Chapter 11

Jack

When Kai came over, I knew he didn't have good news. He never looked so surly or walked so purposefully past people who wanted his attention unless he needed to. And he was coming straight for me.

"What's wrong?" I asked.

"Simon said there's a problem with the production schedule. Something about the gig next month and having shit ready in time. I think they need us to figure it out."

"All right. Let me just grab my coat."

Although Kai didn't say much more, I could tell it was serious. He wasn't going to give me all the details while others could hear, that much was clear. As he walked past the rest of the band and gathered them, too, I followed.

It was only as I got into the car that I remembered Juno.

Fuck.

I'd just walked out on her. And she'd have no idea why. I also still didn't have her number.

Letting out a sigh, I tried to tell myself it would be fine. She wasn't that into me anyway. And it hadn't been a great idea to invite her along. Besides, the band needed me, and they came first. What else would I have done? Gone up to her and said, "Hey, sorry I invited you to dinner, hurt you, and now I've got to go. See you around, sweetheart."

Yeah, it wouldn't look good, no matter how I played it. Either way, I'd just blown it.

In some ways, it was a comforting thought. I could put her out of my head and get on with fixing whatever shit had just hit the fan.

The car pulled up at our hotel, and we all went inside, coming together in the lobby before heading to Kai's suite. It wasn't long before Kai sat on one of the chairs and let out a deep sigh.

"So, that gig we're supposed to be doing in New York next month. It looks like we might have to cancel it," Kai said.

"But we've sold out the tickets," I replied. "The fans are going to be pissed."

"The folks supplying the gear for the gig didn't block off our slot. They've just informed us it's all double-booked. When we added the extra dates, it got missed or something."

"So we'll get different gear," I said, knowing it wouldn't be quite that simple but refusing to give up without at least trying a few different avenues.

"Yeah, I've got Derek on it now, but there's a chance we won't find anything this short notice. At least, not anything decent. We might have to decide between doing a gig on old, worn-out gear and not doing it."

I nodded, sitting back and letting the others say their piece. It was a crap position to be in and made me more than a little angry, but it wouldn't be solved with emotion.

While they talked and threw around ideas, I listened. Several of the team came and went, Derek and Simon both appearing and sticking around to help work through it. More than once, phone numbers were found and used, all of us looking for an alternative to canceling the gig.

Everything ended up in a negative way. No one seemed to have what we needed.

"What if we ship it in from another state, or heck, even another country? There's got to be one of the large arenas with some gear." I looked between them all as they stared at me, but Derek pulled his cell out again and started dialing someone.

I relaxed a little as, once more, everyone else tried to fix the problem, and I tried to think of anything but my guilt. How could I have walked out on Juno after I'd asked her to join us?

Even if I wasn't looking for a relationship right now, it was still unkind of me, and I'd had more than enough bad press lately. Sighing, I grabbed one of the soda cans off the mini bar and moved toward the window. Down below, the London hotel cars moved in a hurry, their lights bright in the night air.

A moment later, Kai was by my side. He stared at me again, that knowing look on his face.

"Got a message from Alma. Said she likes your new girl."

"She's not my girl."

"She likes you, though," he replied, the corner of his mouth twitching up.

"Yeah, that much was evident by the smut story. But she's still not my girl. I felt sorry for her. Even if I wanted something more, I just walked out on her. She'll think I'm a jerk by now."

"Maybe. Want me to see if Alma can get her number, or do you have it already?" Kai asked, now grinning.

"I don't have it, and I'm sure she wouldn't hand it over now anyway," I replied, not sure I wanted to discuss her any longer but equally not sure what else to talk about.

"It's a shame we had to stop and sort this out. Looks like we've probably fixed it. It's going to cost some to grease the wheels, but it's settled. We should all get some sleep so we can finish the recording tomorrow."

"Aye, mate. We'll need to be fresh enough. Swing by my room in the morning, and we'll get breakfast, okay?"

"Yeah. Alma will be sleeping in, no doubt. She's still out with the other gals. You'd best not stay up reading, either. I know what you're like when you get a good book."

I laughed, knowing he meant the book I'd been up reading only a few nights earlier.

"I've finished it. Don't worry."

"Well, don't go starting another one, especially this book Juno wrote. You can read it when we're done." Kai smiled as he walked away, and I shook my head, finding myself grinning at the tease. But as I made my way to my own hotel room, I couldn't shake the idea. She hadn't allowed O'Sullivan to embarrass her with the book, but she hadn't denied it was about me.

She'd even mentioned giving me a happy ending. Maybe a happy ending and the hope for one would help lift me out of my funk.

Or it could make me worse, the disconnect between what she'd written and my reality ground into my face.

As I walked into my room, the empty silence only made me feel worse. I was such a loser. I'd become such a loser. All this money and fame, and here I was alone in a hotel, no woman to share it with and a world full of rumors and allegations. I'd lost so much in the past to women who wanted nothing more than my money or fame.

Now and then, Kai and other bandmates tried to encourage me to get serious about someone again, but none of them made me want to take the risk. None of them made me feel.

Until today. Today, I'd wanted someone. The moment I'd seen Juno, like a deer in headlights. And then she'd not only stood up to our host but given her explanation with such care. She had a heart. That much was clear. And she believed me. That also meant a lot.

But there was so much to her I didn't understand. Her own recent breakup. The bruises she'd hidden until I'd actually hurt her.

As I lay on the bed, still fully dressed, I thought back to our moment playing pinball together. I'd been so close to those bruises, and she hadn't even thought to warn me. They must have hurt. Must have been hurting all day. And then there was the book itself. It had apparently been some kind of darker romance. Were they linked somehow? Was her world far darker than it appeared?

Reaching for my tablet, I found myself opening the ebook store and searching for her name. An entire library of books popped up before I remembered she had this fan fiction of sorts under a pen name.

For a moment, I almost put the tablet back down, but I paused, the device in my hands and my fingers poised to open the internet browser and search for it.

Would it be easy to find? She'd acted like it had been something people knew.

Curiosity got the better of me, and before I knew it, I had the book before me. I stared at the cover a moment, the couple on it in a suggestive pose, the man clearly in control, dominant, and then I swiped to begin reading.