Page 109 of Places I've Never Been

LT held up his index finger. “Don’t.”

They stalked to the largest office at the end of the hall. Adam was slightly disappointed that the door was open. He’d had visions of kicking it in.

Lucas looked up from whatever had his attention on the computer, and his eyes widened. “Adam…”

“Did you hire Don Donnelly?” Adam demanded.

Lucas glanced at the rest of the band. “You’re back early. Everybody have a good time?”

“Answer the damn question,” Cooper said in a tone that promised dark, painful things. He stood on Adam’s right, while LT stepped up on the left.

“Yeah,” Brandon said as he sat on the edge of the desk. “What they said.”

Flynn crossed his arms and leaned against the wall. “Enquiring minds definitely want to know.”

Lucas frowned. “What’s with the hostility so early in the morning? I thought tropical vacations were supposed to be relaxing.”

Adam leaned on the desk and rapped it with his knuckles. “Did you hire Don Donnelly?”

“Sure. I’ve hired him many times over the years. Why?”

“Dude, answer the question,” LT said.

“Let me spell this out plain and simple,” Cooper said. “Did you hire that asshole to take potshots of Adam and Mattie and sell them to the tabloids?”

Lucas leaned back in his chair and steepled his fingers. “Obviously.”

He sat there with smug satisfaction all over his face like he’d just won the lottery with a fake ticket.

Brandon swore. LT muttered something incoherent.

“Unbelievable,” Cooper said.

Adam stared at the man he had considered a friend. He’d known Lucas since he was seventeen years old. He’d found them raw and green at a high school dance and seen them through their first real gig, their first world tour, and three Grammys. He was a father figure, a mentor,and the one they called when they’d had too much to drink or needed a quick getaway from the paparazzi.

Lucas was also the one who had ripped Adam’s world apart. Mattie was right. His manager had orchestrated her worst nightmare. Lucas hadn’t just crossed a line, he’d obliterated it.

“You son of a bitch.” Adam’s voice shook with suppressed rage.

Lucas’s forehead wrinkled in confusion. “What’s the problem?”

“Youknewwhat she meant to me. You used me, and her. Howdareyou?”

“How dare me what? Seize an opportunity?” Lucas spread his hands wide. “It’s what you pay me to do, gentlemen.”

Adam shook his head. “We don’t pay you to invade our privacy.”

“Yes, you do. You pay me to organize and foster your careers. You pay me to make sure the money and awards keep rolling in, and you pay me to keep your names on the tip of everybody’s tongue. All that doesn’t happen by accident, and besides, I wasn’t the one who planned or executed this little escapade.” Lucas pointed at Adam. “You did that all on your own.”

Adam shook his head. “I didnotdo this.”

“Yes, you did.” Lucas leaned forward and put on his earnest it-wasn’t-me face. “You told me to get Mattie Bellamy, remember? You took over an entire island so you could have her all to yourself. Everything that happened on that island was all you. Nobody pushed her into your arms, Adam. You did that. The only thing I did was send Donnelly to get some spontaneous publicity shots.” Lucas shrugged. “He got a great shot.”

“Yeah, and then you sold it,” Flynn pointed at Lucas with a drumstick. “That’s messed up.”

“That’s publicity,” Lucas countered. “And it cost a pretty penny to orchestrate, believe you me. The Sniper doesn’t come cheap, especially when he has to camp out all day. He’s worth it, though. You boys are solid gold tickets, and the return is exponential.”

Mattie’s words haunted him.You tricked me into coming here.

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