Sinners On Tour 02 Rock Hard (5 page)

How was it possible for two people to look
that
happy getting married by an Elvis impersonator in a drive-through? Brian had pulled into the first chapel they’d found. There wasn’t time for a long ceremony. They all had to be onstage in a couple of hours.

Sed grinned as Myrna and Brian recited their vows and exchanged rings. The size of Myrna’s rock put Jessica’s cheap piece of shit to shame, but Sed was very conscious of the discarded ring’s weight in his hip pocket as Brian slid a platinum band on Myrna’s finger.

They’d put the top down on Myrna’s pink convertible ’57 Thunderbird coupe. Brian sat on the back of the front seat with Myrna on his lap. Trey, the best man, sat in the middle beside the happy couple. Sed sat on the passenger side as their second witness. He supposed that made him the maid of honor. Always a bridesmaid…

“I now pronounce you husband and, uh, wife,” the Elvis justice of the peace said. “I say, uh, you may kiss your beautiful bride.”

Brian kissed Myrna deeply. She clung to his shoulders, the Vegas sunshine making her auburn hair glow like fire. She looked absolutely stunning in her white gown. Sed wondered if they’d even make it back to the tour bus before Brian had it off her.

Eric, who sat behind Jace on the motorcycle next to the car, cheered.

“Congratulations.” Sed reached behind Trey to pat Brian on the shoulder.

The couple continued to kiss. And kiss. And kiss. Tug at each other’s clothes. Kiss some more.

“You guys,” Trey protested. “You’re making Jace blush.”

The newlyweds drew apart and stared into each other’s eyes, both of Brian’s surrounded by dark purple bruises. “God, I love you,” Brian murmured. He kissed her again, before drawing away to stare at her with the stupidest grin on his face. She smiled just as stupidly, love shining in her eyes.

Sed had had that. Once.

But no longer.

Stupid Jessica. Sed crossed his arms over his chest, trying his damnedest to be happy for Brian, no matter how miserable the occasion made him feel.

“Are we going to sit here all day?” Trey asked.

“You act like we’re ordering burgers and fries,” Brian said, glaring at Trey.

“Well, what do you expect? We are in a drive-through. Hey, Elvis!” Trey called at the window. “Can we get ketchup with that?’

“One marriage license is all you shall receive from The King. Move along, folks,” Elvis said, his accent evaporating. “We’ve got a line today.”

They slid down into the white leather bench seat and Myrna shifted to sit on Trey’s lap so Brian could drive back to the tour bus.

As they peeled out of the lot, Myrna toyed with Trey’s hair. “How’s your head, sweetie?”

“Hurts like a sonuvabitch.”

“You need to go to the hospital and get checked out,” Myrna said. “You look pale.” Using her fingertips, she tested his forehead for fever.

“That’s how the best man always looks when his best friend gets shackled with a ball and chain.”

“Ball and chain?” She poked him in the ribs and scooted over to Sed’s lap. Sed wrapped an arm around her back. “Sed doesn’t insult me.”

“Not to your face,” Trey murmured. He leaned back and closed his eyes.

Myrna was right. Trey didn’t look well. At all.

Myrna’s mouth dropped open and she turned her head to glare at Sed. “What did you say about me?”

“I’d never say anything bad about you, Myrna.” He shrugged. “Well, except you have bad taste in men.”

She grabbed his chin between her thumb and forefinger. “Don’t be insulting my husband.”

“Yeah,” Brian said, an ear-to-ear grin plastered to his face, “don’t be insulting her husband.” He wrapped his right hand around her ankle beneath her plain white wedding gown. At the top of the steering wheel, the wide platinum band on his left ring finger caught the afternoon sunshine. Sed stared at it. That symbol of together forever.

Forever.

“Eh, I’m just jealous,” Sed said quietly. He hugged Myrna affectionately and she placed a kiss on his temple.

“I hope you find happiness, Sed,” she said. “I really do.”

Only one woman could make him happy. And it just so happened that she despised him.

But he could never despise her. He hoped the money he’d given her at the club had been enough to help her out. If only Sinners’ third album had gone platinum a few months earlier. He could have afforded to buy her a nice ring and put her through law school. Then she’d have never left him in the first place.

Outside Mandalay Bay’s Events Center, Jessica tapped a security guard on the shoulder. “Excuse me, can you tell me where I can find Sed Lionheart?”

