“That’ll be all,” Gus said to the waiting Annie, voice clipped in dismissal.
Annie turned a questioning gaze to Mike. “Sir?” She took on a professional air she never adopted when alone with Mike, or with just Mike and Killian.
“I’ll call you if I need you.” In a million years Mike would never get used to having a housekeeper. Or admit how much he wanted her to stay. Killy trusted her, so Mike would too, even if he hadn’t already seen the evidence of her loyalty.
She’d protected Killian’s secret when she could have made a lot of profit by selling her story to the media.
“It’s not him I came to see, but you.” Gus shifted his sunglasses to the top of his head, the better to glare. “I’ll get straight to the point. You’re standing in Killy’s way.”
“I… What?”
“Ever since he’s been back, I’ve been trying to get him on the right track, find Trickster a new record label. No one will touch him right now. You know why?”
What? “Me?” What the fuck? The screaming crowds at their concerts told a different story. Mike bit his tongue. He’d let Gus keep talking—for now.
Gus pounded his fist on the table, triumphant smirk twisting his expression into something ominous. “Got it in one. They want Killy’s talent, but he’s surrounded himself with a bunch of no-names. With the right group, he’ll surpass what Trickster managed in the past.”
From what Mike knew, Trickster had done damned well for themselves in the past. And Killian said he wasn’t interested in the fame or fortune, just writing and performing music.
With Mike.
Time to call someone’s bluff. “I don’t believe you.”
The man Mike liked less and less by the minute flashed a smile sinister enough to scare sharks out of the water. “How well do you really know him?”
“Well enough.” They’d only been together since late spring, but shared their souls through their composing and playing. What Killy didn’t tell the world directly, he said in song, pouring out his pain, his loneliness, his hopes and dreams.
“Any idea where he is right now?” Gus’s smirk fell back into place.
Mike hated that smirk. “No. I was still asleep when he left.”
“You know he was engaged, right?”
What? The blood rushed from Mike’s face, leaving him dizzy enough to grab the table for support. “I don’t believe it.” Engaged? Killian? He’d never said so. Then again, they hadn’t discussed past lovers much. Sure, he’d seen something in the tabloids a few years back, but they lied all the time.
“Believe it.” Gus fished his phone out of his pocket, ran a finger over the screen and handed the device over. An image appeared of Killy and a very handsome man. Mike’s heart fell. But…
In the photo Killy’s hair was long, with blue streaks. Not a scar in sight. “That’s old.” What was Gus’s game?
Gus snarled, “Let’s cut the games, okay? You’re going away. You’re not coming back. You and Killian are finished.”
“What about the concert tonight?”
Gus waved a dismissive hand. “I’ve already got a replacement.”
What? Why? If Killian didn’t want him around anymore, he’d just say so. Sending Gus to do his dirty work wasn’t Killy’s style. Besides, from the moment he’d met Gus, all Killy and the manager did was disagree. Why the band hadn’t made other arrangements for a manager baffled him.
Mike’s eyes stung, though, at the very thought of losing the man he’d found after looking for so long he’d nearly given up. “Let me talk to Killian. If he tells me to go, I’ll go.”
Niggling doubt took root. He’d freaked out at the media attention, and hadn’t been exactly kind last night when Killy tried to comfort him.
“No. Look, remember those questions about your family that upset you? What do you think will happen when your preacher father is exposed for lying to cover up a gay son, huh? Raptured Roses is up for another Dove award this year. How would you like it if a scandal took them out of the running, huh?” Gus sneered, malice burning in his eyes. “How would your poor mother support herself and your brothers if people suddenly stopped coming to their concerts?”
Gus came close enough to hiss into Mike’s ear, “What if, say, an article came out, revealing that one of your brothers is into drugs. It’s not hard to start a Twitter account. Oh, the damage I could do by claiming to be your poor little brother, denouncing you to all the world. You’d be tried and convicted in the court of social media.”
Was the man completely out of his mind? “Why are you doing this?”
Clouds gathered on Gus’s face. “Because, before you showed up, Killy and Elliot trusted me to handle their affairs. And I did. Wasn’t a door my name wouldn’t open. Then came the crash, and Killy pulling his disappearing stunt, leaving me to sort out his mess. He damned well owes me.” He pounded his fist on the table hard enough to make Mike jump.
