Page 26 of Strike A Chord
“Come with us.” The same man who broke up the fight before the show along with another guard and Deuce were there.
“Who’s taking care of our gear?” Nigel asked.
“Masterson road team has it under control.” Thank fuck Deuce knew what was going on because I was lost. We followed the guards back to a huge blacked-out rig.
“Fuck me.” It was filled with every member of Maiden, Social, and Embrace, plus Easton and another dude.
“They’re here, Dad,” Easton said into the phone. “I’ll put you on speaker.”
“Great show today, Chaotic, though I understand there was a bit of a scuffle beforehand?” Lucas and I made eye contact but neither said a word.
“Lucas handled it,” Shadow growled.
“The guards have already debriefed me. Look, I’m gonna be straight with you guys. I want to sign Chaotic as a Masterson band.” All hell broke loose. Eight grown men talked over one another. Diamond was pissed. Easton was pissed and the only thing that stopped the madness was an ear-piercing whistle that rolled through the bus.
“Enough!” Sal shouted. “You are grown ass men. What’s done is done. Josh is a talented guitarist, and his skills are going to waste since it rolled through every god damned band in the industry what had happened. That was years ago and it’s time for this ridiculous shit to end.”
“Can I please say something?” Wow, that silenced the crowd. “Look, I’m sorry for what happened. I was young and cocky, and Lucas was willing.” Shadow stood so fast two guards blocked him. “Down, big guy, this isn’t going where you think it is. How is it that you’ve all forgiven Lucas but I can’t receive the same? You don’t think losing every fucking thing in my life was punishment enough? When does the past get to stay in the past and I’m freed from the shackles that kept me there?”
Stoli moved in front of me, arms crossed, jaw firmly set. “What you did was unforgiveable. You sent Joey into a negative, destructive spiral and I nearly lost him.”
“I can’t take the blame for all of that. There was more than one party involved in that and I do own up to my portion. Fuck, man, I can’t apologize enough. Not to you, not to Joey, not to Karma, but I promise I’ve more than paid my dues.”
“Honestly,” Joey moved beside Stoli. “I don’t have a problem with Josh. He’s right, it was a long time ago and it opened my eyes to the man I was meant to be with. No offense, Lucas.”
“None taken, and you’re right.” Lucas adjusted the ice pack on his hand and winced. Little shit deserved that pain. How did he end up the token angelic one?
“Why are you so upset, Stoli?” Joey asked him.
“A better question is why aren’t you?” Stoli was not about to let this go.
“Again, that was a long time ago and yeah, at the time it sucked. But Lucas and I had run our course. Josh didn’t put those drinks in my hand or that pile of coke up my nose. Let it go, Stoli. Sal is right, Josh is a talented guitarist, and he deserves a chance.” Joey was the last person I expected to be in my corner, yet there he was.
“Fuck it. All right, if Joey’s good, I’m good.” Stoli relented, though I knew he’d watch me like a hawk.
“Glad to hear that, son.” I’d forgotten Sal was still on the line. “I’d like you to mentor Chaotic Abyss, Josh specifically. Take the band under your wing and show them the ropes.”
“Fuck,” Stoli muttered. “Should have kept my mouth shut.”
“I’ll help, too, Stoli.” Joey had grown up a lot since I last saw him and definitely held the role of his group’s mediator.
“Dad,” Easton cut in.
“Trust me, son. If we can keep Josh’s dick under control, Chaotic will be a perfect addition to our brand and a great way for Jeremiah to dip his feet into the management pool.”
I had no clue who Jeremiah was until he squeaked. His eyes nearly bulged out of his skull. “Um, Sal?”
“Jeremiah, I have the utmost faith in you and will set up dual headlining shows with Chaotic and Embrace. Easton and Diamond have their hands full with other projects. I need you to step up to the plate.”
“Look, I know I’m not everyone’s favorite person.” Collectively the group groaned. “And I’m sure Shadow would kill me if given the chance, but I can promise you things have changed. I don’t fuck around. I have a special person in my life that I’m deeply committed to. Please don’t hold my past digressions against Jason, Marley, and Nigel. These guys deserve this chance. Hell, I deserve it and you have my word I will not fuck up.”
“Your word was shit before,” Ryder said as he now entered my personal space.
“My word was never asked for nor taken into consideration. My place was behind the scenes with my mouth shut and you in the limelight.” I knew why they hired me, cheap, grunt labor. They just lucked out I could play guitar as well as I did. Two for the price of one and at a bargain deal because I didn’t make shit. But my room, board, and travel were covered, and it kept me off the streets.
“Too bad that didn’t include keeping your dick in your pants,” Shadow added his two cents.
“Look,” Lucas stepped in front of him. “Josh isn’t my favorite person either, but we were both used and discarded by dear old dad. If you can give me a second chance, how can you not do the same for him?”