Love Evolution (3 page)

Avery
mentally rolled her eyes
. What a pathetic
fan-girl
dork she was. Uh oh, those blue eyes were focused on her right now. Had he said something?

“
Huh,
”
she said.
‘
Great Avery,
’
she told herself sarcastically,
‘
that was real smooth.
’

“
I said I really enjoyed jamming with you.
”
He gave her an amused smile which crinkled up his eyes at the corners.

Ok, now he was freaking gorgeous.
“
Oh, sure.
Yeah, me too.
Thanks.
”
 

He nodded once.
“
See you around, ok?
”

Wordlessly, Avery watched him leave with her mouth hanging wide open.

“
You
’
ll catch flies if you
’
re not careful,
”
Trevor warned her when he came in. She snapped her jaw shut and looked down at her sneakers. Giving her a sideways glance, he bumped her shoulder.
“
I am so proud of you, Avery. You totally rocked that audition.
”

“
Thanks,
”
she mumbled, her thoughts a jumbled distracted mess. Marcus
’
touch had made her whole body hum like an electrical current had skittered beneath the surface of her skin. She had never been attracted to a guy like this. It was the last thing that she expected.
Just her luck.
Not only was he completely unattainable and off limits, chances were she would probably never see him again.

*****

“
Earth to Marcus, come in,
Marcus,"
Stephen teased on the drive home that evening.

“
What
’
d
ya
say?
”
 
Marcus asked, as they crossed the Burrard Bridge back into downtown Vancouver. He was preoccupied, thinking about the audition with Avery. The dude played the guitar like it was an extension of his body. Marcus had felt something with him, too, a strong connection. But Avery was young, a teenager even, and maybe a bit unstable at that. He shared his concerns with Stephen.

Stephen frowned.
“
Yeah, well Trevor says he
’
s nineteen. I didn
’
t notice the tears, but wouldn
’
t be surprised if he was a little shaky. His twin brother just died, Marcus. Trevor mentioned
the brother
had a drug problem. Apparently, he killed himself right before they were about to sign a deal memo with RDA Records.
”

“
No shit! That
’
s horrible. No wonder.
”
He shuddered. The story was too similar
to his own
. That could have been him if his family hadn
’
t forced him to get help.
“
I don
’
t know how he made it through the audition. If something ever happened to Dwight
…”

“
Yeah, I know. Obviously, the kid
’
s tougher than he looks. But with that background,
”
he shrugged,
“
I wouldn
’
t have bothered if Trevor hadn
’
t vouched for him. He insists Avery
’
s a good kid who just needs a break.
”
He glanced over at Marcus.
“
It
’
s your band though, Marcus.
Your call.
What do you want to do?
”

“
We really clicked on vocals
…”

“
Yeah,
”
Stephen interrupted.
“
It freaking gave me goose bumps, man.
”

Marcus
’
lip curled up into a lopsided smile.
“
He
’
s a hell of a guitar player, too
…
maybe even better than Keith.
”
 

“
Agreed.
If it makes any difference, which I know it does, Trevor says he
’
s a decent lyricist. Based on what I heard on the demo, I
’
d concur. Why don
’
t you take it home tonight, listen to it, and let me know in the morning what you decide.
”

CHAPTER 4 

After the stress of the audition and a four hour plane ride back to New York, Avery just wanted to lie down and sleep. Stumbling toward the stairs to her apartment, she glanced up to see Jeff running down.

He skidded to a stop in front of her. Looking back over his shoulder, he warned,
“
Joe Campanella
’
s up there with some of his guys looking for you.
”

“
Oh, no!
”
 
She set down her guitar case, stomach roiling. Why was he here? She still had a couple of days left to get him his money. Her pulse started to pound in her ears like when she had too much caffeine.

“
You have the money he
’
s looking for, right Avery?
”

She shook her head. When Justin had started snorting up all their gig money, she
’
d begun socking away what she could into a private savings account. But it was all gone now.

“
Avery, I
’
m so sorry.
”
He wrapped his arms around her, squeezing her tight.

