“We need to talk.” His voice is tight.
“You gonna ask me for my phone number again? ‘Cause the answer’s still no.”
“I’m serious,” he snaps. “This is about Lacey.”
“What about her?”
“Where the fuck is she?”
“I’m not her babysitter. How should I know?”
He stares at me, jaw ticking like a bomb on a countdown clock.You should know,his eyes accuse.After what you did.
“Listen.” I blow out a breath. “I don’t know what went down between you and Lacey after…”
He stiffens with rage.
I lift my hands in supplication. “I’m just her bandmate. That’s it. And I know better than to try to control Lacey. She does what she wants, when she wants. Always has, always will.”
“Trust me, I’m aware,” he snaps. “But if she doesn’t show up for your next gig, you aren’t going onstage.”
“Wade doesn’t have a problem with me filling in.”
“Wade may coordinate the lineup, but he’s not here to enforce it.I am.I’m in charge.” Adam’s voice is almost gloating. “And I’m telling you — one more screwup, you’re done. Not just here, either. I’ve got friends at every bar in town. I can make performing a distant memory for you just likethat.” He snaps his fingers.
God, he’s a tool.
Apparently, this is his revenge for that night. I took something of his, so he’s taking something of mine. The only difference is, Lacey was never his to begin with. She’s never been anyone’s; she’s far too selfish for that.
“It’s not personal,” he says, smiling coldly. “It’s business.”
I rise to my feet, struggling to keep my rage on a tight leash so I don’t throttle him. My voice is emotionless. “She’ll be here next time.”
Even if I have to drag her by her fake hair extensions to get her onstage.
“Good,” Adam sneers. “Now get out. I have shit to do.”
I slam his door so hard it rattles the frame and stride down the hall. I’d love to punch something. Hard. Preferably Adam’s jaw, but since that’s not an option, I’ll have to settle for a wall.
I’m too revved up to go back to the booth, so I shove open the emergency exit, stumble down three steps, and find myself in the dark staff parking lot. I search my pockets for a cigarette and curse when I realize my pack is sitting on the table inside. Bracing my forearms against the cool cement exterior of the building, I bow my head, breathing hard. The muggy May air feels like syrup in my lungs.
“Are you okay?” a soft voice asks.
I flinch, startled, and swing my head to the left. There’s a girl sitting on the steps, barely visible outside the faint pool of light from the nearest parking lot lamp. I barreled out here so fast, I didn’t even see her.
“I’m fine, excepting the heart attack you just gave me.”
She laughs and it sounds like a melody. I squint into the dark as she rises to her feet and steps out of the shadows so I can see her face. I feel my heart clench inside my chest when I realize it’sher.The new waitress. The one I couldn’t take my eyes off earlier, during my set.
“Sorry.” Her smile is tentative, almost out of practice. “I didn’t mean to surprise you. You just… looked upset.”
“I told you, I’m fine.”
“Right,” she says flatly, peering up into my face. “Because it’s totally normal to hang out in dark alleys. Alone.”
“I’m not alone. You’re here.”
She sighs. “I suppose that’s true.”