* * *
“Whatever Happened to the Vendetta?”IndieMusicRoxx
…No onein the band ever confirmed anything, but the evolution of the edgy, kickass band the Vendetta into the more culturally mainstream Elvie happened pretty suddenly to those of us who were watching.The official line from music agent Logan Groff was that drummer Selene Huynh and pianist Lorraine Delarosa wanted to take smaller roles.But that makes no sense.When the two of them sang, they brought the entire club to their feet.Maybe it was the rumors about a relationship between the two of them, as Groff has a famously strict no-fraternization policy.
Though if rumors are true, that doesn’t mean they can’t fraternize with Groff…
Maybe it was their difficulty finding a bassist, someone to compliment Ellery.Should-be-more-famous Dante Baker played with them for a while, during the height of the band, but he got cut to the wayside.Groff again?Maybe.There were those photos…quickly hidden but those of us who know, know.
So was it Ellery?Was she the catalyst, driving her supposed friends into the background?They were there, singing backup on that season of “America Sings!”Ellery seemed like she was giving them their due.
So maybe it was the tragedy, the one that everyone talks about, that consumed Ellery’s life and career.
Whatever it was, bring the Vendetta back.That sound, man, that sound…
CHAPTER9
Now—Dante
Dante leansinto the final riff of “Livin’ on a Prayer,” matching Ellery chord for chord.The final strum reverberates through the bowl of the amphitheater, and a thrill of electricity runs through the crowd and the band.
Selene bangs her drumsticks together in approval.Dante feels it too.He hasn’t played like this in ages, like he doesn’t know where the next note is and finds it anyway, like plucking stars from the sky.An enticing sensation of anticipation ripples through everyone, the band, the crowd.
The only one who looks displeased is Ellery’s agent, Logan Groff, standing in the wings.
Fuck him.Dante holds the neck of his bass and grins, the smile splitting his face wide.This is worth it all.Worth every moment to see Ellery looking like herself again.
She tosses her blond curls, like the winds have changed and are carrying her back to herself.
His stomach churns but he pushes it aside.Some things are better left forgotten, at least for the moment.
“That’s what we need!”Ellery cries into the microphone, her body loose and flowing.“That song always gets right to me.”The crowd answers her, and Dante joins Selene and Lorraine in applause.“Now that we’re three in, let’s get a little more comfortable.”
There’s a chorus of wolf whistles, and the protective parts of Dante that always respond to Ellery’s safety raise their hackles.He knows she’s given consent to this, to blatant male adoration.It doesn’t mean he likes it.
So instead he watches Ellery, who ignores them with the practiced grace of a woman in the spotlight.She slips out of her too-high stilettos and groans audibly in relief.“Guys, I cannot even tell you how good that feels.If I could stand up here and play music for you in my sweatpants and Midwestern accent, I totally would.”
Dante laughs with everyone else.In the wings, Logan Groff’s forehead is a shadow of rage.He’s practically sprouted horns.
Whatever.
“Play “Water Teeth’!”A couple in the front three rows holds aloft an enormous hand-painted sign proclaimingElviein rainbow letters.“‘Water Teeth’!”
A trill of worry flitters through him, and he looks to Ellery.She looks softer now, younger, more like the girl he met at the bar a thousand years ago.Knowing someone for so long, seeing them in all their different moods and phases, is shockingly intimate.
He sees the memory of grief cross her face, but she doesn’t break.She perches on the stool, her skirt almost too short.“We will definitely play that tonight,” she says.“But not now.Tonight is special.Tonight is the last night of our tour.And I want to do something different.”
Logan Groff’s throat clearing can practically be heard all the way in Santa Monica.
She ignores him.“A lot of you never knew us when we were the Vendetta.But we were magical then.”
“You still are!”a burly guy in the front row wearing lumberjack-chic calls.“Marry me!”
A titter of hesitant laughter rolls through the crowd.
Ellery shakes her head, smiling.“It doesn’t sit right with me, not giving Selene and Lorraine their due.”She turns to them, and he can see her swallow the glimmer of tears.“They’re incredible musicians and unbelievable friends.I didn’t stand up for them when I should have.They’ve gone along with everything for the music.Maybe for me.”
Always for you, Dante thinks, but this isn’t about him, and he’s cool with that.Whatever she’s doing, it’s the right thing.
