I knew Frankie would do anything in his power to help. He was a good guy. He'd worked with us a bit in the early days. Even if I wasn't paying him, he wouldn't put up with shit. Still, he was only one man. If I could, I'd have an army of bodyguards protecting her. Well, if I had my way, she wouldn't be on that tour at all.
I messaged Alice to see if she was okay.
I'm fine.
That didn't reassure me, so I called her.
"Oh, are we doing twice nightly phone calls now?" she said.
She had a laugh in her voice.
"I just wanted to hear you again," I said. "I miss you."
"I miss you too."
God, now she'd got me hard again. My cock would end up red raw from all the wanking.
"You know, if there's anything wrong, you can call me."
Even as I said it, I knew she wouldn't. She was too damn stubborn. If I hadn't made such a fuss about her going on this tour, then she might open up more, but I'd made it difficult. She'd keep me in the dark rather than admit I'd been right.
While I was talking to Alice, I got a message.
Thinking it was Frankie, I opened it. It wasn't. It was my mother. Just wanting to check in and see how I was doing. Talk about instant boner killer. Suddenly, I felt very tired.
Alice
AFTER A DAY OF DOING nothing, it was good to get back to work. I could cruise a bit for this show. I knew the setlist now and had a good idea where to position myself.
There wasn't much press for this show. Just myself and some local guys. I just needed to get half dozen good shots and things would be sweet. Of course, you needed to take a lot of photos to get that good half-dozen. It did give me a lot more time to watch Molloy than I'd had at the first show.
He started playing that song that I loved. The song that I'd listened to every day for ages. Somehow, it didn't seem right. Had the lyrics always been that contrived? And the way he did the sad eyes in the chorus. So lame.
Then they moved on to one of the new songs. That was even worse. The words that I'd thought were so poetic seemed like the pathetic complaints of a jerk now.
God, he thought he was hot shit too.
At least Savage knew he was hot shit and played to it. Not Molloy. It was all so fake and meh. Everything was on the surface. The words, designed to manipulate the audience's emotions rather than tap into anything deeper. The sad, soulful music just grated on my nerves.
My fangirl love died inside me.
I zoomed in on Molloy's face. He cradled the microphone in his hand. The shot would look good but it meant nothing.
Maybe it was me. But I doubted it. This show lacked any electricity. The crowd cheered and clapped but they didn't have that tension that you got with a really amazing gig.
After that, I got some close-ups of the guitarist. He seemed to be just phoning it in. The bassist was completely stoned and the drummer looked stoned and bored.
I had to make this tour look good but the band sure weren't helping. Before I'd joined the tour, the manager had wanted me to sign all kinds of non-disclosure clauses. I'd thought it strange at the time. Now I totally understood. The gap between Molloy's public image and his real self was massive.
This was just one show out of the tour. I'd have the chance to get better shots on other nights. It had to improve.
Afterwards, I went backstage. I hadn't stored my gear anywhere near the band. I didn't want to walk in on any more shitty conversations. But the tour manager grabbed me and told me to get to the band room. They were doing meet-and-greets with local personalities and I had to be there for it. They wanted some shots for their social media.
Molloy lolled back in his chair, not even bothering to get up to shake hands with people. I wasn't sure how to make that look good. The local press guys took photos but no one outside the town wanted to see Molloy meet a radio personality.
I took a few photos, then got bored and wandered off. This wasn't something the magazine would ever use.
"Hey, photographer," Molloy yelled. "Get me a beer, will you?"
My jaw clenched. I held the words I wanted to say inside me. Words like "get off your lazy butt and get it yourself." What a total jerk.
I grabbed a beer for him since it would be easier than arguing. I didn't even pitch it at his head, which would've been so satisfying. He wouldn't want to keep that up, though. I was the photographer not his fetching shit girl. Also, I hated how he called me "photographer."
By the time he'd finished with his meeting and greeting, a bunch of chicks had come backstage. There were at least a dozen. Half of them wore sky-high stilettos. Who the hell goes to see a band wearing shoes like that?
A couple of them made a beeline for Molloy. They could get his beers now.
Since we all had to get on the one bus to get back to the motel, I needed to hang around. I sure didn't want to be in that band room, though. I grabbed my camera gear and left. Maybe, if I found somewhere I could be alone, I could give Savage a call, instead of waiting until we finally got back to the hotel.
In the hallway, the bass player had some groupie up against the wall, his hands under her skirt.
I ignored them. I'd been on tours before. I'd seen it all. But it bugged me a lot more on this tour than it ever had before. Maybe that was just because I didn't want to see other people getting it on when I was missing out. But, more likely, it was that after overhearing Molloy's filthy talk, it all seemed a bit nasty.
I found an empty room. It looked like a storeroom, with metal boxes stacked up around the place, probably filled with sound equipment and other supplies. There was a space between the stacks big enough for me to sit down.
I went in and got out my phone, messaging Savage to see if he was available.
Savage
ALICE STILL SOUNDED down. She hadn't mentioned what a jerk Molloy had been to her and I couldn't say a word. Not without admitting that I had Frankie keeping an eye on her.
