I didn’t want Ren to be the man Vito sent after Sissy to make her “disappear”. That would mean that Ren was on the wrong side (read: not my side) and that would suck.
I decided it was best not to answer.
Mace got closer, so much closer I could feel the heat of his body at my back.
“Back away,” he warned Ren.
Ren didn’t move. Not good.
Ren ignored Mace and asked me, “Does Stark have her safe?”
I kept my mouth shut but my heart was beating double time.
I’ll be really disappointed if Ren turns out to be a bad guy, Good Ava said.
I won’t, Bad Ava returned. Bad guys are HOT.
Ren’s hand came to the side of my neck and his face came to mine. I felt Mace against my back and Mace’s hand came to my waist, his fingers pressing in.
Eek!
“Both you boys, move back,” I ordered using a tone I hoped would be obeyed without question.
Neither moved.
There you go, guess they questioned my tone.
I had visions of being crushed in a Hot Guy Sandwich, splodges of Ava squirting out the sides like too much mayo. I didn’t want to be Ava Mayo Splodge so I snapped, “Move back!”
Ren stayed in my face, his intensity scaring me but what scared me more was that he didn’t seem at all worried about Mace. Mace wasn’t as frightening a tough guy, macho man as Luke but he was no slouch and the broody was definitely scary.
Ren started talking to me. “Ava, if Stark doesn’t have Sissy safe, tell him to keep her safe. A lot of shit is going down with Dom, part of it is that he wants her back.”
I closed my eyes in despair. I was worried about that.
Ren went on when I opened my eyes again. “I’m talking to Dom and Vito. When I work it out with them, I’ll tell you. If Stark can’t keep her safe, you gotta let me know so that I can.”
I felt my heart stutter. “What?” I asked stupidly, staring him in the eyes.
“If Stark isn’t hiding her, tell him to hide her and keep her hidden. If he isn’t willing to do that then I will. I’m workin’ on Vito and I’ll talk him around.”
He got even closer, so much closer his forehead came to rest against mine and when he did this I sucked in breath.
It felt weird because it felt nice and sweet and I knew it shouldn’t. Firstly, I was supposed to be sworn off men. Secondly (yes, I knew it was
contradictory to my first point but I was ignoring that fact), I was sleeping with Luke in an exclusive fuck buddies arrangement so I shouldn’t be thinking anything about Ren felt nice and sweet.
“Ava, honey,” Ren said softly, breaking into my thoughts and since he was so close I could hear him over the music. “What I’m tellin’ you is that you don’t have anything to worry about and neither does Sissy.”
My tension melted and I found myself in the position (again) to want to kiss another hot guy all over for taking care of my friend though I’d learned my lesson not to share.
When my tension left me, I felt Mace move slightly away, his fingers disappearing from my waist.
“Ren,” I said softly as my way of saying thanks and his face lost some intensity.
“Dom doesn’t deserve her,” Ren said back and at his words and the way he said them (like he really meant them) I moved into him. I couldn’t help it. I agreed with what he said, I believed he wanted to keep Sissy safe and I was happy he was a good guy. There weren’t a lot of them in this world but I was beginning to think Ren was an exception to that rule. So now, by my count, there was one, maybe two if you counted Luke (though the jury was still out on him) or maybe about a dozen if you counted the Hot Bunch, Tex and Duke.
It was on that thought when Stella started to sing Hank Williams’ “I’m So Lonesome I Could Cry” and all eyes turned to her.
Stella was in rare form that night. It was like she was intent on giving the performance of a lifetime, as if the King of the World had stepped in to see her set and she had to impress him or have her head chopped off. She rarely ever pulled out “I’m So Lonesome I Could Cry” and when she did the audience became transfixed, as it was right then and I was no exception. Even though I was stuck by the heart-wrenching lyrics and the way Stella delivered them, I could swear her eyes were on Mace. It was as if she was singing right to him and somehow, in a weird way I didn’t get, that made it even more poignant.
Hmm.
Another thought to ponder at a later time (and peck over with the rest of the Rock Chicks).
I was so lost in Stella and what was going on with her and Mace (because something was definitely going on with her and Mace), not to mention the song, I didn’t pay much attention when Ren moved around to my back. I did notice his arms going around my waist and him pulling me into his body. I also noticed his chin resting on my shoulder, his cheek pressing against mine. Further, I noticed his body felt warm and hard and he smelled really good, a hint of spicy, expensive cologne mixed with Hot Guy and the combination of all of that was heady stuff.
I also noticed that Mace didn’t see Ren move. He was staring at Stella like he was never going to stop watching her. The song was so sad, so beautiful and Stella sang it with such emotion, it felt good having strong arms around me. I crossed my arms over his at my waist and melted back into Ren’s torso.
Then, as it was with that song, especially the way Stella sang it, Ren and I seemed somehow to stand alone, even in the massive crowd, while we let Stella’s singing and Hank’s lyrics wash over us.
Therefore it was a shock when I felt Ren go rock solid not to mention at the same moment the air went dangerously electric. I turned my head to see what was causing the tension and I saw Luke standing close wearing his customary black with the addition of a killer black-leather motorcycle jacket. His face was stony, his eyes so focused on Ren they didn’t even flick to me for an instant.
Uh-oh.
I straightened in Ren’s arms, blinking rapidly at Luke and trying to catch one of the feelings coursing through me. The most prevalent of these included a bit of fear and a helluva lot of panic.
“Outside,” Luke growled to Ren, his voice a low, angry rumble.
Ho-ly shit.
Ren moved from me as panic took firm hold. I tore my eyes away from Luke to look at Ren and he was grinning like he was very happy about something.
