Page 62 of Songbird: Black Kite
If we didn’t do it, if the guys and I left the label without producing a fourth album, Castor would sue us for breach of contract, and every penny we’d ever made would go into a law suit we’d have no chance of winning.
I thought of Alex and Gavin, my friends since we were kids, and I knew that I couldn’t do that to them. I couldn’t leave them high and dry, putting them into the middle of whatever the fuck this bullshit was Cornelius had cooked up.
No, whatever it was he wanted, I’d do it. Not for me, but for the guys. Because they’d stood by me since the beginning, when shit was dark and when we’d had nothing.
Taking one for the team was the fucking least I could do.
Blowing out a breath, I stuffed my pride down deep and sighed, resigning myself to my fate.
“Just tell me what you want me to do.”
Chapter thirty-six
Hawk
Fourteen Years Ago
“Mr.Castor!Mr.Castor,look this way, please!”
The shouts were constant, the crowd in the press room resembling sharks at a feeding frenzy. They knew something good was coming, and they all wanted to be ready. Flash bulbs went off, one after the other, lighting up the room and rendering me blind to the crowd shouting and shoving before me.
I stood beside Victoria, shoulder to shoulder, as her father stood at the microphones, hands on the podium in front of him while he basked in their attention.
Fucking vampire.
I wanted to puke. This entire situation was rapidly spiraling out of control, and I had no way of stopping it. I had to protect my guys; they didn’t deserve to suffer if it was something I could prevent.
When I said I’d do anything for them, I’d meant it.
But standing here, seconds away from Castor making his announcement, I felt my gorge rising as the reality of what I’d agreed to began to choke me.
I was afraid I’d never breathe again.
“Thank you, everyone, for joining us today. And thank you all for supportingBlack Kiteon their recent tour. It was so great to see our loyal fans and followers coming out and joining us in stadiums and arenas across the country and around the globe. There really is nothing like the experience of a live show to let you know that rock and roll will never die.”
The crowd laughed, clapping and fawning over him like the sycophants they were. The whole thing was making me sick. Beside me, Victoria practically vibrated, her attempt at playing it cool deteriorating by the second.
Castor needed to hurry his shit up, or she was going to explode.
“Today, I have something even more exciting for you all,” he went on once the chatter had died down. “It seems that this tour produced more than just sold-out venues and tabloid fodder, am I right?” They all laughed again like the trained puppets they were. “Today I want to talk about love. Not something you typically think of when you think about rock music, but that’s what makes today’s announcement so unique. Because while out on tour, something amazing happened. Something surprising and,” he paused, turning to look at me, the calculating look in his eye making my stomach churn. “Something I’m pretty damn excited about. It gives me great pleasure to announce to you the engagement of my daughter, Victoria Castor, to the one and only, Hawk Jameson.”
The room exploded in a cacophony of noise and light. There was no way I could have differentiated one question from the other as the crowd of reporters all shouted and hollered, desperate to be heard over everyone else, to have their question be the one that was answered. To snag the exclusive and get the clicks.
While I blinked against the wave of flashes and lights, Tori made her move, sliding her arm through mine and dragging me with her as she replaced her father at the podium. Her megawatt smile was working overtime as she turned her head this way and that, attempting to let each of the photographers get hergood side. I stood beside her, frozen like a corpse, hating every second of the circus I’d been roped into and unsure what the fuck to do about it.
“Thank you all so much,” Tori cooed when the noise had finally died down enough for her to speak. “Hawk and I are so excited to share our big news with you all. We’ve been keeping things quiet for so long, wanting the band to be able to focus on the tour, and making sure that all of our fans get the very best experience.”
“Our fans?” I muttered, turning my head so that the microphones wouldn’t pick up my words. “Those areBlack Kitefans, not yours.”
Her smile grew brittle, but she didn’t falter enough that anyone actually noticed. Instead, she stepped even closer to me, slotting herself under my arms and pressing close to my side, one hand coming up to rest on my chest. To everyone else, we would look like a happy couple, cuddled up and in love.
In reality, the nails of her other hand were digging into my back, a clear warning to shut up and not fuck around.
Movement at the back of the room drew my gaze, and I startled when I saw the rest of my band enter the press room, their presence going unnoticed by the reporters who were still freaking the fuck out over the engagement announcement.
Looking at Gavin and Alex, I could read the shock and confusion all over their faces, likely hurt at being the last to know. Knowing I would have an ass-chewing coming my way, I grit my teeth and told myself I deserved it. I could never tell them the truth, not because I didn’t want them to know, but because of how they would have reacted if they knew what I’d done, what I’d signed myself up for to protect the band. Alex would lose his shit, probably throw something, and then punch a wall before storming off. Gavin would be more controlled, but his was a river that ran deep, and I knew the truth would hurt him much more than he would let on. They both would have insisted I not do it, that being found in breach of contract was fine and that Castor could go fuck himself.
And as nice as that would have been to say, the fact of the matter was that Castor might be an asshole of the highest order, but he was an influential asshole. The man had the power to make or break a career with one phone call. Blacklisting us for life was well within his power, and there was no one I could think of in the industry who would dare to stand against him.
