THE BIGGEST STAGE (A Brothers of Rock - WILLOW SON - novel) (15 page)

“
You
can come over here with me,
”
Colby said.
“
But you have
to be on your own. Got it? Don
’
t
act like a fan. Please.
”

Christie slowly nodded.

Colby set his attention to Tessa
and he promised himself it would never leave her.

“
Ready
to be a VIP?
”
Colby asked.

“
I
’
m nervous,
”
Tessa said.
“
I
’
ve
never been a VIP.
”

Colby leaned over the velvet rope
and touched her waist. He kissed her cheek and put his lips to her ear.
“
Pretty eyes, you were the VIP
last week. And I plan on making that happen again.
”

With that said, Colby put his other
hand to Tessa
’
s back and
pulled her close.

It wasn
’
t about the whole fate thing
…
or meeting up by accident three times
…
it was about maybe finding a
way to make this a little more permanent.

As Colby opened the velvet rope, he
felt a hand clamp down on his shoulder.

“
You
asshole
…
I
’
m going to kill you.
”

(15)

The entire scene moved so fast.

As Colby felt himself being turned
around, he threw an elbow. It was just his natural reaction to things in life.
He had been in so many fights when he was younger, his mind had one reaction -
fight.

On top of that, the word
kill
and standing with Tessa made it all that much worse.

Colby connected with someone
’
s shoulder, sending a guy flying
back. Colby threw his arms out to protect both Tessa and Christie. The guy
stumbled back and then two bouncers were on him. They had the guy down and
easily restrained.

Colby felt someone grab his arm. It
was Christie, trying to cop a cheap feel.

He shook Christie away and looked
back at Tessa.
“
You okay?
”

“
Fine,
”
Tessa said.
“
What the hell was that?
”

Colby stepped forward and looked
down at the guy. When he saw the face, Colby felt his heart twist. He looked to
the rest of the band as they were standing, along with everyone else, in the
VIP area.

“
Don
’
t hurt him,
”
Colby said.
“
Just get him out of here.
”

“
You
piece of shit,
”
the guy
spit at Colby.

The bouncers lifted the guy up. He
quickly spit, trying to hit Colby, but it just hit the ground. One of the
bouncers brought his arm back, ready to punch.

“
I
said no,
”
Colby said and
grabbed the bouncer
’
s arm.
“
Just get him out of here.
”

“
Have
a great night, Colby,
”
the
guy said.

Colby stood frozen, refusing to
comment. The guy had every right to be there, say what he said, and to maybe
even actually kill Colby. That thought sent chills up and down  Colby
’
s spine.

Dan
…
haven
’
t seen him since the funeral.

“
Colby?
”

He jumped and turned, Tessa standing
next to him. He forced a quick smile and took her hand.
“
Yeah. It
’
s
good. All good.
”
He looked
around and gave a wave to the VIP area.
“
Just
an upset fan
…
wants more
Willow Son!
”

The rest of the band whistled and
cheered, bringing the VIP area back to life.

“
What
was that?
”
Tessa asked.

Colby walked Tessa deeper into the
other side of the VIP lounge. There were couches instead of chairs. He pointed
to a table and said,
“
Order
whatever you want. For you and Christie.
”

“
You
want her drinking?
”
Tessa
asked.

“
I
really don
’
t feel like
babysitting,
”
Colby said
with a grin.

“
Me
neither.
”

Christie appeared a few seconds
later.
“
Hey, I
’
m going to hang out with Mr.
Nice Hair. You two lovebirds have fun.
”

Lovebirds.

“
Hey,
”
Colby said.
“
You could stay here.
”

“
I
’
m okay,
”
Christie said.
“
Call
me if you need me, Tessa. I
’
ll
see you in the morning. We have to be at the airport
…”

“
Have
a good night,
”
Tessa said.

Colby watched all of it happening.
Christie leaving. Maybe she took the hint that Colby wasn
’
t interested. Or
…
maybe she saw something between
him and Tessa.

Was there something?

For real?

Once Christie was finally gone,
Tessa looked at Colby.
“
I
hate to ask
…”

“
Then
don
’
t,
”
Colby said.
“
Just some old stuff.
”

“
He
said he wanted to kill you.
”

Colby slipped a hand to Tessa
’
s body again.
“
Pretty eyes, when you
’
re a rockstar like me, there
’
s a lot of people who want to
kill me. I
’
m sure you
’
re going to want to kill me
someday too.
”

Tessa burst into laughter.

I
’
m not joking, Tessa. When you know the truth
…
I
’
m going to hurt you. It
’
s just what I do. My curse.

“
I
think I want that now,
”
Tessa admitted.

“
Why
’
s that?
”

“
How
do you keep appearing
…”

“
Actually,
you keep appearing,
”
Colby
said.
“
I
’
m here on business.
”

“
I
’
m here on business.
”

“
I
’
m in the VIP area. You could be
anywhere.
”

“
But
I
’
m right here,
”
Tessa said, inching closer.

