Thank God for alcohol. I grab my mule again, chugging it down until I can hear myself sucking air in through the straw.
“Which won’t happen, because we’re with you, Sugar,” Butch hisses, reaching over me and smacking Slash in the face. “What the hell is wrong with you, scaring her like that?”
“Not my fault if she doesn’t realize being related to Elena has its downsides. Bet you never had to worry about getting murdered before tonight, did you?”
I shake my head.
“Exactly!”
Butch sighs heavily next to me, just as the bartender approaches with two beers and another Moscow Mule for me. I immediately grab it, chugging it down as quickly as I can. No matter what I find out being with these two, there will not be enough alcohol to get me through it. That I can guarantee.
“You won’t put up a fight with Slash and I being your personal bodyguards, will you?” Looking over at him I shake my head, knowing that there is so much that I don’t know about. I have absolutely no experience with whatever it is that Elena and the people in her club do daily. I’m a fish out of the water so to speak, so if my sister is sending me these two, who will be in my protective detail – then I will very well take them.
“Wait! How did you two find me?” I ask, curiosity getting the best of me.
“Elena found out you were going to be in Cincinnati for a show tomorrow night, so we drove up here. Then the big guy found out you “stormed out of Summer Poole’s office building” through Twitter, insert Slash being a computer whiz and he found an image of you going in this bar.”
Quite the investigators these two are.
“It wasn’t me. I had Lucien find you,” Slash chuckles.
“Who’s Lucien?”
“He’s a friend of a friend – who happens to be a kick ass hacker. He can do anything. Give me your phone, will you?” I hand over my phone to Slash, he puts my thumb on the sensor and taps away. Within a minute I’m handed back my phone, swiping through each screen I see that nothing has changed. “Lucien has an invisible GPS tracking app. It gives away no indication that it’s there. In the event we lose you, or you disappear, know that your phone is your lifeline. All the girls at the club have this app installed.”
“Shit, Slash! Shut your damn mouth,” Butch growls, and I can’t help but giggle.
“He’s got his panties in a twist because I shouldn’t have told you that, plus none of the girls know that it’s on their phones. Especially your sister, damn. If she knew, I could imagine the storm that would rip apart that clubhouse.” I don’t say much of anything. How can I when I don’t even know the woman he’s talking about? Eventually, I’m hoping that can change.
Chapter 9
Pain shapes a woman into a warrior.
-R.H. Sin
Butch
“What were you doing all alone in that bar? Shouldn’t your friends have been with you?” I ask, walking Bellamy in our hotel room. I was very adamant with her. There was no way in hell we were staying on that tour bus with the rest of those rockers. Elena was very explicit in her instructions, we were to stick to Bellamy like glue and you can damn well bet that’s happening. Truthfully, I’d be sticking to her like glue whether Elena gave us orders to or not.
She told me that most of the time they ended up getting hotel rooms if they were staying in cities for a couple of days, but how she preferred to stay on the bus because it had a homier feeling to her. I told her we wouldn’t be staying on the bus, especially after she told me how the guys come back to write in the middle of the night and all of that. I love to do two things in the middle of the night, sleep and fuck, and not exactly in that order.
“I got into a spiff with Miles and decided it would be best if I went out on my own for a bit,” she tells me. I instantly know that she’s leaving a few things out by the way she won’t maintain eye contact with me and the mere tone of her voice.
“Which one is Miles?”
“He’s the dick,” she murmurs. I belt out a laugh and her face flushes red. “Oh crap. Sorry. Uh, you haven’t seen him yet I don’t think.”
I yank out my phone, showing her a screenshot of The Stones. “Which one is he?”
She points to the bearded guy with the ink. Interesting that he’s the dick.
“Miles is the guitarist, Syd plays bass, Rocky is the drummer, and Jase sings,” she tells me, pointing at each man as she speaks. I briefly saw Rocky and Syd at Bubba’s a few days ago. They both seemed nice. I won’t know if I like them until we come face to face, though.
