Page 3 of Finding Emotion

“No,” Damon said, reaching for the door.

“Stubborn like usual.” Jimmy squeezed his shoulder. “I’m still coming with you.”

Damon waited for his manager’s hand to drop before shoving his way inside. The gift was taped to the broken mirror this time. Shards of glass were scattered around the dressing table. The signature was written in red lipstick like usual. Crimson Petals was the shade’s name, or so he’d been told. The letters and gift tags had degenerated to the point where the signature was often written directly on whatever furniture was handy. This time it was written over the cracked mirror, almost appearing like blood.

‘Your Match.’

Above it was a picture of him from backstage. Damon was smiling the peaceful smile he often wore when he was watching others perform. There was something about music that always calmed him.

He wasn’t calm now.

“I’ll take pictures for the private investigators,” Jimmy said, taking out his phone. Glass crunched under his foot. “Shit, watch your step. They don’t normally break things. Maybe this’ll get more attention.”

Damon doubted it. Despite Trenton trying to help, the authorities had waved off most of the incidents. With the evidence being fan letters and gifts, they had said his career brought that on and that fan mail wasn’t criminal. Damon was pretty sure they had leaked the crazed fan news to the press during what his manager called his ‘freak-out’ episode. Finding something new in his hotel room after he’d come out of the shower had panicked him a little. Whoever it was had been nearby while he was vulnerable. The hotel should have had cameras, so he’d made the cops come out, but the crazed fan was good. Somehow the security system had been turned off, and the personnel on duty had admitted to leaving their posts to check out an anonymous tip.

The gift at that time hadn’t been exactly threatening, a basket of fossilized primeval rocks to commemorate the Primal Rock Tour, which had kicked off his career and which he still participated in each year. The nerd in him would have thought the gesture was epic if the delivery method hadn’t caused him to panic.

Jimmy stepped back from taking pictures of the shattered dressing room mirror. “There’s damage this time. We should probably report it to the police.”

“No,” Damon said, swallowing. Even the hints of a stalker had hurt his record sales. Fans found the idea that he was concerned by the attention emasculating. “I can afford to pay for the damages.” Glass crunched under his feet as he crossed to the mirror and removed the picture. He stared down at himself. The image perfectly captured how he continued to see himself, lacking the rock star aura the fans saw. “Just tell whoever that I did it. Make something up.”

Jimmy studied him. “Sure,” he agreed. It didn’t surprise Damon when he didn’t argue.

His manager had tried to wave off his concern early on, warning Damon that being seen as a victim would hurt his image. Jimmy had managed not to say ‘I told you so’ when the article came out, and they’d both been relieved when it was buried under more titillating gossip.

Damon had chosen to be a rock star, and that image was all that mattered. He was living the dream. If it had become a little empty and lonely, that was only for him to know.

Chapter 2

Skylar tried hard not to tap her big-ass boots as she waited behind the cameras. The crew had already given her dirty looks once. Mandy kept glancing her way beside her, feeling the bundle of energy Skylar was giving off. Her manager always looked put together and calm, and most of the time she was, but she also knew when Skylar was a bomb about to explode.

“Maybe we should skip out,” Mandy murmured, almost too low to hear.

Skylar was tempted. The host had been a bitch earlier anyway, letting Skylar overhear her complaining about interviewing a two-bit performer like her. She doubted she’d get decent coverage from the program. Besides, blowing things off was almost expected of her given her volatile reputation.

Skylar knew what was eating her. The host resembled one of her ex-bandmates, Sorcha, with her long, blonde hair and bitchy expression. She tried to remind herself of better things. The fan from the night before had made her feel good, and Mandy had confirmed the girl was happy with the gifts. Having straitlaced Damon Lynch’s eyes on her hadn’t hurt either. He was hot despite that wimpy attitude. Even now, he smiled for the cameras beautifully as his interview began to wrap up.

“Nah,” Skylar muttered back, not looking away from the other rock star.

She wasn’t sure why Damon was drawing her attention even more than the day before when he looked so basic. Hell, he was wearing a sports jacket, even if it was over jeans. It was a baby-blue color that made his eyes pop all the brighter, especially under that bleached hair of his. His fingers tapped his knee repeatedly, giving his nerves away.

Skylar hadn’t thought the man had nerves. The times she’d noticed him before other interviews—and, hell, before performances—he was a cool cucumber. Only once had he seemed like more than an automaton, and that was right at the start of the tour. He’d been nervous then too.

“You’re a delight to have on as usual, Damon,” the host was saying with a smile. Skylar had already put the woman in her hate column, and that smarmy smile did nothing to dissuade her. “And you seem so appreciative of your fans.”

“I am,” Damon responded, his legs shifting even as he flashed a smile. “The fan response to a tour like this makes me want to do even more.”

The host leaned toward him. “But are all the fans supportive? There was a rumor early on that was never confirmed. Do you want an opportunity to speak to it?”

Skylar frowned. She still couldn’t quite remember what the rumor was, but for her to have recalled it at all the night before, it must have been thrown around a lot.

Damon’s hand squeezed his knee, but he shrugged. “I try to ignore the gossip. It’s often wrong.”

The host nodded, her hair slithering over her shoulder as she tilted her head. The familiarity of the practiced gesture set Skylar’s teeth on edge. “So the reports of a stalker are false?”

“A stalker?” Damon shook his head, though he looked away from the host. Skylar followed his gaze to his manager, who waited in the wings with a scowl on his face. “I wouldn’t go that far.”

“But isn’t that what you said to the police when the tour kicked off in California?” The host smiled, an excitement in her eyes. “All from receiving a gift in your hotel room?”

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