Love Song (Rocked by Love #2) (16 page)

Audrey

Goddamn it. He slammed
his fist onto the dresser.

He dialed her number and
cursed the automated voice mail recording. "Audrey. I know you're upset,
but we can figure this out." He closed his eyes, suddenly weary and
discouraged. "I love you. I need you. Just call me and come home."

Three hours after he'd
left the message, Audrey still hadn't returned his call or returned home. He
should leave and find a hotel but on the off chance she came back, he wasn't
missing an opportunity to talk to her.

He paced the apartment,
alternating between hating and loving each item that reminded him of her. Hopes
crushed and royally pissed off, he initiated a video chat with the band.

One by one, they picked
up, until he had Irisa, Jayne, Zander, Brendan, and Landry on his screen.

He didn't wait to
exchange greetings. "Audrey received a serious threat today." He
launched into the story, cringing and angry all over again. When he'd finished,
everyone was silent.

He shoved a hand through
his hand and forced himself to focus. "So, I don't know what to do. She's
scared out of her mind that someone is going to kill her."

"Luke," Jayne's
soft voice spoke up. "Hold it together. Channel that anger. Use it to
focus on a solution."

"I'm trying to think
of one. My posting a please be nice message didn't do a damn bit of good."

"Then do the one
thing I'm always cautioning against—go on a tirade." Irisa nodded at him
when he frowned. "You need to get as much attention as possible and reach
as many people as possible, and you exploding might finally get those
commenting to shape up."

He let the idea settle.
Tirade—he could do a tirade. Like they'd never believe. "Jett's show is
live. I can ask him for two minutes of air time at the end of the show, after
we perform with Wild Intention."

"That's smart, man.
I'm sure he'd let you do it." Zander gave him a thumbs up.

"Hold up."
Jayne waved at the screen. "Owen and Swindle Ox just released an
announcement. They're going to be on Jett's show with us. A last-minute fill in
for Jon Briarline. Jon's wife went into early labor and he's staying in Seattle
to be with her. Swindle Ox is in the city this week, performing some private
shows."

Goddamn Owen. Shit.
"It doesn't matter. We're still going to do what we need to do."

"Don't forget,
you'll have us with you. We always have your back." Zander met his gaze.
"Try to get some sleep. We'll all see you in the morning."

A phone call to Jett
secured his two minutes of air time at the end of the show. After texting the
confirmation to Zander, he asked Jayne and Irisa to check in on Audrey.

The bottle of whiskey on
the top shelf of Audrey's cabinet had his name on it.

Despair set in, and being
surrounded by her things made his feelings all that much harder to explain.

Ignoring his social media
sweep, ignoring everything else, he poured the first shot.

He just wanted to be
numb.

Early morning sunlight
beamed across Luke's face. He woke up alone, in Audrey's bed. Dull pain
throbbed in his temples when he raised his head. She hadn't come back and she
hadn't called. He'd woken up countless times during the night to check.

His phone, on her pillow,
blinked with missed messages from Zander and Irisa. She'd sent him the band's
hotel information, along with a room reservation for himself. He took his time
getting ready to leave, wondering if this were the last time he'd ever be in
Audrey's space.

When he reached her
mailbox, he paused, bags at his side, turning the key over and over in his
hand. To him, dropping it in said giving up on them. But, keeping it said he
couldn't follow her wishes.

He stood for a long time
before finally making his decision.

After a night spent tossing and
turning on a futon in Renee's apartment, Audrey unlocked her studio at
eleven-thirty, intending to stay open only for the appointment with the bands.
Safety had been shattered with the dress delivery. Whoever had sent it knew
where she was and that made her a sitting target. She and Renee hustled inside
and then she locked the door behind her.

Renee set her tea on the
table. "Are you sure you don't want me to handle this appointment on my
own?"

"I made a
commitment. I'm seeing it through." Though it would be hard. Really hard.
Especially when she saw Luke.

In his emotional message,
he'd said he loved her.
Loved
her. But fear kept her from celebrating
that love and creating a life with him. She loved him and he loved her, but
someone else wanted him enough to try to blot her out of existence.

"Do me a
favor?" She waited for Renee to catch her gaze. "Do whatever you have
to do to keep this appointment rolling."

"We need to be out
of here at two o'clock to meet with the real estate agent anyway."

Mauro had been
understanding about her decision to not renew her lease. "Let's try for
one-thirty and I'll buy you lunch."

"If it's going to be
a repeat of last night's dinner and breakfast this morning where I ate and you
picked at your food and pretended, I'll pass. That was depressing. You need to
eat."

Audrey pretended she
hadn't heard that remark. "Mauro's brother and his construction crew will
be here in a bit to scrape the paint off the windows. It will be nice to have
sunlight coming in again."

"So, we'll have a
full house with the bands in here and those guys out there."

"I'm hoping for a
combination of chaos and a circus." Enough distractions to keep her mind
off Luke and off seeing that mutilated dress in her mind.

A short while later, she
received her wish.

