Cold Burn (3 page)

His brother is the one who greets us at the gate that leads to the backstage area. Actually, “backstage” is not an appropriate term for the place since the back of the stage is against the ocean. Andrew Hughes isn’t in uniform, but his badge is visible on his belt, and I can see he's carrying. His holster shows when he extends his arm to shake our hands. He introduces himself as Andy and directs us to a sheltered place where we park our rides next to two very customized Harley Davidsons.

"That one's mine, and the other one is Xander’s," Andy says with obvious pride. "I escorted him outside of the city earlier, and it was a smooth ride."

"Any special reason why he hired us? Does your brother expect trouble?" I ask. "The crowd seems to be pretty tame."

"It's not the audience we're concerned about," Andy says. "It's retaliation from an angry family."

"What do you mean?" I curse myself for not following up on Patricia's booking of this gig. Maybe it's more than star-sitting.

"Well, there was this girl, a regular groupie. A glittery bag of bones who attended all of Xander’s concerts in Manhattan last week. She managed to get banged by every member of the band, except Xander. He was not interested. He likes healthy-looking fleshy women." As he says this, Andy's hands go down in curvy motions, drawing a bombshell silhouette in the air. "Xander was so not into her that he couldn’t even go for a pity fuck. The stupid MC princess was insulted, and she's told her father that Xander raped her."

"Oh, fuck," Lobster says. "What's the name of the MC?"

"It's a New York-based club, the Lady Liberty Bastards," Andy answers. "I checked them out. It's a small unit that has had very few brushes with the law. I don't think they're a once-percenters, but I'm pretty sure they won't let something like that slide."

"Did you try reaching out to them?" I ask.

"Hell, if the cunt's a tramp, everyone in the club must know it," Waxer says. For once, he's quick to stress a good point, but his vocabulary leaves a bit to be desired since he’s speaking with a police officer.

"Maybe everyone but her father," Brains adds. "The dad and the husbands are always the last to know."

This is experience talking. The man's been married and divorced twice. He has three daughters with the first wife and two with the second. The last sweetie he brought with him to the club party is expecting. We all pray she delivers a son because six daughters are too much of a cross to bear for any man.

"Is there a phone I could use somewhere?" Brains asks. "I know a guy in that club. I’ll try to reach out directly and see if we can’t patch things up."

Before leaving the prospect with the bikes to keep watch, we each get our favorite weapon out of our saddlebags. I tuck mine, a brand-new Glock, into the back of my belt after putting a round in the chamber.

Andy accompanies us to the administrative facilities. He shows Brains into a small office and says he's going to give us a tour. But then he looks at his watch. "It's six already. I've got to leave you for half an hour. I have to pick up a gal at the train station in Long Beach."

"No sweat. We'll scout around, get our bearings," I say.

We explore the arena after he leaves. The crew is putting the finishing touches on the stage, and I recognize Xander Wild and several members of the band all the way in the back. I had never thought I would be able to identify them, but then again, their faces are on the record covers. I’ve listened to the man’s records often enough to have looked at the cover hundreds of time and burn their faces in my memory.

As we get closer, Xander Wild frowns like someone wondering what the heck three random guys are doing on his set. Then he obviously remembers, because he walks in our direction and welcomes us.

"You must be the Friendly Persuasion protection unit.” He extends his hand to me.

As he shakes everybody's hand, I make the introductions, "Lobster, Waxer, and I'm Ice."

"I'm pretty sure you've been called in for nothing," Xander says. "Yet I'm happy to see you, because you're going to make one old dream of mine come true. I'm going to do a short run with fellow bikers and make believe I'm member of an MC."

The man's smile is so sincere that the three of us smile right back at him. This is what charm is like. I thought my father had a lot, but this man oozes it. I take a step back to look around us as he lays it on for my two bros, who eat it up. I admire his ability. Not even a minute after meeting him, my men are so drawn in that they’re treating him like a best friend they would do anything for.

