Read With Vengeance Online

Authors: Brooklyn Ann

Tags: #rock stars, #heavy metal band, #can work and play mix, #contemporary rock romance, #he admires her talent then notices so much more, #he is the bassist for the band and has a dark secret, #hearts of metal famous heavy metal band, #she becomes a guitarist for a famous heavy metal band taking the place of a beloved former member, #she gets to live her dream, #she wants to be taken seriously

With Vengeance (7 page)

BOOK: With Vengeance
4.04Mb size Format: txt, pdf, ePub
ads

Klement entered the room, towering over them
all. He bent and fiddled with the knobs on one of the amplifiers.
“Four. I’m a workaholic.”

As if afraid to be tasked with more work,
Cliff took off.

Klement picked up a discarded guitar pick
from the floor and slid it around between his long fingers. “Sorry
for barking at you earlier.”

“No problem.” She had to tear her gaze from
his hands as she packed up. “If you don’t tell me what I’m doing
wrong, I won’t get better.”

“No, I’m not apologizing for how I handle
sessions.” He tapped the guitar pick on his chin. “I meant about
your pills. It was none of my business, and after losing Lefty I’ve
been paranoid about man-made drugs.” He smiled. “Now, if you’d had
a joint, I would have made you share.”

She laughed. Kinley had told her that Klem
was a bit of a stoner. “No, I can’t smoke that stuff. It gives me
panic attacks.”

“That’s too bad,” he said, in the same
mournful tone as every other pothead who offered to smoke with her.
It was like it broke their hearts not to share.

He went back to playing with the guitar pick.
“Anyway, as for today’s session, you did very well. Tomorrow I’m
hoping we can get your parts done for ‘Fractured Dreamscape’ and
‘Doors to Nowhere.’”

Kat grinned, excited at her progress on the
album and anxious to give them nothing but her best. “Did you want
me to do ‘Fractured Dreamscape’ in G or in E?”

As they talked, she felt a warm, tingling
sensation between her thighs and Kat’s face flushed even though he
couldn’t see what was happening. What the hell? It wasn’t as if
they were discussing anything that should turn her on.

“I guess I’ll see you tomorrow…”

Klement trailed off, frowning like his words
didn’t match his thoughts, but after waiting a few seconds Kat
didn’t think he was going to continue. Just as she headed for the
door, he stopped her with a hand on her shoulder.

“Hey, why don’t you come stay at my place? I
have plenty of guestrooms. Then you won’t have to pay for a hotel
or go to the Laundromat.”

For a moment Kat blinked up at him in
astonishment. If anyone else had grabbed her from behind she would
have instantly panicked. Instead, the heat of his touch felt so
good she wanted to purr.

He raised an eyebrow, waiting for her
response. Only then did she digest his suggestion and recover her
voice.

“Okay.”

“Cool.” He gave her another one of those
heart-stopping smiles. “I’ll make up a room for you and you can
follow me up tomorrow after your session.”

Kat’s clit began to throb. Shaking her head,
she walked out of the studio as quickly as possible without looking
like something was wrong. But by the time she got out to her car,
her panties were soaking wet.

“What the hell is happening to me?” she
whispered.

 

Chapter Six

Richard watched Kat’s car pull out of the
studio parking lot. Damn, it looked like she wasn’t fired. But
hopefully the bassist was at least upset with her.

He had enjoyed the look on her face when she
walked out of her hotel room this morning. Her stupid smile had
disappeared when she saw the flat. He’d also liked seeing her on
her knees on the asphalt. But what pleasure he got from that
dissipated when she busted out with her jack and lug wrench. Who
taught that bitch to change a tire?

He ground his teeth as he spotted Cliff and
the drummer—he couldn’t remember the guy’s name—head out of the
building. They got into Cliff’s Lexus, and for a moment Richard was
tempted to follow them. But he didn’t really need to. He knew where
the prick was staying. Besides, he didn’t know how to deal with him
at the moment.

As for Kat, he would just have to come up
with something cleverer, more severe.

As he headed to the grocery store to pick up
some sugar, he spotted something gray and flat on the side of the
road. Another idea sprang to mind.

***

Klement tossed his keys on the counter and
headed up to his music room to load a bowl. He’d done it. He’d
invited Kat to stay with them. It was a bad idea, and he knew it.
But he couldn’t stop thinking about how she’d flinched and ducked
when he’d handed her back the Xanax.