“What did the dick do?” I ask, eying her down.
“He was just being a dick,” she shoots out, walking over to her bed, sitting in front of the head board. “I’m not going to tell you everything, you know, you’re a stranger.”
“A stranger that you’re sharing a hotel room with,” I add.
We both know that we’re acquaintances at best. I would no longer say that we’re strangers, and at any rate, we won’t be for long. I have a feeling that Bellamy Mason and I are about to know each other very well.
“Well, yeah.”
“A stranger that you let leave you shaking in the woods.”
“Well, yeah.”
I walk over to her, planting my arms on both sides of her legs. “A stranger, with whom you want to do a lot more with, and we both know it. So, let’s get this straight right now, Sugar. You and I are not strangers, and we’re damn well not going to be.”
“I don’t want to be in a relationship with you,” she nervously blurts out, causing me to belly laugh in front of her.
“Sugar, when in the hell did I say I wanted to date you? I want to fuck you until you can’t see straight, not court you.”
“Oh,” she murmurs, the same red travelling down to her neck. Oh, how I’ve made this one nervous.
“Did you want to date me?” I laugh, staring into her glossy eyes.
“No! I don’t know you! I…I don’t know what I want with you, okay?” She may not know what she wants, but I sure as hell do.
“I do.”
“What do you think I came there for? A quick fuck and a drink? No. I came for my sister, to finally have someone in this awful world! I am so tired of being alone,” she admits, staring at me with such a fierceness in her eyes – there was never any denying that Bellamy and Elena were sisters, but now…now I’m even surer.
“No. I think you came to Gainesville to meet your sister, and then you left, not expecting anything else. Elena takes pride in her family, so of course, when she found out that you were blood she wanted to protect you. Now you and I are where we are. I won’t hold back how much I want to rip that shirt and those sweats off you right now, or how I want to beg me to fuck you. Dammit, Sugar, you have no idea just how sweet you truly are, do you?”
Bellamy opens her mouth and then snaps it shut.
“I’m not fucking you right now, not when you look like you either want to cry or scream. What happened today? You shouldn’t have been alone in that bar, especially now,” I grumble, keeping my hands firmly planted on both sides of her.
“Why do you even care if I’m upset or not? It’s not your job to care about how I’m feeling, or about how my day went. You’re just here to make sure I don’t get killed.”
“You’re so very wrong about that. I’m here because I want to be, and there is no other reason. Sure, Elena was going to send two of us out to watch you anyway, but I volunteered to be here because I can’t get you out of my damn head. You know that? And no, it’s not my job to care about how you’re feeling, but I do. That’s just because I like you, Bellamy.” I find myself caring a little more about her than I should if I’m being honest.
For some reason, I just can’t seem to get this woman out of my damn head.
“Thank you, for caring, I mean. It’s sweet of you.”
I lean towards the left and plop next to her on the mattress, extending my left arm and tug her down next to me. She fights for a moment, ultimately giving
in. “It’s not wrong for me to care. I’m human, I’d be a dick if I didn’t.”
“No. You’d be smart if you didn’t. Some people have a lot of baggage, and I’m one of those people,” she admits, with a small giggle at the end. I know it’s anything but funny.
“Try me,” I tell her. “I was left at the altar, and no one fucking knows about it except me and my ex. How’s that for baggage?” It was the worst day of my life, waiting there for the woman I wanted to spend the rest of my life with. Funny how time passes by and things that once mattered don’t anymore. I could give two shits about whatever it is that she’s now doing with her life. She made her choice, and now my life is better for it.
“What is this? A game on who’s life sucks more than the others?”
“We can make a game of it,” I admit, I’m a bit interested to see which one of us is worse off. “But we won’t. This is simply two friends talking. I suggest something else though. We each share something, every night and every morning – we tell each other something about ourselves. You said we’re strangers, and I don’t want us to be.”
