Encore (The Black Eagles Series Book 2) (9 page)

              ‘
You’re
my problem. You say it as if they’ve just sat around doing nothing. They’ve been through some terrible shit, we all have. So keep your fucking comments to yourself.’ Cassie felt edgy as Allie seemed to glare at her. It was clear where
her
loyalty was at the moment.

              ‘Sorry. Jesus,’ Nathan muttered. Allie moved to sit closer to Cassie.

              ‘Cass, seriously he didn’t mean anything. What’s your problem with him?’ Allie looked torn between her friend and her new boyfriend.

              ‘Just watch him Al, that’s all I’m saying.’

              Cassie refused to discuss it any further. Having an argument in such a small space wasn’t the smartest move. A few hours later an opportunity presented itself. Everyone was asleep apart from her and Nathan. Cassie stood up and walked to the back of the bus and called for him. He did as instructed and once he was close enough Cassie grabbed him by the collar and pushed him against the wall.

              ‘Wow, Cass! Are you changing teams?’ He laughed at his own joke.

              Cassie leaned in so she could say what she wanted as quietly as possible. ‘Listen to me, I see you looking at Jo-Jo. Firstly, don’t you dare mess my Allie about or I will castrate you. Secondly, don’t even think about making a move on Jo. You cause trouble in my band and I will string you up. Got it?’ she hissed in his face.

              Nathan flinched at the sheer venom coming from her. ‘I don’t have a clue what you’re on about, Cass!’ he claimed holding his hands up in surrender.

              ‘Don’t give me that shit. Allie adores you. Jo-Jo has a boyfriend, who by the way happens to be a good friend of mine. Don’t be a silly boy. Her boyfriend and his bandmates are not in forgiving moods, and hitting on their women might result in a slow death.’ 

              Nathan nodded, his hands still in the surrender position. ‘OK. Got it. Jo-Jo is fit though–’               Cassie gave him a dig in the stomach. ‘Don’t push me, Nathan.’

              Nathan gave his word but he hadn’t convinced her. She would be watching him and would kick his band off the tour if she had to. Max, the girls’ manager, was meeting them next day and Cassie thought he should be consulted.

*****

Lyla waited nervously in Luke’s living room. He had no idea what to say to her and hovered awkwardly. It had taken him days to convince Zac to see her. He thought the air needed clearing even if the outcome wasn’t a happy one.

              ‘Please don’t hate me,’ Lyla finally said.

              The silence was unbearable. Zac was on his way back from seeing his bandmates, which was also another issue he was struggling with. They were ripped down the middle and the future didn’t look bright.

              Luke shrugged while trying to decide how to answer. Melissa had gone shopping with Beth for more baby things, giving them some space and once Zac arrived Luke would escape the tense atmosphere. The band had some decisions to make about the offers they had been given so were meeting at Toby’s, which seemed to be their office lately, to start the ball rolling. The privacy and space to practise were its main factors. ‘I don’t hate you. It’s completely fucked up. What were you thinking?’ Lyla noticed the softness in his voice and she relaxed a little. ‘You understand how bad this is, why he’s so angry?’

              ‘I wasn’t thinking. I know what I did was wrong, but I didn’t do it to hurt him. I was doing it
for
him. I know how backwards that sounds. I tried to stop it. I did try but he…’ She stopped, unable to continue, and began to shake violently again.

              ‘You can talk to me. I’m disappointed in you, babe, but I do know what a low life piece of scum that man is.’ Luke took her arm to guide her to the sofa. She was shaking so much he thought she might collapse. She crumpled into his arms, sobbing so violently he almost lost his balance.

              ‘I tried to stop it. I was trapped in a nightmare and I couldn’t find a way out,’ Lyla cried. ‘I know I agreed to it but he made me feel like I had no choice. He was going to do some horrible things to Zac, he was going to spread lies. I know he meant it when he said he would ruin Silver Daggers. ’ Luke held the fragile girl in his arms as she told him what had happened, all parts of her story mimicking the one told by Melissa. The difference was that Lyla hadn’t been as lucky or as strong at getting away. ‘He scared me so much. My heart’s breaking. I can never take it back. I’m nothing any more.’ Her sobs continued as she tried to make sense of it. Luke realised he didn’t hate her, he felt for her. She had been abused. Jay-Den had even told her that he would make it look like Zac had taken Luke’s key the night Kelsey set him up. ‘I couldn’t risk it. He said he would plant drugs on them, make up false allegations about them, pay girls to accuse them of rape. The threats were endless.’              

