Encore (The Black Eagles Series Book 2) (3 page)

BOOK: Encore (The Black Eagles Series Book 2)
9.4Mb size Format: txt, pdf, ePub
ads

              Amber had been sectioned under the Mental Health Act. Diminished responsibility. She was a very sick girl and although she had done some terrible things, Jay-Den had used her and warped her mind. He had fuelled her obsession with so many promises and she had grabbed at them and hung on. Amber loved Luke, in fact more than loved him. She seemed to need him to breathe; all her thoughts and actions were because she couldn’t let him go. It had eaten her up and morphed into something so dark and unbearable for her, she had no idea how to channel it or deal with it. The update they had been given was that she was no better and the hospital where she was a patient considered her a danger to others and to herself.

              Luke often thought about Amber, mainly in anger, but part of him felt sorry for her and for sleeping with her. He had to take some of the blame. He shouldn’t have done what he did and he wished he could go back and tell her no. The memory of that night was a nightmare for him, one he couldn’t erase. He couldn’t deny he hadn’t been slightly attracted to her: she was funny and stroked his ego a bit. She had looked good, made him laugh and seemed perfectly normal. He hadn’t once thought of her as girlfriend material, nor had sleeping with her crossed his mind, not at first. He had never been interested in jumping into bed with a stranger. He was a complicated person, needing to feel comfortable with someone before he got too close. But somehow, as that evening had passed and the drinks had flowed, things got hazy. She kept kissing him and saying she just wanted some fun. They were both so drunk and before he knew it they were in one of Toby’s spare rooms. The alcohol had taken over and it had become so intense.

              ‘I don’t want you to bloody marry me, Luke. Lighten up. It’s just a bit of fun. No strings attached. I promise,’ Amber had said and laughed in a way that convinced him to go for it.

              What harm could it do? Luke had thought. They were both consenting adults, there was nothing wrong in it. So he had. Thinking back to it, he should have known it had meant more to her. She couldn’t seem to get enough of him. She’d almost clawed at him during sex, her kisses were desperate and there had been a moment when he’d been convinced she’d whispered ‘I love you’, but he thought he’d misheard her. When he’d asked her afterwards, she’d laughed and said she hadn’t. He knew now that she had. They’d slept in the same bed until late next day. He couldn’t deny that he had enjoyed it, for what it was, but he had no desire to see her again. It was nothing but a drunken one-night stand. They had even discussed that it was a one-off before she had left later that afternoon. She’d seemed fine with it, leaving without a fuss and he continued on with his weekend. She had shown up two days later at another gig and then another until it became obvious she wasn’t OK with it. He hadn’t intended hurting her; if he had known her true feelings he wouldn’t have done it. If he had known just how bad things would get he would have run in the opposite direction. And if he’d known it had been her that killed Chloe he would have marched her to the police himself. He regretted it for so many reasons but the main one was the feeling he’d betrayed Chloe, slept with her murderer, and he couldn’t shake off the guilt. He had slept with a maniac and she had almost killed Melissa; if that had happened he would have given up on everything. Melissa blamed herself but in truth he was to blame for all of it. And in his arms now he held his friend who had been damaged along the way. His family and band had been put through so much and all because of one night. He didn’t agree with them all when they told him that her obsession would have manifested regardless of that. If that night hadn’t happened maybe she might have left him alone; he would never know now. He wished he’d listened to Tom who’d told him he didn’t trust her. Even back then at the very start his bassist had not trusted her. Something in her eyes, or so Tom had said, right before he’d gone to that room with her.