“You want us to share secrets?” Bellamy asks, turning her head up on my shoulder to look at me.
I glance down at her and shrug. “I guess so.”
“My ex is trying to ruin my music career.” One sentence from her, and I immediately want to pummel the asshole who’s giving her grief. “And Miles thinks I’m just like his crazy ex-girlfriend who used him to get to the top of the industry. He basically thinks that I’m the she-devil and like I haven’t worked hard a day in my entire life and it really pisses me off!”
“You aren’t the she-devil. Miles seems like he has trust issues, but don’t we all? There’s always that one person who fucks us up. Sounds like his ex was that for him.”
“Yeah, but that doesn’t give him an excuse to treat me the way he does.”
“I’m not disagreeing with you, Sugar. Just don’t let his negative attitude dull your light, got me?”
Bellamy leans up and scoots on my chest, her elbows digging into me in a very uncomfortable way. “I don’t get why you’re so nice to me. You know nothing about me, Butch, and yet your laying down on a bed with me telling me not to let Miles dull my light as if we’ve been friends for years.”
She’s not wrong. It’s pretty fucking weird. I’ve never been this nice to any woman I’ve been with. Maybe I’m being overly nice because she’s Elena’s sister, but we both know that’s a lie. I’m being nice to Bellamy because the girl caught my eye from the very first second I saw her. She has this pure, innocent aura to her. I know that I shouldn’t want anything to do with her, that I’ll ultimately corrupt her in some way, shape, or form. Is it wrong that I don’t give a damn?
Is it wrong that I want to be a selfish bastard and see what happens? Or is it even more wrong that I lied to her earlier?
I don’t just want to fuck her.
Something about this girl drives me insane, and this dark, primal part of me doesn’t want to let go.
Chapter 10
I love the person I’ve become because I fought to become her. -Kaci Diane
Bellamy
“Where in the bloody hell have you been, missy?” I sneak onto the bus like a teenager who was caught after being out too late with a boy the night before, and Evie sure sounds like a judgmental parent, to be honest.
“I was at the hotel. I thought Rocky would’ve told you, I’m staying with…” I trail off, not really sure how to tell Evie that my half-sister sent me two outlaw bodyguards to watch over me, so I’m not murdered and chopped into little bits by the Cartel. Yeah…I don’t think that would go over too well.
The bus door opens quickly behind me, I hear the heavy combat boots and am instantly relieved to find out it’s Slash and not Butch. “Damn, babycakes, you sure know how to use those itty-bitty legs you’ve got there.”
Evie catches a good look at him, glancing at me, then Slash. “This is who you’re staying with?”
“Well, me and my brother,” he tells her.
“You’ve got a brother…”
“Long story, we’re in an MC. We’re here to watch over this lil’ angel. Basically, I need every sort of security clearance that you can give me, Blondie.”
“We have a security team. Call me Blondie one more time, and I’ll shove my Louis Vuitton so far up your arse, you’ll be screaming for your mum to yank the fucker out.”
“Evie…” I murmur quietly, not wanting to give her more details then I absolutely have to. “Can you please make sure that they get the proper clearance that they need? I need them to be close by…please.”
Evie glares at Slash, but I know that she’ll give in. She always does when I need something. “Fine. I’ll give your tattooed wanker the proper security clearance and make sure the rest of the guys know; but we’ve gotta talk, missy. You rolling out of Summer’s office like that stirred up a little bit of shit, and I’ve heard a nasty rumor that we’ve better get handled as soon as possible.”
“I had to do a bit of damage control yesterday, imagine my surprise when I found out that you stormed out of Summer’s office. She was very offended by your irrational and rude behavior, and personally feels insulted.” Evie accentuates the words, telling me that she knows it’s bull hockey just like I do. “I did what I could, and the only way to make sure she doesn’t slander your name any more is to have a one on one interview with you. Face to face, no limitations on questions, and it will be streaming live on her Facebook page.”