She leaned into him, gratefully absorbing his comfort. After a moment, she stepped back and straightened her shoulders.
“
I don
’
t want you involved in this mess, Jeff. Go. Take a walk. I
’
m going upstairs to try to talk to him.
”
She bent down, picked up her guitar case, and started for the stairs. 

Jeff stopped her by placing a hand on her shoulder. She had a death grip on the handle of her guitar case, but he pried her fingers loose to take it from her.
“
You
’
re crazy if you think I
’
m going to let you go up there and face that asshole alone. I
’
m coming with you. Let
’
s go.
”
He spoke in a tone that brooked no argument, motioning for her to precede him up the stairs.

The door to the apartment stood ajar. When Avery crossed the threshold, someone grabbed her from behind the door. She let out a surprised squeak. The big bruiser frisked her brusquely before shoving her aside and patting Jeff down. Satisfied both were unarmed, he reported,
“
They
’
re clean, boss.
”
 

Two other men now stood before Avery, one positioned protectively in front of the other. Up front guy was tall with a large nose, beady dark eyes, and hair long enough that he
’
d pulled it
back into a short ponytail. With his dark suit, Rat Face would have blended in well at a funeral.
‘
Hopefully, not mine,
’
she thought grimly. 

Avery
’
s heart thundered in her chest when Rat Face took a step closer. Eyes narrowing, he unbuttoned and opened his jacket in one smooth motion revealing the handgun holstered there.
‘
Ok, I get it. Warning message received,
’
she thought, closing her eyes, leaning her head back, and praying to get through this alive.

Rat Face stepped aside, and Avery took a reflexive step back, getting her first up close glimpse of the man who had murdered her brother. As far as she was concerned, Joe Campanella was evil incarnate. He appeared to be mid-thirties and had black hair that was a little longish and slicked back from his face.  His tailored pin-striped suit screamed Mobster 101. He radiated a dangerous brand of authority you didn
’
t want to cross. Only tragically, Justin had.

Campanella cocked his head to the side.
“
Well, well, what do we have here?
”
His full lips turned down in displeasure while he rolled a cigar between his fingers.
“
I was curious to see you for myself. You
’
re a pretty thing, aren
’
t you? Just like your brother,
”
he sneered.  

Avery knew he was goading her, but the sight of him made something inside of her snap. She lunged for him. The consequences didn
’
t
matter,
she just
wanted
to hurt the man who had taken her brother from her.

“
What are you thinking, little girl?
”
Rat Face interposed himself between the two of them, advancing toward her with his brows drawn down. She stumbled backward, trying to get away.
“
Boss doesn
’
t like people invading his personal space.
”
Grabbing the front of her t-shirt, Rat Face pulled up until she tottered on the tips of her toes.

Avery flailed around attempting to free herself. Campanella cleared his throat, and her assailant abruptly released her. Falling to the floor in a heap, she watched as Campanella circled her, feeling like a mouse within the tightening coils of a boa constrictor. The way he studied her made her skin crawl.

“
My boys told me you had a real nice funeral for your brother. Stuff like that costs money. So, I think to myself, why don
’
t I have mine?  I
’
m beginning to wonder whether you take me seriously.
”

Avery shuddered, throat constricting with fear.

Eyes glittering with malice, Campanella slowly pulled out a matchbox, struck a match, and lit the cigar. He snuffed out the match, all the while regarding Avery. As he drew on the cigar, the tip began to glow like a red hot coal. He cut his gaze to his bodyguard.
“
Tony.
”

Tony came up behind Avery, his big hands completely enclosing her upper arms, restraining her. With a predatory grin, Campanella stepped forward, grabbed her wrist, and pressed the tip of his cigar into Avery
’
s exposed forearm. He held it there for several seconds until it was completely extinguished.

Avery screamed, knees buckling, and would have collapsed if Tony hadn
’
t been holding her. Tears spilling from her eyes, she swallowed convulsively to keep from throwing up. 

From across the room Jeff shouted,
“
No!
”
and rushed toward Avery. He didn
’
t get more than two steps before Rat Face intercepted him and delivered a vicious blow to his abdomen. Jeff sagged to the floor with a groan.

