Encore (The Black Eagles Series Book 2) (14 page)

              ‘Tess,’ Melissa called, the recognition in her eyes confirming that Tess had been telling the truth. They all watched as the famous rock girlfriend made her way over, then hugged Tess and stood for a few minutes chatting like old friends.

              ‘Is Luke OK?’ Tess asked.

              ‘He’s more than OK. He’s back,’ Melissa assured her with a wink then gestured to security to let her over the barrier. Tess was vindicated and now even more popular than she was minutes before as she joined the famous group for the show. Her cousin nearly collapsed with excitement as she watched her cousin hugged by Melissa Webb and Beth Watkins.

*****

The lights lit up the stage and Luke felt the nerves course through his body, the excitement making his heart pound. Dale patted him on the shoulder, Tom nodded and Toby gave a war cry as they hit the stage. Luke reached for his guitar and gripped it as he threw the strap over his shoulder. His eyes hadn’t looked at the crowd: he wasn’t quite ready. The pick sat between his middle fingers, fingertips stroking the strings to get started. He looked at Dale, his smile beaming bright, and Dale mouthed to Luke ‘Look. It’s incredible.’

              Luke closed his eyes and counted to ten, then positioned his guitar and walked forward, his head still down. Once he reached his microphone the crowd roared again, like an army waiting to attack. Luke lifted his head, and nearly choked as he saw the sea of people, thousands of them. The crowd went back so far that the back was just a blur. This was their biggest crowd, as despite being with Sky Storm they had never had this.

              ‘Hello…!’ Luke yelled into his microphone. He was professional Luke. Nerves were pushed back. He had a job to do, and these people wanted a good show

              ‘You will have to bear with us, it’s been a while,’ he said making light of it.

              The crowd responded with more shouts and positive encouragement. A girl at the front chose a quieter moment to shout ‘Luke, I fucking love you! Marry Me!’

              He looked at her – he had heard it – smiled and pointed at Melissa. ‘I’m not sure she would allow it. But thanks.’

              Melissa held her arms up. ‘Hell no. Mine,’ she yelled back. The girl went crimson but Melissa put her at ease as she turned and smiled warmly at her, mouthing, ‘I totally understand. He’s fit, right?’

              The girl laughed, relaxed and mouthed back, ‘Yeah. You’re awesome.’

              ‘So who’s ready to lose their fucking minds?’ Luke screamed, and as if the past had never happened, his worries fell from his shoulders.

              They began with the fans’ favourite, “Weekend high”. He knew it would get the crowd going and prayed the new material would go down as well as the older stuff. He looked down and saw Melissa’s pretty eyes looking up at him, her beautiful smile lighting up her face, and pride shining from her. And he was back in Ruby’s. He almost left one zone for another. Melissa shook her head and gestured towards the crowd, telling him they were his focus. She had to share him again, but she was totally OK with it. The people at the front noticed the small but intimate exchange. It was a gesture that fans who witnessed it would remember. Melissa Webb proving that their fans were very important and they knew it.

              ‘That’s my boy!’ Melissa screamed. Luke was on fire and the band were feeding off him. The noise, the atmosphere, the buzz of performing engulfed them, enveloping the stage and the crowd in a blanket of music.

              Then it was time for them to play “Bound”. The song had been easy to write, harder to nail as a track. It was opening wounds, laying his soul bare, and had taken several changes for them to be truly happy with it. It was aggressive and powerful, and when Luke sang, there was no doubt that this song was full of raw, true emotion. Nancy had promised fans they were getting inside Luke’s mind, and she hadn’t lied.

              ‘This next one is our new single, “Bound”.’

              The crowd went mental: it was clearly a hit already. Melissa and Megan linked arms with each other. This was their song. A microphone had been placed by Toby, a rare sight. He didn’t usually sing but when “Bound” had been created that had changed.

Wanting to walk the stage

Take my words from off the page

Inside my mind, all it raised

You came and engaged

Signed on the line, started the game.

