Page 56 of Bonding the Band

“He’s coming back out,” Beckett warned. “Meadow, you should probably stay on the bus, and we’ll come get you after sound check.”

He and Phin helped Meadow to her feet, and we scrambled out, running straight past him so he didn’t have a chance to yell.

I felt the impact of being separated from Meadow immediately, like my body had gotten a proper taste of what it was like to have her close, and now it was going to punish me for not being stuck to her. I couldn’t have her by my side on stage, though. Keeping her away from the press, away from the fans knowing who she was, would be in all of our best interests. We all knew how relentless they could be, but Meadow hadn’t signed up for any of that.

We got through sound check without any incidents, and Gary seemed a lot more relaxed by the end.

“Why isn’t your assistant here, assisting you?”

“We told her to get settled in,” Phin replied.

Gary raised an eyebrow. “She’s staying on the tour bus with you?”

“That was the plan, yeah,” Arlo said.

“I see. So, less assistant, more prostitute.”

My spine snapped straight. The tone he used turned my stomach. There wasn’t a damn thing wrong with sex work or the people who did it, but it wasn’t fair for him to apply an incorrect label to my mate. “That’s not what she is.”

“Uh-huh.” Gary rolled his eyes. “Then tell me why Arlo smelled like pussy when he came off that bus.”

I bit down on a growl. I didn’t want Gary talking about Meadow inanycontext, let alone in a way that he clearly thought was insulting. “Mind your business, Gary.”

Gary’s jaw dropped. I had never actually spoken to him with anything but respect before. “Excuse me?”

“What she and Arlo do has no bearing on her job with us, and it’s not your business to comment on.”

He marched over, grabbing me by the neck of my T-shirt and yanking me down to his height. “Everythingabout you four is my fucking business. Don’t you forget that, just because there’s a pretty set of holes living in your tour bus now.”

My fist connected with his face before I even processed the movement. Gary tumbled backward, clutching his nose, blood streaming down his chin.

“Fuck. Shit, Gary, I didn’t mean to. I got?—”

“I don’t wanna hear it. I could sue your punk ass into the ground for this.”

My stomach dropped.

“If this bitch is going to cause problems, I’m going to fire her, no matter what you four say. Get your shit together or she’s gone. Medic!” Gary tottered off, and the nurse on staff took him aside to tend to his nose.

I stared down at my shaking hands, and a moment later, the others were around me.

“He deserved that,” Arlo insisted. “That’s no way to talk about anyone.”

“I still shouldn’t have done it. He’s never going to get on board with her now.”

“Then maybe we need a new manager,” Beckett suggested.

Maybe…The thought lasted for a half second before the guilt nearly swallowed me whole. “We can’t. He’s been there since we were nothing. It wouldn’t be fair.”

“Fuck fair,” Arlo grumbled. “He’d better get on board.”

Footsteps caught all of our attention, and I turned to see Meadow crossing the stage toward us. A few things crossed my mind upon seeing her: 1) thank god she was here, 2) please don’t let Gary see her, and 3) our security was shit, since they clearly let her in without any proof she was with us.

“What the hell happened?” she asked. “Why did you punch him? You can’tdothat. I can’t have a baby around someone violent.”

“Gary was talking shit about you,” Phin told her. “Not an excuse, but Hen isn’t exactly stable yet.”

Meadow frowned.

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