“
Yes
…
you are
…”

Colby touched Tessa
’
s cheek. He gently pressed his
lips to hers, desperate for a kiss. He was never desperate for anything in
life. Not since Willow Son
’
s
first record deal. There was no desperation. They got what they wanted and took
what they didn
’
t have.

Tessa was different. She wasn
’
t a prize. She was
…

“
So,
is this the
walk of fame
woman?
”

Colby turned his head and saw the
band standing inches away. When Tessa looked, she let out a little gasp.

“
Tessa,
this is Willow Son,
”
Colby
said.
“
Jett, Van, Ryker,
and Brantley.
”

“
Yeah,
”
Tessa said.
“
I
…
know
…”

“
Tessa,
”
Jett said.
“
Great to meet you.
”

“
You
definitely left a smile on Colby
’
s
face,
”
Ryker added.

Colby felt Tessa press against him
harder. Her face was as red as an apple.

“
Yeah,
yeah,
”
Colby said.
“
Go find something to drink and
leave me alone.
”

“
Wait,
wait,
”
Van said.
“
Portis is coming. He wants to
meet up with us. Review what happened today.
”

“
Christ,
”
Colby said.
“
He doesn
’
t know how to let go.
”

“
He
wants us,
”
Brantley said.

“
We
want him,
”
Jett said.

“
Don
’
t let him know that,
”
Colby said.
“
We
’
re
not giving up who we are for someone. That
’
s
everything that
’
s wrong
with music right now. Let me know when he gets here.
”

“
Hey,
”
Van said.
“
We have to figure out what to do
with that second song. How long to let that part go
…”

“
Not
right now,
”
Colby said.

“
Let
’
s work it out right here,
”
Brantley said.
“
I
’
m
sure we can make a phone call and put on a show in minutes.
”

“
That
’
s a great idea,
”
Ryker said.

Colby looked at Tessa.
“
Pretty eyes, what do you think?
Want to hear a new Willow Son song?
”

Tessa
’
s
face was still burning red. She was speechless.

“
Can
I trust you to figure this out?
”
Colby asked.

“
On
it,
”
Van said.

The band moved away and Colby
turned and pulled Tessa down on one of the couches. He looked at her and a
waitress came over and brought them drinks.

“
This
is wild,
”
Tessa said.

“
Yeah,
this is all bullshit.
”

“
Oh?
”

“
Everyone
trying to outdo each other. Looking for a picture. A moment. It
’
s annoying. I
’
d rather be at my cabin. Just
relaxing in the woods. You know?
”

“
I
don
’
t know. I
’
ve never been there.
”

“
Maybe
we can arrange that.
”

“
Or
just tempt fate.
”

“
Good
point,
”
Colby said.
“
We seem to be winning with fate
right now.
”
He took a
drink.
“
Hey, how
’
s the drug business?
”

“
Booming.
”

Colby laughed.
“
Everything else? Christie okay?
”

“
She
’
s fine,
”
Tessa said.
“
She
’
ll end up in bed with someone
and sneak away in the morning. That
’
s
her style.
”

“
And
you? It
’
s been a while since
we
’
ve seen each other. How
many
…”

“
Please,
”
Tessa said.
“
You
’
re the rockstar. I took care of my sisters. That
was my time away.
”

“
Why
are you taking care of your sisters?
”

Tessa took a drink and shook her
head.
“
Doesn
’
t matter. Hey, you recorded new
music? Is that a good thing?
”

Colby mentally took a note about
the quick subject change. Damn, he wanted to know more about Tessa. He didn
’
t just want to have a little one
night thing tonight and end it tomorrow. He didn
’
t
want to mess around with fate either.

“
Music
is always a good thing,
”
Colby said.
“
We
’
re battling with Portis right
now.
”

“
The
guy that wants to sign the band?
”

Colby nodded.
“
If you give too much up, you
lose your power.
”

Tessa blushed again.
“
How much power do I have left?
”

“
Oh,
pretty eyes, you
’
re done,
”
Colby said.

Tessa laughed and bit her lip.

Colby inched in.
“
Can I confess something?
”

“
Sure.
”

“
I
have no power either. You destroyed me.
”

They were way too close right now.
Colby wanted to kiss her. He wanted more than just a kiss. He reminded himself
that they were still in a very public setting. A VIP setting, too. Not that he
was worried about kissing or touching Tessa in public, he had to consider her
personal image.

Who is the mystery woman with
the bad boy rockstar?

Does she know his past?

Is she really okay with what he
’
s done in life?

Who is she
…
new details on her life
…

People would eat Tessa alive. And
there was so much she didn
’
t
know.

“
Hey,
”
Colby said.
“
I, uh, that guy that was here.
”

“
The
one who wanted to kill you?
”

“
Yeah,
”
Colby said.
“
He
…
uh
…
he kind of has good reason. It
’
s a little weird to talk about.
But I want you to know that I trust you. It
’
s
crazy, I
’
m sure. But I
’
m looking at you right now,
Tessa, and I just
…”

“
Colby!
My man!
”

Colby sighed.

Freaking Portis.