Page 24 of Fallen Princess: Shadow Stalker

Jagger holds his hand out to stop me from getting up.

“You’ll only make it worse. Let me handle Callum. You sort out your affairs here with the business and look to get us out to LA by next week. There’s no point trying to get an appointment with Oliver. It’ll be months before he has the time to see us. The four of us need to show up at his office. Could we get a PA sorted out for the band?”

“Would Sierra do? I could get an assistant to help her with the day-to-day business here.”

“Fine by me.”

Fuck.

A surge of sudden regret races through me as the weight of this decision settles in my mind. The gravity of the daunting journey that lies ahead has me grappling with a visceral mix of anxiety, remorse, and an immense sense of uncertainty.

What the bloody hell have I just committed to?

Chapter 6

“You both still lookugly, even after…what? Ten years? Damn, that makes me feel old!" Brittney exclaims, giving Callum and me a half-hearted hug and air kisses our cheeks.

The four of us lads flew into Los Angeles two days ago, and we’ve already started getting things to move for us. We’re on a time schedule since Haze is fronting the capital on this adventure, so moving at a pace of how things are typically done in the music world isn’t an option for us.

We recently met Oliver Jones, our old manager, in his LA headquarters.

Or, more like, we self-imposed ourselves inside his building and demanded we wouldn’t leave until he gave us two minutes.

We aren’t exactly small men by any means, and four Brits weren’t going to take no for an answer from his PA, who looks more like she’s a sixteen-year-old intern than an adult. Oliver gave us thirty seconds and bought our pitch. He says he’s happy to take us four without Eden, but I’ll be damned, we’ll do this without her.

And that’s why we’re here in this posh, celebrity café with Eden’s best friend and ex-bandmate from her days with the Sugar Vixens before joining Sonic. Brittney remained her closest confident out of this six all-girl band.

And we know this because Oliver mentioned all of Eden’s royalty checks are sent to the blonde, green-eyed woman standing before us.

Once upon a time, Callum and I had a bit of a fling with her. Not at the same time and way before Eden joined our group. Even thoughwe all thought Eden was the hottest of the six girls, she was pretty much unapproachable outside her small circle of friends.

Brittney, on the other hand, wasthere. And I mean it in every sense of the word. We had a one-night stand that neither party remembers because we were both too wasted and woke up naked with massive hangovers in my hotel room. We went our own ways and never spoke about it again, but both bands know about our affair. No one outside it. Not even Oliver, who managed both of us.

“Ta, luv. Good to see you too,” I say, smirking at Callum and taking a seat at our table.

“Your hair’s shorter,” Callum comments, removing his dark shades, as the waiter brings our menus.

“And both of you are bulkier and definitely sporting the hard rocker dude looks.”

She’s referring to my laced-up ankle boots, ripped black jeans, skull-printed vest, black biker jacket, and silver chains around my neck and wrists. LA weather never affected my dress sense, and thankfully, after years of being absent, it still doesn’t. Back in London, I ditched my wardrobe, which Haze dubbeddadcore,and pulled out my old denims and leathers, realizing I would need a shopping trip before the trip here.

“It’s who we always were at heart,” I say casually. “You’re fully aware of who controlled us back then.”

I don’t miss the slight wince she makes. It was so fast that one could have missed it.

“Let’s not bring up the past unless you want me getting nasty and throwing you more insults than I did ten years ago,” she says, adopting a guarded and defensive demeanor.

“So why are you boys here?” She cuts to the chase fast, knowing we aren’t here to reminisce about old times. “Why back in LA? More specifically, why did you want to meet with me? We’ve said everything we had to say back at Michelle’s. You’re still a bunch of loser douches.”

Brittney might have adopted that fake attitude of a pretty blond ex-teenage heartthrob turned-daytime-soap-actress down to a T. But she wouldn’t be Eden’s bestie if she wasn’t just as harsh and direct as the mysterious lady herself.

“Ouch, Brit,” Callum exclaims with an upturned smile, but it lacks any genuine warmth. “One would think fifteen years later, the flame would have died down a little.”

I never discovered what really went on between these two, other than a couple of steamy nights together, but I always got the impression that Brittney may have continued to carry a little bit of a torch for Callum, even after we all hooked up with Eden. It was no secret that we admired the lead singer of the Vixens, but we couldn't help but feel a twinge of resentment when she was integrated with us into the Sonics.

Oliver called ita change of scenery for the band.

Looking back, maybe we were harsh on Eden when she first joined. She had no say in which group she wanted to be in; she was bound by contract with Oliver and the label.

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