Fuckity, fuck, fuck, fuck!
“Rock Chicks!” I shouted toward the stage and Daisy was the only one who heard me but a load of people gave me pissy looks for shouting during Stella’s “Lonesome”.
Daisy looked away from Stella to me. I pointed at Ren and Luke moving away as I jumped up and down, following the boys and motioning with hand gestures that could only describe, “Danger! Danger! The end of the world is nigh!”
Daisy’s eyes moved from me to Mace, who was trying to block me, to the departing Ren and Luke. She cottoned on quickly to the situation and started tagging Rock Chicks.
I was multitasking, communicating with the Rock Chicks and following Luke and Ren when I hit something solid and stopped to look up at Mace.
“Mace, you have to get out of my way,” I told him.
“You’re stayin’ in here,” Mace replied.
Ha!
As if!
I wasn’t going to stand inside Herman’s drinking a beer and listening to Stella while Luke and Ren ripped each other apart.
“No way! I’ve got to stop them,” I said to Mace.
Mace shook his head.
I didn’t have time for this. Luke and Ren were going to tear each other to shreds in the parking lot, all on account of me being a big dork.
When was I going to learn? When, when, when? If one of them got hurt… shit!
“Out of my way,” I snapped, dodged to the left, to the right, back to the left then ran around him on his right, giving him a wide berth and looking like a lunatic because he didn’t give chase, he just watched me while he turned in a slow semi-circle still shaking his head.
I didn’t worry about looking like a lunatic. I took off out the door. By this time, the whole Rock Chick posse was on my heels.
I hit the parking lot and saw them. Luke had taken off his jacket and was in the act of tossing it on the hood of his Porsche when we got there. Ren was rolling up the sleeves of his jeans shirt.
“Lookin’ forward to this,” Ren said low as I stopped, the Rock Chick posse gathering around me.
“What’s goin’ on?” Daisy asked from beside me.
I ignored her. “This is crazy. Luke, let me –” I started but Luke’s eyes cut to me and I froze in mid-speak at his look.
Then his eyes sliced to Mace. “Keep her back,” Luke said.
Before I could react, I felt an iron arm clamp around my waist as Mace grabbed hold of me. I leaned into it with all my bodyweight and tried to push his arm away with my hands but I was held fast. I was beginning to wonder if Riley wasn’t leading me down the garden path with his so-called “workouts” and “strength training”.
“Shit, I don’t think this is good,” Jet whispered from somewhere close and I looked her way. She was pale and staring at Luke and Ren. I did a scan and noticed that all the Rock Chicks were pale.
“No, this is not good,” Roxie agreed.
“No, this is really, really not good,” Indy put in.
They were not wrong.
I decided to try another tactic and looked to Ren. “Ren, please, don’t do this. This is crazy. Someone’s going to get hurt. Just go, I’ll call you later.”
“Boys, listen to Ava, stand down,” Ally threw in.
Ren ignored Ally and me. “Ava told me about you,” Ren said to Luke.
Uh-oh.
I went still and stopped struggling against Mace’s arm so I could focus my attention on freaking about what was going to come out of Ren’s mouth next. I had told him about Luke under the influence of three glasses of wine and a major flip out. I hadn’t expected he’d ever have the opportunity to share and even if he did, I never expected him actually to share.
“Ren,” I said but it came out breathy and quiet and I knew he didn’t hear me.
I looked to Luke who was silent and watching, his body looking both relaxed and prepared at the same time.
“Ren, please. Don’t,” I went on, sounding louder but not loud enough because, to my horror, Ren went on.
“I get a good shot in maybe I’ll knock some fuckin’ sense into
you. Then maybe you’ll be thinkin’ of Ava when you fuck her, not some other man’s piece you can’t have.”
The Rock Chicks collectively sucked in breath at Ren’s words and all their gazes swung in my direction.
Oh shit.
Luke’s eyes sliced to me and my breath left my lungs in a whoosh.
His eyes were cold, hard, furious and lastly and most frighteningly, disbelieving. Somehow his look made him seem like he’d already suffered a blow before a punch had been thrown and that blow had been delivered by me.
I wanted to say something, anything to take that look off his face but I didn’t have a chance. Luke looked back to Ren and it began.
At first I didn’t move, I watched in shocked, horrified fascination.
It was brutal, powerful and, in a weird way, beautiful and even awe-inspiring. Luke and Ren knew what they were doing, they were strong, fast, light on their feet and so angry neither of them was holding anything back.
Then the sound of flesh thudding against flesh, again and again and again, got through to me.
“Stop it!” I screamed, my voice not sounding like my own, it came out as a screech.
They kept going.
“Stop it!” I shrieked again, unable to think of something better to say.
Luke’s fist smashed into Ren’s mouth and Ren’s lip opened up, blood flying and Ally started to scream “stop” with me.
Then I saw Ren throw a punch that Luke didn’t dodge and I watched a cut open on Luke’s cheek.
At that I started struggling like a she-cat and screaming like a banshee, not using words just yelling. I pressed my back against Mace’s body, lifting my feet clean up in the air to power kick out of his arms. This didn’t work so I planted my feet and leaned forward, trying to take him with me or break the contact. Neither of these worked so I yelled at the top of my lungs. “Godamnit, stop it!”
Of course, they did not stop.
I used the move I used with Luke at Sissy and Dom’s and elbowed Mace in the side with all my might. I added an additional touch and at the same time I kicked him in the shin with the heavy heel of my cowboy boot. This worked. His arm loosened just enough for me to get away.
Rock Chick Revenge Page 29