Avery shook her head, trying to clear it. The pain and the terror made it difficult to form a coherent thought.
‘
Think, think,
think
. The only two things a man like Joe Campanella understands are money and money.
’
 
In a quavering voice she pleaded,
“
Give me till the end of the month, and I
’
ll pay you double what Justin owed.
”

A calculating look came across Campanella
’
s face.
“
Let her go,
”
he ordered Tony. Avery swayed unsteadily on her feet.
“
No, sugar.
You
’
ll pay triple. Or Tony and Vito will be back.
”
He glanced pointedly at Jeff.
“
And I can promise there will be collateral damage. Do I make myself clear?
”
 

She nodded wanly and Campanella turned dismissively from her. As the mobsters left, Vito Rat Face gave Jeff a parting kick in the ribs. The minute the door shut, Avery rushed over to Jeff, kneeling at his side.
“
Are you all right?
”
 

“
Yeah, I
’
m ok, just had the wind knocked out of me. It
’
s you I
’
m worried about.
”
He turned over her hand to look at her arm.
“
Geez, Avery. That
’
s probably a third degree burn. It
’
s going to leave a scar.
”

She pulled her hand away, avoiding eye contact.
“
It
’
s probably not that bad.
”

“
Yeah, right.
Hey, help me to the couch, would
ya
?
”
With her help he stumbled to his feet. She got underneath his arm, and he leaned on her for support. They shuffled over to the faded vinyl
sofa and sat down. Putting one arm over his stomach, he laid the other over the back of the couch inviting her to lean in. She rested her head on his chest, and he wrapped his arm around her shoulder and squeezed. He stroked her hair as tears trickled down her face. 
“
Avery, where in the world are you going to come up with that kind of
cash
?
”

Her shoulders slumped even further, and her voice was muffled in his shirt,
“
I don
’
t know, Jeff. I don
’
t know.
”

*****

“
Marcus just called,
”
Trevor told Avery when she let him into the apartment the next morning. 
“
You look terrible. What
’
s wrong?
”
he asked, noting her rumpled appearance and bloodshot eyes.

“
Nothing,
”
she lied, striving for a neutral tone while pulling down her sleeve to cover up Campanella
’
s burn. The last thing in the world she wanted to do was drag Trevor into this mess, too.

Trevor eyed her suspiciously.
“
I don
’
t believe you kid. I
’
m your manager. Managers should know everything. It
’
s like a law or something.
”
 

Walking out from his bedroom, Jeff interjected,
“
She
’
s just trying to protect you, Trevor. Joe Campanella came by yesterday.
”

“
THE Joe Campanella, the mobster?  Avery, how in the world did you get mixed up with him?
”
  

“
Not her. Justin,
”
Jeff answered, ignoring her glare and zip it up gesture.
“
He owed them money and they
’
re leaning on her for payment.
”
He put on his jacket and headed for the door. Glancing back over his shoulder, he said,
“
Avery, don
’
t feel like you
’
re alone. We
’
ll figure something out. I
’
ve got to get to work, but I
’
ll talk to you later.
”

When the door shut behind him, Trevor looked back at Avery, his brown eyes full of sympathy.
“
Oh Avery, I can
’
t believe Justin borrowed money from Joe Campanella. I don
’
t want a guy like that pressuring one of my clients.
”
He pulled out his checkbook.
“
Let me loan you the money.  It
’
s not a big
…”

She put her hand over his.
“
No. Absolutely not! 
No way, Trevor.
”
Her green eyes reflected her unbending will on the issue.
“
I appreciate the offer, but it
’
s bad enough that Jeff
’
s involved. I don
’
t want anyone else on Campanella
’
s radar. He
’
s a bad guy, a really, really bad guy. I
’
ll get the money on my own somehow.
”

“
You
’
re right. You will, actually. You
’
ll soon have more money than you
’
ll know what to do with.  I came over to tell you, Marcus called. They want you to come back to Vancouver and run through some songs with the rest of the group. Stephen says it
’
s just a formality. You
’
re in!
”