If that's what he can do to those two, I can't imagine what his smile does to women and young girls. While he charms the others, I retreat to the back of the stage, where it drops into the ocean. The area is wide open, except for a little space hidden by three walls. It’s an ideal hiding space, only a few steps away from access to the ocean. I walk to the edge, and, sure enough, steel bars jutting from the concrete make a rusty ladder perfect for using when arriving by boat. Crossing to the other side of the stage, I look at the arena and wonder how exhilarating it would feel to have thousands of people gathering to hear me sing.

Shaking my head, I try to look at my surroundings from another point of view. If I wanted to kill Xander, what would I do? I would wait until he got on stage because that’s where he would be the most exposed. I place myself at the center of the stage and look for the place I would pick if I were a sniper hired to do that job. I slowly walk around the entire stage and notice another ladder, this one shiny and new, running up the wall of the concrete structure, all the way up to a platform, where the lighting equipment is set up. From there, I should get a better look at the place from a different perspective.

CHAPTER FIVE

And a different perspective is what I really get as I look down on the stage. Andy's just returned with the woman he left to pick up at the station, and she's got that type of curvy figure that I love. If Xander likes his women with flesh on their bones, this one will be just about perfect. The man has good taste.

Xander waves at her, and I notice two things. Her left arm is in a sling, and as she gets closer to them, Lobster and Waxer get strange looks on their faces.

Xander picks up the girl cautiously and twirls her around him while she squeals with joy, "I can't believe I'm here!"

The man's got a goofy grin on his face as he asks, "And how's my favorite girl?"

That's when I see her face and blink. Twice. This can't be.

"She's great," the woman answers, and I know I'm not hallucinating. This is Lisa's voice. What the fuck! She's his favorite girl now?

I hurry down the structure, praying that when I get back on stage, Xander will have put her down. If he hasn't, there will be no need to protect him from the Lady Liberty Bastards. I will have taken care of him myself before they have a chance to get to him.

As I take the last steps to the stage, my blood is pounding so loudly in my ears that I almost miss the rest of Lisa's answer.

"Alexandra's just fine," she says. "She's going to be so mad at me if she ever finds out I went to your concert without her, she'll…" Lisa stops in mid-sentence when I land back on stage.

She's midway between me and my guys. She seems to have recognized them, but she hasn’t seen me yet. She steps away from Xander then takes another step back. Her voice is shaky as she asks, "What are those guys doing here?"

From behind, I can’t see Xander's face, but I hear concern in his voice.

"Lisa, baby," he says. "There's nothing to be afraid of. They've been hired for my protection during the tour." He reaches a hand in her direction, but she recoils and keeps on walking backward, shaking her head, until she bumps into me.

She spins around to face the obstacle preventing her from retreating any farther, then she lifts her eyes to my face. It's her turn to blink. She raises her right hand and puts it on my chest as if to make sure that she's not dreaming. Her face softens.

The fright inspired by a chance encounter with two Iron Tornadoes on the stage turns into an expression of surprise. She's no longer afraid, but I can't tell if she's happy to see me or not.

"Brian," she whispers, and the way she says my name conjures images of her naked body under mine. I almost forget where we are. I want her so badly that I struggle to keep my composure. I want to drag her to a quiet corner behind the stage and do her standing up against the wall.

I take a deep breath and remember that right this second, it's not about me—it's about the MC. Forget about Brian. I'm Ice. I'm here for business. I have to be a cold-hearted son of bitch who's in charge of protecting a client, not some idiot ruled by his dick. But when I’m done with business, I will need to teach her a lesson, because my girl can't be seen jumping in the arms of another man.

I don't care if he's a super-famous rock star. He could be the fucking president, and that wouldn't change a thing. She's mine, and she's got to remember that. So I don't smile at her. Instead, I grab her good arm and glare at Xander as I say, "If you want us to keep you safe, you need to let us restrict access to the stage."

Xander protests, "Lisa's no threat! She's family. She works for my ex."

Andy explains, "Yeah, she used to be Lyv's best waitress, but since she got mugged, she can't carry a tray. So Lyv's got her babysitting the kids."

