Page 42 of Reverb
He was the last person who should be hooking up with Mish, becoming part of this strange Twisted Wishes family. This was not the way the job was supposed to go. His logical brain told him he needed to step back and tell Mish they couldn’t get together. But another part remembered the earnest expression in Ray’s face, in his eyes, when he’d told David not to back away.
Not backing away wasn’t the same as running headlong into fire, though.
David rolled his head to release the tension in his neck, and resumed his walk through the covered pavilion. He should join the band backstage. They might want to watch Two Times Strong perform from the side of the stage again. Ray said Five Asylum had done similar for them, and they wouldn’t have gotten where they were without that support.
But if Twisted Wishes were visible, the fans would react.
David dodged between people entering the pavilion, and headed toward the entrance that led behind the stage. Close to the gate, someone tapped his arm. “Excuse me?”
He halted to find a woman inspecting him from head to toe. “Yes?”
“Aren’t you that guy who’s been with Mish?”
WithMish? Jesus, he needed to ask Adrian aboutthat. Yes, he’d been seen frequently with her in New York, but there hadn’t been much muttering in the press, especially since they’d established that he worked for Twisted Wishes.
“I’m security for Twisted Wishes.” He was a little gruff, but he and Mish hadn’t hooked up yet, and they hadn’t talked about how public they were going to be if they did. When they did.
The woman got one of those smiles that made him apprehensive. “So you’renotwith Mish?”
He wished like hell he’d been wearing his sunglasses, because he wanted a shield to hide behind. This wasn’t a normal fan question. “I’m sorry...who am I talking to?”
“Oh, my apologies, I’m Vicky Heydel, from the HitsDaily website. Rumor has it that you’re Mish Sullivan’s latest fling, and I’m trying to confirm that.”
Now he really wanted his sunglasses, because his first instinct was to roll his eyes. “I’m sorry, I’m not available for interviews, and I have a job to do. If you’ll excuse me.” He turned and walked away.
Thankfully, the reporter didn’t follow to press for information, and he’d been around enough important people in his career that his response was fine. Still, he made it a point to track down Marcella. Easy enough to do, since she was chatting with Adrian in the hall outside the dressing rooms. But when they broke off their conversation to look at him, they both had long faces. His stomach dropped an inch or two. “What happened?”
Without a word, Adrian handed over his tablet, and there was yet another email from yet another address. This one had an attached photo of Mish’s ring.
My dear, I’m surprised you even have such inexpensive trinkets now. After all, you are the serpent who shed her skin for fame and fortune. But such a thing does belong on your finger. I’ll be sure to slip it on again once you’re mine.
David handed the tablet back to Adrian. Talk about crawling skin. He practically heard a slick, ugly voice while reading those words. He’d run into this type of guy before. Far worse was when he ran into themnowbecause they no longer filtered themselves around David.
The world was different on this side of his transition, but no less scary.
“You haven’t showed this to Mish, have you?”
Adrian shook his head. “I know better. That’s also why I’m out here. I need to burn off my anger before I head back, or Dominic will read me like a book.”
Marcella waved in the direction of the stage. “I take it all is fine out with the public?”
“Yes. This venue’s tighter with the security and has less access points.” David paused. “As far as the crowd, the fans are even more excited than the last show.”
Finally, a smile appeared on Marcella’s lips. “Get used to that. You’re going to see it at each stop. I don’t know how the band manages it, but they only get more energetic and wilder as the tour goes on, and the fans are the same way.”
He chuckled at that, then sobered. “I also ran into some reporter from HitsDaily. She asked me point blank if I was Mish’s latest fling.”
“Are you?” Marcella’s voice was entirely neutral.
He could have denied it, but that wouldn’t have been truthful. Plus Adrian had a look that meant David wouldn’t get away with hedging his bets.
“I don’t know yet,” he murmured. “I’m letting Mish decide that.”
Her lips twitched upward. “And what did you tell the reporter?”
“That I was security for the band, wasn’t available for interviews, and that I had a job to do, before I excused myself and walked away.”
That grin grew wider. “Good man.”