That wasn’t part of the deal

She wasn’t yours to take

You messed with my heart, messed with your fate.

You didn’t understand, guess you never knew

Some hearts are bound, much stronger than you.

Bound by love

Bound by faith

Bound together, despite the hate.

My world collided with love and greed

Blood on your hands, too much to clean

We’ll rise again, defeat your schemes.

Your binds were not strong enough to hold me.

Her love drove her back to me.

That wasn’t part of the deal

She now has to heal

You messed with his heart, messed with your fate.

You didn’t understand, guess you never knew

Some hearts are bound, much stronger than you.

Bound by love

Bound by faith

Bound together, despite the hate.

Hear the sound

Hear the sound

That's the sound of the drummer

Sound of bass

Sound of the rhythm

Sound of the leader, sound of disgrace.

Click…click, sound of the key, locking you in your place.

              The crowd were jumping, screaming every word back at Luke. He was jumping around the stage, sweat pouring from him. The old Luke was back, and he intended on keeping it that way. The Black Eagles were flawless. The scenes the band witnessed from the stage were sheer euphoria with crowd surfing and people on shoulders. The security prepared themselves as a wave of people crowd surfed their way to the barriers. There was chaos at the front as fans refused to leave, trying their luck at getting on the stage. Luke called for them to, ‘Do what you like’ as he held his hand out for a young lad who was halfway onto the stage. He pulled him up and allowed him to remain on the stage until the song had finished even helping Luke finish the final chorus.

              ‘That was mental. Thank you, everyone. Nice to be back.’

              The lad was hanging onto Luke, in tears, and Luke asked him his name.              

              ‘Lee. Oh my days, I can’t believe I’m on the stage.’ Lee continued to mumble incoherently in his excitement and drunkenness. They took lots of selfies with him, before he was made to leave the stage and the boys finished up with
“
Beautiful thief”, which, of course, was dedicated to Melissa.

              They had experience and real emotion backing every song. Anyone in the crowd who wasn’t a fan before, left as one. For Luke, he had realised he could cope without drugs. He hadn’t needed them. He had felt the natural buzz on that stage and he wanted more.

*****

The gang gathered their things, ready to head home, spirits high. Ray was beaming with pride while he chatted to Luke and Dale. Tom was saying goodbye to Jo-Jo, as Echo were heading back on the road. Beth was finally able to make a proper call to check on Ebony, and all was perfectly fine. Melissa and Cassie were chatting just a few feet away; the Nathan fiasco hadn’t been cleared up. Shadowed Faces were keeping their distance and Death Wishes had vanished into the festival crowd after Aiden’s meeting with Toby, so maybe Aiden did have some sense after all. 

              ‘That was incredible. I’m so very proud,’ Megan gushed as she sat on Toby’s lap.              

              He was smiling smugly, pleased to have been able to play in front of her in a setting like this. ‘You should be. I’m the dog’s bollocks...and you, my dear, don’t know how lucky you are…’ Toby trailed off. He was looking over Megan’s shoulder. His expression twisted into annoyance at first, but his glare softened as he looked back at Megan. ‘Take no notice of her. I’ll get rid of her.’ Megan didn’t need to look: it could only be one person. Zoe.   

              ‘No. You can just turn around, lady, and fuck off. Right now,’ Beth bellowed.

              Zoe twisted her head towards Beth, smirking. ‘I see you’re as classy as ever, Beth. Your daughter will be proud.’

              ‘Er, how many bands have you dropped your knickers for?’ Beth retorted, turning to look at Toby. ‘You did get checked for herpes, right?’ Zoe ignored her, but Beth continued her assault. It had been a while since she had been able to have a good row and this one was called for.

              But Zoe was unstoppable despite Beth’s public persona being in full force. She continued walking towards Toby, blocking out Beth’s taunts which had been her way of trying to distract Zoe, wanting Megan to be spared the hurt of having that woman in her face. Beth cursed that her plan had failed and she whistled loudly to alert Melissa and Cassie. Both girls turned and quickly moved towards the newest drama that was unfolding.