She’d said she had PTSD. Given her lack of
military background, it wasn’t from one of the wars. No, from her
reaction today it was dead obvious that someone had abused her, and
Klem’s fists clenched with the urge to beat the living shit out of
whoever had done it. Equally intense was the instinct to pull Kat
into his arms and shield her from further harm. The thought of her
being alone in a seedy motel rankled even further.

Willing himself to calm down, he took another
hit off his pipe and focused on the matter at hand. At least with
her staying here he had a better chance of making sure she was safe
while working with the band. He didn’t like the idea of her being
constantly exposed to Rod and Cliff, but at least they weren’t
rapists or anything. Just in case, he’d put her in the farthest
room from theirs…and closest to his.

He took another hit and headed downstairs to
his office. After logging in to Alpha Tech Services, his tech
support server, he messaged Kat. After all, he needed to see how
the new software was working. He wished he could call her, but
after all their work today he didn’t want to run the risk of her
recognizing his voice.

Hey
,
it’s IT Guy,
he typed.
My phone died, but I just wanted to check in
.
How’s my
comment program working?

He frowned as he waited for a response. Had
she changed her mind after all and gone out with the guys? That
wouldn’t matter. She had the right to get out and have some fun
after the hard workday, but…

A tightness in his chest eased as she
replied.

It’s fantastic! I can’t thank you enough!
All the spammers are gone!
A half dozen smiley faces littered
the chat box.

Grinning at her exuberance, he typed,
How
was your second day at the studio?

Great. Klement is a big perfectionist, but
he said I did a good job. He’s the bassist but also the boss of the
band. Still, it took a ton of tries to get the songs the way he
wanted them. I was there for six hours and only got two songs
done.

Perfectionist? That was true enough, but did
she mean that in a good way or a bad way? He wished again that he
could hear her voice and be able to discern her tone.

Wow, that’s a long time.
It was a
generic response, but he couldn’t think of much more to say and
maintain a façade of industry ignorance.

Kat continued.
Part of what took so long
was that Cliff kept trying to steal my solos. He did the same thing
while we were jamming at Klement’s.

Klement smirked as he replied.
What a
jerk. Did you tell him to back off and let you do your job?
Although he was well aware that she hadn’t said anything, he wanted
to know why.

Hell no. I’m worried that if I call out the
lead singer, I might not get to keep the job. Besides, the bassist
told him to knock it off.

Klement nodded at the screen. Her lack of
confidence was an issue.
Still, you should assert yourself more.
They should respect you more.

It took a while for Kat to answer.
That’s
a good point. Thanks for the advice. Now I gotta get back to work.
Thanks again for fixing the site!

Klem tapped his pen on his desk with
irritation. He couldn’t decide whether that had been a polite
blow-off of his advice, or if she’d actually taken his words to
heart.

Logging off of the site and closing the
message box, he felt a twinge of guilt for continuing the
deception. It was almost like he was spying on her. Actually,
that’s
exactly
what this was, and he shook his head with
disgust. From now on he’d keep his tech conversations strictly
about her website and computer.

He stretched and went downstairs to the
bedrooms to get Kat’s ready. The one next to the master was smaller
than the others, with only a queen bed and a dresser, but it seemed
cozy enough with a TV, small desk, and plenty of closet space for
her clothes. The only thing he didn’t like was that it didn’t have
an adjoining bathroom. But the guys had taken those.

He patted the light blue bedspread to test
its softness…and coughed as a puff of dust flew up in his face.
Shit, he would have to wash all the bedding. And after he stripped
the bed and headed down to the laundry room, it occurred to him
that he should probably also buy some food. And he should
definitely clean the kitchen while he was at it.

By the time Rod and Cliff returned from the
bar, he was on his fourth cup of coffee and mopping the floors.

“What’s with the cleaning spree?” Rod
asked.

“I decided to have Kat stay with us.”

Cliff waggled his eyebrows. “Sweet. Can she
sleep in my room?”

Klement rolled his eyes. “I have seven guest
rooms. She’s getting her own.”

“Hey.” Roderick leaned against the counter,
eyes narrowed. “How come you cleaned for her? You didn’t do that
for us.”

Why
had
he done that? He had no
answer, so Klement resorted to an excuse that would placate them.
“I meant to do it before you guys showed up, but I got baked and
forgot.”

The guys laughed, completely buying it.
“Yeah, that sounds about right.”

The buzzer for the driveway gate sounded.
Klement walked over to the intercom and pushed the button.

“Yeah?”

“Package for Cliff Tracey.”

“What is it?”

