Mike had learned from an early age that money was the root of all evil. The love of money had well and truly made Killian’s manager evil.
And possibly more than a little crazy.
The smug smile curling Gus’s lips said he’d lay waste to Mike’s family and not lose a minute’s sleep.
Think, Mike, think!Killy! He’d stall for time until he could talk to Killy. “At least let me call Killian and say goodbye.”
“No. If I hear that you’ve contacted him directly in any way, your family will pay. Got that?”
He believed the man. His hammering heart did too. Somewhere along the line, Gus’s possessive nature turned ugly.
“Leave him a note. Tell him you’ve had a change of heart, can’t take the fame, your old boyfriend wants you back, I don’t really care as long as you’re clear that whatever you had is over and you want nothing to do with him.”
For years Mike let others push him around, the thought of his family losing everything keeping him under the preacher’s thumb. His family had been used against him so many times in the past by an expert. Gus couldn’t even compare to the manipulation Mike endured before. Like hell would he lose another home and family to fit into someone else’s plans. He stiffened his spine, keeping his voice eerily calm, the way his stepfather did to get under his skin. “I don’t think it’s the music at all.”
“What are you talking about?”
“I don’t think you worry about Killy’s career or even his music. Yeah, you like the money, the prestige of being the manager of a big-name group, but what you want most is power.” Mike leaned close, putting himself nose to nose with Gus. “You could’ve worked a recording deal a long time ago, but you didn’t want to. I’m going to make a wild guess here, but when Killy signed you as manager, there were terms limits or other clauses. If I were you, I might have encouraged him to try his wings as a solo act. You know he has the following to succeed. But you need him to keep Trickster alive. And signing him with a label, with no legal papers guaranteeing your future, means he could walk away and leave you in the cold.”
Gus’s smugness turned to red-faced anger, to horror, and finally to fear. Ah, direct hit. Was Killy even aware of the state of Gus’s contract?
Gus recovered enough to hiss, “I could still ruin your family.”
With a bravado he didn’t actually feel, Mike lifted his chin. “I’m dead to them. They disowned me. What do I care what happens to them?”
Please let this man not call his bluff.
“Do you really want to test me?” Nothing reasonable stared out of Gus’s eyes.
For now, Mike would play Gus’s game. “You said you wanted me to write a note?”
* * *
Thank God Caleb the reporter had given Mike his number. The man picked up on the second ring.
“Hello?”
“Caleb, it’s Mike. You know, Killy’s friend.”
The smile came through in the man’s voice. “Hi, Mike. To what do I owe the pleasure of this call?”
Mike had no time for pleasantries. “Look, something is about to go down. If it does, I want you to act as my witness.”
Caleb snapped into reporter mode. “Go on. I’m all ears.”
If and when Gus carried out his plans, Mike would be on record as having prior knowledge to the shitstorm.
May it be enough to protect the innocent. While talking to Caleb, he pulled his duffle out of the guestroom closet. He’d pretend to do as Gus said, for the band’s sake, but he’d no intention of slinking off with his tail between his legs.
He’d played enough concerts to have a nice nest egg in the bank, and he’d started making a name for himself. Mike might not have Gus’s connections, but he’d damned sure land on his feet no matter what happened.
But he also held an ace up his sleeve. In the end, the concerts, fame, money, and power didn’t matter. He no longer had his family, yet would do all he could to protect them. The one thing he did have? He’d fight till the end for:
Killian Desmond.
37
Christy’s ideas rolled over and over in Killian’s head. He had a fantastic financial advisor, but even so, he needed to learn more about his own money.