Wild Intention arrived
first. Hugh, Chelsea, Autumn, and Spike wandered in, talking over each other,
and pointing out clothes. Audrey immediately began working with the guys and
let Renee handle the girls. While she helped Spike try on different jackets,
Mauro's brother arrived with his crew and set up outside.

Fifteen minutes later,
The Fury trooped in. The space filled up fast with eight rockers, plus Jayne
and Irisa.

Audrey met Luke's gaze.
He stared at her with so much emotion that her own eyes stung with tears she
refused to shed. She let Landry catch her attention and turned away from Luke.

Behind her, Renee spoke
to him, asking his opinion on something for Hugh. The nervous new singer relied
on Luke's opinion for everything. Thank goodness for Hugh. Audrey moved from
person to person, ignoring the unspoken questions in Irisa and Jayne's
expressions.

A few people from Mauro's
brother's crew came inside to meet the band. In the corner of her vision, Luke
shook hands with one of the guys and then stepped outside to talk to another.
Curiosity piqued, she strained to listen but was too far away to hear. Was he
talking about the vandalism or something as simple and happy as a past concert?

Brendan cleared his
throat, startling her. "Hey. Audrey?"

She forced a smile onto
her cheeks. "Sorry. I'm a little distracted. Did you want to see a
different shirt? I have more of the organic cotton you like in the back."

"We're all sorry
about what happened yesterday. That's pretty scary."

"Thank you."

He leaned in. "Talk
to Luke."

She couldn't have this
conversation. Not when emotions were so close to the surface. She patted the
soft mossy green shirt he held. "That color will look good on you. If
you're all set, I'd better help whoever hasn't made a decision yet."

Before he could answer,
she backed away and helped Chelsea make a final decision on a leather dress.

Luke's voice carried to
her from a few feet away. He stood arms crossed, in front of Renee.
"Audrey always picks my things for me."

"Audrey is busy. I
can help you." Hands on her hips, Renee stared back, looking just as
stubborn. Her tiny assistant could be a bulldog when she wanted to be.

Luke narrowed his gaze.
"I can wait."

Those three words brought
back the image of him standing in her sun-drenched studio the first day he'd arrived
with his crazy proposition. Biting the inside of her cheek, Audrey crossed the
few steps separating them and pointed out the blue shirt, faded jeans and
braided leather bracelet she'd set aside. "How's this?"

"It would be better
if you'd talk to me." His fingertips grazed her knuckles as she handed him
the clothes.

Goosebumps pebbled on her
skin. "We talked yesterday. I agreed to fulfill my promise on this job.
Professional is all I can do."

"No. It's not."
He leaned in, face earnest, until all she could see was him.
"Audrey..."

"Excuse me."
Renee stepped in between them and cupped her hands over her mouth, raising her
voice to carry over the other conversations in the room. "Guys, it looks
like everyone is all set. Audrey and I have an appointment at two o'clock, so
we only have a few more minutes here to wrap things up."

Wild Intention crowded between
her and Luke, exuding profuse thanks and asking if she'd help them get ready
for the show. Renee kept control and had everyone cleared out of the studio in
under ten minutes.

Ignoring Luke didn't mean
she hadn't been aware of him. She'd felt his gaze as surely as if he'd been
caressing her skin and missed it as soon as the door had closed at his back.
Silence lay heavy in the absence of the ten voices that had filled the space
for the past two hours. Too heavy. She again relied on Renee to distract her
from her heartache and tried to psych herself up for the real estate
appointment.

Viewing four potential
studio spaces made her head spin. Finally, they were through with the showings
and she headed home. The hallway mailbox was her first stop. Her spare key lay
at the bottom of the otherwise empty box.

Alone.

Just like her.

***

Friday evening, Luke paced the green
room at
Hard and Heavy Live
. He needed to talk to Audrey.

She'd arrived with Renee
just after he'd come in with the band. They'd made eye contact but hadn't
spoken, separated by too many people clambering for their attention. By the
time he'd settled his obligations, she and Renee were busy with the show's hair
and make-up people, helping Wild Intention get ready. The new band members were
still finishing prep and Landry and Brendan had joined them to calm any
last-minute nerves.

Zander and Jayne sat on
the couch to his left. They'd given up talking to him. He couldn't blame them.
He couldn't concentrate on anything but Audrey and the speech he planned to
give.

He wasn't worried at all
about the performance itself. He'd spent all day rehearsing with his band and
the new kids. Kids. Hell, how jaded was he? He wasn't even ten years older than
the youngest one but inside, he felt ancient.

Zander held out his
phone. "Stop pacing and check this out—a group of fans from Anaheim have
dubbed themselves Audrey's Army. They're going around stomping down the nasty
comments fans are leaving on every social media site."

"Seriously?" He
grabbed Zander's phone. His final contestant, Nicole, and her sisters Coco,
Serena, Desiree, and Olivia were leading the charge. When he got back to L.A.,
they were definitely going to talk and get something lined up for the sisters.