The voice was gruff and impatient. “Don’t
know.”

“Okay, hold on a second.” He pressed the
button to open the gate and turned to Cliff. “You expecting
anything?”

“No, but it’s probably from Jen. She’s still
not over me.” The singer’s mouth curved in a cocky grin. “Or maybe
Sarah. She knows I stay here when I’m working on an album.”

Klement rolled his eyes. “I wish you wouldn’t
tell your chicks where I live.”

Cliff put his hands up. “I don’t, I swear. I
just figured that some might have gotten obsessive enough to follow
me.” He walked off to answer the door.

Roderick shrugged and rummaged through the
cupboards and found a bag of chips. “Man, we need to go grocery
shopping tomorrow.”

“Fuck.” Klement slapped his forehead. “I knew
I forgot something.” He didn’t want Kat to see his empty
pantry.

“Hey!” they heard Cliff yell. “Shouldn’t I
sign for this?” A moment later, the singer wandered back into the
kitchen carrying a box and shaking his head. “Damn, that guy took
off fast.”

“It’s late,” Rod said through a mouthful of
Doritos. “You were probably his last stop and he wants to get to a
party or something.”

Klement nodded. “So, what’s in the box?”

“I don’t know.”

It looked like it came from the bakery, just
a plain white box with no logo or anything. As Cliff opened it,
Klement noticed that it also had no address label. But before he
could say anything, Cliff dropped the box on the counter and drew
back in horror.

“Jesus Christ!”

Rod leaned forward and gagged. He dashed to
the sink and threw up.

Taking a deep breath, Klement slowly
approached the box. Inside, nestled in tissue paper, was a dead
cat.

 

Chapter Seven

Somehow Klement managed to keep his gorge
down as he looked at the cat’s remains. Thank Christ it wasn’t one
of his. Flea was black-and-white with medium long hair and yellow
eyes. Geddy was a fluffy rich chocolate with white patches and a
feather-duster tail. The one in the box was grey. And from the look
of the poor animal, it had been hit by a car rather than suffered
malicious torture or poisoning. A small relief.

Still, it hurt to see a dead animal. He loved
cats. And who the fuck would send a dead cat to Cliff? That was,
like, serial killer shit.

While the other two stood pale and shaking in
the corners, Klement closed the box. “Did you get a good look at
the guy who delivered it?”

Cliff shook his head. “He just looked like a
regular delivery guy. It was dark and he was already heading back
down the driveway.”

“What about his car?”

“Didn’t get a look at that at all.”

The singer resembled a deer in the
headlights. Klement clapped a hand on his shoulder and said, “It’s
okay, I’ll check the security cameras and see if I can get a plate
number.”

Roderick rinsed his mouth before turning on
the garbage disposal and cleaning his puke out of the sink. “Sorry
about the mess, mate.”

Klement nodded and turned back to Cliff. “Do
you still think it was one of your exes? Or are you already making
a move on someone else’s girl?”

Cliff crossed his arms, automatically
defensive. “Jesus, even I don’t move that fast unless we’re on the
road.” Glancing back at the box, he let his shoulders slump. “I
don’t know, man, none of them
seemed
this crazy, but you
know women.”

Roderick pointed a trembling finger at the
box. “What are we going to do with that? And should we call the
cops?”

“No way, man.” Cliff waved his hands like a
goalie blocking a ball. “I don’t need this shit getting in the
news. And we don’t want them bothering Klement’s girls. He may be
good with the medical marijuana requirements and have his
dispensary license, but you know they’ll take one look at us and
know he’s also using for recreation.”

Klement shook his head. His friends were more
important to him than his crop. “I’m calling them anyway.”

Of course, the cops weren’t able to do much
except agree that the cat was likely roadkill. They couldn’t find
any prints on the box. They asked about suspects and motives,
which, aside from Cliff’s ex-girlfriends, there weren’t any. Then
they wrote down some info and took the copy of the security footage
Klement made and went on their way. They didn’t seem inclined to do
any snooping around the rest of his house, much less go near his
grow room.

BOOK: With Vengeance
4.04Mb size Format: txt, pdf, ePub
ads

Other books

Mick Harte Was Here by Barbara Park
It's Complicated by Sophia Latriece
One Touch of Magic by Amanda Mccabe
Nine-Tenths by Pentermann, Meira
Off Limits by Lola Darling
Changeling Dream by Harper, Dani
Shadows Burned In by Pourteau, Chris
The Family Hightower by Brian Francis Slattery