Bending Steele (14 page)

Once this tour ended, so did she. Figuring
out how to tell the band wasn’t something that she particularly
looked forward to, but it had to be done. Tonight.

Charlie Banks stood and surveyed the area,
enjoying the slow decline in volume around her. She had to be
vigilant until the final member of the crew reported that they were
clear for the night. Having been with High Velocity since they’d
started climbing the ladder of fame, she knew the guys in and out
and knew
almost
all the tricks that fans would try to get in
close with “their idol.”

Her normal schedule was to stand guard
backstage, keeping up communication with the other members of
security detail, to just ensure that everything ran smoothly. But
something about tonight had taken its toll on her. Her feet ached,
her head hurt. She just wanted to go home and take a long,
luxurious soak in the tub. She could almost smell the flowery scent
of her favorite bath salts…

While Zane, Micah, Parker, and Benji had had
their fun on stage as usual, she’d spent the evening flashing her
badge and foiling the groupies’ plots. People attempted just about
anything in desperation to get a single touch from one of the guys.
Some nights it seemed like five hundred pizza delivery girls showed
up to give a specialty pie to whichever band member they deemed the
most worthy of laying them. Ha—the little hussies would screw any
of the guys if given half a chance. Fans weren’t exceptionally
picky.

Charlie’s mental tirade ended on an abrupt
note when her ear piece buzzed with a message. “Touchdown, Char.
Stadium clear.” Her shoulders nearly drooped with exhaustion, but
instead she straightened, braced herself, and headed to her next
task—to be briefed by the boys as to where they were going, with
who, and when they’d be back. She was the shepherd and they were
her sheep.

God, she was only twenty-seven years old and
she played babysitter to a group of rich brats. Okay, so she
actually liked them—most of the time—but after a show, when their
adrenaline ran rampant and the voices screaming for more still
echoed in their eardrums, she loathed every one of them.

Shrewd blue eyes scanned the crowd and zeroed
in on the quartet, still coiled together in a little pack. Good,
they were gonna make it easy on her. The wolf inside of her tensed
and tugged for freedom. More and more often, she’d been having a
hard time fighting the animal down until she could shapeshift and
have a little relief. The physical pain was punishment as well as
motivation to give her notice to quit, to go live her own quiet
life, away from sexy smiles and ripped bodies that she’d love to
spend licking every inch of—

Whoa. Back up the lick-train, what was wrong
with her? Why, all of a sudden, did the very idea of screwing Mr.
“I’m Sexy and I Know It” appeal like nothing ever else had?

“Hey, Lieutenant Uptight! Come give us our
orders. I’ve gotta go get my party on!” came Parker’s catcall from
across the room, his hands cupped around his mouth.

Charlie felt her wolf bristle and bunch up.
She wanted so badly to snarl and assert her dominance over the
snot-nosed little wolf egging her on. With copper curls and an
ever-present smirk, Parker Wilde was the youngest member of the
group and took joy in annoying her in more ways than one. Charlie
allowed it because he was part of the reason for her paycheck.

As she marched towards them, the once-crisp
double polyester suit she wore now clung to her curves in an
irritating, itchy manner. She was hot, sweaty, and ready to go
home. Well, as “home” as a trailer could be while travelling
through the states on tour.

“Hello Parker, it’s nice to see you too.”

Her gaze grazed over the group. She tried her
best not to look directly at Zane, the leader of the band, but she
was drawn to him, a moth to a wicked flame. With sun-kissed skin,
broad shoulders, and blue-black hair that stuck up in perfectly
disheveled spikes, he looked every bit the part of rock star. Her
stomach flipped over, nerves getting the best of her as she quickly
looked away. Three years of working for High Velocity and Zane had
always somehow had the ability to look straight through to her
soul. That, and he had a wicked smile that always made her
burn.

Enough was most definitely enough.

Flashing a quick sliver of a smile, she gave
them a brief rundown. “All clear here. Everything ran smoothly, so
I don’t have much to report. If there’s nothing else, you can call
on Conner. He’ll be taking over my usual post tonight.”

Charlie braced for their protests, knowing
none of them were going to be happy with what she had to say, but
for her sanity, she had to go. She couldn’t keep doing this. It was
starting to eat at her, little by little.

“What?” one of the men barked, the others
jumping in.

“You feeling all right, Char?”

She took a deep breath in and patiently
waited for the quartet to settle down before she continued.
“Conner’s going to take over tonight. He’s been in training for
awhile now. He can handle it. He’s stepping up to take over my
position.” She paused. “I’m going to be leaving you guys.”

The looks they shot her were sharp and
drilled straight through to her nerves. The mix of confusion and
surprise that etched across their features nearly made her
reconsider, made her stay here where everything was familiar. In a
way, they were family… Instead, she steeled herself and forged on.
“As part of that, Conner is ready to take over the after show
security.”

“How soon are we talking?” Zane’s voice was
quiet, calm, but she could feel the intensity behind his words.

She took a breath. This wasn’t going to be
easy. “In twenty-four hours, I’ll be off the clock. For good. I’ve
already put my notice in.” She’d gotten that out of the way two
weeks ago. She was actually surprised none of them had picked up on
it before now, but they’d been busy with the tour. Too busy with
the after-show parties.

There was silence for a heartbeat. “You can’t
go, Charlie. None of the other security guards have an ass like
yours,” Parker said with a wink. Micah frowned, lines etched
between his brows, but he had never been much of one to react, so
it wasn’t a big surprise when he said nothing.

Benji, on the other hand, moved closer,
nudging tentatively at her shoulder like an uncertain young wolf
might his alpha. “Ha, April fool’s, right, Charlie?” This was the
hard part. Leaving this guy was going to tear at her—she had always
had a soft spot for Benji. They had sat together, side by side
under many full moons, understanding the community that the silence
could build. They didn’t need words as wolves. What had started as
simply stumbling upon each other one night had become sort of a
tradition and Charlie cherished both the memories and the
friendship that had blossomed.

But it was Zane who surprised her. His
normally cocky grin vanished, fast replaced by the hard tension in
his jaw, the sharp drop of his eyebrows. His entire demeanor
stiffened and she thought for a moment he was going to cause a
scene, because—let’s face it, they were talking Zane Alexander. Her
palms grew damp and clammy as she gazed at him.
Please, just let
me go.

Memories swirled to the surface. The secret
smiles he always seemed to save for her, aimed straight for her
heart, slipping like sand through the cracks of her resistance. The
way her heart skipped when he teased her. They had a past, in a
way. They’d worked together for three years and he’d flirted with
her since day one, wining and dining like a pro. Still, she
resisted.

He was gorgeous, she was attracted. She’d
always been attracted… But she also knew what kind of a man Zane
was. He wasn’t a steady-relationship kind of man and she didn’t
need to fall hard and fast, only to get her heart broken. They’d
never been lovers, even when the spark had always been there. She
never allowed it.

But he said nothing and the breath she was
holding escaped her slowly. Setting her jaw, she turned, but his
stare stabbed into her back with all the force of a blade.
Reminding her.

Too late.
She shrugged it off,
stepping away. For once in a long time, she was actually going to
be able to run wild and free after a show instead of holding back
until it hurt, until the moon only had a short hour or two left to
shine. Her heart skipped a beat at the thought, her wolf surging
forward, eager. She was finally free.

Touching a gentle hand to Benji’s, she gave
him a half-smile and turned to go. Saying less was always more,
right?

Why, then, did it feel like her heart was
breaking?

###

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