The gigantic, bearded man turned to look at her, but didn’t answer her question.

“He’s the lead singer of Sinners. Sedric Lionheart,” she said, enunciating the syllables of his name slowly. “They’re playing here tonight.”

“Stay behind the barrier.” The security guard pushed his sunglasses further up his nose with an index finger.

“I need to give him something. It’s important.”

“Stay behind the barrier.”

“I
am
behind the barrier. Does he come out this way after the show?”

“Look, lady, I have no clue. My instructions were to make all the fans stay behind the barrier.”

“I’m not a fan. I’m a friend.”

“Sure.”

An attractive thirty-something woman appeared beside the security guard. She wore a well-tailored navy skirt suit and held a clipboard. With her hair twisted into a conservative knot, she looked more out of place than a professional wrestler in a ballet.

“Are you Jessica?” the woman asked.

Jessica’s brow furrowed. “How do you know my name?”

“I saw a picture of you once. I’m Myrna Evans, I mean, Sinclair. Myrna Sinclair. Brian’s… wife.” Her expression wavered between disbelief and elation as she dropped this bombshell.

Jessica’s eyes widened in surprise. “Brian’s wife? When did Brian get married?”

The woman checked her watch. The ginormous diamond on her left ring finger sparkled in the streetlights. “About five hours ago. So, why are you here? I’m pretty sure Sed doesn’t want to see you.”

Jessica got a mother hen-ish vibe from this Myrna woman. Sed’s protector? Why would Sed need protection? The jackass could take care of himself just fine.

“He gave me a big chunk of cash yesterday. I came to return it.”

“Why are you returning it?”

“I don’t want his money. He’s always doing this to me. Screwing up my life and then trying to fix everything. I don’t need him to fix everything. I can take care of myself, you know?” Jessica’s eyebrows shot up. When Myrna didn’t reply, her face fell. “You don’t know, do you?”

“Sed is a protector type personality,” Myrna said. “That’s who he is. He tries to fix everything for everyone.” She smiled. “He’s really sweet, actually.”

“I don’t think we’re talking about the same Sed. Sedric Lionheart. Tall guy. Broad shoulders. Blue eyes. Short black hair. Body befitting a Greek god. Sings. La la la la.”

Myrna chuckled. “You don’t think Sed is sweet?”

“No. He’s a pompous ass who can’t keep his nose out of people’s business.”

“Because if someone he cares about gets hurt, he feels personally responsible. It’s his way of showing he cares.”

The congregating crowd outside the barrier cheered unexpectedly. The members of the band Exodus End emerged from their tour bus and headed for the building. Amongst them, Jessica recognized Trey’s older brother, Dare Mills. She hadn’t seen Dare for ages. She doubted if he’d even remember who she was.

“It’s noisy out here,” Myrna shouted. “Do you want to go talk on the bus?” Myrna pointed to the black and silver tour bus parked behind her.

Jessica’s stomach plummeted to her feet at the idea of seeing Sed again. Of being trapped in the bus where she couldn’t easily flee. “How about I just give the money to you and you give it to him?” She reached into her purse.

“I think you should tell him why you don’t want it. I don’t think he understands you were insulted by his gift. It would be a good lesson for him.”

Jessica gaped at Myrna. How did this woman know Sed’s money insulted her?

“Yeah, I get it. Independent woman meets protector-type man and personalities clash. I bet your love affair is smoking hot, though.” Myrna laughed.

Jessica blushed. They had once had a smoking hot love affair. And it had never fizzled out. Just exploded.

“Charlie, can you help Jessica over the barrier?”

The security guard grabbed Jessica around the waist and hauled her over the metal barrier fence.

“I’m a mess.” Jessica rubbed her hands over her hair. She knew she looked like crap. It was fitting. She’d had a craptacular day. As if getting fired wasn’t bad enough, she hadn’t had enough money to pay for her rented room. Roy had deducted bouncer
medical
expenses from her wages, the jackass. Since there was no way in hell she’d ever use Sed’s money to pay her rent, she’d spent most of the day packing her belongings into her piece of shit Nissan Sentra. Apparently her landlord preferred to rent her room to someone with
actual
money. As for sleep… What was that? When she’d tried to catch a nap in her car, some bicycle cop had pounded on her window and lectured her on how quickly the temperature inside a car could rise to deadly levels. Like she was an idiot or something.