"Are you back at the hotel already?"
"Nope. I've got to wait around for the rest of the crew."
"Not partying with them?"
"The partying is no fun."
It made me happy to hear her say that. Because I'm a selfish prick and I'd rather her be miserable than having fun without me.
"I know. I'm waiting around for the guys to finish up too."
I hadn't exactly been a ball of fun since she'd left. Buzz kept holding out drinks to me but I just ignored him. Now that I knew how good things could be with her, without her everything seemed flat. Yep, me. Savage. The biggest womanizer around. I'd fallen so hard.
"Only 25 days now," she said. "Not that I'm counting."
"I'm counting too."
She laughed.
"How did the show go?" she asked.
"Great. Fantastic. Things just seem to get better. Most of the shows have sold out."
"I wish I could be there for them."
I resisted the urge to tell her she could've been. No point rehashing that.
"I've been working on some new material too, but the only things that come to me now are sappy love songs. You've ruined all my angst."
"People love sappy love songs."
God, it was hard talking to her when I wasn't alone. There were a million things I wanted to say but they were things I couldn't when the band were around. We could talk later when we were alone, sexy talk. But for now, I wanted to keep things clean and try to get to the bottom of this issue.
"If you ever decide to quit the tour early, I won't say a word," I told her. "No 'I told you so', no gloating."
"Where did that come from?"
"I'm just saying. I know you're stubborn but don't be too stubborn. If it feels wrong, then go with your gut."
She sighed.
"It's a job. And it's not forever."
"Yep, it's a job, just a job. You don't have to kill yourself for it. There are other jobs."
"I know," she said but her voice was barely a whisper.
That a
lmost broke me.
"Just quit."
"It's only been a few days. It's going to get better. It sucks being stuck at that motel. When we get to the next town, I'll have more freedom."
That might be true but she'd be closer to Molloy too. The thing that worried me most was that Alice's lack of adoration for him would just make her a challenge. Hell, it had for me. But I didn't have Molloy's alley cat morals.
I'd told her so many times to call me, to tell me if anything went wrong but I still wasn't sure she would.
We talked more for a while. All the tiny details of our days that we thought of. Both of us not wanting to get off the phone.
"Shit, my battery's dying. I need to find my charger," she finally said.
"Message me when you get back to your room."
She hung up and I stared at my silent phone for far longer than was healthy.
Alice
WHEN I WENT BACK TO the band room, the party had gotten rowdier. There were more groupies, more drugs and more blow jobs going on than I could keep track of. I wondered how much it'd cost for a cab back to the motel. Probably more than I earnt in a week.
I got my bag and looked for my charger. The battery on my phone had gotten dangerously low while I'd been chatting to Savage and I had nothing else to amuse myself with.
It wasn't in there.
Shit, I'd left it back in my room. I'd set it on the table beside the bed last night and hadn't put it back in my bag.
Figuring someone else would have one, I looked around for Penny and Sheryl. They were nowhere to be found but given the amount of sex going on, I didn't want to look too closely.
Actually, most of the people backstage were either in the band or were groupies. I couldn't see any of the crew. Weird.
The tour manager stood by the drinks table so I went over and asked him.
"They went back to the motel on the bus," he said.
"Huh? The bus had gone? No one told me."
"We did a few call outs. If you missed it, it's your own fault."
Shit. Damn. I thought it'd be hours before the bus left. No one even looked like they were leaving when I'd gone to call Savage. I wanted to kick myself, or someone else or maybe just the table.
I was stuck there. I couldn't afford a cab and I had no idea how else to get back. Panic welled up inside me. Stupid panic. It wasn't like I was in any danger.
Had no one noticed I wasn't on the bus?
I guess, with the amount of partying going on, if they had noticed I wasn't on the bus they'd assumed that I'd just hooked up with someone and decided not to go back.
I didn't want to hang around backstage with it rapidly developing into an orgy but I had nowhere else to go. I grabbed my stuff. I didn't want to leave the stadium. I knew nothing about this town or where we were in relation to anything else No one left here had any rational capability.
Instead, I went back to the store room. I settled on the floor, leaning against one of the boxes and got out my phone. I could call Savage back and, if I needed, sleep on the floor. I'd slept in worse places.
"What's up?" Savage asked.
"Ah, I missed the bus back to the motel."
"Shit. Get a cab. I'll pay for it."
"You can't do that. I'll be fine. I'm back in the store room. I can crash here."
"That's not good. Get a hotel or something. Why did those jerks go back to the motel without you?"
"It's not their fault. I guess I disappeared and no one had any idea where I was."
I leant my head back. It was going to be a long night. I could hear some hollering in the corridor outside. Maybe the band were finally headed back to their hotel rooms.
"Well, I'm alone now so you can talk to me," he said.
Even though I wanted to keep chatting to Savage, my phone beeped to warn my battery about to die.
"Shit, I forgot. I needed to borrow a battery charger off someone. I might have to keep this short."
"Can you get one now?"
"I'm not going back out there. It's pretty wild. I might just curl up here and get some sleep. I'll be thinking about you though."
