Love Notes (Rocked by Love #1) (10 page)

"He's a good dog. I
think it'll be fine, except for what it's doing to Dalton."

"What are you going
to do when you're on tour? He's not as small as Pepper was."

"I guess I'll have
to board him."

"Or he can hang out
with Shredder." Zander pulled her closer. "My housekeeper takes care
of him if I can't take him on a trip. And if he can't do it, my parents help out.
Two dogs wouldn't be that much harder than one. Remember, Shredder's pretty
lazy."

"You'd do
that?" Jayne lowered her sunglasses and regarded him over the top.

"Shredder needs a
buddy." With that, he strolled over to Dalton and began a discussion on music,
guitars, and pets.

Kate nudged her hip.
"You lucked out."

"He's pretty
unreal." She smiled. He was passionate, compassionate, stubborn, and kind.
But his best friend didn't like her. And she didn't pretend to think that
wouldn't matter in the end.

Zander closed the door to the
dressing room. Things had been tense between Luke and him for weeks. He'd
thought the tension had eased the previous evening when they'd all come
together to support Irisa, but even there, Luke interpreted "be nice to
Jayne" to mean "pretend she doesn't exist." Zander knew it hurt
her feelings, and for that reason alone, he wanted to see her smile.
"We're putting the new song in."

Luke shook his head.
"I don't think so. We're all supposed to agree, and I don't agree."

"Well it's
three-to-one, so you're overruled." He'd cleared it with Brendan and
Landry earlier.

"I'm not having a
fucking ballad mess up my fucking show."

"How would one song
mess up a show?" His hands formed fists, ready to unleash his anger. "Fuck
you. Go. I'll sing."

Luke laughed, then
sneered. "The fans won't buy that. We can replace a bass player, a
drummer, hell, even you. But you can't replace a lead singer. I'm what brings
fans in."

He hadn't meant the whole
damn show—but wait… "You're what brings the fans in? Just you,
asshole?"

"Guys, enough."
Irisa pushed between them. "You have to be onstage in a few minutes. Pull
it together."

He'd had enough. Zander
locked into the stare-down. Luke had become an even bigger asshole than his new
normal level. "Might want to watch that ego, buddy. All of us have taken
turns at the mic."

"You think you can
do better than me?" Luke shoved Zander's chest. Physically, they were
evenly matched. He didn't back down. "Fine. Have at it." He grabbed
his jacket and slammed out of the room.

Shaking his head, Zander
stared at the door. The room behind him was silent. He turned, expecting to
find an ally in Brendan or Landry, but neither one looked anything but angry.

Irisa leveled them each
with a glare. Shadows under her eyes sharpened her fury. "Is it too much
to ask that you get along for one show?"

"I'm getting really
tired of him." Rolling his shoulders, he reached for his guitar.

Landry tugged on his
leather jacket. "Not only him."

Still primed for a fight,
Zander faced the bassist. "What was that?"

The door opened. Not
Luke. Jayne walked in, wavy hair flowing behind her. "It's show
time."

"Did you see
Luke?" Irisa gripped a roll of antacids in one hand and her phone in the
other.

She shook her head.
"Where was he going?"

Brendan moved toward the
door. "I'll go look for him."

Realization dawned on
Jayne's face and she put her hand on Brendan's chest to stop him. "No. Get
to the stage. I'll find him." Jayne rushed out.

"What the
hell?" Zander grabbed his guitar and stalked out of the room, gaze
sweeping the hallway as he made his way to the stage. If Luke delayed them…

The crowd grew restless
as the minutes ticked by. He waited, anger gathering steam, and exchanged
annoyed looks with Brendan and Landry.

The scent of Jayne's
perfume reached him a second before she appeared by his side. "Security
couldn't find him, so they checked their cameras. He walked out of the building
a few minutes ago and got into a cab."

"Fuck." He
bellowed the word and Jayne flinched. "He wants to leave that way?
Fine."

Irisa grabbed hold of his
arm. "You can't go out there and tell the fans that he walked out."

"I know, I know. He
got sick." Using air quotes, he smirked.

