Shattered Dreams (Boys of Bellerose, #3)(32)
Brenda’s expression remained grim. “Honestly? Not great. You know I squeezed them for the best contract possible, but this isn’t something I ever saw arising. And if we push it into the courts, it's going to drag all of your names into the spotlight once more in a negative light. It could impact future record label offers, which is something to consider since you want to break ties with Big Noise.”
As I’d thought, no great options there.
“How long will they be gone on tour?” I asked softly. “If they go ahead with it.”
“Two months,” Brenda said quickly. “It’s a dozen or so venues, and they’ve already sold the tickets. They went up yesterday and were sold out by this morning.”
Those bastards were putting the band into a position where they couldn’t refuse without letting their fans down again.
“What about a bassist?” Grayson asked, the first words I’d heard from him since we returned home. “From what you said earlier, we’d have to leave early next week to arrive in time to deal with all the facets of an international tour. We don’t have a bassist, let alone one that has had time to learn our set list.”
Next week! Holy fuck. Would I be going with them? The idea of two months without seeing any of them had me wanting to curl up into a damn ball and sob my eyes out. But none of them needed that today, so I’d keep it together. For as long as I could anyway.
“Big Noise has been holding auditions and have three options for you to choose fro—”
“No,” Jace interrupted. “I can already tell you that all three are a no. The only one I’ll consider is Angelo.”
He pointed to his old friend and then crossed his arms like that fucking settled it.
Angelo’s face was blank as he remained still.
Brenda blinked before shaking her head. “Giovanni is never going to let him go on tour with you all as a part of the band. He hated that his son was into music.”
Angelo nodded slowly. “Very true. If he could have physically removed it from me with a blade, I’d be sporting far more wounds. But in this case, I can probably argue my presence because this is now a Ricci asset. Despite our current estrangement, he’s still a businessman first and foremost.”
A look of pure surprise lit up Brenda’s face. “You would actually consider it? Stepping into the band for this tour?”
I knew Angelo fairly well, and it was clear that this didn’t exactly sit right with him. I almost gasped when he shifted his gaze from Brenda to me. Only me. The complete focus of an intense man, a focus I hadn’t really felt until recently, bored into me. Until whatever it was shifted between us. “Yes,” he said softly. “A one-time chance to be a rock star. I’d take it.”
Brenda was so fucking relieved it looked like she might be crying when she rubbed a hand over her face. “Okay, I didn’t expect that. But it’s good. Fuck, shit. I need to get everything organized. Private planes will leave tomorrow with all your sets and gear, and yours will be ready to go on Wednesday. That gets you into Dublin around the time of your first concert. Big Noise has had this planned for a lot longer than they let on to us, and they’re really dropping you in the deep end.” The band didn’t react to this, but I felt their tension as she continued. “You’ll have to deal with the jetlag, but it’ll work out.” She clapped her hands together loudly. “Okay, I need you to pack a bag; the rest can be bought on the way. Make sure Billie has a passport, even if you have to pay someone to camp out at the office.”
My heart did a stupid flip in my chest at the knowledge that Brenda assumed I would be going. But the passport thing did halt me. “It’s the holidays,” I said softly. “Is the passport office even open?”
“She has one,” Angelo said shortly. “I organized it when we started our charade. Just in case…”
He let that sentence trail off, but it was clear to all of us what he meant.
Just in case we’d had to run.
And the rock star dream was shattering under the reality. Under different circumstances, two months in Europe might have been exactly the reprieve we needed from the reality of our world. But someone—or several someones—wanted us dead, and without the security of our home soil, they might just succeed.
fourteen
BILLIE
The band had a lot to sort out with Brenda and their legal team, not the least of which was Angelo’s temporary position as the Bellerose bass player. I still couldn’t wrap my head around how easily he’d accepted that role, but I had to guess he wanted to stick it to Giovanni. His father had crushed Angelo’s dreams of being a rock star when he was eighteen; maybe now was his chance for a do-over. Even just for two months.
I left them to their business discussions and hurried song rehearsals, opting to head upstairs and watch a movie with Vee instead. She stayed quiet and thoughtful for the whole movie, then right as the princess kissed her prince in the final scene, she turned to me and announced she was tagging along with us on tour.
Somehow, that decision eased one chunk of tension in my chest, and I surprised myself by hugging her. Sisters in pain and all that, it wouldn’t feel right to leave her behind.
After the movie, I crawled into Rhett’s bed and fell asleep to the faint sounds of Bellerose classics. Jace was wasting no time putting Angelo through his paces to check that he was up to the job, and I didn’t blame him. Angelo was crazy talented, though. Flo’s legacy was in good hands with him.