"No. Don't do that. Get back--"
My phone died. and the store room seemed incredibly empty. I curled up on the floor, wanting Savage beside me, even his voice was better than this blankness. Sleep would be the next best thing.
Savage
WHEN ALICE GOT OFF the phone, I called Frankie.
"Where the hell are you?"
"Back at the motel..."
"And where the hell is Alice?"
He didn't reply.
"Well?"
"Where is she?" he asked.
"She's back at the stadium. The bus went without her. And now her phone's dead."
"Shit."
"Do you think she's safe there? She said she'd sleep in a store room. A store room! I don't want my girlfriend sleeping somewhere like that and I do not want her alone around Molloy."
I didn't want to yell at Frankie but I couldn't help myself. Fear coursed through my veins and it frustrated the fuck out of me that I wasn't there with her.
"I'll go back. The guys were on a bender today. I'm not sure how long they'll stick around but... I'll go back. I'll get a cab."
"I'll pay for it, just get her out of there. She's so stubborn. Even if she's totally safe, I don't like the idea of her sleeping on some poxy carpet in a room like that. And her phone being out doesn't help."
Maybe I was overreacting but screw it. Frankie sure didn't think so and he knew the lay of the land. I'd never sleep tonight until I knew she was safe.
Even if it was only another 25 days, that was far too long for me. This whole thing seemed to be spiraling out of control. I wasn't sure how much of that was in my own mind and how much was real. She didn't sound happy, that much was certain. This tour had become a terrible idea, that's how I saw it, anyway.
I tried calling her back but the call didn't connect. Her battery must've completely died.
While I waited for Frankie to call me, someone knocked on my door. I didn't really want to talk to anyone right now. I had too much on my mind.
When I opened the door, a couple of the guys from the band slumped against the door frame. Behind them, three girls giggled. Hell, I didn't need to deal with this.
"Not now, guys."
Gregor, my guitarist, pushed past me into the room.
"I mean it, I've got stuff going on. I'm in no mood to party."
He ignored me.
The other four came into the room too. Gregor collapsed onto one of the chairs. He could uncollapse because I did not want him there. I wanted to be alone to stress.
"Savage, man, you're no fun anymore. We're here to make sure you get your fun back."
"You're drunk and this really isn't the time."
I couldn't exactly drag all five out of them out of the room, although if I got Gregor and Buzz out, the chicks would probably follow. The blonde girl sat herself on my bed. She patted the space beside her.
"Come and join me, honey."
All I could think was she'd stink my bed up with all her cheap perfume. The only woman I wanted sitting on my bed was Alice.
I ran my hand through my hair. I didn't want to be tough on them but if I had to, I would. I couldn't even tell them what was on my mind.
"Get out, guys. This is not funny."
Buzz went through my bar fridge and got out some beers. I grabbed them out of his hands.
"Put those back. No drinking in my room. No partying in my room. No fun in my room."
One of the other girls put her arm around my neck.
"That doesn't include me, right?"
I peeled her arm off me.
"That totally includes you."
"You are just too tense," Buzz said. "I'm sure some fun with Nancy here would calm you down."
"Are you leaving?"
"Nope. Not until you have a drink with us."
I could have a drink with them but I doubted they'd leav
e after that. I just wanted them gone. Then I could go back to staring at my phone until Frankie called.
"Here's the deal. You guys leave my room now, and take these ladies with you, and we'll forget this whole thing happened. Or you can stay until the hotel security removes you and I'll start searching for replacements for the tour."
"You can't do that," Buzz said.
"I can, and I will. I've made it clear that I don't want you in my room."
Gregor stood up. He rolled his eyes at Buzz. I could just imagine what they'd say behind my back but they could talk all they wanted. I wouldn't party tonight.
When I finally got them out, I checked my phone. Frankie messaged to say he was on this way there. Hopefully, the next message would say he'd found Alice and the two of them were on their way back to the motel. Hopefully, it'd say I was a dickhead for even worrying.
Alice
A NOISE WOKE ME.
I had no idea where I was. Just that it was really uncomfortable and a bit cold. My hip ached.
Then I heard the noise again. Crashing and banging.
I sat up. I was on the floor. Oh yeah, I'd fallen asleep in the store room. I could just keep quiet and no one would know where I was.
Then I heard voices right outside the door. Shit. I shuffled back a little. There was no reason for anyone to come into this store room. They could walk right by without even noticing it. The voices continued outside though. I wished they'd move on so I could go back to sleep.
Instead, the door burst open, light flooding in. It was as though my worst nightmare was coming true.
"Hell, look at this," Molloy said. "It's the photographer chick."
I huddled into myself, as though I could disappear.
He switched the light on. In the light, he looked a little crazed.
"You coming, Kit?" someone called to him.
"Not yet. Go on without me. I'll catch up."
I tried to scramble to my feet. I was better off getting out of this room than being a sitting duck. Molloy grabbed hold of me though, blocking my way out.
I tried to scream but he covered my mouth. When he got that close, I could smell the madness on him. Booze and something sickly sweet, mixed with sweat and a musky scent so cloying it almost choked me.
Rock Mayhem: 8 Complete Rock Star Romance Novels Page 16