“Why would you agree to that?” I snap, my anger seething out of me. “Why in the world would you agree to that? You know what she did. She is the catalyst for everything horrible that has happened to me. She…she worked with Zac to ruin me!” I scream at Evie like my very life is being threatened. I feel achy, my hands and legs are shaking, and it takes every ounce of me not to walk across the floor and rip her extensions out of her head.
“I did what had to be done. You don’t quite understand that because you don’t deal with this side of the business. It’s my job to do what’s best for you. It is my job to make sure that we not only think about you but your reputation as well. Agreeing to do this on your behalf was a way to shut Summer up, a way to make sure that she didn’t drag your name through the mud yet again.”
“She’s going to drag my name through the mud when you let her do that damn interview!” I yell, tears threatening to pour out of my face.
I hear the bus door open and in comes the cavalry.
“What the hell is going on in here?” Syd asks,
“Miss Perfect is making a damn scene, oh, how I’m so shocked,” I hear Miles say, and it sets me over the edge. Any filter that I had is now gone. There is no fight left in me to handle Miles’ attitude combined with Evie’s actions.
“Shut your fucking mouth before I make sure it stays that way,” Slasher hisses out to Miles. I grab his forearm, and he looks at me, almost as if he’s waiting for an order, for a confirmation to lay it into the dick, or to stop. One look and he knows not to engage, that’s not what I need, nor want right now. To be honest, I just want some damn peace and quiet.
“Care to tell me what the rumor was about, Evie? Or are we just going to talk about that next time?” Evie and I have a love-hate relationship. In my heart, I know that she makes what she believes is the best decisions for me. The only thing is that she isn’t me, so she doesn’t realize how things make me feel. She also doesn’t understand the constant pressure of having to deal with everything I have the last year. My name has been tarnished so much and the only thing that I’m trying to do is build is back up, brick by brick. Needless to say, this isn’t the first time that Evie and I have gotten into a blowout fight. I can guarantee that this won’t be the last, either.
“My friend gave me a heads up that more nudes leaked.”
“What?” I ask, shocked beyond belief. There was no possible way. NO possible way.
“I haven’t seen them yet, but I wi
ll within the hour. Did you…”
“No! I didn’t send anyone nude photographs.” I cry out, pacing back and forth.
“Shit, Bell,” Syd mutters.
“You need to see if I have my tattoo,” I tell her, “You have to see. Promise me you’ll look. They…they won’t have the tattoo Ev’. I…Oh my god…I didn’t…I swear to you.”
“I know you didn’t take more photographs. You learned the first time, and honestly, we all know it’s that fucking wanker, Zac, trying to fuck up your lovely career. Wait until I’m through with him, I’m just trying to find a way to tie him to everything, sweets, and once I do, he’ll wish that he never even heard the name Bellamy Mason.” And this, right here, is exactly why Evie is my manager.
She is harsh, a stone-cold bitch, and ruthless as fuck.
She’s what every musician needs in their corner because at the end of the day it’s sink or swim and Evie, boy does she make sure that I fucking swim.
***
“I’m sorry for the way I told you about the interview. I probably could’ve passed along the news a little easier,” Evie chuckles, sitting down next to me on a couch at the venue we’re performing at tonight.
“Being warm and fuzzy has never really been your strong suit,” I admit, laughing next to her. “You know, there’s a reason they call you the shark”
“I’m a great white, bitches!”
“Yeah, you sure as heck are.”
We’re both silent for a moment. This happens every time we get into a spiff, there’s always this weird couple of minutes were neither of us know exactly what to say to the other. I thought that we’d grow out of it, but it continues to happen.
“My source sent me the photos, and you don’t have your tattoo – which I suppose is a good thing, and a bad one. Zac’s doing it again.”
I sigh heavily, knowing that I have to tell Evie about the text. Quickly, before I change my mind I grab my phone, unlock it and go to my messages. Pulling it up quickly I show her the messages. “Why the hell didn’t you tell me about this sooner?”