              Luke was stunned by her story. She hadn’t done this for her own gain: she’d been completely abused. A young, vulnerable girl had been violated, all for money and power. ‘I’m so sorry. If any of us had known we would have stopped it, I swear,’ Luke said.              

              Lyla hugged him tightly. ‘I nearly did, LA, the only time he allowed me to fly out to see him. It was tactical. Zac was getting suspicious about me always being busy. Jay-Den didn’t want his plans messed up. I knew he only agreed to it to keep Zac from asking too many questions. It was the best few days of my life. I bottled it. How do you tell your boyfriend something like that.’ Luke gave her another friendly hug and promised her she would get through this. She just had to find a way to face it and make it right. ‘I can’t make it right. Would you forgive Liss?’ Luke sighed and couldn’t answer her. ‘No, you couldn’t. I don’t deserve forgiveness. I can’t even forgive myself.’

              They sat in silence until Zac arrived. Luke told him to hear her out before condemning her. Zac’s heart pounded at the sight of his ex-girlfriend. The Lyla he loved had disappeared to him. The girl he’d given everything to for so long and he couldn’t give her the answer she wanted. She had destroyed everything. Jay-Den had ripped them too far apart for it to ever be fixed.

              ‘How did it go today?’ she asked him. Zac stayed by the door still reeling from the last few hours where he had said goodbye to his friends and bandmates. Silver Daggers were over.

              ‘Thanks to you I have no band.’

              Lyla fell forward onto the sofa and began to punch the soft cushions. Luke placed a hand on his friend’s shoulder. ‘I’m sorry, mate. You can use my place for as long as you like. Just call me when you’ve finished talking. We won’t disturb you. Here anytime you need me.’

              Zac nodded, too emotional to speak, and Luke left them to it. Zac went to her and stopped her from damaging their friend’s furniture. His hands gripped her arms as she looked up at him, her eyes searching for something in his face. Hope. Maybe. There wasn’t any.

*****

Luke dropped several pages to the floor, leaving just two in front of him. They had been discussing their options for several hours, each member putting their opinions forward in a fair discussion. If there were too many concerns about a label it was binned.

              ‘Are we sure about binning that last one? It’s the best offer moneywise?’ Dale commented.               Toby straightened up. ‘Yeah. True,’ he said sounding firm. ‘Their conditions restrict us. They seem to want complete control. Not signing it.’

              Dale sucked in his breath and let it out again in frustration. It had to be a complete agreement or it wouldn’t work. ‘Fine,’ Dale said through gritted teeth.

              Luke looked at his best friend knowing why he was getting irritated. ‘I know you want this sorted. It will be, mate. I promise,’ Luke assured him.

              Dale put his head on the table. ‘I just want to go home and tell Beth she doesn’t have to worry. She’s scared and terrified about everything. She needs security, that’s all. I know I’m coming across as a bit of a twat lately, but I’m about to become a dad. I want to be sure I can provide for my family. Money doesn’t last forever. We’re already eating into what we have in the bank. Luke, you know I’m not meaning this as a dig at you, but just the facts. You earn more than us, you’re worth more than us.’

              ‘Wow. Fucking hell. Clearly not a dig at me. You write the fucking songs then,’ Luke snapped, hurt by the comment.

              Dale rose from his seat, and glared down at him. ‘I didn’t mean it like that. You want me to say it?’

              Luke snapped again, telling him to say what was really on his mind.

              ‘Everything is always about you, or Liss, but we’ve all suffered too. It’s about time
we
were important!’

              Toby jumped up, and put his hand on Dale’s shoulder. ‘Easy fella, take a breath, before you say something you really will regret.’