              ‘I see you’re still playing the pity card, big man,’ Zoe said playfully, her eyes staring into Toby’s. But his eyes showed her nothing. Megan was dumbfounded, shocked at this girl’s complete and utter disrespect for another woman, clearly sat on her boyfriend’s lap. What was wrong with her? Megan thought. Then it hit her, giving her the upper hand. Zoe needed to be seen as the fun girl, wanted by certain men. Normal, everyday guys didn’t excite Zoe. The only way she could get so much attention and hold it was to use her body. Although she had no respect from them she pretended she did. It was better than nothing. But she was losing her status, and each bad decision she made was ripping it away. The trouble with her plan was she wasn’t settling down material, and eventually her playthings moved on, found girls that actually wanted to be with them and it killed her.

              Megan stood up and moved a few steps away from Toby, who looked confused. Beth took a few steps towards Zoe, as did Melissa and Cassie. Megan held her hand up, stopping them. ‘It’s fine, girls. Let Zoe talk to Toby. They have unfinished business it seems.’ Megan turned her gaze on Zoe, smirking. ‘OK ,Zoe, you know what? You’re absolutely right. I’m not you. I never will be you. I’ll never have the perfect silky hair, long legs, size 8 figure, perfect face that hasn’t seen a spot in years, or the perfect set of nails. Go ahead, take him from me.’

              Luke stepped forward. ‘Megan. What are you doing?’

              She shook her head before pushing him gently backwards. ‘Luke, don’t worry. I’m proving a point. Girls like her have put me down my whole life, and I’ve never had any way to prove them wrong. Today is my chance to do just that. I have every bit of trust in Toby. She needs to have it rammed down her throat.’

              Zoe smiled triumphantly, as she walked towards Toby, who still sat on the wooden bench. He was utterly confused by Megan’s offer. ‘You know she isn’t right for you. But I am. We’re good together.’ Zoe took his hand as she straddled him.

              Megan gritted her teeth, but held back. Luke’s hand was on her shoulder and he leaned in to whisper in her ear ‘He loves you.’ But she didn’t move. Fear crept in. What if she had been wrong.

              Zoe leaned forward, whispering in Toby’s ear, eyes looking at Megan at the same time. ‘You know she can’t give you what you need. She’s a plain Jane, a Virgin Mary. I mean, actually, if you think about it, even the Virgin Mary probably had more dick than that. How can she possibly satisfy you.’

              The group stood open mouthed at Zoe’s shameful display. But more to the point, what was Toby doing, letting it happen. Zoe was confident. He hadn’t pushed her away, so she had been right. She took it further: she wanted to kiss him. She had missed him, yearned for him. She leaned forward, lips so close.

              Toby waited, silent until her lips were almost on his, then he lifted his head and hissed in her face. ‘Get off me. Now!’ Zoe flinched. ‘I don’t want you.’

              ‘Toby, please.’

              ‘If you don’t remove yourself from my lap, I will throw you off. Don’t make it worse, you’ve humiliated yourself enough for one weekend.’

              Zoe almost fell off his lap in utter shock. ‘But…Toby…I thought’

              ‘You thought what?’ Toby yelled at her. ‘That you could walk right up to me, in front of my girlfriend, snap your fingers and we would walk off into the moonlight together?’ He turned and held his hand out to Megan who resisted the urge to run screaming with relief to him. Instead she walked casually to to his side, and took his hand. Zoe looked shell-shocked. Megan took the opportunity while she had it. She stood in front of Toby and took his face in both hands, pulled him to her and kissed him, passionately, for Zoe’s benefit. Just in case she still hadn’t got the message.

              Beth cackled loudly behind Zoe. ‘Ha…I think...that’s a big fat…no. Totally burned, well and truly told. Megan, you rock.’