              Melissa had said she thought the loss of Chloe had scarred him, made him fear losing someone so close again. They had finally sat down one night and he had opened up about his exes: all seemed to have passed through his life without leaving much of a mark. Luke admitted he chose them because he could lose them without having his heart smashed. When Melissa walked into his life she changed it all. She’d almost choked him that first night: looking down from the stage at Ruby’s and seeing her had stunned him. Nobody in his history had done that, or put him off like she had. He had known before even speaking to her that if he didn’t at least get a date out of her, he’d regret it. When Kelsey had ripped them apart the heartache he had feared came true. He couldn’t cope with her hating him. That was what destroyed him. Melissa hating him, the only person in the world he never wanted to hear say those words. She had and it had hurt. He had those girls on tour telling him all kinds of things: how much they loved him, they’d do anything for him, he just had to ask and they would do it. It had meant nothing because they would never be her. He also knew Melissa was the only person who loved him for who he really was. If everything stopped and he never sold another song, or sold another ticket and his fame ended, she would still be there by his side. If she was stood there in front of him, still proud of him, he wouldn’t care. That was all he needed from her – loyalty, honesty and trust. Simple but powerful in the world he now lived in. He knew what he had to do: he had to step up and take control. He sometimes wanted to lock himself away and stay there. He couldn’t do that, but he could make things right for his friends. One thing to do was get himself together and give his band and their families some hope, and it had to start soon. Yes, he was a victim but he was also a leader, a front man whose job was to take control. He did it with thousands of people night after night and needed to be that man again. He felt much older than twenty-three these days. He’d had to grow up quickly and it had seemed like a crash course on a very high scale.

              ‘How are you feeling?’ he asked Megan.

              She shrugged. ‘I’m OK.’

              Luke leaned down to her and whispered, ‘How is Toby, really?’

              ‘You know what he’s like, putting his efforts into me. He’s doing OK. His drum kits have taken a beating, might need a new one soon.’ She forced a laugh but assured Luke he didn’t need to worry about his drummer.

              Luke tightened his hold on her and wished he could change things for them. Having the chance of a family taken away in such a cruel way was unimaginable for him, and it still made him angry. The two people who wanted it most, had always wanted it, could never have it, at least not together, and that was what hurt Toby the most. He could, but not with Megan. Luke froze at her next words.

              ‘I sometimes think he’d be better off if I left,’ Megan said quietly.

              ‘Shut up, Megan. That’s ridiculous. Never think that, ever,’ Luke said sternly. If she left, it would destroy his friend and wouldn’t make life easier for Toby, or anyone else for that matter. ‘Don’t cause me more trouble.’

              If Megan left, Toby would not take it well, and, if Luke was honest, neither would he. He would track her down himself, if he had to, and drag her back. There was just something very special about Megan, a sweet and honest soul that inspired Luke more than Megan realised. From the moment they’d met her, they had all felt a sense of protectiveness and Toby had fallen for her before she’d even said a word. Some people were surprised by Toby’s choice; the rest of the band on the other hand hadn’t been surprised. Megan was what he needed. Luke had been concerned about his “friend with benefits” Zoe. She wasn’t a bad person, or at least he didn’t think she was, but he had never really fully trusted her and with recent events, trust was more important than ever.

              ‘Sorry. I shouldn’t have said that. I don't mean it. Of course not,’ she said. Luke made her promise to never say it again. Megan wouldn’t even know
how
to leave: Toby was her home now. It was just hard knowing she could never give him a child. It scared her if she thought about it too much and made her sad and angry. ‘Promise,’ she said.

              ‘I’m sorry for everything. It’s all my fault,’ Luke said.

              Megan sighed, irritated. ‘Luke, we’ve discussed this. It isn’t, and I won’t have my best friend thinking that.’

              Luke laughed at her use of the words “best friend”. ‘Isn’t Liss your best friend?’

              ‘Yes, my best girlfriend. You’re my best guy friend. And I don’t blame you for anything. Now just stop, it’s annoying.’ Megan demanded he stopped wallowing in self-pity and started living again.

              ‘Yes, ma’am, and thanks, babe, Don’t tell Dale. He gets defensive if people claim me as their best friend. Seeing as you’ve declared that, I have a job for you. It’s a secret so you cannot tell Liss, and I need you girls to shape up. It’s important.’

              Luke called Beth into the kitchen and gave them instructions, then called Dean before he changed his mind.

              Beth was not so forgiving. ‘You can tell him from me to drop dead.’ It was safe to say that Beth wouldn’t be involved. A good thing, Luke thought.

*****

Dean stood, looking uncomfortable, in the living room, barely able to look either of them in the eye. The air was icy as Luke glared at his ex-technician waiting for his excuses. He’d thought many times about seeing him again, but he wasn’t really sure what to do. And now it was happening all he felt was numb. Melissa gestured for Dean to sit and he sat down on the opposite sofa. He had been granted one hour of their time. Luke wasn’t prepared to offer any more and the silence was already eating into it.