"I contacted them
and expressed our thanks." Jayne smiled, her cheeks growing pink.
"Olivia responded back. They're gaining momentum. A lot of people are
tired of the mean comments. She's turning this into an anti-bullying
campaign."

Finally, some positive
news. Maybe the tide was turning. "I'm glad to hear it. I'll make sure I
contact her too."

He resumed pacing. The TV
mounted on the wall broadcasted the live show. With the sound muted, he watched
Owen and his band chat with Jett.

Zander sat with his arm
around Jayne's shoulders, threading his fingers through her hair as she
scrolled through her phone. "Luke, you're never this keyed up before a
concert. Did you talk to Audrey yet?"

"No." He paused
in front of the couple. With every passing second, he felt like he was that
much closer to spiraling out of control. He raked his hands through his hair
and admitted his greatest fear. "Maybe there's no coming back from this.
Maybe she doesn't love me enough. Or maybe this is what I get for all the crap
I put you two through."

Jayne tossed her phone
onto the cushion, jumped up and hugged him. "Don't even think that. We
don't hold it against you. You were hurting back then and you've more than made
up for it."

"Don't mention the
past again, man. It's forgotten. We're good." Zander hugged him too.
"We're rooting for you. You'll get this thing with Audrey fixed."

He didn't deserve friends
as good as these guys, but damn, he was lucky he had them.

The door swung open. Wild
Intention came in. They were confident. They were ready. Good thing, because
they were about to go on.

He glanced behind them,
seeking his brunette beauty. "Where's Audrey?"

Landry came in, followed
by Brendan. "She left."

He forced a breath through
his tightening chest. "What do you mean, she left?"

The bassist shrugged.
"She said the clothes were purchased, not on loan, so she didn't need them
back. And she had a headache and was going home. Renee went too."

Emptiness enveloped him.
Was this how his life would be? Goddamn, it sucked.

A knock rapped on the
door. "Five minutes, guys."

Zander motioned for the
new band to come together. "Hugh, Chelsea, Autumn, and Spike, break a leg
out there. You're going to rock this place. Get the crowd nice and warmed up,
and then when we join you, this place will explode."

They gathered for a group
high-five and then trooped toward the stage. Luke stayed near Hugh, watching
the young singer for signs of nerves. "Want to do some quick breathing
exercises?"

Maybe they'd help the
ache in his chest.

"Sure." They
worked through three sets, until Jett welcomed Wild Intention and the newly
formed band got ready at the instruments on the left of the set.

Brendan dropped his hand
onto Luke's shoulder. "I don't know about you guys, but I feel like a
proud teacher now. They've been working so hard."

Luke grunted his
agreement. He wanted Hugh to do well. The kid's performance would be a
reflection on him and the band's performance would be a reflection on The Fury.

The set lights dimmed.
Lights flashed in the background, highlighting the logo Audrey had designed.
Drums broke out with a pounding beat. A heavy guitar riff followed. And Hugh
launched into
Lights Out
.

They rocked the song.
Fucking rocked it. Around him, the guys were grinning and exchanging
high-fives.

Luke smiled, nodding his
head to the beat. Pride for them warmed the empty void within. He continued his
breathing exercises, waiting for The Fury's cue to join in.

The audience roared when
his band walked on set. Just as they'd practiced, Wild Intention jumped into
Cut
Down
, and the bands played together. As he sang with Hugh, Luke let the
music take him. It had been his first love. Maybe it would be all that he had
left.

Applause rolled over him
like thunder. Loud and long and deafening. Breathing hard, he hugged Hugh and
congratulated the bands on a job well done.

As the cheers slowed,
Jett joined them, waving his arms for quiet. "As I mentioned at the start
of the show, Luke has a special announcement he'd like to make. Luke, take it
away, buddy."

Jett and Wild Intention
moved off to the side. Luke grabbed hold of the mic again. At the corner of his
vision, Brendan, Zander, and Landry moved in closer, forming a solid unit of
support at his back.

He'd been planning his
tirade to smash the haters into silence. But standing there, his heart swelled.
He stared into the camera. "I've been in a relationship with Audrey Pierce
for a while. But fan comments on our relationship and especially on her as a
person are tearing her, and us, apart. You've ignored my requests to stop the
comments. I've always been grateful for my fans, but not when you try to steal
my life. And that's what you're doing. You deem yourselves judge, jury, and
executioner on a situation you know nothing about."

He paused and felt the
support pouring in from his band behind him and Jayne and Irisa at the side of
the set. "You've made me what I am. But now, you're ruining the best thing
that's ever happened to me. And for the first time in my life, it's made me
resent you. Someone recently sent Audrey a direct threat on her life. That's
going too far. All of this is going too far. It needs to stop—now. I don't want
the kind of fans who want to kill my happiness. You don't know what's best for
me. I do. I love Audrey and I'm not letting her go. If you can't deal with
that, then I suggest you stop following me on all platforms. Because if I ever
meet one of the fuckers who made her doubt herself or our relationship, they're
going to feel the full brunt of The Fury."