“No that’s okay. I’m fine, really. Coffee’s good.”
“Fuck that. Your stomach’s growling.” He disappeared toward the back of the bus and came back with the doughnut bag. Thankfully there was a plain one with cinnamon and sugar.
“Thanks.”
“You’re welcome.” Then he kissed me. It started out innocent enough, but then he slid his tongue between my lips. Thankfully I’d put my mug on the counter or I’d have dropped it when I wrapped my fingers in his hair. The guys started clapping, and he pulled back with a devilish grin on his face.
I wanted to slap him. Damn. What could I do? So I turned toward the group and bowed. “Thanks.”
Everyone laughed and I breathed a sigh of relief. I really hated being the center of attention, but I’d just slept with one of the most famous guitar players ever. So much for no limelight.
Chapter Twenty-One
Chaos…
We spent the day wandering around downtown Philly, I would have preferred to stay in bed but I knew she was too sore from our fun last night. I’d managed to avoid being recognized most of the day with sunglasses and a baseball cap covering my hair, since the grey streak usually gave me away. I’d woken up with it one morning when I was little and it’d stayed ever since. I’m not sure what caused it. The court ordered shrink said I’d remember one of these days, that was almost fifteen years ago. I hoped I never did.
We got back in time for the sound check and Cynda and I walked over to the arena. Everyone else was already there, even Flame. Good thing too, since I didn’t want to have to drive to New York and kick his fuckin’ ass.
The sound check went smoothly and we were hanging around talking to the guys from Green Sky Rising when I noticed Cynda was gone. She’d been watching from backstage when I’d last seen her but now shewas nowhere to be seen. I had a feeling something wasn’t right.
Opening the door to the dressing room, it was instantly obvious. It looked like an epic cat fight and if it hadn’t been Cyn and Sweets I might have just watched and picked a side to cheer on, but Sweets was doing exactly what I’d told her not too. Why the fuck couldn’t she leave Cynda alone?
“What the fuck? Stop it. Now.” Even though I yelled neither of them heard me.
It couldn’t have been going on for long—we’d just gotten off stage. Sweets had at least twenty pounds and five inches over Cynda and she was using all of it. Rolling around on the floor they’d knocked over two plants, spreading dirt all over the floor. It added to the picture, dirt, blood, screaming women, yeah it was a picture I was glad no one else was seeing but me.
Sweets rolled Cynda onto her back and was straddling her, smacking her across the face and I could see blood running from the corner of her mouth. Cyn wasn’t the only one showing signs of a beating, Sweets hair was wrecked and strands of it were on thefloor, her left cheek was already showing a bruise and there were scratches on her arms.
I tried to break them up but their anger made them stronger than I expected. I pulled Sweets, trying to get her off Cynda as she swung back and punched her in the nose. Cyn pushed up with her knees and knocked her off. I was able to grab her as she tried to climb onto Sweets. Wrath must have followed me to the suite because he grabbed Sweets and held on to her.
“Enough. What the fuck is wrong with you?” Sweets might have started it but Cynda should have known better. A cat fight in the dressing room and on a show night? The more I thought about it the more pissed I got. I’d told Sweets to stay away from Cynda so the first time I wasn’t around she pulled this shit? Fuckin’ A.
“What the hell were you thinking?”
Sweets pulled out of Wrath’s hold and grabbed a notebook from the table. I’d seen it before, it was Cynda’s. Sweets opened it and pushed it into my face.
“This is what’s up. She’s stealing your songs. I told you she shouldn’t fuckin’ behere. You had to think with your cock. You can’t trust her, the record company sent her. She’s a fuckin’ spy and a thief.
“Hold the fuck on.” I heard voices behind me. The rest of the band and a couple of the groupies were standing in the doorway watching. Fuck. Just what we needed, if this got out Rod was going to have our fuckin’ heads.
“Wrath, get them the fuck out of here.”
He nodded and thankfully I heard the door shut. Cynda pulled away when Sweets shoved her notebook in my face. She was standing by one of the couches looking like a total wreck. Covered in dirt, blood running from her bottom lip and nose and scratches down her arms. Not looking so angelic anymore.
Shaking my head, I looked through the notebook. I flipped through a couple of pages and saw she had lyrics written for a song. Then as I read the music and heard it in my head, I realized what they were. I couldn’t even focus on what she’d written I was so fuckin’ pissed off. Wrath was reading over my shoulder as I slammed the notebook shut. I couldn’t read anymore. What thefuck? It was the song I’d written the other night, when I’d thought everyone was sleeping. She’d been spying on me.
Sweets had a look of ‘I told you so’ on her face but I was over her too. “Get out, tonight after the show you’re gone, do you hear me?”
“What? You can’t do…”
“I can do what I want. I asked you to leave her alone and you couldn’t. You told me last night I’d be sorry. Well you’re right, I’m fuckin’ sorry now. I’m done. I don’t want to see you before the show.”
Sweets grabbed a napkin and wiped the blood from her nose, charging out of the suite and slamming the door behind her.
Wrath tried to interrupt, but I didn’t want to hear it. I was about to go ballistic and I needed to get out of there, but first I had to deal with Cynda. So much for thinking we might have a chance, she was nothing but a fuckin’ thief and she’d freakin’ played me.
“Wrath, get the fuck out of here, I need to talk to Cynda alone.”