              ‘You have fifty minutes left, Dean. Talk,’ Luke snapped.

              ‘Thanks for seeing me. I’ve been going out of mind...’ He stopped. The looks on his hosts’ faces showed no sympathy. His feelings were not the issue. ‘I never wanted to do it. I swear I didn’t.’

              Melissa spoke first, unable to stay quiet any longer. ‘Why, Dean? We trusted you.’

              Dean went pale, and he nodded in agreement. He knew how much Luke had trusted him. He hated himself for what he’d done and more. ‘I never wanted to hurt you—’

              ‘You did, Dean. You have no idea. You made me hate him. You humiliated him and me.’ She gripped Luke’s hand as the empty feeling and the pain rushed back.

              ‘I never knew it would go that far. I swear I had no idea what it was for.’ Dean would do anything to rewind and change what he’d done, but he couldn’t. All he could do was tell them the truth. ‘Please let me explain.’

              ‘Forty-five minutes left. Hurry up,’ Luke snapped again, tapping his watch. ‘This’d better be good.’

              Dean took a deep breath, preparing to tell them his deepest darkest secret, one he had wanted left buried. ‘He blackmailed me. I was to get your key, which I took from your wallet.’

              Luke snapped his head up. He remembered that his trust in Dean had been so certain and he’d just hand over his wallet for Dean to get the drinks in. ‘Oh. I really was a Muppet. I handed it right to you. You prick. Was it always the plan? Make me trust you—’

              ‘No! Luke. No. Never. Up until that day, everything that happened was the truth. I was…I am your friend. Never in a million years did I ever think this would happen. But...Jay-Den called me that morning, gave me no choice.’ Dean went on to explain that four years previous he’d been touring with another band signed to Sky Storm. That band was no longer together and it was how he had become Luke’s. Even he had now guessed that Jay-Den had planned it that way. One night after a show he was drinking with the band. They were much more the stereotypical rock band – drink, drugs and women. They were at a hotel with a group of fans. One had taken a shine to him although it was clear she’d turned to him because her friends had bagged the band. He’d got caught up in the moment, feeling young and free again. The girl was younger than him, pretty, and he gave in to temptation for the first time since meeting his wife. The next morning he felt terrible. His wife was at home alone, taking care of their young daughter. She was barely a year old, and he was bedding another woman.

              ‘You did this to us because you cheated on your wife!’ Luke yelled.

              Dean flinched. ‘It was much more than that. Let me finish.’ Dean continued. A few days later the girl called him. He didn’t remember giving her his number. She wanted to see him again. At first he said no and ended the call. She was there again at the next show, with her friends. The band had invited them to join them backstage, as guests. The front guy had taken a shine to her friend, so wanted another night of fun before leaving the UK. Dean gave in a second night in a row as the girl genuinely seemed to like him. He was flattered. It was later that night when he heard a row coming from the singer’s room. He was yelling hysterically for the girl to get away from him and the band’s manager was trying to calm it down. The girl had claimed she was Twenty and to be fair she looked it. Fake ID to back up her lie, she had slipped up when she mentioned to one of her friends about their recent exams results. They were school leavers. Legally they were not underage, as they were all sixteen going on seventeen, but morally it wasn’t right and it was then he realised just how bad his little fling had been. The band were all late twenties or thirties, but no matter what the law said, it wasn’t going to look good for any of them. It got nasty as one girl threatened to go public with it. She’d started to blackmail the band and him, but Jay-Den had paid her and her friends off. It went away, but he always had that card to play.

BOOK: Encore (The Black Eagles Series Book 2)
9.4Mb size Format: txt, pdf, ePub
ads

Other books

All Over Creation by Ruth Ozeki
The White Russian by Tom Bradby
Hard Red Spring by Kelly Kerney
HARM by Brian W. Aldiss
Justine by Marquis de Sade
A Clockwork Heart by Liesel Schwarz
Apocalypse Unborn by James Axler
By Design by Madeline Hunter
Return of the Warrior by Kinley MacGregor