“No.” Mads sighs. “No, I didn’t want you to know. They kept his secrets to protect me. This is all my fault.”
“You can’t blame yourself for this,” Andi tells him.
“I can, and I do,” he argues. “I was too busy trying to keep my own name secret because of my dad, too fucking scared Rad would have found out about it and turned the rumor around on me since my fucked up family has the history. And then I brought you guys into it.”
“There’s nothing you can do now, man,” Zeb says, sighing.
“Hey,” Reed jerks his chin toward Gemma. “What videos are you talking about?” he asks Gemma.
Gemma peers between us. “Kade found them when we were doing our initial sweep.”
“Like an online sweep?” Zeb asks. “I thought that’s what Heartless handled,” he says about DeathTower Records’s PR firm.
Her hazel eyes moved between us. “Heartless looks to control rumors once they’re already out there. Part of our job is to get rid of them and the source before the hemorrhage happens. My team doesn’t just handle your physical safety. We handle everything. Online and off. False claims online are just as much of a threat as someone getting too close. Rumors and online bullies can kill a career or reputation.”
“Tell me about it,” Mads mutters.
“Which is why Rad isn’t to approach any of you without me, Kade, or Liam there,” she adds.
“You don’t trust him?” Zeb asks.
“Doesn’t sound like any of you do either.” She pulls her phone out and presses it to her ear, then meets Reed’s eyes again. “Do what you want as far as texting him. I know you’re a nice guy and all, and that goes against some code you have, but… Radlee Cutrelle is a disease,” she says firmly. “He doesn’t deserve to hear from you after everything he did while he wasin the band and after. Not to you. Not to those girls… You don’t want your name attached to that. I’m with your sister. Ignore him. And if he does happen to post anything online, we’ll take care of it—Hey, Kade—” She turns her back on us and heads toward the theater room. “Yeah, forget what I said earlier. I need you here tonight in case we need damage control so I encourage both of you to take a nap—”
Zeb whistles as the door closes behind her. “I’m glad she’s on our side.”
“Yeah,” Andi says, sitting up to nudge Mads. “Let’s get you something to eat.”
Mads brings her fingers to his lips and kisses her knuckles. “Yeah, I need out of this conversation,” he says, standing.
“What should I tell Rad?” Reed asks.
“Just ignore him, Reed,” Andi replies tiredly. “Listen to your bodyguard. He isn’t worth all of this stress.”
Reed slumps into the seat and leans over his knees, his foot bouncing as he holds his phone, the text thread to Rad on the screen. I don’t like seeing Reed like this. So torn and unsure…
“Why can’t you let it go?” I ask him quietly.
“I don’t know,” he admits. “I guess because I’m worried about what he’ll do if I don’t give him something,” Reed replies.
“This is why we have people who watch our backs now,” I say. “You don’t owe him anything.”
“Don’t I?” Reed says. “He had all of these connections. He knew so many people on the circuit. We wouldn’t have gotten half of those gigs that year had he not introduced us to the owners of the clubs or his friends. You know how many times he reminded me of that?”
“He didn’t do any of that for you, or because he believed in what you were doing,” I say. “He did it because it made him look better. It didn’t make him look like a failure, or like the guy who broke up the first band he was in. You can’t think that he was thereason any of this worked out. It worked out because the music is fucking amazing. You think I would have jumped on the stage if I didn’t think that?”
Reed peers up at me, and I can see the battle in his eyes.
“She’s right,” Zeb says, clapping Reed on the shoulder.
“The first time I met him, he told me he was only in the band for free drinks and pussy. He never believed in you or the music,” I say.
Zeb scoffs. “Do you know how many times I heard him say that over the years?” He clears his throat and puts on a mocking face. “Hey man, let’s go score some free drinks. I hear the pussy’s good at this place,” he imitates Rad. “Like women were something he could just order off the menu… Fucking prick. You know he used to say that shit to you because he thought you were a good target, right?” he adds to Reed. “Mads and I didn’t listen to his bullshit, but he knew he could get in this pretty little head of yours.” Zeb shoves Reed’s head in a joking way, and Reed smiles sideways at him.
“He’s still in your fucking head,” Zeb says in a fond tone. “Get him out. Fuck that guy.”
I stand up and offer Reed a hand, and he lets out a heavy breath when he stands.
“Yeah. Right.” He tosses his phone onto the couch. “Fuck him.”