              Luke stood up, squared his shoulders, and leaned into his best friend. ‘I’m sorry if my abduction was a little inconvenient for you. I’m sorry if Liss being nearly raped and murdered didn’t match up with your plans, or that we needed time to get over it. I’m sure Megan planned to get stabbed, just to piss you off—’

              Toby grabbed both of them by the shoulder, pulled them together and put his face close to theirs. ‘Leave it. Stop now. Everyone is stressed out. You’re best mates, don’t let that be ruined along with everything else.’

              Luke didn’t want to fall out with Dale, and vice versa. ‘Sorry. Toby’s spot on. I understand, and I promise today we make progress.’

              Dale apologised too and the situation was averted. Luke grabbed some papers from the table and held them up. Tom was hovering close by, looking eager and worried at the same time. He didn’t like his friends arguing, never knowing what to say in that kind of situation.

              Luke waved the papers at Tom. ‘They’ve been good to Jo-Jo and the girls, right?’

              ‘Jo-Jo’s never complained. She always says Nancy can be a hard ass bitch but she knows what she’s doing. I’m on board if everyone else agrees,’ Tom said, secretly hoping they would. Jo-Jo had always been happy with her record label and all the people the girls had around them. They seemed trustworthy. They were smaller but the money being offered wasn’t bad considering. He suspected Nancy McQueen would raise hell to sign them.

              ‘Dale,’ Luke said looking at his friend. ‘You in?’

              Dale stood silent for a few seconds, then smiled. ‘Fuck. Yeah. I’m in…sorry about being a dick.’

              ‘Me too. Sorry. Forget it,’ Luke said and held out his hand to shake on it.

              Dale jumped on him instead. ‘Course. But you’re still a wanker.’

              Toby completed the vote and they opened beers – a tradition that would never be broken. Everything ended with a beer and a joint. Luke dialled the number which was answered promptly. 

              ‘Luke Black. I don’t like being kept waiting. If your answer is yes, you’re forgiven.’

              ‘Nancy McQueen, we are ready to talk. You still interested?’

*****

‘Oh, my god!’ Nancy threw her phone in the air.

              Violet Colt sat back in her chair and clapped. Her dark curls covered part of her face which showed nothing but pride for her friend. ‘Well done. Francis raves about them all the time. So I’m assuming I’ll be given the job of their publicist.’ She raised her eyebrows. Her cocoa-coloured skin was flawless as were her clothes. Suited and booted as usual.

              Nancy smiled as she collapsed into her chair. Her pale skin was getting some colour back into it. ‘You know that job’s yours. Just keep them protected. I’ve wanted them since they first hit the scene. Bloody Jay-Den slimeball Lake swooped in first. What a complete and utter jerk. Hmmmm...’ she trailed off, deep in thought.

              Violet shifted in her chair. She knew the look on her boss and friend’s face. ‘Don’t fret, I will. Megan May could be an asset here. Another person Francis always talked about. He was furious over Megan. Nice girl. And he’ll be up for working with them again. He’s been wanting them back on the scene. He’ll make their next album piss all over Sky Storm’s efforts. Angry is not the word. They still owe him money too. Fuckwits the lot of them.’

              Nancy laughed. ‘One step at a time. I think Megan is for another time. Francis on the other hand is in.’ Nancy stood up and grabbed her bag, telling Violet, her trusted sidekick and wife to Francis Colt, one of the UK’s best music producers, to follow her for a celebration lunch.

              ‘People, listen up. Nothing has been signed but I’m ninety-nine per cent confident that by 10am tomorrow we will officially be The Black Eagles’ record label.’ Nancy promptly left her stunned and excited team to gossip for the afternoon.

              ‘Oh. I don’t have to remind you all. Gobs shut! If even a whisper gets out before I get those signatures, you’re all fired,’ she warned as she left.

*****

‘What do you think it’ll be?’ Beth asked as she paced the room. Megan sat next to Melissa, nervous and excited. It had to be good news because she knew when Toby was mad or upset. He had sounded fine during the phone call, telling her to drive to Melissa’s and wait there. Melissa had a suspicion but didn’t want to think too much as it could be anything. Surely Luke would have been too excited to keep a record deal a secret. He hadn’t said much about the meeting with the guys, but just said that they had made a few decisions but hadn’t finalised anything. She had left it at that. He had headed out early that morning to meet Ray to discuss his part in a new venture.