"Make sure you don't
use those hand gestures when you tell the fans," his sister urged. She had
her phone out, and sent another text to Luke.

What the hell? He needed
to hit something, but instead, he had to go out there and feign concern over
his friend's fake illness. And Irisa would have to deal with the label. Excite
wouldn't appreciate Luke walking out. The idiot could find himself in a lot of
trouble.

Jayne's hand met his,
cool and reassuring. He tugged her against him and pressed a kiss to her lips.
She gave him a moment of calm in a storm. His emotions evened. He held on to
that feeling as he stepped on stage.

The crowd went wild. He
grabbed hold of the mic. "Hey guys, how the hell are you all doing
tonight?"

They responded with
cheers and chants. He glanced at Landry and raised his brow. The bassist
shrugged.

"So you guys
probably noticed we're missing a band member. Luke's sick. He strained his
voice. It was sudden and he's so sorry he can't be here with you." He bit
back the snarl and waited out the mild boos. "But we're gonna give you
guys a great show, and you're going to help us do it. I want you all to sing
along as loud as you can. You're all honorary band members tonight."

Cheers echoed back. Maybe
they could pull this off. He launched into "My Fist, Your Face,"
picturing Luke as he sang. For the next hour, he chatted and sang. Then he
spied a young woman in the front row. She'd held up a sign that read
It's my
birthday and I came here to sing with Luke.

He had security help her
onto the stage, then turned to the crowd. "She came here to sing with
Luke, so how about we sing "Happy Birthday" to her?"

The crowd sang and the
girl beamed. When the song finished, she hugged him, then held up her phone and
they took a photo together. She squinted at her screen and her mouth dropped
open. She thrust her finger in his face. "You lied. Luke's not sick. He's
at a bar with my friend."

His mic picked up her
words.

Boos drowned out the low
tune Landry played.

Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.
Fuck. Fuck.

A security guard helped
the girl back into the crowd. Cursing Luke, Zander leaned into the mic. "I
told you his voice was strained, guys. He couldn't perform and give you one
hundred percent. That's why he's not here. But come on, let's show everyone why
you're the best crowd we've had on the tour."

Fresh beads of sweat ran
down his face. He turned to the guys. "Let's do "Raging
Inferno"."
The aggressive, fast-paced song was a fan favorite.

"Luke sucks! Luke
sucks!" The crowd's chant blended into the song. And an open cup of beer
landed on the stage, sloshing its contents at Zander's feet. He stepped back
and dodged another, then another. Trash came flying from all directions.
Security jumped onstage.

He moved closer to
Landry, in front of Brendan's kit. "Keep playing."

"Refund!
Refund!" The new chant grew even louder. More trash sailed his way. A
container smacked into his guitar and splattered orange goo all over the
pickups.

"Fuck." He
whipped his head toward Chad. The tech tossed him a towel. Swiping at the
substance, he stared at the sea of angry faces in the out of control crowd. Fucking
nacho cheese on his fucking guitar. Seething, he motioned for the guys to stop
playing and broke through the wall of security to reach his mic. "You guys
want a refund? Contact Luke through Excite Records. He'll make sure you get
one."

"Zander," Jayne
called to him, waving her arms for him to exit to her side of the stage. The
guys from Assertive Ire stood with her. They weren't due to go on for another
hour. He kicked a path to them through the debris, sending cups rolling.

Griffin jerked his head toward
his band. "We're ready. We can take over from here."

Might as well turn it
over to them. The crowd wasn't settling down. "Thanks, man. I'll owe you
one."

The stage lights dimmed.

Show over.

He strode past his
sister. "I'm going to kill him."

"Get in line."
Irisa followed him away from stage and back to the dressing room. "One of
you could've been seriously hurt out there."

Landry pulled off his
dripping jacket and beer-stained shirt. "Where was he? Let's go get
him."

"Too late."
Brendan looked at his phone. "Other fans showed up there, but he's gone
now."

Zander set the towel
aside. He'd need something else to get the cheese out of the crevices. "As
far as I'm concerned, he's out of the band."