My eyes jump from Xander to Lisa, and I see the yellowish skin on the arm she's got tucked in the sling. I refrain a gasp. Those are traces of serious bruising. I can't believe I didn't notice it right away. Shit. My girl's been hurt.

Fuck, I don't care what anybody else thinks. I release my grip from her good arm and wrap myself around her. I want to shield her from all the evil of the world.

"Oh, baby," I whisper in her ear. "I'm so sorry."

I feel her body mellowing against mine as she brings her good hand to my face.

"I'm fine now, Brian, really." Her eyes are shiny, like she’s fighting tears. Her hand fists into my hair, and when she pulls my mouth to hers, it's like coming home. I lift her against me and devour her mouth. I want her so badly, I growl. For a time I can’t measure, I get lost in her. Catcalls from my crew bring me back to reality. Brains, who just joined us, is the loudest.

"I take it those two know each other," Xander says.

Andy snorts. It shouldn’t take a first-class detective to figure that one out.

"She's his sweetie," Waxer says. With a disgusted tone, he adds, "And he's really got it bad because he won't share, and he—"

"Shut the fuck up," I tell him. No need for Lisa to know that I've been a stupid monk ever since she's left.

I turn to Brains. "So what did you find out?"

"That we should be cool," Brains says. "The guy I knew let me speak to their VP. He told me their prez knows his daughter's a slut, so he probably won’t want blood. But he’ll want some show of good faith so the club can save face."

Brains turns to Xander and tells him about the offer he negotiated. "In the fall, they have this big rally for some charity. If you do the run with them, everyone comes out a winner. You get to ride with them—which should be cool—your presence gets them extra exposure for their cause, and you come out looking like a generous guy."

"Sure, sounds cool. I could do that," Xander says.

"They're voting on it tonight, and he'll let us know tomorrow."

"Fine work," I tell Brains. He's really good at this, and he gets how saving face is important.

"So I guess I won't be needing you guys after all," Xander says.

"Why don't we wait until tomorrow?" Brains says, and the caution in his voice leads me to believe he hasn't been totally forthcoming with the information he obtained.

"Right, let’s wait until we get their word," I say. "I'll call the other charters later tonight to let them know you may be canceling before the end of the week, but we'll stick around for now."

The first week is nonrefundable anyway, and his production company already paid up front.

After checking with Lisa to see if she needs anything from him, Xander gets back to business. Lisa tells him she'll be fine and snakes her right arm around my waist. She smiles at me, and I feel about ten feet tall. Waxer's right. I've got it bad.

CHAPTER SIX

After Xander leaves, Brains gives me a look and I step aside with him leaving Lisa under the watch of Andy and my two guys for a minute.

"The guy I know told me they have a loose cannon. The guy's called Crazy Eddy. Figures, right? He has the hots for the daughter of their prez, and my guy wouldn't put it past him to try something on his own to score points with the bitch."

"So we could have one man from their crew trying to score on his own tonight," I say. "I want two guys tagging Xander at all times up until the concert starts. This place is like a regular Swiss cheese. You can get in from every side, even from the ocean. Once the concert starts, we'll split around the stage. Right now, I'll go get the rest of the gear from the bikes," I tell him.

"I can do that," Brains says.

"Nah, I'm good," I tell him. Then I take Lisa with me to go back to the prospect and the bikes. I don't let Brains go for the walkie-talkies because I have a special request for the prospect. I need his condoms.

"So you're a babysitter now," I say to Lisa as we walk back toward the parking area.

"Yeah, I was useless at the restaurant," Lisa explains. "I moved in with Lyv and her kids after her husband went AWOL and she realized she was expecting. I spent the end of the spring term with her. I saved rent, and she had help when she came home. At the end of the month, she's shipping the munchkins to the Hamptons for the summer, and I'll come home to prepare for the bar exam."

"We need to talk about your return," I say to her as we get to the lot. I tell her to take a seat on a bench for a few minutes while I talk to the prospect. My question makes him laugh. Of course he's got condoms. Who goes on a trip without a couple of fresh boxes? That's the question I can read in his eyes. Idiots like me, I guess. He gives me one box.