Why did she care how she looked anyway? She didn’t have anyone to impress and she was in a foul mood.

Jessica tucked her long, wavy hair behind her ears and followed Myrna to the tour bus.

“Jessica? Is that you?”

She paused and glanced up at Darren Mills, Exodus End’s lead guitarist. He was even better looking than his younger brother, Trey, if that was possible. They both had the same dreamy green eyes, but Dare had a stronger jaw that was covered with a sexy shadow of beard growth. Dare’s long black hair, straight and shiny, was the envy of shampoo models the world over.

Jessica smiled at him, blushing slightly. It was hard to be inconspicuous when people kept recognizing her. Her plan to drop the loot and get the hell out of Dodge was not going as anticipated. “Hey, Dare. Yeah, it’s me.”

“I thought you dumped Sed. Are you guys back together?”

Jessica shook her head vigorously. “No chance.”

“Yo, Dare, get a move on! We’re on in thirty minutes,” Exodus End’s drummer, Steve Aimes, called from the back door of the venue.

Dare tossed his head in acknowledgement and then glanced down at Jessica. “I’ve got to go get warmed up for our set,” he said. “It was good to see you.”

“Yeah, I’m glad you stopped to say hi. Break a leg,” she said, and punched him gently in the arm.

“Thanks.” He turned and jogged toward the venue.

Jessica glanced at Myrna, who was following Dare’s perfect leather-clad ass with her eyes. “You know him?”

“That’s Dare,” Jessica said. “Trey’s older brother.”

“So that’s Dare. Mmmmm. And I thought Trey was sexy.”

Jessica chuckled. “What about Brian? Weren’t you recently married to him?”

“He’ll have my undivided attention soon enough.” Myrna turned to enter the bus. “Besides, getting married didn’t make me blind.”

Jessica followed Myrna up the bus stairs and entered the main room behind the driver’s seat. For a moment, Jessica thought they were in the wrong bus. Sinners lived in a state of constant filth, but the interior of the bus was spotless without even the obligatory stack of dirty clothes to mar its cleanliness. Next to the wall that blocked the driver’s seat from view was a comfortable-looking leather sofa in soft beige. Across from the sofa were two matching captain’s chairs. A large-screen TV was anchored above the chairs with a video game console and stereo system situated nearby. Further in, a small kitchen filled one wall and on the opposite side stood a square dining table with booth seating. Close, but comfortable.

“What happened to this place?” Jessica asked.

Myrna continued to the small square table near the sleeping area, which consisted of two sets of curtained bunks stacked on either side of the corridor.

“Huh?” Myrna glanced over her shoulder.

“The bus. It’s clean.”

“Uh, one too many loogies between the toes and I made the guys clean it up. I couldn’t live in that disgusting mess.”

“Impressive.” Jessica couldn’t get the “guys” to do anything when she’d briefly toured with them over two years ago. And they’d been less famous then. Less full of themselves.

“Have a seat,” Myrna offered. “Would you like something to drink?”

“Thanks. That would be nice.” Jessica slid into the booth, her back facing the exit, and looked around the bus. On second glance, this wasn’t the same bus they’d had when she’d toured with them. This one was much nicer. It even had a pair of doors that led to other rooms near the back.

“What would you like?” Myrna asked.

“Aren’t my choices beer, beer, or beer? Sinners’ only food group.” Jessica chuckled.

“No alcohol on this bus,” Myrna said. “If you want a beer, you’ll have to brave the other bus, which we’ve monikered the pigsty bus. The roadies keep to that one mostly. We have bottled water. Juice: orange, apple, cranberry or grape. And Trey’s new addiction, black cherry Kool-Aid.”

“Water is fine.”

Myrna retrieved two bottles of water from the fridge and sat across the table from Jessica in the booth. Jessica took a long drink.

“Brian told me you were going to law school,” Myrna said.

Jessica’s eyes widened. Why would that even come up in conversation? “Yeah, that’s right.”

“So why are you working as a stripper?”

Was this woman direct or what? Sheesh! No wonder the guys obeyed her commands. She probably intimidated the hell out of them.

“I’m pretty sure that’s none of your business.”

Myrna shrugged. “I suppose not.” She chuckled. “I guess Sed was right about you.”