"No rash
decisions." His sister's voice was firm. "Hit the showers and let's
get out of here. He's not answering any of us, so you have two choices. One,
you go home, nowhere else,
home
, and we'll figure this out in the
morning. Or two, you come with me to Luke's house. He has to come home
sometime."

Brendan nodded at Irisa.
"I'll go with you."

"Me too. I want some
answers." Landry cracked his knuckles.

If he went anywhere near
Luke, he'd kill him. "Fuck him. I'm going home and making some calls.
We'll replace him. Let him go."

"You can't make that
decision on your own," Irisa sighed and dragged a hand through her hair.
"He's not his normal self. You can't just boot him out."

The fans had wrecked the
stage, he and the guys were wearing evidence of their anger, and she wanted him
to feel sympathy for the bastard? "You see him here? He made his choice.
I'm making the calls."

He caught Brendan's gaze.
The always-joking drummer's features were set in grim lines. "Might as
well. We don't know if he's coming back for tomorrow night's show either."

Jayne walked toward Irisa.
"I'll come with you too, if you think it will help." She looked as
bewildered and uncertain as he'd ever seen her, playing with her necklace.
Volunteering to put herself in Luke's path didn't make sense, unless she was
doing it as a support to his sister.

"No." Zander
reached for her hand and intertwined their fingers. "Come with me. I need
to feel like I have at least one person on my side."

Landry stepped in front
of him. "I'm on the
band's
side. Something you and Luke seem to
have forgotten lately." He moved toward the door. "See you guys
there."

Brendan jangled his keys
in his hand. "Landry's right. We're all out of tune."

With his sister and band
mates gone, quiet descended upon the small room. Drained, frustrated, and so
fucking tired, Zander gave his guitar one more inspection and then closed it in
its case. He'd need to remove the strings and properly clean it when he got
home. Leaning on the table, he dropped his head to his chest. Everything was so
messed up.

Jayne's arms slid around
his waist. Her head rested against his back. She didn't say a word. He laid his
hand over hers and squeezed. Her quiet breaths and the scent of her perfume
calmed him.

"I'm going to grab a
quick shower."

"Want some
help?"

He smiled and turned,
wrapping her in his arms. "If you get in there with me, we won't be going
anywhere for a long time."

"A repeat of this
morning? Promise?" Blue eyes studied his face. Her hand cupped his cheek.
"Are you okay?"

Flipping through a mental
file of possible replacements for Luke, he pulled her closer. "I can't let
what happened tonight happen again."

"Do you think you'd
be able to find someone who can finish out the tour?"

"Not in time for
tomorrow night's show."

"Why did he walk out
tonight?"

"We had a discussion
about adding in that new song."

Lines formed between her
brows. "And that made him walk out?"

"I guess. That's
what started it off."

"Don't you think
that's a pretty strong reaction? Maybe something else really is going on with
him." Her fingers moved to rest on his chest. "The first time you
played the song at practice, he got angry. When you played it in the dressing
room, he got angry. When you played it at sound check, you said he walked out.
Maybe something about it sets him off. Music can dredge up all kinds of memories."

"So what are you
saying?"

"Despite what I've
experienced, Irisa keeps telling me Luke's a nice guy. And I know you guys have
been friends for years, even if things are tense right now. Maybe you should
check on him before you make any phone calls."

"You think I should
go to his place."

"I do."

"Even after what he
did to you?"

Her shoulders lifted in a
delicate shrug. "You said yourself that he's never acted this way before.
It's hard, but I'm trying. You're his best friend. You can try harder. He's being
a dick, but I think you're the only one he'd confide in. Even pissed off."

He pressed a kiss to her
lips. She was a better person than him. "All right. Let's go."

When they pulled up
outside of Luke's house, the houselights were on and Irisa's car was in his
driveway. His sister must have been inside. "He's home."

Jayne nodded. She'd grown
quiet during the drive.

"You can wait here
if you want."

"No. I'll come with
you."

Brendan and Landry parked
ahead of them. The men stepped on the sidewalk.