Page 23 of Heartbeat Girl
“What? That doesn’t even make sense.” I tossed my hands up in the air, then made the mistake of looking at Liam.
His predatory gaze buckled my knees and stole the oxygen in the room. With my heart pounding, I staggered into the bedroom and shut the door.
The lyrics Liam sang hinted at who he truly was. All smiles and sweetness toward everyone,but a darkness lurkedinsidehim. And that blackness had been the only thing I’d been able to see from the very beginning. My fear wouldn’t keep me away anymore, though. That terror beckoned me. And it wasn’t just seeing his demons. I felt them slowly seeping out of him and digging into my bone marrow. A sickness that spread the longer I stayed around him. Liam’s stare alone touched places inside me no one should dare touch. I didn’t even know what his demons were yet. And that scared me most.
+++
The steady tapping against my door had me rubbing my temples.
“Jayne.”
Three more insistent knocks.
“You need to come out, so you can watch the video the young lady sent for us this morning,” Steve declared through the door.
Ignoring him, I twisted my hair on top of my head and secured it with a hair-tie. Combing and spraying it down, I made sure not a hair fell out of place. I might not act professional being on this bus with them, but I would at least look the part.
Jesus. I touched my chest. How I slept the previous night beat the hell out of me. I’d been so paranoid about the guys coming into my room while I slept. Plus, I kept worrying about the woman they had together. I could handle orgies and all that. What I wouldn’t let them get away with was drugging others. Liam said it wasn’t that, but what else could it be? In the end, my tired body won over, and I fell asleep.
Keyboard clicks made me lean closer to the door.
Then I heard a woman’s voice. “Uh… Steve asked me to make this video for his manager…? I don’t know why, but here it is. Feel free to call me if, perhaps, you’d like to do something again…”
Swinging open the door, I snatched the phone from Steve. He grinned as I replayed the video. When I saw it was the same woman from last night, I relaxed. She looked a lot better than when I first got a glimpse of her. I recognized her dark hair and the tattoo on her wrist as she tucked her hair behind her ears. It was like seeing a completely different person. Steve must have gotten this video of her sometime that morning. The girl kept going on and on about wanting to hang out with them again. She was okay. Not wanting to hear another word, I gave the phone to Steve and walked past him.
“We good?” Pete asked, slouched over on the small couch.
“No, we’re not. Not only did you brush off something that could have endangered the life of a fan.” I glared at Liam, plucking at his guitar strings. “Youforced your hands on me and made me stay on the bus.”
“Because Steve had her taken care of,” Liam said. “She’s fine now. Leave it be.”
“Rules…” I began.
“No more letting people backstage?” Liam asked.
“This week, at least,” I hedged. “I made some calls, and we got some passes put up for sale online. We’ll give away some of them, since this was out of nowhere. Whether you want to, starting next week you’ll have to meet and speak with fans after every performance.”
Pete glanced at the others before smiling tightly at me. “That’s kind of unnecessary.”
“Pete needs female company only occasionally.” Steve chuckled.
I narrowed my gaze. “You mentioned something about all of you last night needing to get laid,” I stated. “It’s fine. What you do with one woman is cool as long as it’s consensual and safe for her.”
Abruptly, the strings on Liam’s guitar stopped.
Steve coughed, arching a brow at me. “My, oh, my. You’re making me embarrassed. I was joking. Now I can tell what you’re thinking, and it’s cute.”
I loathed the idea of my cheeks reddening, but I couldn’t deny the heat crawling over my face. “What? I’m not going to beat around the bush. I’m your assistant. Who do you think is going to cover your ass the day something leaks? Me.”
“Nothing will ever be seen or spoken about.” Liam set his instrument down and stood. “Because nothing like that ever happens. We’re close, butnotthat close.” He shoved Steve, who no longer smiled and studied Liam. Liam gripped Steve’s shoulders, nodding at him once before looking at me again. “I’d give them the last taste, the last bite. I’d fight for them,diefor them if it meant giving them a chance to live, but what I won’t do is share a woman, especially if it was one I loved or yearned for. Absolutely fucking not. We’re possessive creatures, Jayne. We might share food, but we’ll never share our lust.”
The intensity of his gaze made my skin tingle and my heart flutter. I was speechless and quite breathless. Everything he said was so bizarre.
Liam’s grip seemed to tighten on Steve’s shoulder. “Right?”
“Right,” Steve muttered slowly.
“Right,” I said and took a deep breath.