Jessica’s brow furrowed. “What did Sed say about me?” She knew she shouldn’t care, but her heart could scarcely beat in her constricted chest.

Myrna shook her head nonchalantly and took a drink of her water. “Nothing.”

“I needed the money is all. Why did Sed say I was dancing?”

“You needed money.”

“Doesn’t matter anyway. Because of that cocky idiot, I got fired.”

“Sorry to hear that. Are you looking for another job?”

“I dunno. I couldn’t afford to pay my rent, so I got evicted. I’ll probably just go to my mother’s. You know, I’ve had a very crappy twenty-four hours. It all started the second Sed touched me.” Jessica hesitated. She’d forgotten that Myrna seemed to actually
like
Sed. “Sorry to unload on you. You don’t even know me.”

Myrna smiled kindly. “I don’t mind. You know, I’ve been thinking of hiring an assistant to help me with my research project.”

“Your research project?”

“That’s why I’m touring with Sinners. I’m doing psychology research on their groupies. I’m trying to determine what it is about rock stars that makes certain women promiscuous.”

Did she really need to do formal research to figure that out?

“I wondered why you were walking around looking like one of my law professors.”

Myrna chuckled. “Actually, I dress like this because I know it turns Brian on. Don’t tell him I told you that.” Myrna winked at her. “Anyway, are you interested in the job?”

“Me?”

“I’m offering a job. You need a job. Makes sense to me. I assume you’re an intelligent person if you’re going to law school. How are your grades?”

“Almost straight A’s.” Except that failing term paper in Ellington’s class. But now was not the time to start hyperventilating over a bad grade. Something wasn’t right here. Jessica didn’t even know this woman and she just offers her a job out of the blue? “What’s the catch?”

“No catch. The stipend will be ten thousand dollars if you see the project to its end.”

Jessica’s jaw dropped. “Ten
thousand
dollars? How long is this project?”

“About two more months. A lot of the burden of data collection and entry will be put on you. I couldn’t keep up before, and now I seem to be a newlywed.” She grinned. “How did that happen?”

Jessica chuckled. “Congratulations, by the way. Brian is a prize catch.”

“Thanks. I think so.” Myrna smiled dreamily, radiating happiness.

Jessica had had that once. Stupid Sed and his ridiculous ultimatums.

“So what do you say?” Myrna asked.

“Can I get an advance so I can find a new apartment?”

“You’ll be touring with the band, Jessica. You don’t need an apartment.”

Her bubble of relief and happiness ruptured.

“I can’t tour with the band. Sed—”

“What about Sed?”

Why did Jessica feel like this woman was manipulating her and planning her demise? “We can’t get along.”

“This is a professional relationship, Jessica, not a personal one. Besides, you’ll be working for me. You can ignore Sed entirely.”

Jessica didn’t think it was humanly possible to ignore Sed. Sed was… Sed was… well,
Sed
. She sighed aloud. “I…”

“Do you have a better option?”

Jessica shook her head. “I’m really grateful for this offer, Myrna. I just don’t think I can be around Sed for two months.”

“Why not? Do you still care about him?” Myrna asked.

“No!” Jessica said, a little too fast and a lot too loud.

“Then what’s the problem?”

“No problem. I gratefully accept the job. Thank you, Myrna. You saved my life.” Or potentially ruined it.

“Awesome. I hope you can start tonight. I’m leaving on my honeymoon in about…” She checked her watch. “…ten minutes.”

Well, what did Jessica have to lose? Except her sanity and already pulverized self-respect. “Um, okay. Sounds good. Just show me what to do.”

Myrna was explaining how to enter her huge backlog of data into a spreadsheet when the crowd outside the bus erupted in cheers. Jessica’s heart raced. The members of Sinners were probably headed this way right now. How would Sed react to her joining his band on tour? How would she stand being so close to him for two months? Living quarters on a tour bus were… intimate.

Brian climbed the stairs and entered the bus. He didn’t even notice Jessica. He went straight to Myrna, drew her against his sweaty body, and kissed her hungrily. “Are you ready to go?”

“Everything’s packed,” she murmured. “I just need to explain a few more things to my new assistant before we head out.”

“Assistant?” Brian’s eyes, surrounded by purple bruises and a thick rim of black eyeliner, settled on Jessica. “Jessica?” he said breathlessly. “What the
fuck
are you doing here?”